The Abandoned Son
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 but wishful thinking on my part.