You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 907

Maggie was fuming. When Chelsea stayed quiet, Maggie realized Atticus had probably gotten it right. She smacked Chelsea on the arm. “Seriously? Even rabbits don’t mess up their own nest. Of all people, you had to go after Oliver’s friend?”

“When did this even start?” she pressed.

Chelsea’s voice was barely audible. “Not long ago.”

“How long is ‘not long ago’?” Maggie pressed, her patience gone.

“Be specific,” Atticus barked.

Chelsea hesitated, then mumbled, “Around... the New Year.”

Slap. Maggie hit her arm again, harder this time.

Atticus stormed over, eyes flashing. He kicked Chelsea onto the floor cushion. “So you’re sleeping with one guy and dating another? How did I end up with a daughter like you? You sure know how to stir things up.”

With both parents coming at her from all sides, Chelsea kept her head down. She knew better than to argue. The more she pushed back, the worse it would get. Childhood memories of getting double-teamed like this were still burned into her brain. She never thought she’d be almost thirty and still getting lectured like a kid.

Curling up on the cushion, she looked so helpless that her grandma’s heart just broke for her. Grandma quickly stepped in, pushing Atticus aside and pulling Chelsea behind her.

“That’s enough. She’s almost thirty. Do you two really have to gang up on her like she’s still a little kid?”

“She’s got a decent job at the institute. Why are you treating her like this?” Grandma scolded.

Atticus was shaking with anger, pointing at Chelsea like he wanted to say more. He clearly wanted to smack her again, but with his own mother standing in the way, he just couldn’t. With nowhere else to put his anger, he punched the prayer room door. The thin wooden panel cracked, leaving a huge hole.

Grandma’s eyes went wide. She marched over and smacked Atticus on the back of the neck. “What’s wrong with you? Throwing a tantrum in front of the ancestors? Get out!”

“Grandma, as long as I’m under the same roof as my dad, he’ll find any excuse to punish me. The only way I’ll survive is if I get out of here.”

“Your father just worries about you,” Grandma said. “You’re a girl, and things can go wrong so easily.”

When Chelsea heard that, her heart just sank. She ran her hands through her hair in frustration. This wasn’t working. She needed to call Patricia. If she didn’t get help soon, she was doomed.

“Grandma, can I please just call Pattie? I need to talk to someone. I feel like I’m going to explode if I can’t vent to my sister.”

“Alright,” Grandma said, handing her the phone.

Chelsea almost cried from relief. She grabbed the phone and called Patricia right away. The phone just rang and rang, no answer. Confused, she looked at the screen.

What the hell?