“Not a problem at all.” Mommy waves a hand and my heart sinks into my stomach. “I’m more than capable of watching two sweet girls for a bit. Tori, why don’t you go see if the other girls want to come with us or if Nelly is going to talk Juju into going back to the slides.”
Part of me is tempted to tell Mommy I want to go on the slides with Nelly and Juju, just to spite Tori. But in the end, I’m still too scared to risk it. Millie, surprisingly, asks to go with them despite Uncle Donovan’s clear reservations. Unsurprisingly, however, Izzy chooses to stay with the whale. She much prefers the calmness of the sprinkler pad, and so does Uncle Gideon from what I can tell.
So it’s just me and Tori and my Mommy with the mermaids. I try to tell myself it’s fine, that today is meant to be a family dayso it’s good that Mommy is getting to spend time with Tori and the others.
But it doesn’t work. Every time Mommy turns her attention to Tori for even a second, that monster inside my chest comes alive again, clawing and scratching to get out. I’ve spent so much time trying to show my Mommy that I can be her perfect Little girl and shestillprefers Tori.
No, she doesn’t. She loves you. Her spending time with Tori doesn’t mean she loves her more.
Right. She’smyMommy, not Tori’s. She loves me, she told me so.
But no matter how hard I try to tell the monster to calm down, the clawing sensation just gets worse. With every laugh from my Mommy’s lips, with every word of praise, with every sneaky little hug she gives Tori as the other Little runs by, it feels like the monster in my chest might actually smother me.
Until the moment it finally breaks free.
Mommy packed plenty of toys for me to play with at the park, including a whole set of mermaids with different colored tails that swim under the water all on their own. I set the first one free, giggling as she dives toward the bottom of the pool and I reach for the second one in the set.
“Oh, those are so cool! Can I play with one?”
The jealousy monster rears its ugly head and I clutch the mermaids to my chest as I glare up at Tori. “These are mine. Mommy bought them forme.”
Guilt pricks at my chest when Tori’s face falls. Crap. I may not be super happy about her tagging along, but I don’t really want to hurt her feelings.
Before I can say anything to make it better, though, Mommy steps in, her hands on her hips as she glares down at me from the side of the pool. “Alexis Paige! That was very rude. If you can’t share your toys then you will get out of that water and you canspend the rest of the day sitting on a chair with no toys at all. Apologize to Tori right now.”
I should. IknowI should, and I was all set to do just that before Mommy told me I had to. Now, though, it feels like she’s taking Tori’s side, and the jealous monster in my chest is clawing at me until I can’t breathe.
“No. I don’t wanna share!”
Even with the oversized sunglasses she’s wearing, I can see the surprise on Mommy’s face. “Then you can go sit quietly while Tori and I play, instead.”
“Mommy, no, that’s not fair!” Regret, guilt, anger, and too many other emotions for me to name are battling inside my chest.
“Those are your options, little girl. Share your toys or go sit quietly.”
It’s notfair.After all the work I’ve put into being so good, all it takes is one little slip-up for Mommy to prove she still likes Tori better than me.
“Fine,” I grumble, blinking back tears. “I’ll share my stupid toys.” Picking up one of the mermaids, I launch it at Tori.
And watch as it hits her square in the face.
Stunned, Tori stumbles backward, and it’s like I’m watching in slow motion as she falls hard on her butt, her hands hitting the ground before her.
There’s a split-second of shocked silence before Tori’s wails pierce the air.
“Oh my god! Tori! Come here, sweetheart, it’s okay.” Turning her back on me completely, Mommy bends and scoops Tori up, bouncing her on her hip while she tries to quiet her tears and even through my shock, I can feel the knives of betrayal slashing at my heart. “Shhh, honey, it’s okay. Auntie Cat’s got you. Where does it hurt?”
“M-my b-butt and m-my hands,” Tori wails, holding up her scraped palms for my Mommy’s inspection.
“You poor thing. Let’s go get Uncle Donovan to take a look.” Pinning me with a fierce look I can feel even with her eyes shaded, Mommy calls for me, her voice iced over with anger. “Out of the pool, Alexis Paige. We are going to take Tori to see Uncle Donovan and then we are going home.”
I don’t want to go home. I want to stay and play with my friends. And Iespeciallydon’t want to go anywhere with Mommy when she’s so angry.
But I also know that trying to put it off will only make her more upset, so I gather my other mermaids and hurry out of the pool, trailing behind Mommy as she carries a sobbing Tori back to the slides where Uncle Donovan is standing, watching like a hawk for Millie to appear.
“Donovan.” Relief fills Mommy’s tone, and the prickles of guilt in my chest become stabbing swords. “Tori had an accident and she fell and hurt her hands. I’m a bit worried she might have sprained her wrist or something.”
Turning toward us, Uncle Donovan frowns and reaches for Tori’s right hand. “What happened?”
