All Chapters of Buried under Junk and Family Obligations: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Selena's POVMy expression must have been terrible.My aunt, Ashlyn Atkinson, awkwardly slipped off the coat. "Don't be upset, Selena. Your mom told me you bought this for me. I really thought…"Upon hearing that, my mother, Lola Atkinson, rushed over and draped the coat back over Aunt Ashlyn's shoulders."Selena!" Mom frowned heavily."Where are your manners? Your Aunt Ashlyn has always been so nice to you. She gave you all those pretty clothes you got to wear growing up!"Those "pretty clothes" were just Aunt Ashlyn's castoffs. Just like the ones in my wardrobe today, they were stained, torn, pilled, or simply out of fashion.Throwing them out felt like a waste, so she'd box them up and send them to our house.Only Mom would treat a pile of unwanted junk like treasure, thanking Aunt Ashlyn over and over again.Whenever she held those clothes up to measure them against me, she never once asked if I actually liked them or wanted to wear them."Mom," I said, my voice raspy. "T

Selena's POVMom said Aunt Ashlyn would pay me for my work.Staring at the 60-second voice message she sent, I still ended up compromising.I handed over a project I had been managing at work that was already more than half done, just to focus on designing Aunt Ashlyn's new house.She had endless demands, but thankfully, I was already used to dealing with difficult clients.Two weeks later, the final draft was approved. I thought my job was done.But barely five minutes after I lay down to rest, a phone call woke me up. It was Mom, telling me I needed to go buy the materials needed for the renovation."Mom, I'm tired. I spent ages working on those blueprints."Mom's tone softened. "It's almost done, Selena. Just push through a little longer."She didn't tell me to get some rest but to push through.Noticing my silence, she pulled out her go-to line. "Your Aunt Ashlyn loved you so much when you were little. Remember that formal dress you wore in middle school? Ashlyn couldn't

Selena's POVBy the time I walked all the way back to the office, the group chat had already blown up.Aunt Ashlyn said that my standards had gotten too high now and that I looked down on these things.Mom immediately sided with Aunt Ashlyn, accusing me of being ungrateful and failing to appreciate Aunt Ashlyn's kind intentions."Mom, if you think those things are so great, then why haven't you ever worn a single secondhand item sent over by our relatives? When I was little, the clothes were too big, so you tailored them down for me."When I grew up and the clothes were a little tight, you told me to lose weight. These clothes obviously fit you much better. Why didn't you ever wear them? I wore secondhand clothes for 18 years. I didn't have a single new thing."After I sent that, the group chat fell into total silence.Only Mom sent a voice note, weeping hysterically. "You ungrateful brat! You think you're too good for your mother now? Do you have any idea how hard it was to rai

Third-Person POVLola cycled through several different phone numbers trying to call Selena, but not a single one got through.Growing furious, she finally decided to show up at Selena's office in person."Who are you looking for?" Sarah asked."I'm Selena's mom.""Oh, Selena isn't in."Only after Sarah said that did Lola remember Selena was on a business trip. She slapped her forehead, her brow furrowing with deep worry. "What am I supposed to do now? I already promised them.""What's going on?" Sarah asked politely."Well…"Lola pulled out her phone and shoved a set of blueprints in front of Sarah. "Oh right, your company does design work, doesn't it? Can you guys handle this?""This is interior design. It's not really what we do," Sarah replied."It's all the same thing. Selena could do it, so you guys definitely can too. It's just a little favor."Lola genuinely believed the task was simple. Anyone who knew how to use a computer could do it in no time.Sarah looked at h

Third-Person POVShocked, Jarrett pointed at the protein powder. "This is good stuff, you know! I think it's from some high-end brand.""It's already been opened. Selena wouldn't want it," Lola replied."Huh?" Jarrett looked genuinely surprised. "She used to take everything. Why doesn't she want it now?""Before, I was the one who wanted it, thinking I could save a few bucks. I never considered whether Selena actually needed any of it or not."With no other choice, Jarrett had to take his stuff back.That night, Lola sat at the desk with the broken leg, trying her best to design the wedding invitation.It took her two full days to complete it before sending it over to Jarrett.But all she got in return was his utter disdain. "What on earth is this? If you don't know how to do it, why didn't you just let Selena handle it?"Lola didn't admit that Selena had blocked her. She could only say, "Selena is way too busy with her work out of town.""It's just a little favor! It wouldn'