I stood there silently until a greasy voice broke the tension. The man across from her leaned back in his chair and grinned. "Is this your daughter? She's a real beauty."
Ignoring his disgusting stare, I snatched the keys from my mom and got out of there as fast as I could.
When I got home, I dropped my backpack and headed straight to the kitchen to start prepping dinner. If I didn't have everything ready by the time my mom came back with my brother from his tutoring class, and her precious baby was hungry, I'd be in trouble. Again.
A little while later, I heard knocking at the door. I set down the spatula and went to answer it.
"Are you deaf, girl? I've been knocking forever!" My mom snapped at me, then bent down to help my brother take off his shoes.
He was holding fried skewers in one hand and bubble tea in the other, waving them at me with a smug grin. "Too bad, you don't get any! Ha!"
I ignored him. I was used to his teasing by now. Turning back to the kitchen, I focused on the food. My brother was always eating junk-- fried food, sugary drinks, anything unhealthy. The house was always stocked with cases of soda and juice, and if we ran out, my mom would rush to buy more. So even though he was still in elementary school, my brother weighed over 180 pounds. He couldn't walk a few steps without panting, and all he did after school was lie on the couch playing video games.
Before all this started, I used to tell him to eat better and exercise. But no one listened. My mom said he had a "lucky figure," and they both accused me of being jealous. I got chewed out for even bringing it up.
Dinner that night was strange. My mom actually asked about my schoolwork, which threw me off. I hesitated before saying, "It's fine." Then she started talking about the girl next door, how she'd dropped out after middle school to get a job. Now she was sending thousands of dollars home every month, and she'd just gotten married. Apparently, her husband had spent a fortune on the wedding.
I felt a pit in my stomach as my mom went on. "Not like my daughter, eating and drinking for free every day while I'm the one footing the bill."
After dinner, my mom pulled my dad into their bedroom. They started whispering behind closed doors, but the way she glanced at me before shutting it gave me chills.