when i got home from school one day i
heard loud laughter and glasses clinking
from the lounge
i got out of sight quickly before anyone
spotted me ugh
it was mom and her friends they always
sounded like a group of hyenas when they
got together
i heard one of her friends say but
seriously you're so beautiful
can't believe your daughter is that ugly
mom laughed
and so did everyone else in case you
haven't guessed already
i don't like my mom in fact i hate her
she really seems like such an airhead
she enjoys nothing except
gossip and shopping and i hate the way
she dresses
once she came to school and i wanted to
die of embarrassment
she was wearing the tightest shocking
pink dress and had a ton of makeup on
and she was strutting down the street
like she was a runway model
the boys in my class were staring and
grinning at her it was so gross
to make it worse i heard one of them say
wow now we know where ella gets her
looks from
i should ask her out already yeah great
except they weren't talking about me
my name is mallory my sister ella who's
a couple of years younger than me
is one of the most popular girls in
school people are so shocked when they
find out we're related
she looks just like mom and acts just
like her too i told dad about how mom
had turned up at school and how i hated
the way she acted
he sighed and said she didn't used to be
this way before
but she changed completely after her
sister left i didn't even know she had a
sister
but her ditziness wasn't why i really
hated her
i still couldn't forget that night when
i had woken up in the middle of the
night feeling really thirsty
i was on my way to the kitchen to grab
some water when i heard mom's loud
sobbing
and dad's voice coming from their
bedroom what's going on i wondered
i crept up to their room and peered into
the slightly open door
dad was sitting on the bed his head and
his hands and mom
was kneeling next to him crying and
begging him to forgive her
how could you do this melissa dad said
his voice full of despair
and with my best friend you ruined
everything
please please don't say that mom sobbed
even louder
please say you forgive me it was a
terrible mistake
i couldn't listen to any more of this my
head and heart felt like they were going
to burst
mom had been cheating on dad with jack
god i had never liked that scumbag
dad packed his bags the next morning and
left he kissed me on the cheek and said
he was going away on a business trip
he looked so heartbroken i knew he
wasn't going on any trip
he was moving out i couldn't even see
anything i just choked back my tears and
nodded
i couldn't stand to be around mom i
could hear her crying in her room and i
just wanted to smash something in her
face
it was all her fault dad had left and he
might never come back
just then the door opened and it was dad
oh thank god
clearly he had decided to forgive mom
and give their marriage another chance
i was so relieved to see him but i just
couldn't look at mom in the same way
ever again i had no respect for her the
secret had been eating me up inside
i hadn't told anyone except my best
friend if i told ella
she probably wouldn't even have believed
me she was mommy's little puppy dog
i could hear mom calling me down for
dinner at the table she asked me how
school was and i pretended i hadn't even
heard her i turned to dad and started
talking about an upcoming sports event
at school
when i took the first bite of the
meatloaf mom had cooked i made a
disgusted face and pushed my plate away
yuck that tastes awful i'm just going to
make myself a peanut butter sandwich
again i said i could see the hurt look
on her face but i didn't care
i wanted to hurt her malory it tastes
just fine
dad says sternly just sit down and
finish your food
no i screamed getting up from my chair
her food is terrible
i'd rather go hungry and with that i ran
upstairs to my room
before i slammed the door shut i heard
ella talking in her sickly sweet voice
mommy the meatloaf is delicious mallory
is just going through a phase
probably boy troubles and then i heard
them both giggle
i felt so pissed off gosh could she ever
stop sucking up
a couple of hours later my stomach was
growling so loudly
i was pretty sure the neighbors could
hear it i snuck into the kitchen
and took a look in the fridge sadly they
finished the meatloaf
ugh i really would have to eat that
peanut butter sandwich now
i was sneaking back upstairs when i
heard my parents low voices in the
lounge
and i heard my name mom was telling dad
that she
