I soon was called downstairs, and I saw that my father was home. Early. Like, a few weeks early. I plopped down on the couch, feeling my gut swell with the impending dread, and also a little hope that father wouldn’t hear it. “Arianna, stay there.” My father’s voice was stern, almost angry. I couldn’t help it, but my face twisted into one of fear and regret. Once Ash and Madee came downstairs, I knew it was sealed. Madee sat to the right of me, and Ash on the left. I so badly wanted to reach over to Madee and pull her into a hug, sobbing while I do so. But, I kept my head up, swallowing back the tears that I didn’t want to ruin whatever was going to happen. Vann started the conversation, and I really knew it was about this. “Arianna. It has been brought to my attention that you are the one who has been causing Ash trouble.” I caught Ash’s eyes grow wide, and I looked away. 

Vann turned to face Ash this time as he spoke. “Ash. I saw Arianna trip you earlier, and I thought nothing of it. Then, I remembered when she burned your hand, broke your favorite picture, and slapped you. So then I knew it wasn’t a coincidence. Is there anything else she’s done?” Ash hesitated to answer. I looked over at my father to see that he didn’t seem so welcoming to look at when we made eye contact. Madee whispered, “Take your time.” to Ash when she leaned over. I couldn’t help but scowle, and soon Ash caught that. “Um.. well..” Ash spilled. Everything. Every little detail, and I watched my father’s face change so much as he looked at me. I felt worse. Like a mistake, a disappointment, a failure. I wanted to be a perfect daughter to my father, and I failed him. I failed mother, I failed my sister… I failed everyone and everything I ever knew. My father’s glare was fixed on me, like hell fire straight from hell. 

It was a while before Vann broke the furious silence that raged in the room. The anger that was in my father’s eyes was almost the same anger that he had when my mother died. I knew that look, I knew him. I hated it. I hate everything. I hate my father, I hate my mother for dying, I hate myself, I hate how my sister didn’t know that she was my sister. I hate Ash, I hate my friends, I hate every. Little. Thing. “Madee. I will meet you upstairs in a little bit. Please go find something up there to do.” Madee quickly left when Vann finished. Soon, Vann turned his attention to Ash again. “Ash. Is there anything else you need to mention?” She shook her head. My father soon spoke. “Arianna, do you have anything to say about this?” I wanted to scream at him, yell at everyone and everything. I wanted to cry, beat my fist against something that wasn’t the walls of my mind. But, I stayed silent. I knew I was caught red-handed, but I knew that there was something else going on that I’d never mention. I knew it involved Ash. Because, who in their right MINDS would send messages telling me to kill myself, telling me to do all sorts of things to my self, my body? Laughing at my lack of parental people, and other things?

Vann soon spoke again, folding his arms as he soon brought his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. “So, let me get this straight.” There was a little silence. “Arianna, you adopted Ash to make her your servant, purposely hurt her because she made simple mistakes, made your friends follow suit on MULTIPLE occasions, not just to Ash, but her friends as well, and purposely set your OWN kitchen on fire just to blame her, and play the victim card? Am I missing anything?” Vann had raised his voice. I felt like melting into the couch, crawling inside my mind. But, my mind raged with the swollen anger in his voice, making me want to just melt into the couch instead. He soon spoke quietly to Ash. “Am I forgetting anything, Ash?” She shook her head. Vann turned to me again, full of anger. The words he was about to say, seemed to make my mind worse. “There you go! You are no more than a, spoiled, lazy, know it all brat!” I shivered at that, not realizing I pressed my legs tighter together like a dog folds its tail between its legs. 

Vann soon quieted down, his glare still residing on me before it switched over to my father. “Okay then. Mr. Delmire. I think this girl,” he pointed to me, furrowing his brow before continuing, “Deserves more than just a talking-to, don’t you think?” My father nodded. “Vann, Ashtynn, if you two have your own things to do, you ma-” Vann cut him off. “Nuh-uh. Nope. Ash and I are staying, right, here.” He pointed to the ground where he was standing before folding his arms again. My father shrugged, which meant that he was alright with that fact. I hate this, I hated Vann more than I thought I could hate a person. “Arianna, Elizabeth, Delmire.” My father seemed to hiss out my name, each one of them grew more angry. “You are hereby grounded for three months, no cell phone or internet usage will be permitted. Go to your room for the rest of the night, but set all, and I mean, ALL your electronics outside, even the remote to your TV.” 

Vann and Ash both looked at my father. I hate him just as much as I did Vann. Vann soon whispered loud enough, “Is that what she really deserves?” I scoffed in my head. I guess the council really does decide your fate, except it is the: ‘The-people-I-hate’ sector of it. “Ash?” Vann and my father asked in sync. I looked over at Ash. I hated her just the same as I did those two men. She froze from being put on, but slowly thought for a moment. “Well… I think she deserves to clean the kitchen, by herself, clean the whole house like I had to do, no friends over, and yeah to the no internet usage and the she’s grounded for three months part. But, that’s my opinion. Oh, yeah. By the way, she’s got to be nice to us while we are here.” I watched Ash’s face swell into a grin, full of pride and satisfaction. Vann and my father looked at each other, surprised. Father was a little more surprised than Vann was. My father agreed to what the ‘council-of-Ash’ said, and added the fact that if I protested it would be a day longer each time. 

