Sarah had been back in the Smith’s family for
all of three days, before she got hit by a car.
Everyone thought that I did it, no matter how
much I tried to tell them I didn’t.
In the eyes of the Smiths, and of Jake, I was a
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12:33
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conniving user, willing to do anything to stay on
top.
They all looked at me with cold, judgemental
eyes.
“Mark,” I whispered.
Mark didn’t reply, just looked past me, at the
scene in the room.
He saw Jake and Sarah leaning close, looking
at a book. He got the picture.
He grabbed my arm, not caring how I felt, and
dragged me to the far end of the hallway.
“Ashley, I know what you’re doing. You’re
jealous of Sarah and Jake, aren’t you?”
I laughed, which was a little bit crazy. I was
supposed to be Jake’s girlfriend, and now I was
getting interrogated?
“Shouldn’t I be jealous? Jake is my boyfriend!”
I said through gritted teeth.
“Ha!” Mark scoffed. “Ashley, you’re so
delusional!”
“You came into the Smith’s family, took over
Sarah’s life for eleven years. Do you think that’s
just something you can do without any
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12:33
consequences?”
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“You should wake up! Everything you have, it all
belongs to Sarah, so you better back off. If you
just do that, then we can treat you like we used
to.”
Like they used to? They adopted me and made
me feel like I wasn’t good enough. They always
blamed me for everything.
No matter what I did, it was never good enough,
because I wasn’t Sarah!
My eyes burned, and I asked the question that
had plagued me for so long.
“It wasn’t my idea to come to the Smiths. Your
parents chose to adopt me. Now that Sarah’s
back, I’m okay with leaving, giving everything
back. So why won’t you let me go?”
Mark stared at me like I was an idiot.
“Why? You think we like having you around? Of
course it’s not because we care about you, it’s
about the Smith’s image!”
My head was spinning. I almost fell.
So that was it… The Smiths didn’t want to look
bad by booting their foster daughter out now
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12:33
that the real one was back.
They were just going to keep me stuck here,
watching Sarah take everything I had, with my
family.
They’d always seen me as a stand–in, a
substitute without a heart.
- 3.
I stayed in the hospital for three days. Nobody
came to see me.
I dragged my suitcase back to the mansion. It was the same as when I left, cold and lonely. Jake probably wasn’t even here. He was always
with Sarah now.
I took some medicine and went to lie on a
lounger by the pool. After a while, I felt a
shadow falling over me.
It was Sarah, wearing her fake smile.
“Hey, Ashley. Just wanted to say thank you for
being so kind, giving your spot in that program,
you know, all the work you put into it, you gave
it to me.”
“How did you get in?” I asked, instantly
regretting it.
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<
The only people with keys to the mansion were Jake and me. Jake, of course, gave her one too. She giggled and waved her hand, “You know, Jake gave me a key. He’s been staying with me these last few days. He had stuff to do, and
asked me to pick up some of his clothes.” The whole situation felt so gross.
I held my breath, not wanting to deal with Sarah. “Go up to the second floor. Get what
you need and leave.”
Sarah took a seat by the edge of the pool, and
kicked her feet in the water.
“Ashley, I heard you can’t swim, so I wonder,
who was Jake building the pool for?”
“And did you know, I love to swim, and I even won championships!”
Her words stabbed me. I did my best to stay
calm, “You do you. You’re struggling so hard,
maybe getting some exercise will do your
parents a favor.”
Sarah’s face went red. She jumped up; and
glared at me.
I rolled my eyes, getting up to go inside.
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As I walked past her, she grabbed my arm and
pulled me hard.
I fell into the pool.
Instantly, two figures appeared on the poolside,
grabbing Sarah and me.
Before I could even figure out what was
happening, Sarah was crying. “Mom, Dad,
Ashley tried to push me in! And my cramps, they’re still not great!”
“I didn’t! She…“, I managed to say, before Mr.
and Mrs. Smith glared at me.
“Mark told us you went to the hospital, Ashley. Why so mean?”
“What did Sarah do to you? You keep going after her. Are you trying to kill her?”
The accusations came fast and furious. I was
looking at the ground like I used to. Too scared
to say anything.
Mrs. Smith was practically poking me in the
eye, and Mr. Smith was even more aggressive. “Ungrateful brat.”
He wasn’t even done, kicking me hard, sending
me tumbling into the pool.
<
It was a deep pool, about six and a half feet. I
couldn’t swim. I kicked and thrashed, but I was
sinking.
I saw my family walking back into the house,
the three of them talking and laughing.
“It’s just a pool, won’t kill her. It’s good to
show the wanna–be murderer how it feels!”
My body was like a leaf, floating to the bottom.
I was swallowed by the cold and the bitterness.
I just died here, that would really suck, because
I haven’t even met my real parents yet.
I wondered, would they love me like the Smiths
loved Sarah, without any strings attached?
Splash!
A dark shape was in the water, quickly dragging
me up.
I coughed up water, blinking. I saw a face that
was kind of familiar.
“Jake…” It was him.
For a moment, I felt warm, like maybe he did
care about me, a little.
But then, he let go, and I landed hard on the
freezing tiles, bruising myself.
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“Ashley, what is your deal? You hurt Sarah in
the car crash, and now you’re trying to drown her?”
When it was about Sarah, Jake wasn’t calm
anymore.
I was silent for a second, but before I could explain, Sarah came running.
She wrapped her arms around Jake, tears streaming down her face.
“Jake, don’t blame her. Maybe, it was an accident…”
Jake hugged her, gently stroking her back.
“Sarah, don’t defend her, she’s doing all this on purpose.”
He turned to me, his eyes burning into mine. “Ashley, I’m giving you one pass, because
we’ve known each other for a long time. Next time, I’m not going to be so kind!”
I was laying there, soaking wet, trying to
process what just happened.
I always got hurt, over and over again.”
They were always so ready to believe Sarah,
making me out to be the worst person.
<
And Sarah, she was always playing the victim.
The only one who had been hurt was me.
- 4.
I went inside, and the laughter stopped.
Everyone was looking at me like I was some
kind of thief.
I dragged my body up the stairs.
“Oh no!” Sarah was yelling, like she just
noticed something. “My necklace! Did it fall into the pool?”
I knew she was doing this on purpose, so I walked faster, wanting to disappear.
But Mr. Smith wasn’t letting me go. “Ashley, stop right there! Did you throw Sarah’s necklace in the pool?”
I turned around, my voice weak. “No, it wasn’t me. I didn’t push her or throw anything.”
