Quitting this Family after Being Abandoned for Laughs
Fiction·Another Spring
Before leaving work on Thanksgiving, my younger sister, Mia Summers, sends a message in the family group chat with the address of our new home.
I take five different buses to get there, only to discover that the address leads to nothing but a desolate, overgrown wilderness.
Mia sounds smug on the other end of the phone as she says, "Bingo! The prank worked! The last bus has left. What are you going to do now?"
As I stand there dumbfounded, my parents burst into laughter. "You actually fell for that? I wonder who you got your stupidity from. We're having a family dinner. Walk back yourself."
After that, they start to argue over who I resemble more on the phone.
In desperation, I use the last bit of battery on my phone to call my boyfriend, Simon Ziegler.
The call connects, and I hear the same familiar background noise. Simon chuckles mockingly. "Chelsea, your parents also told you to make your own way back. It's not the first time Mia's pulled a prank on you. Don't be such a sore loser."
Then, he hangs up on me without another word.
In the past, I would call them in tears and beg them to get me. But this time, as I look at the distant lights across the city, I finally decide not to give in.
Mia loves her Thanksgiving pranks, and my entire family indulges her.
Two years ago, she threw peach fuzz into my cup and triggered my asthma. Last year, she switched out my shampoo with hair removal cream, ruining an important job interview.
This year, my family has helped her trick me into going to the middle of nowhere, even though they know I'm afraid of the dark.
And at the dinner table, they're betting on how many minutes it'll take before I call and beg for mercy.
However, I don't cry or plead. Instead, I walk into the darkness, away from home. I'm ending this cruel game, whether they like it or not.
13.9K visualizações2026-08-13 15:08:47