just had about enough of my behavior dad
said he'd talk to me later
but it was probably just me acting out
as a teenager a couple of days later i
woke up to some shouting
too early to hear your screeching mom
her voice was like nails on a chalkboard
i walked downstairs to find mom waving
something in dad's face
i just want to know how these got in
your car who do they belong to
she shrieked dad stood there silently
which seemed to make her even angrier
she threw whatever was in her hands to
the floor it was a pair of earrings
and i recognized them immediately they
were mine i rushed over and picked them
up
i felt so furious how dare she accuse
dad of cheating
i turned to her not bothering to hide my
hatred for her one bit
mom you're such a stupid psycho i
shouted at her
they're my earrings i probably forgot
them in dad's car
you have no right to talk to dad like
that i don't even know how he puts up
with you
no wonder your sister left you mom
looked completely shocked for a minute
and then she burst into tears just then
ella came running to mom's side and she
glared at me and started screaming
don't talk to mom like that you dumb cow
seriously
what is wrong with you ella said it was
dad's turn to be furious
also at me malory that's it you are
grounded for a week
go up to your room now dad said i ran up
the stairs
tears pouring down my cheeks thanks to
mom's drama i was now grounded
mom gave me the cold shoulder and i was
more than happy to not talk to her
on sunday i heard my family leave for
church service and i let out a big
whoop great finally i could go watch
some tv in the lounge
i ran downstairs joyfully grabbed lots
of snacks and settled down on the couch
when i heard something from the basement
where dad had set up his home office i
froze for a second
no one was supposed to be home i tiptoed
down the stairs
and as i got closer to the door i heard
dad's voice
really flooded over me i was about to go
back to my spot on the couch
when i heard a woman's laughter feeling
really curious i turned back around and
peered in through the door
dad was having a video call with someone
on his phone emily
we have to be really careful i have to
make sure my wife doesn't suspect a
thing
dad said i tiptoed back upstairs feeling
a bit sick
suddenly i lost my appetite for snacks
and tv
dad couldn't be could he well even if he
was cheating i couldn't really blame him
for trying to find love somewhere else
mom wasn't exactly wife of the year
material
later at lunch mom walked into the room
with a bouquet of flowers and a wrap
present
which she placed in front of dad she
kissed him on the cheek and said happy
15th anniversary darling
oh oh why thank you melissa dad looked
completely surprised and flustered he
started apologizing and saying it had
slipped his mind
mom said it was totally okay but i could
tell that she was really trying hard to
not look hurt
ella squeezed her hand and gave her a
sympathetic look what a goodie two shoes
it made me feel sick i was tired of
being in the house around the two of
them
i was dying to go to my best friend's
house and vent i walked downstairs to
grab something from the kitchen
when i saw mom in the lounge all by
herself she was curled up on the sofa
and sobbing like a big baby what now
jeez mom your favorite soap actor died i
said sarcastically
she looked so dumb with all that mascara
running down her face
but her sad face turned to a furious one
in seconds she jumped up from the couch
and glared at me with bloodshot eyes she
was a small woman
but it scared me i've had enough of your
nonsense
i'm going to throw you out of my house
and you're good for nothing cheating dad
too
mom yelled you're a paranoid freak dad
would never cheat on you
i managed to scream back ella had heard
her screaming and come
running to mommy dearest's defense i'm
sure
oh really we'll take a look at this and
of all the people
anna sent it to me she'll make sure i'm
a laughingstock
and with that she thrust her phone
screen in my face i could tell in an
instant that it was dad
in what seemed to be a really fancy
restaurant sitting next to him
was a beautiful blonde woman dressed in
red they seemed to be having a good
laugh
i fell silent for a few seconds trying
to take it all in
could this be what was her name emily i
just looked at her
coldly and said so what if he is
cheating on you
you deserve it you cheated on him first
mom stood frozen on the spot
her eyes wide her mouth slightly open
ella
looked equally stupid aha i know you
cheated on dad with jack
