After taking out the paternity test, both mothers panicked
Chapter One
Mom treated me like dirt, but she worshipped
my cousin, Brittany.
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From the time I could walk, I was doing chores,
and if I messed up, I got a beating.
Brittany got to wear princess dresses and take
piano lessons, all while her mom and dad doted
on her.
Then, one night, Mom got drunk at Brittany’s
birthday party and spilled a secret: I was
swapped at birth.
I wasn’t Mom’s kid; I was Aunt Carol’s.
I was thrilled and couldn’t wait to tell Aunt Carol
the news, but she just laughed, a cold, mean
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laugh.
“You think I didn’t know? I don’t want you. You’ll
never be my daughter.”
It felt like someone dumped a bucket of ice
water on me.
I didn’t get it. Why didn’t either of them want me? But from then on, I stopped hoping for any
kind of love.
Until I got into MIT, and I slapped two DNA
tests on the table. Then, they both started to
sweat.
- 1.
“Ashley, where the heck are you? Didn’t I tell
you it was Brittany’s birthday party?”
I jumped, slamming my textbook shut and
shoving it back on the shelf.
く
Mom barged in, her face twisted with disgust.
Seeing me standing there, looking like a scared
rabbit, she sneered.
“You’re such a loser. You’re nothing like
Brittany. What are you hiding in here for? Get
going!”
I trailed after her, trying to keep up. I stumbled,
and Mom yanked my arm so hard I nearly fell.
Mom hated me.
I knew it as long as I could remember, even my
name sounded like a curse coming from her
mouth.
Aunt Carol always said it was because my real
dad was a deadbeat. He walked out on her, so
Mom took it out on me.
So, I tried to be invisible, to avoid making her
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mad. I aced every test, handing her the perfect
scores.
She’d rip them up and throw them in my face.
“You could study your whole life and still never
be as good as Brittany!” she’d snarl.
I choked back the tears and tried even harder. I
wanted to prove her wrong.
I wasn’t a screw–up; I could be as good as
Brittany.
But Mom threw away my pencils and
notebooks, handing me a mop and broom.
“Instead of studying, you can clean this house.
From now on, you’re doing the floors, and
you’re learning to cook! You think I’m running a
charity here?”
Even the one thing I was good at, the thing I
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could use to prove myself, she ripped away.
I guess when you’re born unwanted, you can never measure up to a kid who’s loved.
That’s what I realized when we got to Aunt
Carol’s.
Brittany was wearing a fancy dress and a little
tiara, getting ready to cut her birthday cake
with her perfect, popular friends.
I couldn’t even bring myself to take off my
shoes at the door.
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My socks had holes, and my sneakers were
falling apart. If I moved too fast, the soles might
come completely off.
Mom saw me hesitating and got even madder.
She yelled about how embarrassing I was,
tossing me a pair of Dad’s old work boots.
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Then, she turned on the charm, handing Brittany her present with a big smile.
“Brittany, honey, Happy Birthday! Aunt Carol got you that diamond bracelet you wanted.”
The diamonds sparkled on Brittany’s wrist, making her look like a real princess.
I felt a pang of envy. Brittany and I had the same birthday, but I never got presents, let alone diamond bracelets.
Brittany said thanks, and Mom beamed.
“Brittany’s so smart and sweet. Unlike that
deadbeat, she acts like she has a brain in her
head.”
I stared at the shiny floor, seeing my skinny
shadow reflected back, like some kind of rat
creeping around, trying to steal someone else’s
happiness.
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8:25
Brittany’s friends gave me weird looks. They
asked Brittany how old I was, if I was still in
elementary school.
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We were actually in the same middle school,
but I didn’t talk to anyone. I sat at the back of
the class.
Nobody wanted to be my friend because I wore
old clothes that didn’t fit, and I never said
anything. They said I was dirty and smelled like
garbage.
Brittany glanced at me and explained, “No,
we’re the same age. Let’s cut the cake.”
Aunt Carol saw me standing awkwardly and
came over, gently telling me to cut the cake
with Brittany.
Standing next to Brittany only made me feel
worse about myself.
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8:26
One of the kids wrinkled her nose and said,
“Ew, what’s that smell?”
I flinched.
Everyone started sniffing the air. Brittany
frowned. “Ashley, is that you? Maybe you
should go take a shower.”
I looked down at my clothes, but I just had a
shower, so how could I smell?
“It’s not me…” Then I saw the boots I was
wearing.
“Is that the smell of the boots?”
