The 300th IOU

I did not bother arguing and simply turned to leave.

My dad was so furious that he grabbed a vase and smashed it on the floor near my feet.

“Ungrateful brat! Are you trying to run away from home?!

“Fine! You’ve borrowed enough money over the years! Pay it all back by next week! If you don’t, I’ll have the lawyers throw you in jail! This way, you’ll learn your lesson!”

Glass shards cut into my leg. Blood dripped down, but I did not seem to notice it.

I was not even surprised by his words.

I turned back to look at them.

They thought I was scared and ready to surrender.

But as I stared at their proud, self-righteous faces, I felt nothing.

Without another word, I turned away. Just before closing the door behind me, I said, “Okay.”

If that was what they wanted, I would pay them back.

Once I did, I would have nothing to do with this terrible family ever again.

As I walked out of the house, I could still hear my dad yelling.

I ignored him.

Limping past the neighborhood gates, I realized the world was so vast.

Without a home, I had no idea where to go.

I looked up at the twinkling star in the sky and felt just as lonely as it did.

I crouched down, hugged my knees, and tried to warm my cold body.

My parents were not always like this.

They were known as a loving couple in the circle.

As their only daughter, they had once treated me like a princess.

But everything changed when Rachel came.

She was the daughter of my parents’ close friends.

After her parents died in a car accident, none of her relatives wanted to take her in.

So my parents did.

At first, I was excited to have a sister.

Being an only child was lonely sometimes.

We even had the same birthday.

I gave her my favorite toys and prettiest dresses.

But I never thought that sweet Rachel would act like a snake and hurt me.

Back then, we were still in elementary school.

My parents were busy with work, so they gave me money and asked me to buy Rachel food.

Rachel said she would eat with her friends, so I gave her two-thirds of the money without thinking twice.

But when my parents came home, she had fainted from hunger.

They rushed her to the hospital, where the doctors said she had low blood sugar and stomach issues. At the same time, my parents found an expensive designer bag in my room.

“We told you to take care of Rachel, and this is how you do it?”

“Clara, you’re just a kid, and you’re already buying luxury bags?”

I panicked and tried to explain that I had no idea where the bag came from.

Back then, my parents still trusted me.

They held back their anger and said they would ask Rachel when she woke up.

But as soon as she opened her eyes, she said, “Mr. Quinn, Mrs. Quinn, please don’t blame Clara. I didn’t eat because I don’t like to.”

What she said with teary eyes made my parents put all the blame on me.

My parents hugged her lovingly and said they would treat her like their own daughter.

From that day on, they saw me as selfish and materialistic. I was no longer their beloved daughter.

In eight years, all they gave me were 300 IOUs.

I pulled out the stack of IOUs from my pocket and flipped through them again.

50,000 dollars.

I had just graduated from high school. How was I supposed to get that much money in a week?