Elana
I arrived at the looming grey mansion. The one that has held some awful memories for me, and I can't help the sinking feeling that I feel in my stomach.
I drove in my rusty Honda Civic and couldn't get my eyes off the fancy new vehicles that filled the compound. They had fancy vehicles two months ago when we had the last gathering, but not these ones.
I parked in the only other free spot in the huge outdoor garage, took a lot of deep breaths, and finally was able to step out of the car.
"Well, look who finally decided to come." It was Elaine, my younger sister.
She was not as cruel to me as the others were, but she also never stood up for me.
"Hey, Elaine." I flashed a light smile. "You're all grown up now."
"Babes, I'm just a year younger than your wonderful twenty three, so yeah, don't expect me to look sixteen."
"Yeah." I chuckled. "I got you your favorite brookie chocolates anyway."
She's always had the fancier chocolates, but when I got her a two-dollar chocolate, she absolutely fell in love and has always requested it from me ever since, after tagging it the brookie chocolates.
"For real? That's so awesome. I read your last book by the way. Is there going to be a second book where Rachel has a better life?" She folded her arms across her chest and looked at me with hazel eyes and a face that looked too much like mine.
"You read my book?" I looked at her in shock. "Thank you so much. And yeah, everyone who's read it keeps asking for a sequel, so I'm thinking of writing a sequel."
"Good. Now go in, Mom, Dad, and everyone await you. If you're lucky, you can sneak up to the room without anyone seeing you, but that's going to take a lot of luck. Bye, I'm heading out."
Elaine is an outstanding medical student, but with how commanding she is, I can see her doing a lot better in the business world.
I was already succeeding in my plan to sneak in when one of the housekeepers screamed. "Oh look, it's Elana."
"Elana?" I froze at the sound of my mother's voice.
They've always made me feel invisible, but right now, I really wish I could actually be invisible.
My heart pounded in my chest, and my palms slicked over with sweat as the sound of my mother's heels grew closer.
"Well, hello dear." My mom's face rounded the corner, a wide smile almost tearing it open.
The last time she had that kind of expression on her face was in third grade when I had shown down a seventh grader and got promoted to fifth grade. Her face was so bright and red and she was so teary that I thought she was going to have a heart attack or something, but for her to be smiling at me in this manner?
Does she even know that it's Elana? The housekeeper said. What the fuck, she's looking at me. Isn't she seeing clearly that it's me?
"Elana, it's been so long since I saw you." Mom stopped in front of me and looked me over without the usual judgment in her eyes.
"I think I saw you just two months ago." I chuckled lightly, still confused at the sweetness coming from this woman to me.
"Yeah, but the last time I saw all your other siblings was a week or two ago." She said in a tone that openly suggested that she wanted me to do better.
"I'm sorry." I swallowed before looking up at her.
"How are you coping out there in this big city though?" She took a little step away before gesturing to me on the couch with her hands.
"What?!" I asked in confusion. "We're all in the city. The way every other person is coping is the same way I'm coping too."
"Yeah, but every other person is doing well for themselves and has actual jobs that earn actual money. I mean, can you even afford to pay for an apartment?"
I was so freaking dumb to think that she had changed this time. To think that she wasn't going to be insulting or try to hurt my feelings.
"I'm a bit tired from the drive here. Can I go up to rest?"
I didn't even wait for her to grant her permission before I started trudging up the stairs.
"You're tired from just a three-hour drive here? That's crazy, seeing as your sister flew in from London and still felt good enough to help me in the kitchen." She screamed up at me. "You're only tired because you never do real work."
She was right though. No, not about the tired stuff, don't be mistaken. She was right that I couldn't afford an actual apartment. I'd been with Cherry for as long as I can remember, and genuinely if I wasn't with Cherry, I'd probably be in a homeless shelter.
Fuck.
********
I had no idea when I fell asleep, but from the time I could see on my phone, I'd been asleep for no less than four hours.
Well, the family would have a lot to say about me now, wouldn't they?
I took off my shoes and started tiptoeing down the stairs. The plan was to sneak off to the pool and lie that I've been taking a swim.
I had walked down a bit when the voices started reaching my ears.
"Yes, Elaine, I perfectly agree with you. Elana is a complete waste of the family name. I am so ashamed..."
There was a loud ringing in my ears as I sank down to the step to try to steady myself.
I had received a lot of insults about my car, my clothes, my personality in general, but I'd never been called a waste of the family name.
My eyes stung and my fists clenched as my breathing became more laboured.
Did they feel that they were better than me? I'm going to show them that I'm not to be underestimated, but for right now, they should have their get-together dinner by themselves because I'm leaving this fucking place.