1- I Was Done

For as long as I can remember, I've always felt like a stranger in my family. My parents nor my sister have never shown me love or even given me any attention. It was like I was an outcast that they housed and fed just because they felt like it and not because I was their daughter. All through my life, I didn't get to experience any form of parental love from them. It was more like I didn't even exist to them.

My parents were well to do. My father ran an architectural firm that was slowly rising to be the best in town, while my mum owned a lingerie store for all kinds of women irrespective of body shape and size. This made her quite popular around town because they felt she didn't discriminate among the women and people like her for that. We lived in a nice house in a really comfortable environment and to everyone, we seemed like the ideal family.

But oh my, they were so wrong. This family has always been very dysfunctional from the beginning and I knew that immediately I could learn the letters of the alphabet. My parents had me when they were much younger, about three months into their marriage and I was the only child for about three years before they had Karry, my younger sister. Even before the arrival of Karry, my parents behaved like I was a burden to them. They never treated me the way I saw other parents treat their child.

They would go on trips and outings together while they left me with the nanny. They never attended any of my school recitals or football games. Not even when I would bring medals for home from school for excelling. They wouldn't even clap for me or offer words of encouragement to me. They never took me to the park or even bought me sweets and ice cream. I can't even remember anytime we actually went out as a family. They always left me behind while they went ahead to do stuff with themselves.

The arrival of Karry only made things worse for me because it felt like they had completely forgotten about my existence. They would coo at Karry and take turns in carrying, feeding and bathing her. They took care of her with so much love and adoration that it kept me wondering what I had done so wrong that they wouldn't even smile at me. I loved my little sister, she looked so beautiful with her cute blue eyes and brown hair but my parents made me envy her because of the way they always went out of their way to make her feel loved while they never as much spared me a glance.

As time went on, it became as clear as the daylight that Karry was the golden child of the family. My parents had pampered her so much that she became very rude and arrogant towards everyone. She felt like she was more beautiful and better than anyone including me and she made sure to rub it in my face at any chance that she got. Everything had to go her way and everyone had to bend to her will. If not, she would throw tantrums and destroy stuff in the house.

Despite all these, my parents never for once cautioned her or made her understand that what she was doing was wrong. Instead they put up with her attitude and encouraged her much to my chagrin. I had no other choice than to go with the flow of things because my parents kind of made it clear to me that they didn't care for me and that they would always choose Karry over me and I had also come to terms with that. I mean, I was the useless child.

So it was like that for many years and as usual, my parents pretty much left me to care for myself while they fawned over Karry. I could pretty much say that I had raised myself while my sister got everything she wanted without needing to raise a single finger. She got the best clothes, shoes and even the latest gadgets. When she was just 13, my parents got her a brand new phone and a laptop just because the screen guard of her phone got cracked. Not even the screen of the phone but the f****g screen guard. I had never been so shell shocked in my life. This was because I had been desperately begging for a laptop for about two years to aid my school work in a quest to get a scholarship, but they both kept saying they were tight on money.

Even my now old phone was given to me by an aunt who came to visit about four years ago. They had never gotten me a brand new gadget before but I had stopped counting how many times Karry had gotten a new gadget after the 10th one. This just made me loath my parents even more because at this point, they were just being very unnecessarily cruel and nonchalant towards me.

Sometimes I felt like if my sister asked for the heart of a human being, my parents would actually purchase it for her. However when it came to me, if I asked for just a glass of water, they acted like I was asking them for the whole world. I loved them before they gave me life and still gave me roof over my head.

When I turned 18, I didn't need to be told by anyone that I should get a job because it was obvious my parents weren't going to pay for my college fees. I had already gotten my admission but I didn't tell them because they've never really cared to know what happened in my life. Fortunately for me, I got a job as an assistant to the librarian in the town library. The pay was quite good and the work hours were just perfect became it meant I could juggle both school and work effectively. Mr Lampton, the librarian, was a kind man in his late fifties and he had been in charge of the library for as long as I can remember. He also told me to come in to work three times a week on any days of my choice. I was so thrilled.

When I got home, I informed my parents about my admission into college and as I expected, my mum hollered about how they were supposed to get the money to pay for it when they were saving towards my sisters college fees.

"Mercedes, how could you be so selfish? You know we are saving for your sister's college fees and money is tight. How do you expect us to get the money to pay for yours," my mum said without an iota of remorse.

I looked around the room at my dad who just looked on, my mum and my bratty sister who just kept chewing gum so loudly while trying to calm my temper. They both knew as much as I did that Karry didn't want to go to college. In fact she was barely passing in high school. She was so air headed that any normal person would question if she really had a brain in her head. Yet, they decided to save towards her college and as usual left me to sort myself out.

"Pathetic bunch", I scoffed under my breath.

"What did you say?", my dad spoke for the first time since I announced my college admission.

"Pathetic bunch of people, that's what you both are. A very sorry excuse for parents and a disappointment to yourselves. I'm even embarrassed that I came into this world through you," I shouted as they all looked at me in shock.

I had lost it. They had taunted me, pushed me into the corner and now I was done with them. They had gotten away with it for far too long and I was done allowing them walk all over me. I am human too and I also had feelings and they simply had no right to always make me feel like my feelings weren't valid or that I didn't deserve to be loved.

"You" I pointed to my mum,

"Are you even a mother? Do you even know what it means to be a mom? I'm 18 years now, now for good 18 years when last did you hug me? Or tell me that you loved me? You never came to any of my recitals or even graduation. You always acted like I was a burden to you and that I didn't deserve your love. You've never cared for me but expect that I'll be understanding towards your every action. How's that even possible?," I said in a fit of rage.

"And as for you dad, what have I ever done to you? Is Karry the only child in this house? Why does she get the best things but I always have to settle? You and I both know that your air headed daughter doesn't want to go to college but you're saving for her college tuition but usual, I don't matter right? Well for your information, I already got a job because I anticipated this type of reaction from you both. So you don't need to worry about the college fees."

Turning to Karry, I just eyed her from top to bottom, wondering how someone like her could even be related to me. She was so different all thanks to my parents. She was just a pain in the ass who thought the world revolved around her.

"Karry I'm not sorry for the kind of person you've become and that's all thanks to these people you call parents. I just pray you wake up and knock some senses into yourself because both of them wouldn't be around forever," I finished and then took a look at all of them.

I then turned and headed up the stairs to my room and packed the little luggage I had in my box and came back downstairs to the living room where the three of them sat still. My mum looked like she was about to cry while Karry kept staring at me like I had grown three heads.

At the sound of the noise of the box, my dad raised his head and for the first time, I saw a look of dejection on his face and I was almost surprised but I didn't care anymore. I was done with them

"Where are you going Mercedes? You don't have anywhere to go to," my dad asked like he was concerned about me.

"Out of here and out of your lives. You wanted me gone and now you've gotten your wish. Take care family," I sarcastically as I went through the front door and slammed the door shut.

A different feeling of peace settled on me as I walked away from the place I had called home for 18 years.