And evil.
How had I let that woman have so much control over my life?
And what the hell was I going to do about it now?
I slumped into the couch with a groan. I didn’t know what to do.
The thought of leaving this house—even though I’d been relegated to the garage loft—tore my heart to shreds. This was where I’d grown up. This house was the only home I’d ever known. But every day, it was becoming even clearer that I couldn’t keep on this way. Life was passing me by.
“Come on, girls! The car service is here!” Lydia shouted up at my loft window.
I peeked out of the window and saw her standing next to my staircase with a pile of luggage at her feet, clearly ready and willing to come knock at my door if necessary.
They were going on a trip?
That must’ve been what she’d meant when she said they’d be out of cell service. Huh. Not that I was surprised I wasn’t invited.
I sat still on the couch and hoped against hope that they’d load up without bothering me.
Of course I was never that lucky.
Knock, knock, knock
I was tempted to ignore it. But Lydia had a key, and she’d proven in the past she wasn’t above using it.
So I heaved myself off the couch with a sigh and slowly walked over to the door to answer it.
“Finally!” Lydia huffed at me. “I need you to check on Lucy this weekend. The girls and I will be away, so you’ll need to feed her, make sure she has water, clean her litterbox, and brush her hair and teeth every night.”
She recited the list like it was new.
I blinked slowly back at her and didn’t say a word. I’d make sure the thing lived, but like hell was I getting within striking distance of that monster. Lucy had a special place in her dark little heart for torturing me. I’d learned long ago not to even try to pet her, let alone brush any part of her.
Fool me once.
“Did you hear me, Emma?” Lydia all but shrieked, her face turning red. “Take care of my Lucy!”
“Yeah. Sure.” I rested a hand on the door and moved to retreat into my room when Amelia and Daphne stomped out of the house.
“Mother!” Amelia whined up at us. “I can’t carry my bags. My nails will get ruined if I even try to pick them up.”
“Emma!” Lydia snapped. “Grab their bags.”
I heaved a sigh. I’d spent the whole day on my feet, carrying trays of food and dirty dishes. I was exhausted. But I still knew better than to argue. Lydia would yell, Daphne would snicker, Amelia would give me that look, like she wanted to step in but never would, and I’d fold, like the weak person I was.
Besides, the sooner I grabbed their bags, the sooner they’d be gone.
“Mother! I can’t find the tickets on the app!” Daphne cried. “They’ve disappeared.”
Lydia sighed. “They haven’t disappeared. I haven’t sent yours to you yet. They’re all still on my profile. I’ll send them to you when we get in the car.”
“How many did you get me again? I want to make sure that everyone I know and love can come.” She said the last part like it was a dig at me. It wasn’t news Daphne didn’t love me. Pretty sure she’d written it in my yearbook.
I headed down the stairs and over to the house to grab their bags without saying anything to any of them.
“Six tickets for each of you girls. Including VIP passes, so you’ll get to mingle with the bands.”
I whipped around and caught the smug smirk on Lydia’s face as she stared straight back at me.
