Chapter 2
I didn’t want to be a dog. I’d rather fend for myself with my mom.
I took the $300 I had stolen from home and returned to my hometown. My mom lived in resettlement housing, still unemployed, surviving on welfare.
My mom didn’t welcome me. She snatched away the $300 I had, then told me to get lost, to go find my dad.
In that moment, my whole world collapsed.
I was unwanted.
In my mind, the thoughts of ‘suicide’ and ‘clinging to life’ were like two little people pulling desperately at each other. In the end, I gritted my teeth and returned to the place where I was treated like a dog.
Waiting for me were cold mockery and sarcasm. My dad beat me, saying I was up to no good, running away from home.
A few days later, Olivia finally discovered her allowance was missing.
My dad was about to beat me again, telling me to hand over the money. I shouted that my mom had taken the money, if he had the guts he should go ask her for it!
My dad fell silent and let go of me.
That night, Bella covered my mouth with one hand and viciously pinched my thigh over a dozen times with the other. I was in so much pain I broke out in a cold sweat.
I struggled and bit down hard on the webbing between her thumb and index finger. I asked her: “My mom was your best friend. Aren’t you afraid of going to hell for treating me like this?”
She sneered: “Your mom doesn’t even care about you. What do I have to be afraid of?”
I was momentarily speechless.
I went to the bathroom and took off my pants to look. My thigh was covered in bruises.
After that day…
It was as if Bella had discovered a new world. Whenever she was in a bad mood, she would pinch my thighs.
This spot was good - hidden, wouldn’t be seen by others.
Olivia’s grades weren’t good. She had been below average in our class before, and remained below average at her new school.
Bella felt embarrassed, especially after comparing Olivia’s grades to mine. She would curse loudly at home…
“Look at you! All the family’s money is spent on you, and what’s the result? As stupid as a pig! Can’t even do better than Zoe! I’m telling you, if you don’t score higher than her next time, don’t call me mom anymore!”…
Olivia hated me.
Besides secretly cutting holes in my pants, hiding needles in my coat, she would also steal my homework notebooks, tear up my textbooks, pour ink on my books…
This went on for several years.
One night, after I finished washing up and was about to apply face cream, I noticed obvious signs of tampering in the baby lotion, with a faint smell of nail polish remover. I hesitated for a moment, then decisively scooped out a dollop of cream and applied it to my face.
My face immediately felt like it was on fire.
To be honest, compared to my dad hitting me or Bella pulling my hair, this really wasn’t much. But I screamed and ran into the bathroom to look in the mirror.
My cheeks turned red at a visible rate, with countless small rashes appearing on the skin surface.
I angrily ran back to the bedroom, scooped out a large glob of cream, and lunged at Olivia to smear it on her face.
Olivia screamed too.
My dad and Bella rushed in and pulled me away to save Olivia. I shouted at my dad, accusing him of favoritism, asking if he would only be happy once Olivia killed me.
Bella was very calm. She interrupted me, saying we should go to the hospital first, that a girl’s face couldn’t be ruined.
My dad nodded.
Then they took me to a clinic.
Again, a clinic… They had just said we’d go to the hospital, but we ended up at a clinic.
Hah, all these years, every time Olivia got sick it was the big hospital, while for me it was always the small clinic.
That’s right, Olivia was the precious darling who couldn’t risk anything going wrong. I was just a pebble on the roadside - keeping me barely alive was enough.
The doctor asked what I had used.
I angrily pointed at Olivia and shouted that it was the baby lotion she had poisoned.
Bella rushed forward and slapped me across the face, saying I was talking nonsense, that I was just a child making baseless accusations without seeing anything!
The clinic fell silent. Everyone looked at us.
I planted both hands on the doctor’s desk, my chest heaving violently. I bit my lip as big teardrops fell onto the desk…
People around us pointed and whispered, saying Bella had hit me too hard.
Bella panicked and explained that things had happened so suddenly, that she was just worried I would develop bad habits.
The result of this incident was…
Bella gave me $50 to buy a new bottle of baby lotion, telling me to keep the change as pocket money and not to talk about this outside.
My dad finally gave up the facade of family harmony and fairness, telling me to live in the school dorms.