Cinderella's Step-Sister

Y/N's P.O.V
I grabbed a few packs of chips from the rack then walked to the counter and placed it on top. Not gonna forget my favourite pack of chewing gum too. "How much?" The cashier spilled out the cost of the unhealthy food that I was buying then stuffed it into a plastic bag. I paid the amount, muttering a "Thank you," and stepped out of the shop, walking down the busy route.

I live in a small town. A small shitty town to be exact. Gangsters and thugs shadowing every nook and cranny of it. Sometimes I feel like this lifeless, vapid neighbourhood shouldn't be called a town. It's too dangerous for kids to play around with their friends or even for senior citizens to have a talk while enjoying hot coffee during the evening. But I don't give a fuck.

I let out a sigh, grabbing the pack of chewing gum from the bag then pulled out one of it. I unwrapped the foil before throwing it to the ground and the gum itself into my mouth. Pulling up my hood, I covered my head and continued strolling.

My eyes wandered around the town while my tongue effortlessly tasted the sweetness of the gum. Grape. My fav. But despite the pleasure my tongue felt, the sight meeting my eyes was not a pleasant one of any sort. Most of the buildings were not well maintained. Especially the ones that were obsolete, lifeless as they have been abandoned by everyone.

Dried colours of paint were peeling their way off the buildings as if their hope on the town was diminishing. Front lawns commonly decorated with eye-catching patterns was not the sight. It was moss that became the housing's favourite decoration and was just waiting to devour the town in its dark green colourant. In the name of God, I don't even know why my late father moved in here in the first place. I mean, hello! There are much better places in the whole world so why here?

As I kept strolling across the street, a figure on the opposite side waltzed in view. Two actually. My eyes naturally peered across the road to find a little girl beside a taller male figure. An innocent smile spread across the lips of the girl as she bounced up and down. Her hand tightly intertwined with her father's, therefore causing it to swing with her motion. The two looked so undisturbed by the glum of their surroundings because they were with each other.

The way I used to be...

My heart began to clench inside just at such a simple sight that spiked a reaction of reminisce through me.

Flashback

"You can't catch me!" I yelled aloud and began dashing through the equipment of the playground.

A set of heavy steps was quickly followed behind. "Come back here my little cupcake." The male's voice behind called out, pretending to slow his pace.

I giggled, running underneath the high curve of the slide then around the newly made seesaw. I went as fast as my tiny legs could go, hearing the footsteps of my father getting closer.

"Gotcha!" A large pair of arms suddenly scooped my body off the ground. I squealed loudly from being swung in the air while my father began to laugh thinking it was adorable.

"Daddy, that was not funny!" I pouted, calming down from the sudden action.

My dad securely held onto my tiny body with one arm around it. "Well if you were careful, you would have noticed the big hole in the grass you were about to run into," he said, ruffling my hair with his free hand. My eyes went down to the grass in front of me that indeed had a small yet sharp dip. "Oopsie..." My little voice looked back at my dad innocently.

He wore a large smile that gave warmth more than the sun and eyes full of love. "You're just like your mother." He leaned closer and placed a soft kiss on my cheek.

End of Flashback

I exhaled a sigh, thinking of those days that could never come back. They say the past makes your roots, yet the future just destroys them. I can never get him back.

Soon, the squatter house I lived in was not too far from my sight. I scoffed, spitting out the gum in my mouth as it slowly lost its sweetness and turned bitter. Just like my whole fucking life. I trudged down the footpath, heading towards the house; or should I say hell. My fingers then wrapped themselves around the doorknob and twisted it to open the door.

I closed the door before turning around, only to be greeted by a 12 year-old girl smiling sweetly at me. Irritation took over me and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Now what... "Hi sis! You bought snacks?" She asked in a happy tone, probably hoping that the snacks in my hand would be shared with her. I know sharing is caring but I'm not interested in keeping those words in my vocabulary. At least not when it comes to her.

