Chapter 22 - Chapter 21

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((( CLAIRE )))

I mentally rolled my eyes. I could have had slapped her already if she wasn't my father's wife. Lilibeth was already catching up to her bad ugly attitude. I stood up unwillingly, stretching my body that was still exhausted from yesterday's work.

"Alright. I'll make her coffee."

"Coffee?!" Nadine scoffed.

"Good heavens, she's too young to drink that junk!"

"Then buy some breakfast," I replied.

My blood was seething at her. She was about to rant back when a voice distracted our heated conversation.

"Hey sis, where's my phone charger?" Dexter asked Nadine.

His hair was so unkempt and needed haircut badly. The flabby stomach he's growing from idling around all day was bulging through his loose shirt. I rolled my eyes for real.  

The door slammed open and the hinges creaked loudly from dilapidation. I mentally noted buying new ones but a little iffy about squeezing the expense to my small weekly budget. It was already late in the morning and Amy had just went home.

"Where have you been, Amy?" I asked worriedly

"And you're wearing a man's shirt. Whom is that from?"

"You don't fucking care," she spat as she went directly to our room.

I shrugged my head in disbelief. She's become so different.  

I sat crestfallen in the corner as I watched them whine on and on. How everybody acted towards life made me sad. I was slowly losing hope that our poor living will still improve. Everybody in the household was proving me right about it.

My attention was averted to the faint coughs coming from father's room then back to the bunch of whiners who wondered loudly what they'd be eating.  

I sighed. Even I hasn't eaten yet.

"There's fried egg here," Lilibeth announced as she held the Tupperware I saved for father.

"Hey, that's Pa's breakfast. Put it back," I chided.

"Oh, the old man gets too eat while all of us here starve," Dexter complained.

He intentionally raised his voice for father to hear.

"He's just laying down all day."

At the corner of my eyes I caught father push his wheelchair enough for us to see him. The face that was too thin from lack of nutrition looked solemn but his eyes were downcast. He used to be a cheerful person but after the accident he's always been shrouded in gloom.  

"Claire, give my breakfast to the young. I'll be fine," Pa spoke softly.

His eyes looked moist and like me, he was just keeping his tears from falling. My heart broke a hundredfold.  

"Don't touch father's breakfast," I reminded.

"I'll see if I can borrow some goods from Aling Nena's store."

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