Who did he think he was?
I remembered him asking about the bear. I
had lied, saying I was so heartbroken I
needed something to hold onto.
I pulled away from him, spitting out one word:
“Get out!”
He froze. Before he could speak, his phone
rang. He hesitated, then answered.
It was his mother.
Her loud, harsh voice pierced my ears.
<
“Ethan, I told you to stay away from that jinx.
Olivia’s back, what are you still clinging to her
for?”
“Come home and be with Olivia. That jinx
upset her.”
She always disliked me, thought I was bad
luck, not good enough for her precious son.
She preferred Olivia, who she’d known since
she was a child.
She despised my mom for not being able to
keep her husband, unlike her, who
successfully drove away the first wife.
But how could she be sure she knew what
<
Olivia had been up to all these years?
He hung up, but the phone rang again, and
again.
After countless calls, Ethan slipped away.
As soon as he was gone, I struggled to pick
up the scattered stuffing.
I found the small bottle in the grass.
It was filled with tiny, colorful stars, each one
with something written on it.
I poured them into my hand, trying to read
them.
<
A diamond ring rolled out, our initials
engraved inside.
Kevin loves Sarah.
He had wanted to marry me.
My steps grew heavy, and I collapsed into the
grass.
Memories flooded back.
After my mom died, I was suicidal.
She had become a different person after my
dad’s affair.
<
To get his attention, she started hurting me,
dousing me with cold water in the winter,
making me sick, just so he would come see
- me.
When it worked, she escalated, hoping my
pain would earn his pity.
When he finally saw through her, she took her
anger out on me, beating me, telling me I was
useless, wishing I was a boy.
Then she got pregnant and pushed me away,
afraid my bad luck would affect her precious
son.
