My parents still hate me even though I’m taking care of my sister’s child.
Since my sister was the only kid, I had to raise her child when she got pregnant. But after many years, my parents did the horrible thing and stopped loving me.
I learned when I was five years old that my parents liked my sister Madeline more than I did. They barely even looked at me, even though I was young. My sister would throw big parties for her birthday, but mine were pretty simple.
It was even worse that she knew about it. Madeline would laugh when my mum scolded me for something I did. It didn’t matter who did something wrong in our house; I was always blamed. I had to take care of myself in the end.
I had a lot of jobs around the house to do while my dad scolded me all the time. Madeline, on the other hand, would waste time at home. It was not fair at all. I didn’t know why my family didn’t like me, but I couldn’t change their minds.
I worked part-time in secret and looked forward to my 18th birthday. But Madeline told me she was going to have a baby when I was sixteen. Our parents thought she could never do a bad thing, so they were very happy.
Then my mum said, “That’s great, honey.”
“Mom, I’m only telling you this so you can help me pay for an abortion.” I’m not going to hold on to it. What did my sister say? “It will ruin my life.”
“Madeline, you can’t hurt your child like that.” You are carrying our baby. “We’ll do everything we can to help you, but abortion is out of the question,” my father told her in a nearly angry tone. It was the first time in my life that I saw him act like he was mad at their best child.
“I’m not sure, Tom.” “Maybe we should think about what Madeline needs right now,” my mom said. I was sure she would give in to Madeline’s requests without any trouble.
I’m sorry to Priscilla. It’s great that women have rights, but that’s our child. Madeline, you will love your child very much, and we will always be here for you. “Is everything okay?” “Why?” my dad asked. “Your sister will always be there for you.”
Of course, he offered me without asking for approval. Madeline finally said, “I’ll think about it” when asked. I was sure she would give in because having a child would make sure that our parents would always be there for her. My older sister also wanted an easy life.
Since she chose to keep the baby, I had to be available to her at all times during the pregnancy. Things got worse after the baby was born, though. Making Madeline get up a few times in the first few days to feed her son Brandon was her job, but after that, it was all my job.
Madeline went back to her old ways and partied all the time while I had to stay home and raise her kid. When they said they would help with the baby, our parents only made empty promises, and it was clear they didn’t care about Brandon either.
I had to step up and quit school in order to take care of him. I kept working part-time and working on my GED so I could reach my goal of moving away when I turned 18. Madeline did come home one day with a new message, though, after being away for a week.
“Dad, Mom. “I’m leaving,” she said.
“What do you mean you’re leaving?” So I asked.
“Chloe, please stop talking,” she yelled. “I’m not going to talk to you.”
“Honey, it’s okay to take a few days off.” When are you going to come back? My mum asked her a question.
“I’m not going to come back.” That’s what I want to say to you. She then said, “My boyfriend Zak and I are going on a road trip, and I might never come back.”
“Now what about Brandon?” To help her understand that she couldn’t leave her child behind, I yelled at her. I’ll be going to college in a few months. Who is going to watch the kid?
I don’t care about that. Thank you! She said this as she turned to leave. My mom started crying, and my dad had to hold her.
I asked, “What will we do about Brandon?” I asked my parents.
You can’t help but notice how sad your mum is, Chloe. Please don’t bother us. “Leave me alone,” my dad said.
On that day, I no longer saw them as family. It was clear that I was by myself, and they didn’t seem to care about Brandon at all. I wouldn’t leave him with these people. I would take care of him.
After a few months, I had saved enough money to move. When I left, I took Brandon with me, and my parents didn’t even notice.
I needed to be able to set my own hours, so I went to an online college and worked full-time to support Brandon. I was coping, even though it was hard. I finally made a great group of friends who would be there for me and Brandon.
Some people told me I was crazy to have a child so young, but I had to take care of them. He was my nephew by blood, but he was now also my kid in all the important ways. I wouldn’t leave him like our parents and my careless big sister would.
After a few years, I met my boyfriend, Dallas. He planned to work at his dad’s law firm while he was studying to be a lawyer. He loved Brandon, and we talked about getting married after Brandon finished.
When my buzzer rang one day, Dallas was making dinner. My name is Madeline. She looked rough and a lot older than she really was. “Why are you here?” So I asked.
She asked right away, “Where is my child?” and tried to get in, but I shut the door.
“Your kid?” Ma’am, you don’t own him. You gave him away years ago. “He’s my son now, even though you can’t see him,” I told him. Because Brandon was playing in his room, I hoped he wouldn’t come out just yet.
“Chloe, you can’t keep me from MY CHILD.” You are the worst person in the world! Madeline called me. At that point, Dallas went up to her and asked her to calm down.
“I’m not going to give up!” She screamed again, “No matter what, I’m going to get my child back!” but Dallas shut the door in her face. Madeline yelled outside for a while until my boyfriend said he would call 911.
“What should I do next?” Later that night, I asked him some questions. She’s his mum. They could get rid of him.
“Okay, honey, don’t worry about it.” I’m going to talk to my dad in the morning. He said, “He’ll tell us what legal steps we can take to make sure Brandon never has to go with that harpy.” What Dallas’s father did made it possible for me to become Brandon’s adoptive mother.
My family and Madeline got back quickly. Even though they wanted to see and return Brandon, the three of them couldn’t go to court. In the end, I learned that Madeline had only come back to see Brandon in order to get some money from the government.
Once I became his formal mother, she was no longer able to do that, and she disappeared again. I was glad I wasn’t alone anymore, and Brandon would never have to feel the way I did as a child.
What can we learn from this story?
Do not show favouritism. Some parents are biassed towards one child over another, which is bad for the family as a whole.
You shouldn’t be with those kinds of people. Don’t try to make love happen when it’s not there. Make new friends who will always love you. They’re real.
