Inferior [completed]

...swallowed...

A knock sounded on Jane's bedroom door, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Hey Jane," Connor greeted with a small smile.

"Hey bro! What's up?" Jane asked.

Connor fidgeted nervously. "Mom is calling you downstairs. I think it's about your results," he informed.

Jane breathed in deeply and went after her brother, following him into the living room. Her eyes landed on her mother, whose focus was on the piece of paper between her hands. Jane's father was sitting next to her, a glass of wine in his hand.

When they heard her footsteps, Mr. and Mrs. Miller looked up. A scowl instantly formed onto Mrs. Miller's face.

"What kind of results is this?" She demanded.

Jane had been expecting this kind of reaction from the moment the results for final exams came out. Her performance had gone down very slightly. She had not been feeling quite well for the exams one month ago, especially emotionally.

It seemed that her parents — her mother most specifically — had been quite hard on her. It's like when Connor had changed his behavior around her, her mother took over. Ever since Jane was off the crutches, the household chores had doubled and if ever she missed or forgot to do any of them, she was severely scolded.

Jane couldn't understand what she had done for her mother to dislike her that much. Even Connor, who was now on her side, couldn't speak a word in his sister's defense.

"I thought I made it clear that you should be getting only A pluses," she reproached. "Or minimum an A minus. But this!" she threw the paper onto the coffee table, "This is unacceptable! You go to an elite high school Jane and this is the kind of results you bring home? Aren't you ashamed? If I would have been the Principal, I would have expelled you!"

Jane averted her gaze towards her feet. Even though she was expecting this angry outburst, it still hurt to hear her mother talking to her like that. It was not like obtaining a couple of Bs was a crime, was it?

"Are you just going to stand like a dumbass? What explanation do you have for that result?" She shouted.

"I was..." Jane started in a tiny voice. "I was not... feeling well." Her heart was beating faster.

"For God's sake Jane! Don't blame everything on that fake leg injury. And besides, you already recovered well before the start of the exams."

She was completely wrong, but Jane couldn't say anything. Jane were still using her crutches on the first week of exams. Jane's eyes welled up with tears at the words of her mother. She couldn't believe that her mother thought she was faking the injury.

"What the hell mom! Do you think the doctor would have carried out a surgery if it was fake?" Connor voiced out, clearly pissed off.

"Connor," Mr. Miller shouted. "Do not speak to your mother like that!"

Jane's mother sent a glare towards her son, before answering, "Who knows? Maybe she inflicted the pain on herself."

Jane's eyes went wide at what she heard. She could not believe that those words just came out of her mother's mouth. She felt a sharp pang in her heart.

"Maybe she was the one who provoked Derek," she continued. "I mean, what were you even doing in the living room at that time of the night, huh?"

Jane was too shocked to utter a word to defend herself. She just stood there, staring at the woman she called her mother saying those things to her. She didn't care, she didn't care at all that her daughter could have been raped.

Mrs. Miller shook her head disappointedly and turned away from her daughter. She seized the result slip from the coffee table and threw it towards Jane, who missed it, causing the paper to fall at her feet.

"If you do not change this," she pointed her finger menacingly at Jane. "You'll be in serious problem. Do you understand?"

Jane nodded, swallowing back a sob. She made to turn and go back to her room, when her mother's voice was heard again.

"Oh I almost forgot!" she turned her accusing and cold eyes on Jane again. "Who was that boy talking to you today?"

Jane gulped, shaking a little bit. She had thought that her mother hadn't saw Samuel talking to her in the hallway, while they were waiting to collect their result slips.

"J-Just a friend from one of my class... wishing me good luck before I fetch my result slip," Jane explained. It was actually the truth.

"Really?" Jane's mother raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know that it takes a person ten minutes to wish good luck to somebody. Do you seriously take me for a fool, Jane?"

Jane felt like she couldn't hold back her tears any longer.

"Just get out of my sight! You are giving me a headache," Mrs. Miller dismissed.

Jane was more than ready to oblige. Her steps were quick as she made her way back into her bedroom. She barely closed the door when a sob escaped her lips and the tears pooled out like a river.

Her bedroom door opened and Connor came inside, his heart breaking at the sight of his sister. He rushed towards her and engulfed her in his arms.

Jane clutched onto his shirt and cried. She felt grateful that her brother was here with her. She felt melancholic, yes, but this time it was different.

This time, she had someone's shoulder to cry on, without feeling insecure or whatever.

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