Chapter 730: No One in This Family Welcomes Her
Chapter 730: Chapter 730: No One in This Family Welcomes Her
Mrs. Summers frowned, a look of impatience on her face. As she walked, she muttered, "Always causing so much trouble."
She rode her electric scooter home and saw Lucy Summers sitting by the front door from a distance.
"Lulu," Mrs. Summers called out anxiously. "Lulu, what’s happened?"
She parked the scooter and ran to Lucy’s side, cupping her face in her hands. "Lulu, what’s wrong?" she asked with concern. "Did someone bully you? Quick, tell Mom."
Lucy stared blankly at the familiar woman before her, her thoughts hazy for a moment.
She couldn’t even tell if her mother’s concern was genuine or just an act.
"Lulu, why aren’t you saying anything?" Mrs. Summers stroked her hair lovingly.
Lucy’s lips moved. Suppressing a sob, she said softly, "I’m fine. I just missed you guys, so I came back to visit."
"As long as you’re okay." Mrs. Summers looked relieved, but her tone carried a hint of exasperation. "You silly girl. If you missed us, you could have called or video chatted. Your aunt suddenly called to say she saw you, and it scared me so much, I thought something terrible had happened. I had to ask for time off and rush back."
She stood up and took out her keys to open the door. "Lulu, have you eaten? Mom can make you a bowl of noodles."
"No, it’s okay. I’ve already eaten," Lucy said, following her into the house.
"Alright then. If you get hungry, just make something yourself." Mrs. Summers took a sip of water. "I only took a half-hour off. I have to go back to work soon. I’m afraid if I take too long, my supervisor will get annoyed and won’t let me keep my part-time job there."
Lucy nodded. "Okay, you should go. Don’t worry about me."
As Mrs. Summers was leaving, she added, "Get some rest. Just wait for me to get back to make dinner."
"Okay, I will." Lucy saw her to the door, then closed it and went back to sit in the living room.
She looked around the familiar house, and her nose suddenly stung with the urge to cry.
She had lived here for as long as she could remember. Back then, the house was only one story; the second floor was added on later.
She was in the sixth grade at the time, and every day she eagerly awaited the completion of the second floor.
Later, she finally got her own room. Even though she didn’t get new furniture like her brother did, she was still overjoyed. She had her own desk, no longer cluttered with her brother’s toys, and she didn’t have to huddle in a corner to study anymore...
Lucy pressed her lips together tightly, a self-mocking smile suddenly appearing on her face. Tears slid from the corners of her eyes, streamed down her cheeks, and splattered onto the back of her hand, leaving a small, wet patch.
She used to think her parents favored her brother just because he was younger.
Now she understood. It wasn’t because he was younger. It was because she wasn’t their biological daughter. They didn’t love her.
**
Renee Jennings and the others found a hotel and checked in. They also washed and ate the fruit they had originally planned to bring to Lucy’s house.
Renee took a bite of an apple, her gaze falling on Sheryl Sawyer’s melancholy face. She reached out and gently smoothed the space between Sheryl’s eyebrows.
"Sheryl, don’t frown," she said with a soft laugh. "We’ve found Sweetie now. You should be happy."
"Okay." Sheryl Sawyer nodded, trying to lift her spirits. She forced a smile and brought up something happy. "When we get back to Zenvia, I’m going to move. I’ll rent a two-bedroom place so it’s easier for Sweetie to come visit me."
"You’re looking for a two-bedroom apartment?" Michelle Fuller swallowed a grape and chuckled. "I actually have one. The price is negotiable. I’ll give you a friends-and-family discount."
Sheryl Sawyer’s eyes lit up when she heard this. She joked, "Really? It’s great having a rich friend."
"Haha~" Michelle Fuller couldn’t help but throw her head back and laugh.
They stayed in the hotel room until dark, then went out for dinner. After wandering around the neighborhood for a bit, they returned to rest.
Sheryl couldn’t stop thinking about Lucy’s situation. After hesitating a few times, she sent her a message on WeChat.
Sheryl Sawyer: [Lulu, have you eaten?]
A few minutes later, Lucy replied: [Not yet. She just got back.]
Mrs. Summers had just gotten home. She had gone to the market and bought about a pound of chicken. She also cut off a small piece from the beef she had taken out to thaw at noon, putting the rest back in the freezer.
Lucy sat in the living room, listening to Mrs. Summers’s voice drifting from the kitchen.
"Lulu, I’m making your favorite chicken tonight."
"Okay," Lucy replied.
About ten minutes later, she heard Mrs. Summers call Cameron Summers to tell him to come home for dinner.
However, nearly half an hour passed, and Cameron still wasn’t home.
Mrs. Summers called him again to hurry him along.
By the time Mr. Summers got home, Cameron still hadn’t arrived. The food on the dining table was no longer steaming.
Lucy’s hunger had passed.
"Is Cole not back yet?" Mr. Summers asked.
"No," Mrs. Summers said. "I’ve called him twice to hurry him up. He’s probably busy with something."
Mr. Summers went to the bathroom to wash his hands. As he came out drying them, he said, "Let’s just eat. We won’t wait for him."
Mrs. Summers frowned. "I’m sure he’ll be back any minute. Let’s wait a little longer."
"The food is getting cold," Mr. Summers said. "If he’s not back, he must not be hungry. Let’s eat. Don’t worry about him. Lulu, let’s eat."
Just as he finished speaking, Cameron Summers walked in.
He casually tossed his basketball aside. Seeing Lucy at home, he asked in surprise, "Sis, what are you doing back? It’s not a holiday."
"I missed you guys, so I came back," Lucy replied.
Cameron: "But didn’t we just see you during the New Year?"
Lucy pressed her lips together and didn’t answer, a bitter feeling welling up inside her.
’In that moment, she understood something else: no one in this house was happy to see her.’
The family sat down at the dining table. Lucy had already lost her appetite.
Cameron picked up his chopsticks, glanced at the dishes on the table, and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "How come there’s so little meat today?"
"Oh, you." Mrs. Summers placed a piece of drumstick meat into his bowl, amused. "When have we ever had a lot of meat with our budget? If you say things like that, your sister might get the wrong idea and think we’ve been secretly eating better meals without her."
Cameron opened his mouth to say something, but Mrs. Summers silenced him with a look. "Just eat. Eat up."
She put a piece of meat into Lucy’s bowl and smiled. "Lulu, you eat up too. You probably just get takeout when you’re away. It can’t be as good as a home-cooked meal."
"Thanks, Mom." Lucy lowered her gaze to the tough-looking piece of meat in her bowl.
She picked it up and took a bite. It was completely tasteless.
After dinner, Lucy instinctively began clearing the table to wash the dishes.
As she was washing, the resentment and frustration that had been weighing on her heart suddenly exploded.
Holding a neat stack of bowls, she took a deep breath, raised her arm, and slammed them down. With a loud CRASH, the dishes shattered into a thousand pieces, sharp shards of porcelain scattering everywhere.
Mr. and Mrs. Summers heard the noise and rushed in.
"What’s wrong? What happened?"
"What’s going on?"
Mrs. Summers stared at the mess of fragments on the floor, completely stunned. "How did this happen?"
Lucy kept her head down and mumbled an explanation, "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. My foot slipped..."
"It’s okay, it’s okay," Mr. Summers soothed her. "As long as you’re not hurt."