Chapter 3

3.

My body was covered in purple bruises. My elbows were scraped raw, and my face throbbed.

When I got home, my parents were huddled around Bennett, asking if he was okay.

They were eating dinner, and when I walked in, they didn't ask a single question.

I felt a wave of nausea. As I tried to slip into my room, Bennett called out.

"Willa, where do you think you're going? Get over here. You're washing the dishes later."

My body was screaming in pain, but I couldn't fight back. I walked over without a word.

Mom finally spoke, her voice cold as ice. "A girl is a girl. Never a moment of peace. Getting beaten like that... you probably deserved it."

Dad's expression darkened too. "Willa, from now on, you are forbidden from being number one."

Looking at Bennett's smug face, sixteen years of suppressed rage finally boiled over. For the first time, I screamed.

"Why? Why do you always treat me like this?"

Tears poured down my face. I couldn't stop them.

"I didn't do anything wrong! I'm the one getting the grades, and I'm the one getting beaten! Is it really just because I'm a girl?"

I looked at this "happy" family and screamed out the despair buried in my soul.

Dad slammed his fork onto the table, his face twisted in disbelief. "You're asking why? You think you're even worth half of what your brother is?"

Mom chimed in from the side, "You're looking for another beating, aren't you? If it weren't for your brother, we would have tossed you in the trash years ago! You think your wings are strong enough to talk back now?"

"I'm not... I didn't..." I sobbed.

"Don't lie to me! Bennett should have hit you harder! Willa, since you're so full of opinions now, are you seeing some boy? Tell me!"

"What little brat put these ideas in your head? You're supposed to stay pure so we can get a good marriage settlement for you! Are you messing around out there? Is that why you look like trash!"

Mom got angrier as she spoke. she lunged forward and kicked me.

I wasn't ready. The kick landed right on my stomach, hitting the old bruises. I curled into a ball, my knuckles turning white as I gripped my gut.

But the pain in my heart was far worse than the pain in my body.

My heart felt like it was being ripped apart. As my parents continued to shout and hit me, I finally realized something.

No matter what I did, they would never be satisfied.

As long as I was a girl, I would never be able to hold my head up in this house.

I looked out the window. Dark clouds were pressing down, making it hard to breathe. A moment later, a torrential rain began to fall, blurring the world outside into a watery mess.

Inside, the laughter of Bennett and my parents filled the room.

I hid in the shadows, looking like an outsider. It was like they were a real family, and I was just a stray dog they had taken in.

I walked out of the house, my body feeling heavy with exhaustion.

Sitting on the porch steps, I watched the thick curtain of rain. The world felt pitch black. There was no light, no hope. The summer heat was suffocating.

Maybe I really was the most useless person in this family.

I didn't deserve love. And when the storm came, no one was willing to hold an umbrella for me.

Gradually, I felt the rain stop hitting me. A small shadow appeared on the ground.

I looked up and gasped, "Ms. Zimmerman?"