P.T. Barnum's Oddities

Chapter 16: Anne and W.D.

"Anne, we ain't got time to feed the strays." W.D. lectured her about feeding the stray cat some crumbs out of her loaf of bread.
He had been a grouch after Bertha had, though they disliked to put it this way, kicked them out. Anne could tell he was especially angry right now because number one, they had all the time in the world because they had nowhere special to be and number two, he called her by her regular name. He always did that when he was serious.
"I'm thinking about naming him Oscar." She declared, completely ignoring W.D.'s previous statement and petting the gracious tabby cat.
W.D. rolled his eyes and stood up.
"We don't have money to pay for a cat." He stated.
"You heard what Bertha said. You're seventeen years old. You can get a job." Anne blurted, immediately regretting what had come out of her mouth the second she said it. She knew that was a sensitive subject.
W.D.'s faced turned a bright shade of red and Anne braced herself for what was coming next.
"You're not the one Ma and Pa left in charge! You're right, I'm seventeen, which means I'm the oldest, and I make the decisions. Not you. Because you're 12, right? Because you aren't allowed to get up and get a job, right? I hate you. Ever since Ma vanished suddenly I have to take care of you. Maybe I should've just left you at the orphanage home." He began to walk away.
Anne didn't know how to respond. Her and her brother had gotten into arguments before, but nothing like this has ever dared to escape his mouth.
"W.D...." She managed to choke out, but he didn't respond and kept walking.