Betrayed By Love

Chapter Two

15 Years Later

"Time to get up Mir, Don't you want a ride to school today?" He ambled through the doorway, like it was his room, seeing nothing but a vacant room.

"I get up early just for her to disappear yet again. Why do I even try?" Aaron rolled his eyes as he shut her door, leaving the house for his usual gym routine. A few minutes of silence ran through the house before Miras' closet door slowly started to creak open.

"He should be on the road by now. I need to hurry. I definitely don't want the same thing as last time to happen." Mira shivered at the thought of running into her mother again. Having to wake up and be out of the house before 8 am every day really sucks. But it's better than being treated like a forgotten stain. Grabbing her backpack, with a sigh, she headed for the front door.

For as long as I can remember, I've always had to walk on eggshells around my mother. If I grabbed her attention at all, she'd either stare me down with a look filled with resentment or lash out at me like I took something precious from her. My father — He looks at me with pity. Other than that, he doesn't interact with me at all. Aaron still treats me like family. He can sometimes be a bit overbearing, but he doesn't mean anything by it. I think he likes showing he cares since no one else does. To make me feel loved. At least he acknowledges me as family, instead of just a free maid.

Mira kept replaying different instances of her life in her mind as she walked towards school, completely unaware of anything around her. She was jolted back into awareness at the blaring sound of someone holding a car horn down. Looking over to see the intruder was none other than her brother, Aaron.

"What are you doing? You know that was unnecessary!" She huffed as she folded her arms in agitation.

Ignoring her little attitude, "Just get into the car, Mir. I'm taking you to school." Knowing she wasn't going to get an apology, she conceded and got into the car.

"Why didn't you wait for me? And how are you only this far? You should've been there by now." He stared at me, waiting for a response.

"Can you please look at the road? I hate it when you do that. This is why I don't like getting rides from you," I rambled as I stared at the road in fear.

Laughing at my despair, Aaron started to swerve the car, scaring me even more.

"Aaron, I'm begging you! Please stop." I started to sob as my anxiety became too much for me.

Realizing he'd gone too far, he stopped the car, pulling me into his embrace, rubbing my back, trying to soothe and calm my nerves. His embrace did nothing to help, but I couldn't move, stuck between his arms and my fear-riddled nervous system. I sat there crying, unable to do anything else.

"Hey, now it's okay. I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to have a bit of fun. It's okay. You're okay. Calm down, Mir." Aaron coaxed as he rubbed my head. Finally getting my bearings, I attempted to pull away, but his embrace tightened in response.

"You okay now, Mir?"

Sucking in a deep breath, before responding, "Yeah, please let me go."

"Alright, let's get you to school now."

Attempting to get out of the car. "I'd like to walk the rest of the way, so I can pull myself together."

"No, I'm going to drive you so I can make sure you get there safely. But you can sit here as long as you'd like before going to class." He left no room for debate, putting his car into gear and heading for school. Resigning to the car ride, I focused on cleaning myself up so I could get out of the car as soon as possible.

"Thank you for the ride, Aaron." I half smiled.

"Sorry again for earlier. And you're welcome on the ride. I love you Mir. Have a good day, see you at dinner."

"Love you too, Aaron, see you later." Rushing to class, in a hurry to start my day at school. I've loved school for as long as I can remember. It's my haven during the days, while Lexi and her home are my haven during the weekends. They keep me going. My parents don't care to celebrate me in any way, so the Grey family took that responsibility up out of the kindness of their hearts. They're throwing a party this weekend to celebrate us finally graduating from high school. We thought it'd be fun to celebrate them together. I mean, we do everything else together anyway. I just have to get through tonight, and then I can spend the weekend being happy with the Grey Family. Exuberance filled her as her eyes sparkled with excitement.

The school day sadly came to an end, Miras' happiness slowly dwindling the closer she gets to her family home. "Just one more night. You can do this," she chanted as she walked down the sidewalk. Each step brings more and more anxiety. Filling her being until she could do nothing but stand there shaking, not wanting to get any closer to her mother's resentment or her father's suffocating pity. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and harden her resolve. Mira continued her walk home, ready for whatever was about to happen. Finally, at her parents' home, she walked in head down, heading straight for her room.

"Mira, we have company later. Clean this kitchen spotless before you eat anything. Do you hear me?" Jane commanded a response.

"Yes, mother."

"Make sure you clean up any messes after my company leaves. If I find a mess anywhere when I wake up, say goodbye to that party your friend is throwing you." Freezing at her comment. How did she know about it?

"Yes, mother."

"Good. Leave."

I rushed up to my room, threw my backpack down, and curled up into a ball as I waited to go do my chores.

"I wish I knew why they treated me this way. I just want to know what I did wrong, so I can fix it. So, they can love me like they love Aaron. I'd do anything to show them I'm sorry for whatever mistake I made. Maybe the fact that I don't remember what I did makes them even madder. But I've racked my brain over and over again. It had to of been when I was a baby. So how can it be my fault? Maybe I killed my twin? Did I cause her to not be able to hold any more children after me? What?! Mother, what did I do?!" I sobbed into my blanket, knowing I'd never get an answer from her.

Eventually, her cries calmed down as she decided to leave. Realizing that living on her own, no matter the hardship, would be so much better than taking abuse from the only people expected to care about her more than anyone else.

"I'll create my own family. One day, when I'm no longer scared of my parents, I'll contact Aaron. I can't leave him behind forever. He's still my brother and the only blood family that loves me."

Satisfied with the prospect of a new life, Mira took a nap, waiting to get her chores over with.