Mom’s face turned red as she was scolded.I smiled obediently and thanked the elder lady.Then I turned around and took Adam out to eat a "feast." Well, it wasn’t really a feast, just a hamburger that he had been wanting but never dared to look at.I had only seen the advertisements for the place, but I had never eaten there before.Sitting in the clean and tidy restaurant, I handed my brother a hamburger.But he didn’t dare to take it."Jordan, don’t we not have money anymore? If we eat this, Mom will tell us off."I forcefully shoved the hamburger into his hands."Eat it. If she scolds you, just scold her back.""Huh? But I’m scared…"I took a big bite of my hamburger and said with my mouth full."There’s nothing to be afraid of. From now on, no one can bully us—not even Mom and Dad!"With the help of Joanne, the compensation money quickly came through. She opened an account under my name. 800 thousand was locked in a fixed deposit, and the rest was set aside for my broth
I nodded. "Alright, you said it."From that day on, our family began our “debt repayment” life.Because we had no money, everything was kept simple. For breakfast, it was bread with bitter, lunch roast chicken, and for dinner, it was even simpler—either nothing at all or just water.Mom almost scolded me every day for "abusing" them, so I simply took the bowls away."Mom, since you still have the energy to scold me, you must not be hungry, right?"As for Dad, his limbs didn’t work properly, and every day I had to feed him.But he didn’t like these bland meals either. He turned his head away and nearly knocked my bowl over.They really were something else—not interested in eating, but they didn’t know that Adam and I had grown up eating the same kind of food in the countryside.Although Grandpa and Grandma loved us, they didn’t have much money from farming.If they didn’t want to eat, then I wouldn’t waste food.I collected all the food, locked the door, and took Adam out to e
"Your dad’s just an ungrateful bastard. I brought him food, and he wanted to hit me. He’s doing a little better now and is able to speak. Do you know what he said?"I shook my head.I saw Mom wiping away her tears, looking aggrieved as she said, "He actually said he hates me. It’s all my fault he ended up like this! I loved him so much, and this is how he treats me. Jordan, I’ll never care about him again. Please, I beg you, take me away. I can’t stand living in this garbage dump anymore!"A bad premonition suddenly surged in my heart. I pushed her away, jumped over the pile of trash, and pushed open the door.Flies and the foul stench hit me immediately, and I couldn’t hold back from vomiting again.The community lady rushed over. Her face turned pale and as she screamed, "Ah! Someone’s dead!"Mom opened her mouth wide, her whole body shocked as if struck by electricity."How is that possible? I brought him food every day. How could he be dead?"I walked over and looked. The f
My parents were arguing again. The room was filled with noises. They smashed almost everything in the house.My brother and I were driven out the window from our bed by our mother.The two of us weren't wearing very much and were sitting on the condenser fan unit barefooted.Mom stood stood by the window and pointed at us. "Zack Jackson, if you dare go and find that vixen again, the three of us will jump off this building together!"Dad wreaked of alcohol and said impatiently, "Go ahead and jump then! You always use this excuse to threaten me, it's better that you jump. Then I'll be able to marry Amber right away!"Mom's hair was a mess and her body trembled with anger. She picked up the mug next to her and threw it at Dad and cursed, "You loser!"Dad wasn't going to just sit back and do nothing after having a mug thrown at him. He immediately slapped Mom in the face. "Don't you know your place? We can get a divorce right now if you want! I've had enough of you a long time ago!"
