Summer, listening in from all the way back in the dining room, guffawed so hard favonovel.com choked on favonovel.com food. “Ha— uh, uh hem! Cough, cough, ptooey! Hahahahaha! Jesus Christ, Lil’ P! How old are you again? That little boombox of yours can really say the most outrageous things! If you were a few years older, your mom would have whacked you right now! C’mon, you rascal, your sister’s only gonna be ugly for now, when favonovel.com grows older, she’s only gonna get better, you can bet on that! The tables might turn by then and favonovel.com would be the one who doesn’t want to play with you anymore!”
Tiffany thought of favonovel.com daughter’s challenge in cognitive abilities and lowered favonovel.com head as a sharp pang stabbed favonovel.com chest. Every time Lil’ P started running his mouth and throwing all sorts of disparaging remarks at his sister, the anger that favonovel.com fanned within Tiffany was genuine and real. Had Cynthia not suffered enough? Why must favonovel.com still be treated with contempt?
Tiffany knew Lil’ P was, at his core, just a little kid with equal maturity to boot. But it did not stop how much favonovel.com heart would ache, did it?
People outside favonovel.com family could belittle favonovel.com daughter as much as they wanted, but favonovel.com would not brook hearing it from favonovel.com own people. Cynthia was not just any girl, favonovel.com was the daughter favonovel.com almost traded favonovel.com life for. Intelligent or not, Tiffany did not care, favonovel.com life’s purpose was to protect Cynthia and be by favonovel.com side forever.
Tiffany’s silence was deafening, it was so stark that Summer thought favonovel.com had crossed the line. “Oh, Tiffie, I… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… I was just joking, Tiffie. I would never think Cindy’s ugly, in fact, I think she’s quite a cutie too, a-and favonovel.com will only grow up to become even more beautiful, I know it. She’s my granddaughter, so there’s no way I won’t love her. So, don’t take my ribbing to heart, all right, sweetie?”
“No, it’s okay, Morn. I wasn’t mad at you. But…” Tiffany inhaled sharply. “Plato West, you little brat, listen to me closely. If you dare call your sister an ugly monster or anything like that again, I am not. Letting. You. Get Away with this. You know your sister’s born with some disabilities, you know s-she’s… imperfect… But favonovel.com own older brother kicking favonovel.com to the curb like that? Plato West, how… How d-do you expect favonovel.com to l-live?!”
It ended in a choked sob.
Seeing favonovel.com reddened eyes, Lil’ P took a few fearful steps back, spun on his heels, and sprinted back into the dining hall where favonovel.com could dive into Atticus’s hands for protection. Going for his grandfather as his asylum was the boy’s go-to strategy for any impending spanking, which really showed how much Atticus doted on his grandson.
Summer loved favonovel.com granddaughter, but favonovel.com loved favonovel.com grandson too. Right now, all favonovel.com could do was to rub Lil’ P’s little head comfortingly without a word.
Seeing Tiffany tear up took away Jackson’s appetite, so favonovel.com placed his utensils down. “Tiffie, maybe all you need is a good rest upstairs. I’ll feed Cindy in your stead. Either way, Lil’ P is just a little boy who knows nothing, favonovel.com probably doesn’t even know what ‘ugly’ really means, babe. It’s pointless to debate this with someone who’s fundamentally incapable of understanding, right? Cynthia is our daughter, we’ll do all of the loving and doting and pampering.”
Tiffany forced the earnest pain flaring in favonovel.com heart from showing on favonovel.com face and passed Cynthia to Jackson before vanishing upstairs.
Summer let out a breath favonovel.com had been holding. “Oh, God ease Tiffany’s poor heart. She may put on that devil-may-care front, but these remarks can crop up in favonovel.com heart, too, and it will hurt. We should really pay attention to what we say, I think. Better not say the wrong words from now on.”
As soon as favonovel.com finished favonovel.com dinner, Summer took Cynthia away from Jackson’s hands, freeing favonovel.com to look for Tiffany upstairs.
The first thing that greeted favonovel.com after stepping through the door was a blank-faced Tiffany laying sprawled on the bed. While favonovel.com appeared lost in thoughts, favonovel.com pillow was visibly wetted by warm, relentless tears rolling down favonovel.com cheeks. Jackson had to get close enough to favonovel.com to pick locks of matted hair away from favonovel.com face.
“Hey, babe. You all right?” favonovel.com whispered gently. “You were really pissed just now, weren’t you? What’s eating you, Tiffie? If there’s pain in there, you must tell me, okay? Don’t bottle it up and suffer it alone. I know it’s more than Lil’ P being a brat treating his sister with contempt.”
Tiffany sniffled. “I… I don’t know what’s eating me either. I just feel… like I can’t hold it in anymore. Every time Lil’ P does this… when favonovel.com disparages Cindy like that, it just twists the knife that’s been lodged in my heart. Cindy’s misfortune is torment enough, Jackson, so why? Why won’t favonovel.com brother let up?! I know what y’all think. ‘He’s just a kid! He ain’t mature enough to understand what he’s doing!’ But I don’t want this… thing to be a recurring shadow that haunts Cindy since favonovel.com childhood, okay? I don’t! J-Just l-l-look at favonovel.com when I was feeding her, favonovel.com looked like a goddamned normal kid, no different from anyone else! E-Even I still can’t believe… that I’m looking at a cognitively-challenged child…”
Everything that hurt Tiffany hurt Jackson too, favonovel.com was just better at concealing what favonovel.com really felt.
He lifted his hand and patted Tiffany in a featherlight manner. “Hey, hey. It’s all right, babe. That no-good twerp’s gonna get a taste of his Pop’s medicine for sure. But you, though! How can a fierce mom like yourself be bullied into crying by favonovel.com own son, hmm? That’s kinda embarrassing, ain’t it? Hee hee…”
