Chapter 1
Mom clutched Emma to her chest. Dad carried Noah on his back.
They burst out of the burning house and held each other tightly, crying with relief at having escaped the disaster.
“Is anyone else inside?” the firefighter asked urgently.
Mom frantically turned around and began counting heads.
She pointed at my brother and sister. “Noah, Emma. Both children are here, everyone’s accounted for!”
“Are you absolutely sure there’s no one else?” the firefighter pressed.
But all Mom cared about was my brother and sister. She didn’t respond further, just mumbled: “Everyone’s here, thank God everyone’s here.” Then she wrapped her arms tightly around them.
However, at that exact moment, I stumbled out of the fire, hand over my mouth.
Her words instantly made me feel like some pathetic clown.
My body was covered in soot, my clothes torn and blackened, while they–having escaped earlier–were barely touched by the flames, their clothes still neat.
My body, which had been struggling to stand upright, collapsed under the weight of Mom’s words, then I fell to the ground.
“Noah, stop tickling me!” Emma squealed.
After escaping the fire, my sister and brother started horsing around, their laughter easing some of the worry from our parents‘ faces.
But Emma slipped and her hand pressed directly on the wound on my back.
“Ahh!” I screamed in agony.
I could feel the freshly bandaged wound bleeding again, every inch of the injury throbbing with pain.
Emma scrambled away in fear, hiding behind Noah, her dark eyes wide with confusion.
“Tsk! Riley!” Mom’s disapproving gaze immediately turned to me. She said sternly, “Always throwing tantrums. Why are you yelling at your sister?”
Her eyes lingered on me a moment longer than usual, with an added look of disgust.
Probably because of… the scars on my face.
The reason she assumed I was having a tantrum was because her attention had always been focused on Noah and Emma. She never saw the firefighter bandaging my wounds. She never saw me at all.
I couldn’t hold back anymore. I ran to the side and burst into tears, covering my face.
My sobs echoed in the empty night making them all silent.
When I finally stopped crying, Mom came over to me, holding Emma’s hand. She sighed and tried to take my hand. But I flinched away slightly making her hand froze mid–air.
Then she said, “Riley, try to understand our situation. It’s not that we don’t love you, but Noah is at a critical point in his career, and Emma is so young…”
I looked at her through my tears.
“Can’t you just be more mature about this?” she pleaded.
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Burnt Beauty Family Beasts
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Chapter 1
I looked at her earnest expression and laughed.
How ridiculous.
The portion of love assigned to me had always been so meager.
When Mom saw me laugh, probably thinking I wasn’t angry anymore, she grabbed my hand and placed it together with Emma’s.
“That’s better! Now apologize to your sister, Riley, and we can put this all behind us. We’re family, after all!”
She gently tried to smooth things over, creating a false happy ending.
Though she was speaking to me, her eyes remained fixed on Emma, her voice gentle as she comforted my tearful, pitiful–looking sister.
Hearing her words, I yanked my hand away.
Mom gave me a disappointed look and dropped words like daggers: “I have three children, and you’re the only one I’ve spoiled too much!”
Then she angrily picked up Emma and walked away.
Yes…
This was what she called being spoiled and immature.
I used to be especially fond of wheedling things from my parents.
But that was because I was never the favorite
