"God damned kids!" Misty yelled. "Ella get in here! Did I not ask you to clear the table and wash the dishes? How many times do I need to repeat myself?"
"Geez Momma Misty, chill out I'm coming," Ella replied as she sauntered into the room rolling her eyes.
"If you can't do your chores then you wont be able to go to the dance with your sisters," Misty said. "You're 15 now, you have to show more responsibility."
"Stepsisters," Ella spat as she grudgingly picked up the plates and watched her stepmother leave the room from the corner of her eye.
Tabitha and Jessica, the stepsisters in question, were listening to the exchange from the living room and quickly feigned innocence when their mother entered. She looked so stressed. Who could blame her really, suddenly a single mom to 15, 16, and 17 year old girls. Their stepfather died in Afghanistan not even a year ago, and everyone was still pretty grief stricken.
"Tabby and Jess," Misty said, "stop ease dropping and get in there and help your sister."
"Stepsister," they said in unison under their breath. "Why should we?" asked Tabitha a little louder. "We did our chores, and this one is hers."
"You know she's having a hard time since her father died," Misty whispered.
"And we're not?" Jessica retorted. "She's a nightmare, honestly. Why doesn't she think of someone other than herself? She's not the only one who's lost someone."
Misty and Evan had been married for five years before he was re-deployed to Afghanistan. And while the three girls had had a hard time bonding, her girls had had no trouble at all bonding with their stepfather. Everyone had taken his loss hard. Seeing their mother's eyes well up at Jess's words was too much for Tabitha to bear, and she pulled her sister into the kitchen.
"Need some help?" she asked Ella as she pulled Jessica stumbling over the threshold.
"Not from you ugly bitches," Ella replied barely sparing a glance for them.
"Why must you be like that?" said Jessica. "We're trying to be nice here. We don't have to help you, you know."
"Oh now you want to be nice, huh?" Ella said. "Isn't that a change."
"OMG Ella! Get over yourself. You're really gonna have to let the past go, or you'll just end up some bitter old lady," yelled Tabitha.
"Like your evil, bitter mother?"
"Don't you dare talk about our mom that way you spoiled little brat," Tabitha exclaimed. "We're so done with you. Do your own damn chores. Come on Jessica, let's go get ready for the dance."
Ella watched them go, then slowly turned back to the dishes. She didn't know why she behaved that way. They were only offering to help. But something about those girls just got her panties in a twist. After four years of excluding her and making her feel unwelcome, where did they get off being nice now. Just because she'd lost her dad, where did they get off trying to ruin a perfectly good hate-filled relationship.
"Hmmm maybe I am a little bit twisted," she mumbled to herself.
Nice twist on the story!
ReplyDelete