Chapter 3

3

Seeing that I refused to leave, they retaliated.

They purposely refused to cook meals for me and forced me to sleep on the living room sofa.

While I was sound asleep, sour water hit my face and woke me up.

I opened my eyes to see my little nephew blasting me with the exact water gun I had bought for him.

He sprayed me while shouting insults.

"Shameless parasite! Coming home to mooch off everyone! Loser! Shame on you!"

"I don't want your junk anymore! Get out of my house!"

I grabbed his arm and demanded, "What do you mean you don't want my junk anymore?"

He stuck his tongue out at me. "Mom said everything you own belongs to me! But now that you're in debt, I don't want it, or bad luck will rub off on me!"

I scolded him with a couple of stern words.

Instantly, he threw himself on the floor, wailing that I hit him.

My sister-in-law threw dirty dishwater in my face and told me to get lost.

Nolan raised his fist to punch me.

With a swift motion, I grabbed Nolan by his collar and pinned him down.

My parents, who had been watching coldly, exploded with fury.

Dad, always hot-tempered, rushed over and shoved me.

Mom, who never engaged in physical fights, ran into the yard and grabbed a shovel, ready to strike me.

After a heated screaming match, I slammed the door and stormed out.

After walking away, I wandered around the small town for a while.

As I passed a two-story house, a comb dropped from a second-floor balcony.

I picked it up and looked up to see a heavily made-up woman smiling down at me.

When I returned the comb to her, she insisted on treating me to dinner.

Her overwhelming enthusiasm gave me the creeps.

I quickly made my exit, assuming that was the end of it.

To my surprise, when I returned home, I saw her walking out of my family's house, giving me an unsettling, flirtatious smirk.

Before I could figure out what she was doing there, my family dragged me inside with sudden, unnatural warmth.

They apologized, claiming their previous hostility had just been an act to surprise me.

I decided to play along, taking the drinks Nolan and Dad handed me and gulping them down.

I wanted to see what sinister game they were playing.

The moment I heard them talking about loading me onto a cart, I snapped my eyes open.