The Whole Family's Rebirth, Protecting Me

It was like my whole family had been born again.

They acted like they knew the truth, like they understood that the fake daughter, the one they'd coddled, would eventually run the family fortune into the ground with her loser boyfriend.

They'd end up trapped in their own mansion by that lowlife, tortured until they died.

And it would be me, the real daughter they'd thrown out years ago, who'd have to bury them.

Right now, Chrissy Cunningham was acting all innocent after bullying me, tears welling up as she clutched Mom's hand.

"I know Ashley hates me," she choked out, "and I can take whatever she throws at me, just please don't make me leave you, Mom."

She was so busy putting on her act that she didn't notice Mom's face turning colder.

She had no idea her gravy train was about to derail.

...

Chrissy Cunningham had been making my life hell for almost a month.

On the surface, she played the scared little victim, always saying stuff like, "Please don't kick me out" and "I'd never try to take your parents away from you, Ashley."

But behind my back, she was the one cornering me, slapping me around, and forcing me to kneel.

She'd grab my hair and make me drink dirty water from the street.

She and her deadbeat boyfriend even tore my clothes and dumped a can of moldy fruit cocktail on my head.

I tried going to the cops, but my brother, Jake, showed up instantly, telling me I was blowing things out of proportion.

"Chrissy's just messing around," he said. "You're acting like it's the end of the world. I regret even bringing you home."

I told my teacher, Mrs. Davison, who called a class meeting to get to the bottom of it.

But the kids in class were all terrified of Chrissy's boyfriend, so they twisted the truth, saying:

"Mrs. Davison, I never saw Chrissy bully Ashley. It's Ashley who's been bullying Chrissy."

"Yeah, she's super mean. I've seen Ashley make Chrissy cry a bunch of times."

"Ashley's always been a real jerk, looking down on everyone."

"She even hit Chrissy, but Chrissy didn't want us to say anything, because Ashley's her sister."

Facing all those lying faces, I repeated the truth over and over.

But my explanations sounded weak and pathetic.

Finally, Mrs. Davison called my parents, telling them to take me home and straighten me out.

Soon, Mom showed up with a couple of people.

Chrissy immediately burst into tears and threw herself into Mom's arms, trembling.

"I know Ashley hates me," she said. "I can take whatever she throws at me, just please don't make me leave you."

I watched her in silence, feeling a mix of resentment and, yeah, envy.

When someone gets that kind of blind love, the truth just doesn't matter.

Three months ago, it came out that I was the real daughter, but Chrissy Cunningham got all the sympathy.

I remember walking into the mansion that day, all skinny and sunburned, and feeling totally out of place next to my family.

Dad said, "Don't worry, Chrissy, you can keep living here. You'll always be Mom and Dad's little princess."

Mom told me, "Chrissy's innocent. She was abandoned by her real parents, which makes her even more pitiful than you are."

Even my brother, Jake, who used to always protect me, pulled Chrissy behind him with a wary look.

"I'm warning you, don't bring any of your country bumpkin habits around Chrissy," he said. "She's so pure, she doesn't understand anything."

I stood there, stunned, like I'd done something wrong, and let them scold me.

I was dragging this woven sack I'd brought from the farm, full of potatoes I'd grown myself, wanting them to try them.

But Chrissy just coughed when she saw the sack, and Jake immediately told the maid to throw it out without a second thought.

I stared at them, speechless, and managed to choke out, "They're clean."

But no one paid any attention. They were all fawning over Chrissy, making sure she knew she was still their irreplaceable little princess, even with me there.

But no one knew that for me, it felt like being abandoned all over again.

I can't even explain how I felt during that time.

I had to force myself to focus on school and give up on wanting their love.

Now, looking at the way Mom's eyes were twitching, I took a deep breath and said, "I didn't do anything. She's been bullying me. She slaps me, kicks my knees, and makes me kneel..."

"You're lying!"

Chrissy interrupted me, all worked up.

"How could you try to frame me like that? I didn't even bring up the other stuff you did. Oh, Mom, you have to stick up for me!"

"I regret ever having you as a daughter," Mom said darkly, and I'd never seen her look so angry.

