Forgotten Kinship - Chapter 3

I put my phone away and enjoyed the nature.

I was so surprised to see such a massive forest. The sky was so blue. I wondered why I had to be stuck in my house with Ashley, trying to win Mom and Dad’s attention.

Those wasted attempts were a big bummer. I wanted to travel, see new places, and read books. There were other things that I wanted to discover.

So I stopped being sad and started paying attention to the world around me. At lunchtime, I got back to the hotel and saw a bunch of missed calls.

Half were from my parents and one was from Ashley. I didn’t call them back. Instead, I checked my messages.

Like I thought, Mom was mad and Dad was comparing me to Ashley.

“Why would you say that to Ashley? She’s your stepsister!”

“Stop competing with her. We’re your parents. Isn’t that enough?”

“When are you going to learn to be more like Ashley? I’m really disappointed in you!”

Then Ashley texted: “I’m really sorry. It’s my fault. Mom and Dad had to come back because I wasn’t feeling well. Please don’t be mad!”

I didn’t say anything. I just replied to each of them:

“I’m not mad. I’ll be back when I’m ready.”

Soon, I got another notification.

Mom texted: “Relax. I was just worried. Here’s some money for you.”

They always did that. They would yell at me because of Ashley and then give me money.

It was their way of saying sorry. I knew she was waiting for me to say that I wasn’t mad and that it was my fault.

But I didn’t reply. I didn’t want to miss the last chance I had to go on vacation.

I wanted to see new places by myself.