But no matter what I said, the window didn’t open again.My body felt like it was burning and freezing at the same time. My fingers were numb. Then, the condenser fan unit suddenly began operating and blowing out cold air.Mom had turned the air conditioner on. She really didn’t want me anymore.My heart felt as if it had frozen from the wind, it hurt and ached with every beat, cold waves sweeping through me.I could barely hold on anymore, it was so cold.I really couldn't understand why mom treated us like this—was it because dad treated her badly?But Adam and I loved her so much. If they really divorced, we would still want to be with Mom...But it seemed like she didn’t want us anymore!The cold wind dried my tears, and I silently swore to myself that if I survived this, I would never forgive them.It seemed like heaven had heard my wishes. Our neighbor, Joanne impatiently opened the window, so shocked that the cigarette in her mouth fell."Hey, you little brat, what are
I knew Joanne was probably in a mood and she didn't really have the responsibility to take care of us.I sniffed and said, "Joanne, I want to call my dad."Joanne lent me her brand-new touchscreen phone. I called Dad several times, but he didn't answer.Joanne couldn't believe what was happening. She took her phone back and called a couple more times. It took a while for the other party to answer.However, the person who answered the call was a woman. I asked her where Dad was.The person on the other end of the line snorted and threw the phone to Dad.He asked impatiently, "Did your mom ask you to call me again? Tell her that I won't be going back!""No, Dad! It's Adam. He has a fever. Please come back and take him to the hospital.Dad snorted again. "The same old excuse. Tell your mom that I won't go back even if both of you die!"Joanne couldn't believe what she was hearing. She took the phone and cursed, "Fuck you! How could you say such things to a child? Go to hell! I wi
"I'll grow up as fast I can, Jordan. I'll make lots and lots of money. I don't want to see you cry again."I had no choice but to bury my head in the quilt. Tears welled up in my eyes and quickly soaked the quilt.I tightened my grip. 'So what if they're all gone? Adam and I can still survive."After sending Adam to nursery, I dropped out of school. There still was food in the house, but not much. I needed to find a way to make money.But I didn't know anything. All I could do was learn from the garbage collectors and collect plastic bottles.One plastic bottle could be sold for a cent. I would need 100 bottles to make a dollar. That was enough for some bread.However, I had been wondering for hours and still wasn't able to collect 100 bottles. That was when I passed by Joanne's tattoo shop.Joanne asked me inside and asked me why I didn't go to school. When she heard that I didn't have money, she gave me a bunch of 20-dollar notes."Take this. Don't look at me like that. See i
Mom was taken aback at first, but was then infuriated.She gritted her teeth and glared at me with eyes filled with anger and disgust."You and your dad are alike! You're all bastards! I've raised you and you dare hit me?"I opened my mouth and subconsciously clenched my fists. "I don't want you to hit Adam.""Alright, now you want to be the good guy? Where were you when your dad was flirting with that bitch? You only dare to hit me!" shouted Mom."I..."Mom didn't wait for me to finish. She grabbed my collar and slapped me. "You are truly ungrateful bastards!"It wasn't enough for her to just slap me time after time. She also cursed me as well. Her tears also landed on my face during the process.Adam sobbed as he tried to pull Mom's leg, but Mom kicked him aside.My head was spinning and I was seeing multiple figures of Mom.All of them were crying and slapping me at the same time.A while later, Mom was probably tired and threw me to one side."How much of the money that
"Your dad’s just an ungrateful bastard. I brought him food, and he wanted to hit me. He’s doing a little better now and is able to speak. Do you know what he said?"I shook my head.I saw Mom wiping away her tears, looking aggrieved as she said, "He actually said he hates me. It’s all my fault he ended up like this! I loved him so much, and this is how he treats me. Jordan, I’ll never care about him again. Please, I beg you, take me away. I can’t stand living in this garbage dump anymore!"A bad premonition suddenly surged in my heart. I pushed her away, jumped over the pile of trash, and pushed open the door.Flies and the foul stench hit me immediately, and I couldn’t hold back from vomiting again.The community lady rushed over. Her face turned pale and as she screamed, "Ah! Someone’s dead!"Mom opened her mouth wide, her whole body shocked as if struck by electricity."How is that possible? I brought him food every day. How could he be dead?"I walked over and looked. The f
I nodded. "Alright, you said it."From that day on, our family began our “debt repayment” life.Because we had no money, everything was kept simple. For breakfast, it was bread with bitter, lunch roast chicken, and for dinner, it was even simpler—either nothing at all or just water.Mom almost scolded me every day for "abusing" them, so I simply took the bowls away."Mom, since you still have the energy to scold me, you must not be hungry, right?"As for Dad, his limbs didn’t work properly, and every day I had to feed him.But he didn’t like these bland meals either. He turned his head away and nearly knocked my bowl over.They really were something else—not interested in eating, but they didn’t know that Adam and I had grown up eating the same kind of food in the countryside.Although Grandpa and Grandma loved us, they didn’t have much money from farming.If they didn’t want to eat, then I wouldn’t waste food.I collected all the food, locked the door, and took Adam out to e
Mom’s face turned red as she was scolded.I smiled obediently and thanked the elder lady.Then I turned around and took Adam out to eat a "feast." Well, it wasn’t really a feast, just a hamburger that he had been wanting but never dared to look at.I had only seen the advertisements for the place, but I had never eaten there before.Sitting in the clean and tidy restaurant, I handed my brother a hamburger.But he didn’t dare to take it."Jordan, don’t we not have money anymore? If we eat this, Mom will tell us off."I forcefully shoved the hamburger into his hands."Eat it. If she scolds you, just scold her back.""Huh? But I’m scared…"I took a big bite of my hamburger and said with my mouth full."There’s nothing to be afraid of. From now on, no one can bully us—not even Mom and Dad!"With the help of Joanne, the compensation money quickly came through. She opened an account under my name. 800 thousand was locked in a fixed deposit, and the rest was set aside for my broth