I bawled my fists at that, and not giving two flying bird craps, I protested. I didn’t care at this point. “What? But that’s not fair! Daddy, it’s all Ash’s fault! Why can’t you see that?” I looked at him, feeling like I had to beg the executioner to let me out of being beheaded. Ash was going to say something, but stopped. Vann took her out of the room, and that was that. Father told me to leave his sight, that he couldn’t bear to be in the same room as me right now. I, instead of using the elevator, used the stairs. I could hear Vann talking to the two girls, and soon a loud squeal coming from their room. I went to my room, and softly shut the door. It was safe now, I could cry. I went, grabbed all my electronics and their cords, even the HDMI cord and other things to the TV, setting them outside my door. My phone and things were all powered off, so there would be silence coming from them. I looked around at my room once I shut the door again. Nothing felt right, but I was glad I didn’t have to read anymore of those messages flooding in from multiple numbers. 

I needed to finish my science project. Lucky for me, I had already printed out a model and things so that I didn’t have to use my phone. It was a few hours before I finished that, and soon set out to clean up the kitchen. I knew it was a bad thing to do in burning it, but I… Well, nothing can justify it. What I did wasn’t right, and I knew it. I knew I sure as day wouldn’t do that again. I got the needed supplies to fix it from Christopher. He shook his head at me, and walked away. He had always been a quiet man. I was scrubbing the backsplash behind the stove when Ash and Madee walked in. They didn’t say anything, and I didn’t acknowledge their presence. I wonder what Madee would do if she knew she was my sister. Probably tell me some horrible things, maybe even beat some sense into me. I don’t know. But, hearing Madee and Ash laughing together as they remake dinner stung a little. Not because they probably were laughing at me, but because Madee and I used to laugh when we helped mother in the kitchen. 

I finished up, well after they had finished eating. There was enough left for me, and a note. I looked at it, and soon decided to read it. ‘I’m sorry about this, but I know who the messages are from. But, maybe you can fix that? -Ash’ I ripped it up, and threw it away. Mockery isn’t going to help me, Ashtynn. I ate what was left, and soon went up to my room. But, before that, I decided to look into the old nursery that was still all put together. I needed those albums. I slipped into the less used halls, and found that familiar childhood door, a lump forming in my throat as I touched the door knob. It creaked a little as I opened it, and I soon shut it behind me. There were a few pictures on the walls, just things like sunsets and what not. I walked over to the bookshelf, skimming over the names of books, nursery rhymes, and whatever else we used to read. Finally, at the second or third shelf till the top, there were the albums. I picked out a few of them, and scurried quietly back to my room. I felt like someone, maybe Madee because Ash would already be asleep, saw me, but I didn’t care. I had what I wanted to look at, and what I wanted to cry myself asleep with. 

I cleaned up my slightly messy room, showered, got my pj’s on, and laid in bed flipping through the pages of the albums. From my parent’s wedding pictures, faces of people I faintly recognized, and the weird close ups of my baby face, my feet, or Madee’s drooling face and tiny feet. I laughed at the Halloween one. My father had mother put makeup on his face to make him and Madee match being cats, and I was gonna be a princess. Well, I already was in the picture. I heard a faint stumble outside my door, and I shut the album, shoving it under my sheets. I went to the door, and opened it a little. Madee scurried back to her room on seeing the sliver of light from my room. “That was weird.” I thought to myself as I shut my door again. But, whatever. I don’t care. It’s not like she’d remember me anyway. I soon sat on my bed, and continued to thumb through the pages of the photo album. 

I woke up in the morning to my face stuck to the plastic film of the photo album, and the sound of Madee and Ash scurrying to the elevator for breakfast. I got up after carefully unsticking my face, and also wiping the embarrassing drool off my face and the photo album, and headed to the elevator myself so that I could have breakfast before cleaning. After we all had breakfast, I was up in my room. After showering, getting dressed, and cleaning my room, I was about to take to the gruesome task of vacuuming the whole house. God, I hated living in a big house now that I have to clean it, without the help of a few other people. I was just about to start after plugging in the vacuum when Ash came up to me. “Hey, Arianna.” I looked over at her. “What.” She gave me a smile. “Can you call my friends to ask them to come over?” I looked at her as if she had lost her mind. She’s crazy, thinking that I would fall for it, that I would get into deeper trouble. I went to find my father and Vann, asking them if I can place a call for Ash. “Are you sure that you’re not going to use it for yourself?” Vann asked, narrowing his eyes. Ash spoke on my behalf. “I asked her to.” They nodded, and handed me my phone. 

Soon, probably twenty or so minutes later, her friends were at the door. Only three out of the six made it, thank god, and I let them in. “Uh, Ash. Hairstripe, hoodie and uh… whatever her name is? Rach? Whatever, they’re here. The other three couldn’t make it.” I muttered the last part, and Ash looked at me as if to say ‘get lost’. I left and went to my room. I was busy thumbing through the photo album when I heard noises from the basement. I honestly thought they were murdering someone, so I went to quietly check and see just in case they made a doll of me and were burning it in effigy. I don’t know, they were weird! I went down there, and upon closer inspection, mainly from hearing, they were watching a movie. “They must be watching a movie… which one though..?” I whispered to myself. Ash, her friends, and Madee were just finishing up The Circle of Life which was an alright song. I couldn’t help but quietly join in on one of my secret favorites. Once it was done, I waited a few minutes before coming in to ask how they were. I got a few unwelcoming glares, and a few snickers as well. “What do you want from us, Arianna?” Hairstripe asked, a little mean to the questioning tone. “I was just asking, Jesus to Jenny. Like, I might as well just change my attitude, regardless if I'm grounded or not. But, if you don’t want that, I'll just go back to my old ways. But, whatever. I’m going back to my room.” Madee seemed like she was about to say something, but was shunned by Ash and her group.

I got back upstairs to my room, and soon finished up looking at some of the pictures before I went back to cleaning and stuff. It was boring having to clean the whole house, and also pretty tedious. I was really happy that I had servants, and all that other stuff. I guess I did need something to wake me up, or something on that, to make me realize I shouldn’t take anything for granted, and that I should be grateful. 

-End-