That night, the living room was bright and loud with people.
My aunt held Sienna's hand, grinning like she'd won something. "Sienna, you lucky girl. Marrying into the Thornes. You're going to be the lady of the house one day."
Sienna looked down, all bashful. "Stop it. Thea let me have him."
My other aunt had to get her dig in. "Sienna's always been the sweet one. Not like Thea. She just sits there with that face. Sucks the life out of a room."
I was in the kitchen up to my elbows in dirty dishes. The water had gone cold a while ago. My knuckles were red and stiff.
Mom came in and dropped another stack of greasy plates by the sink. "Speed up."
She looked at my hands, and her lip curled. "We have important people here tonight. Try not to act like a slob for once. Don't embarrass me."
I turned off the tap and dried my hands. "We're out of dish soap. I need to get some from the storage room."
I walked out through the living room. Sienna was holding up a painting for the relatives.
My Songbird. I'd been working on it for 3 years. It was supposed to go to an international competition.
"What is this ugly thing? The colors are a mess." My little cousin wandered over, nosy as always.
Sienna pulled the canvas out and shook it like it was nothing. "No clue. Some old junk from Thea's room. Looks pretty lame. Probably garbage."
She picked up a glass of red wine. "Whoops!"
Half the glass went all over the canvas. The red bled through the brushwork, ruining the whole center of it.
Then she had scissors. One quick slice, and the canvas was torn open.
The room went quiet for a second.
I looked at Songbird on the floor, destroyed, and felt my nails dig into my palm.
Sienna covered her mouth. "Oops. Look what I did. I got it dirty, and I think I tore it too."
Mom pulled Sienna behind her. "Thea, she didn't mean it. It's just a painting. It's not worth anything. I'll give you money tomorrow. Buy more paint. Make another one."
Dad scowled at me. "It's a good night. Don't ruin it over some junk. Clean this up."
The relatives jumped in.
"Thea, Sienna's marrying Dominic."
"Be the bigger person. Don't be so petty."
I stood there looking at all of them, so sure of themselves, so far above it all. I just felt tired.
So tired I couldn't even get angry.
I walked over and took the scissors from Sienna's hand.
Before anyone could say anything, I cut the painting to pieces. Then I threw it in the trash.
"Don't bother."
I turned and walked toward the basement.
"Where are you going?" Mom shrilled behind me. "The fruit isn't cut yet! You're unbelievable!"
I didn't look back. I opened the basement door and went in.
Aksara