The Unwanted

Synopsis

When I was diagnosed with cerebellar atrophy, my dad found out my mom had hidden the family medical history from him. Flying into a rage, he ditched us, mother and son, and took off with my sister. Guilt-ridden, my mom threw herself into my rehab. For a while, things started looking up. But a month later, she left two hundred bucks and a note, and vanished without a trace. "Lucas, I've done everything I can. We're too broke. Don't blame me." I didn't. My parents still had my healthy sister to raise. I just told myself, "Good luck, Mia. Hope you dodge this genetic bullet. Take care of Mom and Dad when they're old." Meanwhile, I dragged my twisted legs, crooked mouth, and hunched back to work as a cleaner in a banquet hall—courtesy of some charity-minded corporation. A year later, I saw it at the entrance: the guest check-in table for my sister's coming-of-age ceremony. Over-the-top lavish. And there they were, my mom and dad, carefully steadying my sister as she wobbled, their faces full of love and worry. Mom sighed, "Mia's showing symptoms now... I wonder how Lucas is doing. I was about to tell him who we really are, but then..." Dad cut her off coldly, "What's there to talk about? He's dead, isn't he? Bad enough luck as it is. The richest man in town doesn't get his money for nothing. Why should that little brat siphon off assets meant for my daughter? We agreed to leave in stages so he couldn't latch on. You already wasted a whole month on his rehab—that's more than he ever deserved." The guests saw the touching family portrait—parents holding up their struggling daughter—and broke into thunderous applause. "Mr. and Mrs. Bennett have been by their daughter's side through thick and thin for a whole year. It's just so touching." I put down my rag and clapped along as best I could, my hands not quite lining up. Turns out my parents didn't abandon a sick kid. I just wasn't worth keeping.