and i will always hate you for it i was
shaking now
mom sang to the couch after what seemed
like ages she looked at me and said
oh malory you've got it all wrong
she then explained that she had made a
bad investment decision with jack behind
dad's back
jack had turned out to be a con man and
had run away with all their money
it was a huge blow wait she expected me
to believe her nonsense now
really no my dad was better than her and
we all knew that
ella had the phone in her hands now and
she was staring at the picture
finally she said angrily how could he do
this to you mom
i looked at them and said no he isn't a
cheater you idiot
dad is innocent and we can ask him
together mom was hurt
and said he wouldn't confess then i said
you know what
i'm going to spy on him just to prove
you wrong so here i was the next day
a couple of blocks away from dad's
office hiding out in mom's car
she'd made me skip school and sent me
off in her car half the day had gone by
with
nothing happening i'd almost dozed off
when i saw dad walk out of the building
a shiny black car had driven up outside
the main entrance
a leggy blonde and high heel stepped out
of it my dad kissed her on the cheek
and then he got into the car with her
and they drove off i frantically revved
up my engine and started following them
where were they going i wondered we have
been on the road for two hours now
we left town and were on an empty road
between stretch of fields
just a few moments later the car turned
left onto a smaller road
leading up to a huge mansion i parked my
car at a distance
and walked up to it on foot i quietly
slipped in through the main door
i walked down the large hallway and
heard dad and that emily
talking in another room suddenly i could
hear her clicking heels getting louder
and in panic
i ducked behind the huge plotted plant
near me wow
this really is a beautiful place em dad
said
and it'll all be yours soon yes thanks
to you
she said looking at him with a huge
smile as soon as you can get that wife
of yours to sign the papers
her evil laugh echoing through the
hallway made my blood run cold
and what was worse dad joined her that
wasn't the worst of it
they started going up the stairs and
suddenly emily lost her balance
dad was quick to catch her oh my god em
are you okay
you really shouldn't be wearing such
high heels dad said
oh goodness yes yes i'm fine
you're right i should be more careful
what with the baby on the way
she smiled shyly up at dad who smiled
back in the wind upstairs
my legs shaking i bolted towards the
door and ran to my car
i'd heard enough dad wasn't just
replacing mom
he was about to replace me with a shiny
new baby
i felt so heartbroken i drove back home
like a mad person rushed out of the car
and called out to mom there was no reply
i ran up the stairs and looked in every
room and i couldn't find her anywhere
i had her car where could she have gone
suddenly
i noticed a large note stuck on the
fridge hey mal
your dad sent a car for me to take
somewhere secret i have to go see what
this is all about
maybe i'll get some answers don't wait
for me for dinner i've taken ella with
me
oh no no no i frantically tried to call
mom but there was no answer
this was so bad and there i was on the
road again driving another two hours
like a crazy person to some unknown
location
i knew exactly where that was i parked
my car at the gate and rushed to the
mansion
emily's car was still there and mom and
ella must have been inside
because another car was parked outside i
ran in through the main door
and looked in all the rooms downstairs
nothing i ran upstairs and heard voices
from one of the bedrooms
i peered in and saw all four of them in
there mom and emily were crying
i still don't understand why you
suddenly left mom wept
you just broke my heart em oh mal
you know how hard it was with mom and
dad i couldn't live that life anymore
and i didn't even find out too much
later about their accident
which is why i never came to the funeral
just
please forgive me i will make it up to
you
emily sobbed i stood there in shock so
this
was the long-lost sister my sister was
there crying like an idiot
then mom hugged dad and thanked him for
reuniting them
and behind her back he mouthed i love
you babe
then he winked at emily who also mouthed
i love you too
babe i looked at my sister who had just
witnessed this
we exchanged worried looks then mom said
we are all going to have so much fun
together
oh poor mom for the first time in years
i felt sorry for her