Mum and Dad had a pretty messy divorce that caused me a lot of anguish. My heart broke seeing her leave for another man.
The guy in question: Bruce came with his son, Benny. The pair had moved in with us within a week of my Dad moving out - with my being an only child having two older strangers in my home was rather intimidating. Especially since they acted like I wasn't there and gave all of their attention to my Mum who was treated like a princess, whilst I was sneered upon like vermin. Bruce would only acknowledge me to give me orders and kick me out of the room, whilst Benny mainly kept to himself never once spoke to me. He left for university whilst I was finishing my final year of school.
Loneliness and pessimism ruled my life at home, I tried to be a good girl but every breath I took seemed to irritate my mum and we fought a lot while Bruce was at work. Mainly, I kept myself to myself because the protection of my father no longer guaranteed my happiness or my safety. Terribly depressing.
Benny came home for the Christmas holidays, he was in his final year of university and fancied himself a man, taking it upon himself to brownnose the parents and order me around however he saw fit. It started with small things like him leaving his plates and cups in communal areas and this then developed into him leaving his washing outside his room. My mum loved having a son (therefore he got his way) and being besotted with her husband she had no desire to do housework, naturally it fell to me to do the tasks non of them felt doing. All the while I was excluded from any affection or kindness. Even at Christmas time!
On the big day everyone got showered with presents they'd been talking about all year and I get a meagre pile of revision tools. And an apron. Mum also made comments on my weight during Christmas dinner whilst the rest of the party chuckled and agreed. She seemed to be single handedly trying to ruin my life and it made me feel so very low. After turkey I went to bed and cried all the way through to boxing day, my only solace being the streaming services that I'd been given access to. However, I was so depressed I could derive no entertainment, the shows that I played were simply replacing the sound of those excluding me below.