Mom Snapped When I Gave My Sister Cough Syrup

My heart instantly leapt into my throat.

I tried to wrap my arms around Dad's legs, desperately attempting to stop him. "Dad, don't go in there!"

By now, the suitcase had already begun to give off an unpleasant smell.

"Leave her alone," Mom said sharply. "The food I left on the table hasn't been touched. It's sitting there exactly how I left it. She's clearly determined to fight us on this!"

Dad's hand slowly dropped from the doorknob.

Amelia looked up then, clutching Mom's neck with a timid grip.

"Dad… I'm scared to share a room with Ninette… She was really scary yesterday. I want to sleep with Mom instead," she murmured.

Those words were the final straw, snuffing out the final trace of hesitation in Dad's eyes. He turned away, not sparing the door another glance. "Forget it. Let her cool off by herself. She's so stubborn. She's nothing like us!"

With that, they turned and made their way to the living room.

From beginning to end, no one looked back at the door.

I slumped against the wooden door and could faintly smell what was seeping out through the cracks. It was a smell that even I was frightened by.

They were all blaming me.

They blamed my stubbornness, my immaturity, and the fact that I'd scared Amelia, but they would never know that I wasn't throwing a tantrum.

I just couldn't leave this room anymore.

Late at night, Amelia suddenly started crying in the master bedroom, and I jolted awake.

I had spent the night curled up on the rug in the entryway, terrified of scaring her, so why was she crying?

Mom quickly pulled her into an embrace as she asked gently, "What is it, sweetie? Did you have a nightmare?"

Amelia sobbed, her words coming out in broken snatches. "I… dreamed we were on that big plane. There was a beach and a castle, but I woke up, and we're still at home…"

The weight of her disappointment made her cry even harder.

Mom's expression darkened. She turned toward my bedroom door, her voice rising into a shout.

"Ninette Orson! Can't you hear your sister crying? How can you be so heartless that you won't even come out and check on her? She's your sister! Don't you care about her at all?"

Dad was woken up by the commotion.

When he saw Amelia crying uncontrollably and an angry Mom, his face turned cold.

"Ninette, it seems your mom was right. We spoiled you far too much, and it turned you into someone cold and selfish. Maybe a real lesson is the only way you'll finally grow up!"

I stood just outside their door.

The injustice felt like countless needles were pricking at my very soul.

It wasn't that I didn't care or that I was cold. It was just that they simply couldn't see me anymore.

…

The next morning, the doorbell rang. Mom quickly went to open it with a flattering smile plastered on her face.

Standing on the other side of the door was Lauren Wilcox, who lived downstairs with her son, Micah Jones.

I stiffened.

The memory was still fresh in my mind. A year ago, when Micah pushed me down the stairs and I had scraped my knee, Mom sprang into action like a lioness protecting her cub.

She stormed down to their apartment to give them a piece of her mind and even ended up slapping Micah in the heat of the moment.

From then on, Mom and Lauren had been on bad terms and hadn't spoken a word to each other since.

So, why would Mom invite her over?

Curiosity pulled me closer.

Mom served her a cup of coffee with uncharacteristic eagerness. "Lauren, I heard you work at an airline. Amy was so heartbroken that she couldn't go on her trip. Is there any way you could help us get a couple of tickets for the next available flights? We don't mind paying extra."

Lauren sat there, holding her cup with an air of superiority.

I watched Mom lower herself in front of someone she used to hate just so Amelia could go on a trip, and the spot where my heart used to be throbbed so painfully that it felt like my heart was splintering.