All Chapters of They Gave Me Two Families: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The bus had gone quite a distance before I finally stopped looking back.Dad’s battered old car had turned down another street.My stepsister, Ruby Gisondo, was in the backseat, wrapped in his winter coat and holding a cup of hot chocolate.I looked down at my hands, red from the cold.That morning, Dad had promised to pick me up after school.He had sounded so certain. “I’ll be there. Cross my heart.”However, everyone else had already left, and he had yet to show up.I waited forty minutes before boarding the bus on my own.It was almost eight by the time I got home.All that remained on the dining table was half a plate of cold pasta, with a few pieces of overcooked broccoli mixed in.My stepmother, Freya Gisondo, was blow-drying Ruby’s hair.She barely glanced up when I came in.“There’s food in the kitchen. Heat it up yourself, and keep the noise down. It was Ruby’s first day at her new school. Some kids asked why she didn’t have a dad, and she cried all the way home.”

Dad did not show up on the day of the math competition.He said his truck had broken down on the highway, and there was no way he could get back in time.However, when I came out after the test, I spotted his old car across the street. They were standing next to it.Ruby was clutching a brand-new teddy bear.Dad leaned down to speak gently to her. There was a cake box in his hand.“Don’t be mad, honey. I didn’t mean to forget we were celebrating your first month at school.”Ruby huffed.“Then I get you all to myself today.”“Of course. The whole day.”Dad did not hesitate.When he turned, he saw me.His smile faltered.“Charlotte?”He instinctively moved the cake box behind his back.“I thought you weren’t done till this afternoon.”“I turned mine in early.”“How’d it go?”“Not bad.”Dad looked relieved and took a couple of steps toward me.Ruby immediately called out, “Dad, my foot hurts.”He stopped and went back to her.“Go ahead and take the bus home. I’ll make

It was dark by the time the bus reached Ashford.Mrs. Peterson, my new homeroom teacher, was waiting by the station exit.When she saw that all I had was an old backpack, she paused for a moment.“Where’s the rest of your stuff?”“This is everything.”She looked at me but did not ask anything else. Instead, she reached over and took my trophy.“Your room’s ready. The school can lend you what you need for now. Just remember, Charlotte, you earned your place here. You don’t owe anyone anything.”My throat tightened. I gave her a small nod.(3rd POV)Meanwhile, Simon Marley came home carrying two tubs of ice cream.The strawberry one had already melted.He knocked on Charlotte’s bedroom door several times, but no one answered.When he pushed it open, he found the closet half empty and the textbooks gone from her desk.Panic set in.“Charlotte? Charlotte!”No answer came.Ruby lounged on the couch with her tablet, looking irritated.“She must be hiding somewhere just to ma

(3rd POV)Once the paperwork was finished, Simon did not leave Ashford right away.He sat outside the school gates all day.When Mrs. Peterson finally came out, he stopped her.“Is Charlotte doing okay here?”Mrs. Peterson looked at him.“She’s quiet and very independent. When the dorm supervisor gave her sheets, the first thing she asked was how much she owed. We arranged free meals for her, and she said she’d pay us back one day.”Simon’s eyes filled with tears.“She wasn’t like this when she was little. She used to be my little shadow.”Mrs. Peterson’s tone remained even.“Children don’t stop reaching for their parents overnight. They stop when they realize no one’s reaching back.”Simon went home alone.When he opened the door, Ruby was on the phone in the living room.She had not noticed him come in. Her voice was cheerful.“Of course I faked it. I said my stomach hurt, and just like that, he skipped Charlotte’s awards ceremony. I crushed her medicine too. Serves her

Trudy refused to give written consent for me to keep living in the dorms.She hired a lawyer and demanded that the school release me into her custody.Simon came to the school as soon as he heard.They were shouting over each other in the conference room.“It took you so little time to drive her away!”“Better than living with you. You couldn’t even get her birthday right.”“You’re one to talk! If she had an asthma attack, would you even know where her medicine was?”“What about you? Someone destroyed her medicine, and you still told her to be the mature one!”I sat beside them and listened in silence.Then the lawyer asked, “Charlotte, which parent would you prefer to live with?”They both turned to me.Trudy immediately said, “You’ll be better off with me. You can have your own room.”Simon’s eyes were red as he said, “I’ve made Freya and Ruby move out. The house is back to how it used to be. I haven’t changed a thing in your room.”I placed a stack of documents on the t