Short Stories

To Let Go

       "You're a disappointment. Why can't you be like your older sister? Huh? She was perfect at everything. She was captain of the cheerleading squad and she dated the captain of the football team, she got A's on her tests and she was the most beautiful girl ever. You, you are the opposite of her."  My mother yelled at me. I wanted to scream at her and say that I am not Rebecca. I wanted to say why can't you accept me for who I am? For the past two years I tried to please you but you wouldn't even notice me and say, "You will never be like her. I realized that. My hopes died with her."

            I wanted to tell her that you are the reason why she's gone. I wanted to say all of those things but for some reason my mouth wouldn't open. All I did was just listen to her raving at me. Maybe it's because I knew that it was pointless to fight with her because nothing is going to change. Rebecca would always be her favorite daughter and I would be her least favorite daughter.

            I've always wondered why Rebecca was my mother's favorite daughter, but that is a stupid question because I already know why she favored Rebecca. It was because Rebecca looked exactly like mother when she was younger. Since my mother never got to the things she dreamed on doing she forced it all on Rebecca.

            Rebecca was always what mother wanted to be but one day she mysteriously left without bothering to say goodbye.  This left my mother shattered. She waited for her to return for two weeks and when Rebecca didn't come back she broke down. She got into drugs partying because that was the only thing that calmed her down. My mother never stopped looking at the pictures and videos of her cheerleading years, repeating the same question, "Why did she leave?"

            That's the hundred dollar question. "Why did she leave?" No one knows why she left. No one knows but me. It's not like I am going to tell everyone why she left for it was mainly my mother and their fault that she's gone. It's my secret, but even the secret has secrets of itself that I don't know.

            Then why is this secret chewing my up inside? Why do I feel like it was my fault that she left above everyone else's?

            "Geneviève!" someone yelled my name interrupting my train of thought. I looked up and say Georgia standing right in front of me with an impatient look on her face.  I realized I was in front of my closet looking for something to wear.

            I gave her a weak smile and said, "Uh, hey, Georgie"

            "Gwenny, we are supposed to go to the party right now! You didn't even pick out something to wear!"  She shoved me from my closet and started looking for a dress for me to wear.

            "Remind me again, why I have to go to the stupid party?"

            "Um, hello, because you have never stepped foot out of this house unless going to school or when I drag you out of this death hole. Plus Lissa invited us. This will probably give you the push you need to start living again."

            "Well first of all let me remind you that she is into drugs. She rarely attends school and if she does she just cuts classes and hooks up with guys. Honestly even if she is my friend I think that we should try to make her stop this foolishness. I know how it can seriously harm a person. I already lost my mother to drugs because of her and now we are loosing Lissa to drugs because she feels like doing it?" I said realizing that I was crying. Stupid, darn tears.

            Georgia had a shocked look on her face. Then she walked over to me and pulled me into a hug. "So you're still thinking of her?"