Penelope's Home Life

Chapter 5

"What do you want, Loser?!" Bully growled. Junior swallowed.

"Listen, you may not care, but Penelope's stepmother has been abusing her," Junior said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Bully sneered. "I don't care about Dorkelope," he scoffed dismissively.

Undeterred, Junior persisted. "Please, can you testify in court? Penelope needs all the support she can get."

After a moment of contemplation, Bully grudgingly agreed. "Fine. Whatever," he muttered before storming off, his reputation untouched but his conscience pricked.

Samantha watched her brother's retreating figure with a mixture of anger and disappointment. She couldn't believe his callous indifference to Penelope's plight. Penelope, the girl who had shown kindness to her when no one else would. The girl she had grown to admire and care for deeply. The girl...she'd fallen for.

Samantha made a snap decision and followed Junior outside the house.

"Hey! Wait!" she called out to him, her voice tinged with urgency. "My idiot brother may not care, but I do! I'd love to testify too."

Junior's eyes widened in surprise, a glimmer of hope shining through. "You care about her, don't you?" he asked.

Samantha nodded firmly. "Of course," she replied with unwavering determination.

Grateful for her support, Junior thanked her sincerely before excusing himself to carry out the next steps towards helping Penelope.

Left alone in the driveway, Samantha's mind raced with thoughts of Penelope's suffering and Bully's apathy. Anger simmered within her until it boiled over and she marched back upstairs to confront her brother.

"What the fuck, Bully?!" Samantha exclaimed, her voice raised in frustration. "My friend is being abused, and all you can say is 'Whatever?!'"
Daniel's response was callous and unexpected. "I don't care about those guys! Even if she died in a horrible accident, I wouldn't care!" he retorted, his words cutting deep.

The hurt and betrayal Samantha felt surged within her, and without a second thought, she slapped her brother hard across the cheek before storming out of the room, her heart heavy with the weight of her brother's indifference.

Whispering to herself, Samantha vowed, "Penelope, I'm going to help you. I swear. I love you."