Chapter 17  What did he mean? Did Derek hold back something? I was completely in the dark and just noticed how Chase’s face was getting more and more serious.  Not too far away, Nicole was basking in the glow of the Kennedy family, her face radiating pride. Her mom was going on and on, “Nicole is incredible. Just a handful of paintings have raked in millions.”  “She’s not like Amanda. Amanda’s teachers used to say she had talent, but what has she got to show for it? Honestly, she can’t even hold a candle to you.”  Her brother chimed in, “By the way, have you heard from Amanda? Her phone’s been off. Lately, she’s been so irresponsible and always making the family worry.”  “I heard she went to Cloudville. Mom, Dad, I’ve been saying it all along. We shouldn’t have spoiled her so much. She’s created such a mess and then just up and left without a word. That was completely reckless.”  “Don’t be upset. Maybe she just needed some space. When she comes back, she needs to kneel and apologize to you! Honestly, a good scolding is the only way she’ll learn.”  As I watched Nicole’s fake demeanor, I wished I could rip off her hypocritical mask right then and there. Everyone seemed to buy into her act and never questioned her. They even hung on her every word. I could handle a lover changing their mind, but the cold shoulder from my family? That was too much.  I was carried for nine months by my mother. How could she be so heartless towards me? I loved painting. On my sister’s birthday, my mother suddenly blew up, stormed into my studio, and destroyed my paintings, splashing paint all over them and tearing them to pieces herself. She asked how I could be so heartless and keep painting when Nicole died. She said I was nothing but a cold–hearted little brat.  It turns out that she resented me from that moment, thinking I should have been the one to disappear, not Nicole.  Nicole and Chase stirred up trouble, but they pinned all the blame on me without a second thought. After I died, they weren’t in a rush to find me. Instead, they talked about giving me a beating.  I touched my face, and not a single tear fell. Why did it hurt so much? At some point, thick snowflakes began to fall from the sky, eerily similar to what I saw before my death. When would they realize I was already gone?  Soon, what happened at the gallery blew up, and stories of both Nicole and I were trending online. 

FakeAmanda

GeniusArtist Turns OutToBeAHeiress

AmandalsGross

PricyArtwork

SweetNicole Donates300Million

The public’s opinion was all over the place. Standing behind Chase, I watched as he scrolled through his phone, his brow furrowing deeper with each swipe.  Nicole, hanging on his arm, said, “Chase, I didn’t know it would blow up like this. Maybe we should try to tone down the trending topic: a bit.”  “Tone it down? Why should we?” chimed in my own mother. Decked out in the finest clothes and with makeup to match, her words wer cuttingly cold.  Chapter 18