I faked a grin, pulling down my hood. "Yeah, I did. For... Myself." I dropped my smile right when the words left my mouth and rolled my eyes before heading towards the staircase. In the corner of my eyes, I could see the woman in her 30s that I hate the most walking towards her daughter and wrapping her arm around her shoulder.

"Can't you be nice to her for once? Don't think of her as my daughter. Think of her as your little sister." She countered, frowning at my behavior. I chuckled bitterly, tilting my head while shooting them a sinister smile. "My little sister? Excuse me, think before you speak, old woman. Her? My sister? In your fucking dreams. I would never accept the daughter of a home wrecker as my sibling."

I marched upstairs after spitting out the words, ignoring her high-pitched voice that kept screeching my name. This is why I call this shit as hell. Her voice is like flames that are engulfing my ears every single day. I pushed open my bedroom's door then stepped into it before plopping myself on the bed after placing the plastic bag on top of the bedside table.

Little sister... I scoffed, pulling out my phone from my pocket as I sat up, leaning my back against the headboard. My fingers then started dancing on the screen although my mind couldn't stop recalling the incidents that occurred less than a minute ago. She will never succeed in being more than just a little step-sister to me. What happened to my family makes it harder for me to accept them in my life, especially her fucking mother.

My late mother passed away when I was 12 and my father just casually got married to a random woman a few weeks after her death. I was beyond mad with his decision. You know what my mind says until now? She fucking killed my mother just to marry my father and they were most probably in a relationship much before my mother's expiry.

So no one can blame me if I treat them like nothing but garbage that was only created to be thrown into a rubbish bin. Although my father, before passing away, kept telling me that my mother died from an illness and his new wife had nothing to do with it, I couldn't browbeat myself into accepting them; never. I poked my inner cheek as my mind recalled all the bitter memories.

Flashback

AUTHOR's P.O.V
'I was holding on to the rope tightly, dad... Why did you let go of it from the other side ?' The hot tear Y/N has been holding back so hard escaped her eye, silently flowing down her cheek. No, this didn't happen.

Abounding nights—one after the other—every time a nightmare crawled into her mind, she would go to her parents' room and slide between them to look for a peaceful sleep. She would cautiously laugh at her father's snoring figure, wondering how peaceful his sleep must have been.

Never in a hundred years did she think she would see him lying peacefully, but to never take a breath again. This time... He was laid down in a way that tore her insides apart.

He was now far, far away from her reach.

Every muscle in her body limped, lifeless eyes staring at her late father's tombstone. She wanted to rip her throat with the loudest screams, blind her eyes with the longest cries, crash herself with the hardest breakdowns, but she just sat there, encumbered by burdens of all the swallowed yells.

Y/N loved him, loved him more than the number of beats her heart sang. She already lost half of her being with the departure of her beloved mother. She was left like a dry desert. And her only source of water, her father, now left her alone.

Not quite alone, though. What clutched at her already pained heart were the shadows darkening her life. The shadows her father left behind.

His other wife and her daughter.

End of Flashback

I clenched my eyes shut, inhaling sharply. Remembering the moments hurt more than living in them. I heaved a sigh, well aware of my stubbornness. Maybe... Maybe my mouth keeps on saying I hate 'em for coming into my father's life even when my mother was alive and all well. But deep down in my heart, I know it's not their fault. I know why my mother died.

I know my step-mother is not the one who killed her just to marry my father. But you know what I say ; when I say A, it means A. So when I say I will hate them, it means I will. No matter how kind they are to me, how nice their treatment is towards me, when you come into my life and I say to myself I will hate you, then my feelings towards you will be hatred and only hatred.

I chuckled to myself, thinking about the way I acted with the little girl—A.K.A the daughter of the bitch—all this while. Thinking about it, I can actually call myself Cinderella's stepsister instead of Cinderella herself. I mean, the heroine is meant to be Cinderella, right? I laughed out loud, facepalming myself.

"Cinderella? Seriously, Y/N? What kind of dream is this?? Cinderella is probably the kindest lady people will ever meet. But you? Definitely a nightmare for every person that meets you..."