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She gets up and heads to the dining room and sits down to eat. I stand in the corner, wondering if I’m going to get to eat anything that I cooked tonight. It smells so good too. I have to consciously remind myself to not drool.
Grrrrrrrrrrgggghhhh.
My stomach growls loudly, and I immediately stiffen.
I look at my mother as she slams down her utensils. She looks up at me with pure anger, and I shrink into myself. I don’t say a word, knowing that no matter what, it would be wrong.
“I can’t even eat a meal in peace! You always have to ruin everything, don’t you? All I want is quiet, and you have the audacity to ruin it! You can go to your room for now, and I’ll let you know when you can come to clean up the food. You don’t get anything today except toast. Not garlic bread, just to clarify.”
I turn around, wistfully looking at the food in the kitchen that I slaved over, that I can no longer eat. I was looking forward to a nice dinner. Maybe even leftovers if I could sneak some tonight. As I head up the stairs, my stomach grumbles again. I sigh, thinking this isn’t the first time that she has done this, and it won’t be the last.
* * *
SLAP.
“How dare you waste all that food?! You are such a fucking nuisance. Why did I even keep you around? All you do is remind me that you are the reason he left. You are what made him leave! You don’t get anything to eat. Maybe not getting to eat tonight will help you understand to be more careful next time in preparing food. Food isn’t cheap. Now get your fucking ass up the goddamn stairs. I don’t even want to look at you, the fucking mistake you are.”
* * *
It’s a wonder I’m still alive at this point, honestly. I barely eat enough to survive. Since I’m in my room for a bit, I grab one of the SAT study packets that the teachers passed out from my backpack and start studying. I’m going to get perfect scores and have my pick of colleges I want to go to. These scores are critical this year.
It’s all easy. I had nothing better to do during the summers than learn, so I’m already well past this stuff. These are the most advanced classes they have. Ending my junior year with the highest GPA, I was super proud of myself.
I don’t even think Mom knows anything about my schooling. As long as she doesn’t need to be called into school, she doesn’t really give a shit. I want to keep my GPA up and remain at the top of the class again. I need to get away from her and this town, and having a high GPA is the first step. High SAT and/or ACT scores are second.
I donothave time to waste my time thinking of those four gorgeous boys from school.
“Come clean this shit up!” Mom yells from downstairs.
Making my way down the stairs, I trip down one of the carpeted steps. Luckily, I catch myself with the railing. I sit down on the steps, trying to regain my composure. I’m super lightheaded and feel like I have no strength now.
Come on, Paisley. You need to get up and head downstairs. You know the consequences if you don’t get up. Put one foot in front of the other and take it one step at a time. No matter what, you know you can do this. This is not the worst that you have been through. Now stand up and take that first step.
I force myself up, holding onto the railing all the way down. Using the wall to help keep myself upright, I make it into the kitchen, taking a lot longer than I should have. I put the leftovers in some containers, write when they will go bad on top, and throw them in the refrigerator.
Then I grab the pot, pan, and baking sheet I used to make dinner, throw them in the sink, and quickly wash them so I can head back upstairs. After I finish washing them, I set them to air dry.
I grab some bread and pop it into the toaster. This is all I’ve had for dinner for the past four nights. No matter what I do, I always mess up, and I’m not allowed to have dinner.
CHAPTER5
KADE
Walking into the game room,I throw my stuff on the floor. Sighing, I pull my hair out of its bun and run my hand through my short wavy hair.
Today was stressful for me. Spending half of the day away from half of my brothers took its toll on me. While I do love being around people, it takes me a few weeks to get used to them. I need my brothers to be sort of like a buffer for me so I can get a feel for who is who and who I will vibe with best.
Instead, today, everyone just stared at us and whispered behind our backs. It didn’t help my anxiety, and I struggled in all of my classes. I couldn’t focus on any of my teachers and wasn’t really even able to take notes in English class. I’ll have to talk to the guys and ask them for their notes. Hopefully they took some decent ones, and I can fill in where I blanked.
Shaking my thoughts away, I pay attention to the conversation that the guys are having.
“Atlas and I have third period with her, and when we introduced ourselves we asked her name, some kid asked us why we were talking to trash and then dumped paint on her. She ran out of class after that. Eventually they let it slip that her name was Paisley, though,” Mateo says.
My twin clears his throat, getting our attention. I loathe when he does that. It comes off dickish and rude. I know he doesn’t mean it that way, but it’s always how I take it. Just because we are twins doesn’t mean we are the same. He is literally my exact opposite in every way. I’m outgoing, love talking, and love sports. Atlas is the silent observer, who sticks to our little group and likes to just read books.
“Something strange is going on with the school. Did anyone else notice?” questions Atlas.
“People looked at us funny in the hallways and whispered behind our backs. Hopefully, it’s just because we are new,” I tell the guys.