I didn’t comfort her like I usually did. I just stayed silent. The people coming and going in the hospital were far more sorrowful than she was.Mom cried for a long time. When she saw that I wasn’t reacting, she stopped crying.She stared at me hatefully and asked, "Why aren’t you crying? If it weren’t for you, could I go look for your dad?""You haven’t shed a single tear! How could I give birth to such a cold-blooded daughter like you?"I silently looked at her and asked in return, "What do you want me to do? Should I act like you and pretend I’m heartbroken?"Mom’s face turned red, and instinctively, she reached out to slap me.But she had forgotten about her physical condition. When she exerted too much force, she toppled over and fell right out of the wheelchair.Her leg wound hadn’t fully healed, and after falling, she couldn’t help but scream in pain."Hurry up and help me up! Don’t you have any common sense, you idiot?"I just crouched down and said, "I can’t help you
"My legs!"All the pain and memories seemed to have come back as soon as she soon her legs.Mom's face became twisted and she grabbed my hand so tight that I felt she was going to break it."How could you agree for them to amputate my legs? Did you do it purpose? Talk to me, Jordan Jackson! Where did my legs go?"I forcefully pulled my hand back and said honestly. "Your legs were crushed by Dad. The doctors amputated your legs to save your life."When Mom heard the word amputate, she trembled even more."What kind of useless doctors are they? I'd rather die than be amputated! What are you standing there for? Go find your dad! He'll definitely help me!""I don't think he'll be able to help you either."Mom gritted her teeth. Her eyes turned red. "What do you mean? Are you saying that he doesn't love me enough? I'm telling you, your dad may not admit it, but I'm the person he loves the most! He'll definitely regret what he's done when he sees me like this. He'll definitely be wor
She clenched her fists and said, "Your mom has gone too far. This is totally child abuse. I'll definitely have her custody revoked!"What I didn't expect was that a police officer came to our house before we were able to go to the police station.He said seriously, "Something happened to your parents, young lady. Are there other adults in the house?"Adam and I both shook our heads in a daze. Then, the officer took us to the hospital.What happened was that Mom went to find Dad, who was drunk. The two of them had an argument in the car park.Mom stood in front of the car and didn't let Dad leave.Dad was drunk, so he mistook the accelerator pedal for the brakes. The car rammed into Mom, lost control, and then rammed into a pillar.Dad had cerebral hemorrhage and all the bones in Mom's lower half of the body were shattered.Outside the ICU, the officer tried to comfort us."The doctors said that their situation is still critical, but if they're lucky, they might only be paralyz
Mom was taken aback at first, but was then infuriated.She gritted her teeth and glared at me with eyes filled with anger and disgust."You and your dad are alike! You're all bastards! I've raised you and you dare hit me?"I opened my mouth and subconsciously clenched my fists. "I don't want you to hit Adam.""Alright, now you want to be the good guy? Where were you when your dad was flirting with that bitch? You only dare to hit me!" shouted Mom."I..."Mom didn't wait for me to finish. She grabbed my collar and slapped me. "You are truly ungrateful bastards!"It wasn't enough for her to just slap me time after time. She also cursed me as well. Her tears also landed on my face during the process.Adam sobbed as he tried to pull Mom's leg, but Mom kicked him aside.My head was spinning and I was seeing multiple figures of Mom.All of them were crying and slapping me at the same time.A while later, Mom was probably tired and threw me to one side."How much of the money that
"I'll grow up as fast I can, Jordan. I'll make lots and lots of money. I don't want to see you cry again."I had no choice but to bury my head in the quilt. Tears welled up in my eyes and quickly soaked the quilt.I tightened my grip. 'So what if they're all gone? Adam and I can still survive."After sending Adam to nursery, I dropped out of school. There still was food in the house, but not much. I needed to find a way to make money.But I didn't know anything. All I could do was learn from the garbage collectors and collect plastic bottles.One plastic bottle could be sold for a cent. I would need 100 bottles to make a dollar. That was enough for some bread.However, I had been wondering for hours and still wasn't able to collect 100 bottles. That was when I passed by Joanne's tattoo shop.Joanne asked me inside and asked me why I didn't go to school. When she heard that I didn't have money, she gave me a bunch of 20-dollar notes."Take this. Don't look at me like that. See i
I knew Joanne was probably in a mood and she didn't really have the responsibility to take care of us.I sniffed and said, "Joanne, I want to call my dad."Joanne lent me her brand-new touchscreen phone. I called Dad several times, but he didn't answer.Joanne couldn't believe what was happening. She took her phone back and called a couple more times. It took a while for the other party to answer.However, the person who answered the call was a woman. I asked her where Dad was.The person on the other end of the line snorted and threw the phone to Dad.He asked impatiently, "Did your mom ask you to call me again? Tell her that I won't be going back!""No, Dad! It's Adam. He has a fever. Please come back and take him to the hospital.Dad snorted again. "The same old excuse. Tell your mom that I won't go back even if both of you die!"Joanne couldn't believe what she was hearing. She took the phone and cursed, "Fuck you! How could you say such things to a child? Go to hell! I wi