Chapter 129 Scraps

Chapter 129 Scraps
Danika's Pov

It’s been three days since I received that call from my mother, and three days of silence on my end. Every single call that came from them after that went straight to voicemail or was ignored entirely.

It didn't matter what reason they were calling for, or how many times my phone screen lit up with their numbers; I simply didn't want to hear anything from them ever again. I thought I had set my boundaries. I thought the distance would keep me safe.

I was wrong.

It was late at night, and I was leaving work after a long, exhausting day. The parking lot was mostly quiet as I walked toward my car, reaching into my purse to pull out my keys. I unlocked the driver’s side door and was just about to step inside when a hand suddenly grabbed my arm from behind.

The grip was ruthless. Fingers dug into my wrist with such brutal force that a sharp, blinding pain shot straight up my arm. My keys clattered to the ground.

"Ow! Let go of me!" I gasped, twisting around to confront whoever was attacking me.

My breath caught in my throat. The world seemed to stop moving altogether. Standing there, holding onto me like a vice grip, was my father. His face was set in a harsh, unforgiving scowl, his knuckles white as he squeezed my wrist even tighter until the bones throbbed.

My eyes widened in sheer shock. My heart hammered against my ribs, making my voice tremble violently as I stared at him. "H-How... how did you get here?"

Before he could even open his mouth to answer, a harsh shadow stepped up from the side, and a blinding sting erupted across my face.

The force of the blow snapped my head to the side. Pain flared across my cheek. I recoiled in instinctual fear, stumbling back against the side of my car, but my father’s grip kept me from dropping to the ground. I looked up, my vision blurring, only to see my mother towering over me.

She was breathing heavily, staring down at me with so much raw hatred in her eyes that it felt like a physical weight pressing against my chest.

"You slut! You ungrateful little bitch!" my mother spat, her voice a harsh whisper that carried dangerous fury. "How dare you ignore our calls?! Who do you think you are?! After everything we’ve done for you, after everything we sacrificed to raise you, you just had to try and ignore us?!"

A bitter taste filled my mouth. I swallowed, staring at her through the shock. The sheer nerve of her words sent a wave of disgust through me, temporarily overriding my terror.

"Everything you’ve done for me?" I scoffed, my voice raspy as I glared up at her. "Are you serious right now? I have always been the one fending for myself! Ever since I was old enough to stand on my own two feet, I took care of myself! You didn't do anything for me! Absolutely nothing!"

"Shut your mouth!" my mother roared. Her palm hit the exact same spot on my cheek with even more force. My head cracked back against the car window. A sharp metallic tang flooded my mouth, and when I licked my lip, I tasted blood. The world spun for a second, black spots dancing across my vision as I gasped for air.

"Don't you dare talk back to me!" she hissed, pointing a finger directly at my face. "You owe us your life, Danika! You owe your sister everything!"

Before I could clear the pain from my head, movement in the shadows near the parking garage pillars caught my eye. Someone was slowly stepping out into the dim light. My eyes locked onto the figure, and my jaw went slack.

It was Natalie. But she barely looked like the sister I remembered. I stared in horror as she shuffled closer. She had changed drastically, so much so that she looked like a completely different person.

She was terribly thin, her frame so gaunt that her bones were visibly protruding against her skin. Her face was hollowed out, her cheekbones sharp and sunken, and her eyes were wide, bloodshot, and pushed so deep into her skull they looked like empty black sockets.

"N-Natalie...?" I stammered, my voice barely a whisper.

I looked over her clothes, and a wave of disturbing realization washed over me. The outfit she was wearing didn't fit her at all. The fabric hung off her skeletal frame like a sheet draped over a pole, looking as if she had just been thrown into them haphazardly. As I looked closer, I recognized the faded pattern, they were my old clothes. Clothes I had left behind in Jared’s house.

Natalie kept walking toward me, her footsteps uneven and dragging. Her eyes were fixed on me with an erratic, unblinking intensity, her head tilted at an awkward angle. She looked terrifying, like someone who had just stepped out of a mental hospital before they were even close to being healed.

Fear gripped my spine. "Natalie... what are you trying to do?" I asked, pulling back as far as my father's grip would allow.

Natalie didn't answer right away. She stopped just a foot away from me, invading my space. The smell of stale air and faint chemical soap lingered around her.

She leaned in, her hollow eyes boring into mine, and asked a single word in a flat whisper. "Why?"

I blinked, thoroughly confused and terrified by the unhinged look in her eyes. "What...?"

Natalie's face twisted into a manic sneer, her trembling hands reaching out as if she wanted to tear me apart. "Why does it always have to be you?!" she suddenly shrieked, her voice cracking with insane jealousy. "Why do you get to have all the good things in life, Danika?! Why do you get the wealth, the status, the perfect man, while I... while I am only left with the damn scraps?!"