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"Yeah, and we both know you don’t want to, so they will." Her jaw tensed, and before she could clap back, my daddy cut in.

"Let’s not do this right now," he said, his voice carrying a warning.

I stared at my mama, but she wouldn’t look at me. Typical. I loved her, I really did. But I had given up on us ever being close a long time ago.

She adored Sevyn. Worshipped the ground he walked on. But me? Her actual child? She treated me like an obligation, like my whole existence had been a mistake. The irony was, Sevyn wasn’t even biologically hers.

My brother’s mother had passed away when he was one. What we now knew was postpartum depression had overwhelmed her, and she had taken her own life. My grandma said my daddy was devastated, that he had loved her deeply. But he had pulled himself together for Sev, raising him as a single father until Sienna came into the picture when Sev was three. She had fallen head over heels for my dad and his son.

Sev was supposed to be her only child. She had never wanted kids of her own. But Sevyn, her stepson, had been enough for her. It wasn’t until Sevyn begged for a sibling that she finally gave in.

That’s how I ended up here. The child she never asked for.

I knew she loved me. She had to, right? But she never really liked me. Never made me feel like I belonged to her.

"Lenox, you’re encouraging this," my mama scoffed. "You know she’s not ready to be on her own."

"She’s basically on her own now," Daddy shot back. "Come on, Si, this ain’t that deep. When you and I are gone, where is Serenity? Here. Alone. With nobody but Marlena and maybe Sev if he decides to show up."

Mama narrowed her eyes. "If you hadn’t insisted Sevyn move out, she wouldn’t be alone."

"I ain’t insist shit," Daddy snapped. "Sevyn didn’t wanna follow my rules, so he got his own damn place."

While they continued arguing, I took my exit, slipping into the kitchen where Marlena was chopping up fresh fruit. She glanced up, raising an eyebrow.

"They at it again?"

"Yup. Sienna just don’t know when to quit," I sighed grabbing a container of pineapple and strawberries.

Just then, the front door opened, and I abandoned my snack practically running into the foyer.

"Sevy!" I squealed, launching myself into his arms.

"What’s up, Toot?" he laughed holding me tight before setting me down. "You ready to go?"

"Hell yes."

Sevyn had wanted me before I even existed. He had begged for a little sister, and since the day I was born, I’d been his world.

And he was mine.

As we grabbed my bags I could still hear our parents going back and forth in the other room.

"Mama still not happy about this, huh?" Sevyn asked, amused.

"Hell no," I muttered. "Maybe you need to talk to her, since you her golden child."

"Here you go."

"We both know it’s the truth. Let’s go before she convinces Daddy to change his mind."

He sighed but didn’t argue. We made it to the front door just as our parents appeared in the foyer.

"I know you lying," Sienna’s voice rose. "You were just gonna leave without saying goodbye?"

"We were gonna say something," I shrugged. "Eventually."

Daddy stood in front of the door; arms crossed. "Listen. Call me every night. If I feel like you not taking this seriously, you’re getting dorms instead of that apartment."