جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 8

Inside the bustling burger place, my dad, Jeremy Fisher, frowned as he stared at the 17 love letters that were neatly arranged in front of him.The look in his eyes felt unfamiliar. It looked nothing like the tender expression Mom always wore when she stared at those letters.A few seconds later, Dad sighed and gently patted my head. "Once Wendy feels better, I'll pick both of you up and bring you home. Wendy is easy to get along with. She's nothing like your mom, who only knows how to threaten me with these love letters."My mom's name was Jillian Clinton. She once told me that Wendy Sutton was her best friend from college. Feeling confused, I'd asked, "Do I have to share my husband with my best friend? In that case, I don't want a best friend!"Mom hadn't responded, but she'd suddenly looked like she was about to cry.On Mom's birthday, Wendy had flipped the cake over with tears in her eyes. Gripping Dad's hand, she cried, "Please send me away, Jeremy. I've seen what happens t

Mom never showed up to my parent-teacher meeting. "It's obvious that your mom doesn't like you!" Wendy's son, Colin Sutton, spat. "How could she let you wear such dirty clothes to an event like this?" Standing before me with a smug smile, he added, "You're a slob, Stella Fisher!"I looked down at the clothes I had been wearing for the last three days. After Mom fell asleep, these were the cleanest clothes that I could find in our apartment."Jeremy is my dad today. He's attending the parent-teacher meeting with me. He definitely doesn't want to see you or your mom! The two of you should just leave!" Colin barked.My heart sank. Unable to suppress my anger, I gave Colin a shove, and he fell to the floor."That's not true!" I yelled.Our argument immediately escalated into a fight, and our cries instantly drew everyone's attention. Even though my stomach hurt terribly after he kicked me, I still held onto his hair tightly and refused to let go.Then, a familiar voice rang out f

Dad stood in the middle of the blazing fire as if he couldn't feel any pain. Several firefighters tried to hold him back, but none of them could stop him. Ignoring the burns on his body, he desperately tried to carry Mom out of the house. By the time he finally let go of her, his hands were covered in angry blisters.I crouched beside him and gently tugged on the edge of his shirt. "See? I wasn't lying. Now hurry up and give me the 200 dollars for Mom's love letter. I need to buy her some medicine."Dad's eyes were extremely bloodshot. Gripping my shoulders, he declared, "You're lying. Every time I bought one of those letters, I transferred ten thousand dollars to your mother! I gave her 160,000 dollars for 16 letters!"His expression frightened me so much that I instantly froze. Then, I quickly explained, "I'm not lying. They're only 200 dollars. It cost 200 dollars to replace the lightbulb, 200 dollars to buy my costume, and 200 dollars for a new blanket. Mom said she'd always s

Mom was placed in a huge wooden box. Some time later, she came back in a much smaller one.I held the small box gently. Mom felt so light. From that day onward, I never saw her again. Dad became a shell of his former self. He spent his days drowning out his sorrows with alcohol as he lay on the couch clutching one of Mom's old photos.One day, he suddenly asked me, "Do you remember where your mom kept her love letters, Stella? Why can't I find them?"I gently tugged on his shirt. "Did you forget? You tore them all up. I think they were burned in the fire."He nodded blankly as tears streamed down his face. Pulling me into his arms, he croaked, "I miss your mom so much, Stella…"My chest suddenly felt heavy. Mom used to tell me that this feeling was called heartache. "You shouldn't miss her anymore," I said. "She doesn't miss you. She already decided to leave you."A broken sob escaped his throat. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Mom's memorial picture while he cried.