“I know who you are. You’re the runaway
sister who lives somewhere else, right?”
“I’m warning you, Mom and Dad said I’m their
favorite kid, and everything in this house is
mine, including this room, so you can’t touch
that stuff!”
I calmly reminded him, “Those are my things!”
“So what? Dad said it’s mine, so I can throw
it in the trash if I want!”
Mikey yelled, but I didn’t pay any attention.
I pushed him out of the way and went back to
packing.
Г
When he realized I was going to take my
things, Mikey panicked.
He pulled down his pants and started peeing
on me!
The stinking liquid splashed all over me,
ruining my suitcase and everything I was
trying to pack.
I was stunned. I couldn’t believe anyone could
be this awful!
Mikey smirked and stuck his tongue out.
“Now you’re a runaway dog! No, wait, you’re
even dirtier and smellier than a dog!”
I had to admit, Mikey was good at pushing my
buttone I had never been thie
く
buttons. I had never been this angry in my
life!
I was shaking with rage, and I looked up at
Mikey.
His face froze, and he looked scared.
Just then, Mom and Dad came home.
“Mikey, is that you?” they called from
downstairs. “Mommy bought your favorite
chocolate cake. Come down and get it!”
Mikey’s eyes lit up, and he ran to the door,
shouting, “Mom and Dad, help me! Ashley’s
trying to kill me!”
“She said I can’t have her room, and she said.
I should be kicked out like a dog! And she
く
said I’m not your favorite kid, she’s being
mean to me, waaaah!”
Hearing their precious son crying, Mom
rushed upstairs, her heels clicking on the
stairs.
She grabbed Mikey and looked him over, then
glared at me.
“You’re the one who wanted to live at school!
You can’t blame Mikey for using the room!
Ashley, you’re getting out of control! He’s
your little brother!”
Dad followed close behind, frowning.
“You were always a troublemaker, and you’re
getting worse! You’re the one who cut
yourself off from the family! And then you call
<
Mikey a dog? You’re the one with no
manners!”
I rarely saw Mom and Dad anymore, and when
I did, it was always this way.
Mikey was hiding behind them, grinning like a
devil.
The kid was amazing. I’d never seen anyone
switch emotions so fast.
I was soaked in pee, and the stench was
making me sick. I’d had enough.
Instead of getting mad, I smiled and asked
Mikey, “Did you say I was being mean?”
He nodded. “Yeah!”
く
I slapped him.
I rubbed my hand, which was starting to hurt,
and nodded at Mom and Dad. “That’s what
being mean really is.”
Mom and Dad were stunned. They stared at
me and then at Mikey.
“Aaah! I’m gonna kill you! You dared to hit
me, you little b!”
He rushed at me, ready to fight.
Unfortunately for him, Mom and Dad had
spoiled him so much that he was too fat to
move. I just stuck out my foot, and he went
crashing to the floor.
“Ashley! Why are you hurting your brother
く
again?”
Mom and Dad rushed over, hearing Mikey
scream.
I instinctively looked to them for help.
“Mikey ripped up my college application! And
it’s gone! And he said two hours later it was
the high school entrance, what do I do?”
Mikey, lying on the floor, screamed.
“Mom, Dad, she pushed me to the floor and
slapped me. Please beat her to death!”
“She said I’m going to go to the hospital,
where my mother’s cancer is being treated!
How can I get out of college!”
Г
The thing was, she was already in the
hospital!
His words were full of malice, proving that he
had been planning this all along.
After a moment, Mom, who had been begging
me to come home just a few weeks ago, said,
“Even if it’s a big deal, you can’t hit your
brother. He’s just a little kid. You need to be
understanding…”
“Understanding! You keep telling me to be
understanding! Don’t you realize this is my
college life. I have to get out of here!”
I couldn’t take it anymore. I cut her off.
The word “understanding” was like a knife in
my heart.
<
Mom and Dad were standing in front of
Mikey, protecting him as if I was some kind of
threat.
I laughed. “It’s him, and it’s me that’s being
hurt, what’s going on?”
After a few more seconds, I realized that
Mom had used an emergency number.
Seeing Mom protecting Mikey and Dad
standing there in silence, my heart turned to
ice.
I took a deep breath and reached for my
suitcase.
Mom reached out to stop me. “Ashley, don’t
make things worse. Why don’t you just
apologize to Mikey, and we’ll forget this ever
till
bis his sister !!
く
I shook off her hand and went to get my
things.
“I’m not his sister. Mikey said I’m just a
runaway dog.”
“Ashley!” Dad snapped from the doorway.
But I didn’t care anymore. I grabbed my
suitcase and walked out the door.
After that day, I rented a place of my own.
Mom and Dad thought I was just being
stubborn and that I’d come crawling back
when I ran out of money, so they didn’t try to
stop me.
But then I got a scholarship that paid for
everything, and I made enough money
く
tutoring to cover my living expenses.
Mom realized I was serious about leaving, and
she started to worry.
Before my senior year, she begged me to
come home, saying I needed to be here to get
my college applications. I grudgingly agreed.
Three years had passed, and Mikey was even
fatter than before. He looked like a walking
meatball.
Mom and Dad must have told him to be nice
because, even though he didn’t like me, he
left me alone.
We stayed out of each other’s way.
Until the day before college, I was at the
Mom was going with me and took me to the
lab to get my final physical.
Then I got called to the office.
Mikey was in there.
“No, there’s nothing I can do here, just like
last time!”
That really upset me.
But for some reason, the police came.
It was a terrible place to get summoned to.
Later, I had to call the Dean to figure out
what the point of the summons was.
Mikey was already in there, having an
examination.
