The Abandoned Son のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 9

'Didn't I work hard today too? Why do you hang out bedding for Derek and Chloe and leave me with a cold piece of blanket?' I didn't bother saying my thoughts out loud. There was no point.My mother went quiet on the other end of the line. She hadn't expected her always-obedient son to talk back. It didn't last. Her voice slid right back into its usual bossy register."You've always been the healthy one, easy to raise," she said. "Your brother and sister are delicate. Is it really so much to ask that you cut them some slack? Why do you get more difficult every year?"I laughed. Someone who'd spent years sleeping in a space under the stairs that never saw sunlight, eating whatever leftovers were left in the fridge — how healthy did she think that made me? The truth was simpler: she just didn't care.When I was ten, I'd come down with a fever bad enough to keep me in bed. My parents had been too busy — one shuttling Derek to his instrument lessons, the other dropping Chloe off at pres

All I could make out was the three of them crowded around Derek, faces full of concern. Me, they looked at like I was their enemy — every one of them jabbing a finger in my face, expressions twisted with fury.It took a while before I could make out what they were actually saying.Dad said, "Ryan, have we spoiled you too much? You actually had the nerve to steal from your brother!"Mom said, "Hand that pendant back to Derek right now, or don't expect me to care about you as family anymore!"Chloe said, "If you don't give it back, I'll beat it out of you!"I laughed. The taste of blood filled my mouth.None of them had bothered to ask me a single question — they'd taken Derek's word alone and decided I was a thief. And that pendant? Grandma had actually given one to each of us, me and Derek both. He'd lost his and simply taken mine instead. At the time, I hadn't minded — we were family, I figured, so what did it matter whose was whose. Looking back now, that had been nothing

"You'd never guess these two were raised by the same parents."I caught my reflection in a nearby window — sallow, gaunt — a world apart from Derek. We looked like we belonged to two different social classes entirely.Mia had circled back to grab something she'd forgotten and walked straight into the scene. She stepped in front of me instantly, shielding me."Kneel all you want. You wanna settle this quietly? Not a chance."All three of their faces went stone gray.Mom broke down sobbing, clutching her chest. "I can't go on like this! What did I do to raise such an ungrateful son! Ryan, how can you be so cold-hearted?"Dad's voice was harsh. "Ryan, are you trying to send your mother and me to an early grave? You ungrateful child."Derek started crying too. "Mom, Dad, we'll figure out something else. Please don't make yourselves sick over this."Mia guided me away. Behind us, the three of them dissolved into hysterics.…Word that Chloe had been arrested tore through the exten

I looked down at my mother's hand. It had gone rough, dirt still lodged under the nails. That same hand had peeled apples and shelled shrimp for Derek and Chloe more times than I could count — and never once done anything like that for me.I pulled my arm free."Now that you're desperate, you remember I exist? When I was lying there half-beaten to death — did any of you think of me then?"My mother froze where she stood, tears sliding down her face.I didn't say anything else. I just walked away. Even from a distance, I could still hear her crying behind me.…Mia was cooking when I got home. She took one look at my face and didn't ask anything — just set the food on the table and ladled out a bowl of soup for me."I made potato and rib soup today. Drink up."I sat down and took a sip, and the tears came before I could stop them.Mia didn't say a word. I looked over at her."My mom came to find me. My dad's in the hospital. Chloe broke her leg. Derek's disappeared. She wants