Mom, I don’t want to be stuck in the middle anymore by Mark Twain 1
Chapter 1
I was caught in the crossfire of a blended family.
My parents were a blended family, each bringing a child into the marriage with a solemn vow: they’d love
each other’s kids like their own.
But my sister Chloe Bennett couldn’t care less about school and was ready to take off with her deadbeat
boyfriend.
My brother Mason Bennett spent his days hanging around losers, smoking and drinking all day.
My dad David Bennett couldn’t stand to watch Chloe throw her life away. My mom Sarah Bennett couldn’t
stand watching Mason waste his life.
So they had me-a buffer, a pawn designed to keep their firstborns in line.
But when it came to disciplining their own blood, they didn’t pull any punches. They used me as the whip.
The first time Chloe came home caked in makeup, Dad shoved me outside at dawn in a miniskirt. I was
seven years old. He made Chloe watch me stumble back in, my clothes torn.
When Mason started flashing money around town, Mom told him she was handing me over to a stranger to
raise.
Mason dropped to his knees and begged her not to. But Mom was dead set on teaching him a lesson.
“Actions have consequences. Don’t you ever forget Lily is gone because of you!”
She took fifty dollars and pulled him away. She never once looked back.
“Mom! Mom, I don’t want to leave you!” I screamed after her. She kept walking.
Mom thought she’d hired an actress to scare Mason into behaving. But the woman locked me in a basement
the moment Mom left. She didn’t come back.
“Mom!” I shrank back when mom grabbed me. She yanked me out into the light.
My mom’s friend Ruby Vance looked me over like livestock at an auction. She grabbed my face and yanked
my mouth open, checking my teeth.
Mom kept a death grip on Mason’s hand. He stood there, frozen.
Ruby took her time with the act. Finally, she spoke.
“She’s old enough to remember now. If I was the one raising her, I couldn’t promise she’d even take to me. So let’s be clear. If I take her in and feed her, I’m her mother. She never sees any of you ever again.”
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That was when it hit me. Mom was really giving me away.
Panic tore through me. I started sobbing. “Mom, I won’t be a burden! Please don’t give me away. I’ll be good, I
promise!”
I tried to run back to Mom, but Ruby’s hand clamped around my arm like a vise. Mom didn’t even look at me.
She just shoved Mason’s head down and forced him to look at me.
“Mason, get a good look at your sister. This is what you get for flashing money around. Lily is paying for
you.”
Mason stiffened. A second later, he started shaking. He’d never liked me, but he hadn’t wanted this.
When he saw Ruby starting to pull me away, something in Mason snapped. He started crying too, tears and
snot streaking down his face.
“Mom, I’m sorry. I won’t show off again. Please don’t send Lily away, okay?”
Mom smiled. Her stubborn son had finally apologized. Hope flared in me. Mason had said he was sorry. Did
that mean I could go home now?
But Mom’s smile vanished. Her face went cold.
“No. Actions have consequences. You wanted to show off? Well, show’s over. You’d never learn your lesson
otherwise.”
But I wasn’t the one who’d done anything wrong. I said it out loud anyway, but Mom didn’t even flinch.
“You’re his sister. You didn’t stop him, did you? That makes you responsible, too.”
I grabbed the door handle and held on tight. I was terrified.
Mason dropped to his knees in front of Mom. His face was beet-red.
“Mom, you can have all my allowance. Please, I’m begging you. Don’t send Lily away.”
He started slamming his forehead into the pavement. Blood started to bead on his forehead.
This time, Mom couldn’t help it. She laughed. That laugh sounded wrong.
“Good. You know you were wrong. But you need to suffer the consequences, or you’ll never really learn. Ruby, take Lily away.”
My fingers slipped. Ruby dragged me into the van.
The second we were inside, Ruby shoved a rag Into my mouth. I tried to fight back, but she slapped me hard
across the face.
“Your mom doesn’t want you anymore. Move again and I’ll toss you out on the street. You’ll be starving in the
gutter.”
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I didn’t want to end up on the street. I froze.
“Lily! Lily!”
I twisted around to look back and saw Mason running after us. His shoes slipped off. He kept running.
He ran until he tripped and hit the ground hard. The van pulled away.
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Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.
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