A flicker of happiness flashed in Chrissy's eyes. She lifted her chin, looking smug.

"See, Ashley, you made Mom mad again. If you just admitted you were wrong and apologized, I'd forgive you. But you have to be stubborn, so now Mom's going to cut your allowance again?"

She was so busy acting that she didn't see Mom's glare getting colder and colder.

"Chrissy Cunningham, I was talking about you."

Mom turned on her suddenly.

Meeting her shocked stare, Mom took my hand, her eyes full of disgust and hate for Chrissy.

"We've raised you out of the goodness of our hearts, and you, a daughter from another family, dare to accuse my own flesh and blood."

"Apologize to Ashley, now."

Saying that in front of everyone was like a slap in the face for Chrissy.

Mom had never even raised her voice to Chrissy before, so she stared with wide eyes, not believing what she was hearing.

Tears welled up instantly, and she whined, "Why? Mom, you've got to be mistaken. Why would I apologize to Ashley? And how can you say I'm someone else's daughter? You're hurting my feelings! I'll never forget what you said today!"

Mom didn't even bother to look at her. Her fingers trembled as she touched my face gently.

"It's okay, honey. Mom's going to make up for everything you went through. Come on, let's go home and talk."

Chrissy was practically grinding her teeth. She stomped her foot, watching me follow Mom to the car with pure hatred.

Even as the car started, Chrissy screamed, "I'm not coming home tonight! I'm going to run away and starve to death!"

But all she got back was the dust kicked up as the car drove off.

And she really didn't come home that night.

She even had the housekeeper tell Mom that she was staying with her boyfriend.

Before, Mom would have blown a gasket and demanded that they find her, even skipping dinner.

But this time, she told the housekeeper not to look for her.

Dad and Jake were both out on business, and Mom stared at the family picture on the wall for a long time, like she was in a trance.

Finally, she looked up, and her eyes were dark.

"Tell her that we support all her decisions from now on. It's just a boyfriend, whatever. As long as she's happy, let her do what she wants."

That night, Mom did something she never did, cooking all my favorite dishes and forcing a few black credit cards on me, telling me I could spend the money however I wanted.

The housekeeper winked, showing me the number 8 with her fingers. When I didn't get it, she mouthed, "Millions."

And Mom said, out of nowhere, that she knew everything that had happened.

"Ashley, give Mom a chance to make it up to you, my sweetheart."

The next morning, Chrissy came back, all smiles.

I'd just washed a small bowl of strawberries to snack on while I studied.

I saw her and tried to ignore her and head upstairs, but she blocked my way.

"I just told Mom on the phone that I wanted strawberries, and here you are, bringing them to me."

She gave me a nasty look, reaching out to take the bowl like it was hers by right. "Thanks, Ashley."

She made sure to emphasize my first name.

Even though I was home and back to being the real daughter, she always called me Ashley.

Being cornered by her like that made me feel suffocated.

"I'm not giving them to you. Wash your own if you want some."

I tried to get past her, but she grabbed the bowl from my hands.

"You think you're all that because Mom stood up for you yesterday? Guess what? She even agreed to let me date Arnie if I stayed in this family. Can't you tell she likes me better?"

"I'm telling you, everything in this house belongs to me. Try to take it, and you'll see what you're up against."

She loosened her grip, and the bowl crashed to the floor, shattering.

Just then, Jake walked in, startled.

"What's going on? What happened?"

"Jake," Chrissy said, her eyes welling up. "I don't know what got into Ashley, but she just threw a bowl in front of me on purpose. It scared me half to death."

I'd heard Jake used to spoil Chrissy rotten.

One time, she mentioned that "a boy in class wouldn't stop touching me," and Jake went ballistic.

He spent the whole night on the phone after finding out who it was.

The next day, someone ambushed the kid on his way to school, and he couldn't get out of bed for two weeks.

If Chrissy wanted a doll, all she had to do was glance at the window of a toy store.

Before nightfall, every doll in the window would be in her room.

Not only I could tell, but Chrissy knew that Jake had feelings for her, something more than brotherly love.

