- 2.
I was sure now, my unease wasn’t just me
being weird.
She was definitely hostile towards me.
But I could get it. She’d suffered all these
years away from home, then comes back to
see her bio parents raising another kid,
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showering her with attention. That had to
sting.
I was about to explain, “Brittany, actually,
I’m…”
Brittany suddenly started crying even louder.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have come back. I’m just
messing up your happy little family, aren’t I?”
Dad instantly panicked. “Brittany, what are
you talking about? Your mother and I have
been waiting for you for years! We’re thrilled
you’re home. What kind of parents want their
kid to suffer out there?”
Brittany looked at Dad, all helpless. “Really?”
“Of course!”
Hearing that made her smile. She hugged Dad
tight, snuggling her head against his shoulder.
“Thanks, Daddy.”
Mom and Dad instantly looked relieved.
The next second, she popped out with it:
“Now that I’m home, doesn’t that mean sis
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should go back where she came from?”
The air in the room instantly froze. All you
could hear was people breathing.
She looked at Mom with these hopeful eyes.
Mom looked away without thinking.
Dad faked a sip of his coffee to avoid her
gaze.
She finally realized something was up, and
her face went all panicked. “Dad, did I say
something wrong?”
But I caught a glimpse of annoyance in her
eyes before she panicked. I blinked.
Dad cleared his throat. “Two daughters would
make your mother and I so proud. We won’t
be changing anything.”
Mom chimed in, “Yeah, you just got back.
Kayla can help you get adjusted to
everything.”
Brittany didn’t seem to expect her request to
be shot down so fast. She looked at me
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without thinking.
I smiled at her. “Sure.”
Then I grabbed my bat and headed out the
door.
I heard Mom behind me. “Kayla! Kayla!”
