Chapter 13

Brian's POV

"Your dad isn't answering his phone. He must be in a meeting." my teacher said for the third time, frowning at her cell phone. "And Mrs.Johnson's number, I mean you step mom's number goes straight to voicemail."

I stood by the school gate, trying to look brave even though my stomach felt funny. Sarah promised she'd come. She promised. She said we'd go get ice cream after school,just like she always did before.

"Perhaps we should call your birth mother-" my teacher started.

"She's not my mother anymore!" The words burst out before I could stop them. "I don't want her to comne. She's mean and boring and only cares about stupid food rules!"

My teacher sighed that grown-up sigh that means they think you're being difficult. "Brian, someone needs to pick you up. It's already past four."

"I want to go home." I crossed my arms tight against my chest, like a shield."I can walk."

"You know we can't let you do that." She checked her phone again. "I'll have to escort you home myself." The walk felt longer than usual. My teacher kept trying to talk to me,asking about my day and my friends, but I just stared at my shoes.They were new ones Sarah had bought me -sparkly blue with real lights that blinked when I walked. Annie never let me have light-up shoes. She always said they were a waste of money and would break too quickly.

But Annie also never forgot to pick me up.

Our apartment building looked different somehow when we finally got there. Bigger. Emptier. The doorman nodded to my teacher and called the elevator, but nobody said anything on the rideup.

"Will you be alright by yourself?" my teacher asked when we reached our door. "Is there someone inside?"

"Dad will be home soon," I lied. "And Sarah too. They're just busy."

She didn't look like she believed me, but she finally left after making me promise to call the school if I needed anything. As soon as the door closed behind her, the apartment felt huge and quiet, like a museum after everyone goes home.

I dumped my backpack by the door- something Annie would have never allowed-and headed straight for the kitchen. Sarah had filled our freezer with my favorite ie cream flavors, all the ones Annie said had too much sugar. I grabbed the biggest spoon I could find and started eating right from the container.

That's when I saw Sarah's Instagram post.

"Perfect afternoon with my perfect boy! #BlessedMama #QualityTime"

The photo showed her and Max at the new theme park, the one she'd promised to take me to. They were both smiling, and Max had ice cream all over his face. The time stamp said "1 hour ago,"

My stomach started to hurt, but I couldn't tell if it was from all the ice cream or something else. I scrolled through more photos-Sarah and Max at the movies, at the park, getting fancy lunches. All posted today, while I was at school. While she was supposed to be too busy to pick me up. The ice cream didn't taste good anymore, but I kept eating.Annie would have stopped me by now. She always seemed to know exactly when I'd had too much, even before I did. She'd take away the ice cream and make me drink water, then rub my belly when it hurt.

But Annie wasn't here anymore. Because I'd wanted Sarah instead.

My stomach cramped sharply, making me curl up on the couch.The empty ice cream container fell to the floor, but I couldn't make myself pick it up. Annie would be so disappointed in the mess...

"Brian?" Dad's voice startled me. I hadn't even heard him come in. "What s wrong? Why are you home alone?"

"Sarah was supposed to..." The words got stuck as another cramp hit. "She promised..."

Dad's face did something complicated, like he was trying to figure out a really hard math problem. Then he saw the ice cream container and sighed."Let's get you to the doctor."

The next morning, Sarah was already at our kitchen table when I woke up.She looked perfect as always in her fancy clothes, but something felt different. Her smile didn't reach her eyes anymore.

"Finally awake?" she said, not looking up from her phone. "There's cereal if you're hungry." I stared at the box of sugary cereal on the table. Annie never let me have this kind for breakfast. She said my body needed real food to grow strong and healthy. She'd make me special pancakes instead, the ones that didn't make my stomach hurt. "I don't feel good," I said quietly. "Can I have something else?"

Sarah's perfect eyebrows drew together. "If you don't want cereal,you can go hungry. I'm not your servant."

Max snickered from his seat, his mouth full of colorful cereal. "Mom says only babies need special food."

"But yesterday you said-"

"Things change, Brian." Sarah's voice had an edge I'd never heard before."And if you tell your father about any of this, you'll regret it. Understood?"

I nodded quickly, my throat feeling tight. This wasn't the Sarah I knew.

Where was the one who bought me toys and let me eat whatever I wanted?The one who said she'd be a better mom than Annie?

"Max, honey, ready to go to the new theme park?" Sarah's voice turned sweet again as she turned to her son. "I got us VIP passes!"

"But you promised we'd all go together..." The words slipped out before I could stop them.

Sarah's perfect smile turned sharp. "Plans change. Maybe next time."

I watched them leave,Sarah's designer heels clicking against the floor, Max shooting me a smug look over his shoulder. The apartment felt even bigger and emptier than before.

Sitting alone at the kitchen table, I stared at the soggy cereal turning the milk weird colors. Annie would have never left me alone like this. Even when she was mad at me, she always made sure I ate properly.She'd sit with me and ask about my day, even if I didn't want to talk. The door opened again hours later, and for a second I thought maybe Dad had come home early. But it was Sarah, her perfect makeup not quite hiding how angry she looked.

"You little brat," she hissed, grabbing my arm. "Max got hurt at the park because of your stupid mother!"

"Annie? But she wasn't even-"

The slap caught me by surprise, my cheek stinging as tears sprang to my eyes.

"Your mother got my son beaten up!" Sarah's perfect nails dug into my arm. "Well, if my son has to suffer, so do you!"

I tried to pull away, but she was stronger than she looked. "Please, I didn't-"

"Max!" she called out. "Take Brian's breakfast and throw it away. We can't let Brian's Dad see that."

Max appeared with a mean grin, grabbing my untouched cereal bowl. I watched him dump it in the trash and then take out the trash,remembering all the times Annie had made sure I ate, even when I was being difficult.

"Go to your room," Sarah ordered Max. "And don't come out, no matter what you hear." As Max's door closed, Sarah's face changed. She wasn't even trying to look nice anymore. She looked... scary. "Your father wants us to be a happy family," she said, her voice getting weirdly calm. "But you're making that very difficult, Brian. Very difficult indeed."