For Jake, she was a trophy, something he owned, that made him feel good.

He couldn't let that trophy go.

Before, he would have sided with Chrissy without question, scolding me and telling me to apologize.

But this time, he pulled his arm away from Chrissy, looking confused.

"I had this weird dream last night," he said, shaking his head. "Or maybe it wasn't a dream...I don't know. I need to calm down. I'm going upstairs to rest."

Chrissy's hand was still hanging in the air, and her eyes narrowed.

"What's going on?"

She stared at Jake's back, looking frustrated.

Yeah, she used to have Jake wrapped around her finger.

Even though Chrissy didn't like Jake, she loved the way he doted on her.

He was like a handsome possession that made her feel safe, and she wouldn't let him go.

"Ashley, you witch. What are you looking at?"

She shoved me hard and stomped upstairs.

Chrissy stayed in her room all day, only calling the housekeeper to bring her food.

The weird thing was that Mom and Jake knew, but none of them tried to talk to her.

Jake was all dazed and confused all day, avoiding my eyes when he saw me.

That night, I walked past his room and saw him blow-drying his hair.

He stopped after a few seconds, tilted his head back, and sighed.

I heard something coming from Chrissy's room next door, and I instinctively hid.

I peeked and saw that Chrissy was wearing a silky nightgown, showing a lot of skin.

She had on a full face of makeup, made to look like she wasn't wearing any. She walked to Jake's door.

Jake looked shocked when he saw her. "What are you doing here? Don't come in."

But Chrissy barged in anyway.

"Jake, why haven't you talked to me all day? Do you know how sad that made me?"

"You used to love me."

Before, Jake would have been worried sick, wanting to hold her and comfort her.

But tonight, he acted like a different person, hating her being there.

"Chrissy, have some respect and put some clothes on!"

"What are you doing in my room at this time of night? Get out of here!"

I was so worried that I couldn't help but run into the room.

Chrissy was hugging Jake's arm, and Jake was trying to push her away, looking disgusted.

They saw me, and Jake lost it, throwing Chrissy to the floor.

"Ashley, that's not what it looks like..."

Chrissy was on the floor, looking shocked.

I knew what to do. I covered my eyes and backed away. "It's okay, I understand. I didn't see anything."

"Ashley, I didn't make a good impression before. I'll change. I'll give you whatever you want."

He turned to Chrissy and yelled, "I'm going to pretend this didn't happen. Get out of my room now."

He yanked Chrissy up and threw her out the door.

Chrissy was frustrated. She finally realized something was wrong.

She sat on the floor for a long time before finally grabbing her phone.

The person on the other end was a guy. She covered her mouth as she talked, walking back to her room.

Just as she was closing the door, I heard her say, "I don't know what she did, but Mom and Jake have changed. I guess I was being too nice. I have to teach her a lesson."

When I woke up the next day, I opened the door and saw a whole rack of clothes.

The price tags were insane.

The housekeeper told me that Jake had bought them for me.

He didn't know what I liked, so he bought everything.

Before I could even look at the clothes, the housekeeper brought in a ton of stuffed animals, piling them on my bed.

The housekeeper knew what was going on. She'd always been helpless to do anything, but now she had the chance. She made sure Chrissy heard her when she said, "Ashley, Jake really loves you. He only brought gifts for you."

Chrissy walked over with a blank face and said, "Who cares about this junk? No taste at all. A hillbilly is still a hillbilly, no matter how you dress them up."

During breakfast, Mom and Jake kept pouring me soup, giving me all the special treatment that Chrissy used to get.

Chrissy finally interrupted.

"Mom, the school's doing a summer camp for gifted kids. I want to sign up. The fee is due today, eight grand."

Mom turned to me. "Ashley, do you want to sign up?"

"Mom," Chrissy said, looking down her nose at me, "it's for gifted students. Regular kids won't get anything out of it. They won't be able to keep up."

"I wasn't asking you."

Mom glared at her and turned to me. "Ashley, you should go too. I'll give you another hundred thousand, so you can study or just go on vacation. We can afford it."

Chrissy froze. Then she said, "What about me? How much are you giving me?"