They Found Me, Then Ordered Me To Leave

Chapter 2 The Walking Reminder

My heart plummeted, joining the shattered pieces of the plate on the floor.

So, what once tasted of home now tasted of guilt.

I stood frozen, the fork still held ridiculously in the air, caught in a gesture I couldn't complete.

The sweet, smoky scent of barbecue now mingled with the sound of Amanda's muffled, fear-choked sobs.

Amelia slipped down from her chair immediately. Without a fuss, she went to Amanda's side. Her small hand patted Amanda's back with a practiced, gentle rhythm. "Shh, it's okay, Mom. I'm right here. Everything is okay."

Amanda clutched the girl to her, finally breaking into full, wrenching tears. "My Amy, my sweet girl. Thank God I still have you. Thank God..."

She repeated Amelia's name like a mantra, a spell against the horror I somehow represented. Meanwhile, I, her biological daughter, stood a few feet away—an unwanted specter, a bringer of chaos.

Samuel's face was set in grim lines. He shot a look at the housekeeper, Margot Summers, his voice thick with exhaustion. "Take her to her room to settle in."

Dinner was effectively over.

Margot led me down a long hallway, stopping finally at a small door tucked into a corner on the ground floor.

It wasn't a bedroom, but a storage closet.

Old furniture lined the walls, with just enough space cleared in the middle for a narrow cot. The air smelled faintly of dust.

"Your old bedroom was converted into Ms. Amelia Nelson's study years ago," Margot stated flatly.

She pulled a blanket from a linen cupboard and tossed it onto the cot. "You'll have to make do here for now."

I had no choice but to nod.

The door closed, leaving me in darkness.

As I lay on the unforgiving mattress, sleep was impossible.

The walls were thin, and voices from the living room filtered through.

First, Amanda's fractured weeping. Then, Samuel's voice came, strained with suppressed anger. "I told you this was a mistake! Look at you—you're having an episode again! We've had five years of peace!"

"I can't help it..." Amanda's voice was raw with a fear beyond her control. "When I saw her face, it all came flooding back. The mall entrance that day? The crowd? I just turned around, and she was just gone. I can't stop it!"

Her sobs grew more desperate. "Why does she have to look so much the same? So thin! Just like she was! Watching Amy every day, I was finally starting to forget, and now she's back, and it's all fresh again! I can't bear it!"

A long, weary sigh from Samuel. "Amy's been so good for us. She's obedient, smart, and a ray of sunshine. She's the reason you got through these past five years. Our home finally felt whole again. And n-now she's back, and it's all ruined. Everything's ruined!"

I curled into a tight ball, pulling the blanket over my head. But their words were like needles, finding their way through the fabric to prick my ears and my soul.

So, my return wasn't a blessing. It was a new disaster, wrecking the fragile peace they'd built.

In this family, Amelia was the balm, the medicine that soothed Amanda's wounds and Samuel's grief.

And I, Jessica, was the sickness. The living, breathing taboo. A walking, talking reminder of the day this family shattered—a reminder they'd tried so hard to bury.