All Chapters of Joke’s on Them: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Bryan couldn’t hold it in any longer, slapping his thigh as he let out a ringing laugh.“You’re not into jokes? But weren’t you the one laughing the loudest when you were a kid?”I clenched my fists tight.All my grievances accumulated over the years poured out in an instance.Terrified of being cut out back then, I would always offer a silly grin no matter how cruelly they played me for a fool.When I was eight, they tricked me into climbing the mountain to hunt for a cure-all herb to fix my mother’s cold.While my back was turned, they slipped down the mountain on the sly, using the pocket money swiped from my bag to buy candy and toys.By the time the police found me, I had spent an entire night stranded on that peak—freezing, starving, and on the brink of death.Yet the moment I opened my eyes, my first instinct was to smile at them: “That was fun. But next time… could you please not leave me behind?”The painful memories flooded back.Tears spilled down my cheeks, but Bryan and Da

Half an hour later, the bathroom door was slammed open.Mom burst inside and grabbed me viciously by the ear.She dragged me out and shoved me into the center of the room.My foot slipped and I hit the floor in a thump.Stars exploded across my vision.The spilled red wine on the ground coated my clothes in dark, hideous stains, leaving me in total disarray.Mom pulled a diagnostic report for severe depression from her pocket and threw it in my face.“Look at this!“Haven’t you always held a grudge over us treating Daisy better? This is why!“Playing pranks on you was to help lighten her mood. Not one of us can be happy while Daisy’s miserable.”Beside Mom, Daisy’s eyes were already brimming with hot tears.“Please, she doesn’t need to know.“She’ll feel burdened by it.“It was all my fault. I shouldn’t have played jokes on her… To be honest, when she said she wanted to break off our friendship just now, my heart almost stopped.”Bryan immediately turned to her with concern, checking to

Before long, Daisy and Bryan hurried over.They had just finished eating, some dried sauce still sticking to the corners of their mouths.“Harry, don’t panic.“I know Violet. She must think we picked on her yesterday. This is her throwing a fit to get back at us.”Daisy said as she licked the sauce off her lip, flashing a sweet smile at Harry.Bryan knitted his brows, his chiseled face coated in exasperation.“All we did was make her run a couple of extra trips—is it really worth making such a massive scene over? I just checked, and the nerve of her, she actually blocked me.”Daisy nodded rapidly.“She blocked me too.”Perplexed, Harry pulled out his own phone and tentatively dialed my number.Without surprise:“The number you are dialing is currently unavailable…”He let out a scoff.His handsome brow arched upward.“What a brat.“You better hope I don’t track you down, or I’m gonna give you a lesson you’ll never—”His threat ground to a sudden halt the moment he opened an email sent

Harry suddenly lunged forward and grabbed me by the arm.He gripped me with immense force, as if terrified I would vanish into thin air if he let go.“Violet, why did you drop out without saying a single word?”His eyes were rimmed with red, his voice carrying a distinct choke of emotion.I stared back at him with a puzzled expression.“What are you doing here?”Seemingly frightened by the sheer coldness in my eyes, he loosened his grip.“I… I didn’t mean to sound harsh. It’s just… your joke went too far. You scared Mom, Dad, and me half to death.”I scratched my head, tilting my chin slightly.“Did it though?“When you people played jokes on me in the past, none of you cared how I would feel.”Daisy rushed forward, tugging gently on my sleeve, playing the peacemaker as she always had.“Come on, stop being mad at us.“It was just a harmless joke—who knew you’d take it so seriously?”I yanked my arm free, flinging her hand off me.“Let me spell it out once more for you: if I don’t find

As the surrounding crowd grew larger, I pulled them into a nearby empty classroom.Before I could open my mouth, Bryan’s phone call came ringing through to Harry’s cell.I couldn’t hear what they were talking about.In an instant, Harry’s expression shifted drastically.“What? Daisy forged her depression diagnosis?”That caused my parents’ faces to turn several shades paler.They didn’t dare to cast a single glance in my direction.Harry ended the call and lifted his eyes, looking at me hesitantly.“Bryan said… he located your depression diagnosis at the hospital, but there was none for Daisy.”A scoff escaped me.Subconsciously, I put my hand over the scars on my left wrist.Even though they were concealed beneath the thick watch strap, a dull pain still thrummed in my chest whenever I thought of how I got them.“Violet, I’m sorry.“I failed you as a brother.”His eyes were rimmed with crimson now.And my parents had shed genuine tears.“Violet, come home. Let us take care of you.“If