The Rejected Principessa Returns novel Chapter 40

Chapter 3

The only answer they got was my little brother’s babbling.

Mom slammed her bowl down on the table in irritation. “Eat or don’t, whatever. Who spoiled you into this awful habit? You do something wrong and then throw a tantrum about it. If you won’t eat, then don’t ever eat

again!”

“I’ll just pretend I gave birth to a bad seed. Everyone says once you have a second baby it’s hard not to play favorites, and we honestly thought if we treated you well, you’d be good to your little brother. Instead we spoiled you into being this bossy, entitled, ungrateful little brat.”

“Forget her. It’s not that comfortable in the washer. She’s so delicate there’s no way she’d stay in there this long-she’s probably already sneaked back to her room.”

I listened from the side, my eyes burning.

Mom, I really didn’t. I only wanted to help you give my brother a bath.

They both ignored me. Together they ate more than half the plate of barbecue ribs, and Mom took the rest outside to feed a stray dog.

“Raising her is worse than raising a dog.”

I didn’t dare follow my parents anymore. All I could do was curl up alone in my own room.

m and Dad played with my little brother, their laughter filled the whole place.

picture books to him, and Mom’s gentle voice was something I hadn’t heard in a very long time.

listened and listened until I fell asleep, but after a while Mom’s shout jerked me awake.

“Penny Graham, your brother’s looking for you again! Get out here and play with him!”

I stared at my bedroom door, tightly shut.

But Mom, I’m already dead. Even if I wanted to help you, I can’t.

If you’d just open the washer door and look inside, you’d see I died by accident.

“Penny! Are you done yet? My patience with you has run out!”

The living room went quiet for a moment, and then Mom suddenly stormed in and threw my bedroom door

open.

ied in right behind her.

hey both froze when they saw the empty room. Dad glanced around, even checking under the bed.

“Where’s Penny?”

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I thought Mom and Dad would finally panic, that they’d rush over to the washer and check on me.

But Mom’s face only grew colder. “She may be small, but she’s got plenty of tricks. Where else could she have gone? She must’ve waited until we weren’t home and sneaked over to my mom’s to complain about us.”

“Who spoiled her into this nasty temper, huh? She wants to play games with me? Fine. I’ll play.”

Mom spun around and marched over to my collection of Barbie dolls.

She grabbed a pair of scissors and chopped off their hair and their heads, then snapped all their arms and legs off, threw the broken dolls onto the floor, and stomped on them.

I cried as I tried to shove her away, but it was useless.

Mom, I really wasn’t throwing a fit.

I want to show up in front of you and Dad too, but I’m trapped in that washing machine forever and can never

get out.

Dad let out a long sigh. “Forget it. We don’t have time to deal with her right now. If she’s at your mom’s, we can finally get a little peace. I’m going to wash Jamie’s clothes.”

Wash clothes?

I followed him out as he picked up the laundry and headed toward the washer..

My heart started to pound faster and faster. Part of me couldn’t wait for Mom and Dad to find me, and part

rified the sight inside would scare them.

me, Mom wouldn’t think I was just throwing a tantrum anymore… right?

knew it wouldn’t do any good, but I still reached my small hand out and covered Dad’s eyes.

Before he could crouch down and open the door, Mom called him away.

“You can’t put a little kid’s clothes in the washing machine! Go wash them by hand!”

My hand dropped in disappointment, and I turned back to look at the body in the washer.

In that sealed space, my body already looked like it had started to bloat, and there was a faint rotten smell.

I’d already been gone for almost two full days. It wasn’t until the evening of the second day that Dad finally

pushed Mom to call my grandma.

if Penny’s been behaving over there, if everything’s okay.”

om picked up her phone reluctantly, muttering as she dialed. “She’s old enough; what could possibly

happen to her? Sometimes just looking at her makes my blood boil. Raising such a clueless daughter-I’d be better off if she just dropped dead.”

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I lowered my head and picked at my fingers, too sad to say a word.

Mom, you already got what you wanted.

Once the call connected, Mom went straight to the point. “Mom, Penny went over to your place, right? She’s not giving you any trouble, is she?”

My grandma’s voice shot up on the other end. “What did you just say?”

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I thought my grandma on Mom’s side was reacting in shock

said was, “I didn’t catch that. Say it louder!”

The light in my eyes dimmed all over again.

Just as Mom was about to answer, my brother suddenly started crying, and the truth that was about to be spoken out loud vanished again.

“Oh, never mind. He’s fussing. I’ll go check on him.”

In the days that followed, Mom and Dad still never came looking for me.

Dad went back to his usual routine, heading to work every day as if nothing had happened. My little brother, though, suddenly started spitting up his milk and refused to eat.

Mom panicked and took him to several different hospitals, but nothing helped.

Then she heard that a neighbor mom knew a really good holistic doctor.

Mom called her right away, her voice dripping with flattery.

“Heh, Lisa, your son hasn’t come over to play with Penny in forever. In a few days I’ll send Penny over to your

place so they can play, okay?”

ver ran through me as soon as I heard that.

Id played with Aunt Lisa’s son before, and he always bullied me.

Once he smashed a chair down on my head. Another time he took me along while he strangled a newborn

kitten, and I had nightmares for a month.

Mom and Dad had always strictly forbidden Aunt Lisa’s son from seeing me.

Mom said he was one of those “born-violent” boys with a serious aggression problem, and he’d even gouged

out another kid’s eye before.

On the phone, Aunt Lisa gave a cold little laugh. “I thought Penny hated playing with my boy.”

Mom’s tone dropped even lower. “Lisa, I heard you know a really good holistic doctor. My son hasn’t been eating well lately. Whenever you have time, could you take me to see him? I’ll bring Penny over and leave her

your place to play. That way the two kids can look out for each other.”

My heart went cold.

Just to find a doctor for my brother, Mom was already putting me back on the table as a bargaining chip.

I wanted to leave this house, but I couldn’t. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get away. It was like I was

chained to my parents’ side.