Blood Isn't Always Family

Synopsis

I was the real daughter the Avery family had finally found, but even their fake daughter's dog lived better than me. When the fake daughter coughed, my brother slapped me across the face. He said I only cared about dressing warmly myself and hadn't reminded her to put on a coat. Then he ripped off my jacket and draped it over her shoulders. He wouldn't let me ride in the car either, saying that I should "learn a lesson." So I walked to school through the bitter wind for over an hour, the temperature below zero. That night at dinner, I reached for one extra piece of the ribs—the fake daughter's favorite, and my mother flung her knife at my face. "You don't know how to share," she snapped. "You've been spoiled by that adoptive brother of yours." She handed the whole plate to the fake daughter. To "correct my selfishness," she starved me for three days. When I called the police, they sent my sister, Alisha, to smooth things over, and the moment the officers left, my parents said they'd starve me longer for causing trouble. They locked me in my room. I grew so weak that I could barely move. Just before I passed out, I used my backup phone—my last bit of strength—to text Camden, the man who used to be my foster brother. "Camden, I'm dying. Can you come get me? I don't want the 'good life' you promised anymore. I just... I miss you."