Mom, I don’t want to be stuck in the middle anymore by Mark Twain 3
Chapter 3
My family was… off.
Mason was Dad’s son. Chloe was Mom’s daughter. After that, they had me.
They’d both been married before.
Dad’s first wife got sick. She killed herself so she wouldn’t be a burden to anyone.
Mom’s first husband died in a car accident. He’d been hauling freight in the rain, trying to give his family a
better life.
They died saints. Frozen in time as the perfect spouses.
My parents didn’t marry out of love. They married so their kids could have a “normal” family.
There was a framed motto hung on our living room wall: [LOVE THEM LIKE YOUR OWN.]
Mom and Dad poured everything into each other’s kids.
“If you buy my daughter a new dress today, I’ll buy your son a new pair of shoes tomorrow.”
“I’ll treat your kid exactly as well as you treat mine.”
They kept score. Everything had to eve
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At first, they didn’t plan on having more kids. But as Mason and Chloe grew up, they started doing what they wanted. They weren’t scared of their actual parents. They kept pushing and pushing.
If Mom disciplined Mason and Dad disciplined Chloe, they might listen, for a minute. But being a stepparent was hard. They were afraid to be too harsh. People would say they were abusive.
“I can’t be too hard on my stepchild, but I can discipline my own kid however I want.”
That was the point of having me. Even my name was an afterthought. Lily Bennett. Simple. Generic. A blank
slate.
Lily.
It was plain. They didn’t put much thought into it.
I was the third wheel, wedged between my brother and sister.
They gave me a little attention, but not much. They were used to loving Mason and Chloe first. There wasn’t
much left over for me.
But if Mason or Chloe did something wrong, I was the one who got punished. The louder I screamed, the
longer Mason and Chloe fell in line.
Mom said she was making an example out of me to keep them in line.
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But I was just a kid.
Mom carried the dishes to the table, but Mason’s hands were shaking so badly he could hardly grip his fork.
He must’ve told Chloe what happened. She sat as far from Mom as she could, trembling. They were both
scared stiff.
Mom didn’t see it that way at all. She thought her “method” was working. The two of them were finally
behaving.
She heaped their plates high with their favorites.
Before, Mason would have thrown a tantrum and refused to eat anything Mom served, forcing her to beg him
to take a bite.
This time, Mason ate everything Mom put in front of him in silence. He didn’t even hesitate over the
vegetables he hated.
Mom and Dad exchanged a look, pleased with themselves.
I heard Mom murmur to Dad.
“If I’d known sending Lily away would make them listen, I would’ve done it years ago.”
Dad nodded.
I stood off to the side, staring blankly at the food on the table. Their words didn’t reach me anymore. I was dead already.
Every time we sat down to eat, I wasn’t allowed to eat the dishes Mason and Chloe loved.
It wasn’t about the food running out. It was about the principle. If I touched their favorites, I was stealing from the ‘real’ children. I was disrupting the perfect balance.
So I could only pick at whatever they didn’t like.
Now it didn’t matter. Mom and Dad didn’t have to worry about Mason and Chloe’s portions being uneven.
I’d seen it too many times. It hurt to look at. I couldn’t take it anymore.
I drifted back to look at my body.
The blood had dried into a dark, rusty crust. The room was pitch-black. I didn’t know when anyone would find
I drifted for a while before I went home.
When I got there, I found my brother and sister crying and begging Mom.
“Mom, we’ll be good. Can you bring Lily back? Please?”
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Mason took out his piggy bank and handed it to Mom.
“Mom, I’ll give you all the money I saved. Even my birthday money’s in there. Is this enough to get that
woman to bring Lily back?”
Mason looked at Mom, hopeful.
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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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