"Back when I was hiding from debt collectors, I saw people off themselves all the time when they hit rock bottom. Nobody ever investigated. Relax."
Sympathy flooded my parents' eyes, but not for me. "Oh, Ethel, you've had it so rough. But better days are ahead now."
The tenderness in their gazes, set against the coldness they'd shown me moments ago, was a stark contrast.
It was like a blade, severing the last thread of hope I'd been clinging to.
"Why?"
The word ripped out of me, raw and shattered.
"All these years, you've only ever cared about Ethel. And now you want me dead. How can you be this heartless? What did I ever do wrong?"
My breakdown only made them recoil in disgust.
My father barked, "What kind of attitude is that? All these years, even a dog would know to wag its tail and show some gratitude. You're nothing but a cripple now. What right do you have to bark at us?"
My mother wavered slightly. "Abigail may have her faults, but she's still your sister. Do we really have to go that far?"