After my little brother was born, new toys showed up every single month.
Our family was never going to starve because of a toy car that cost a few bucks.
They simply couldn't bring themselves to spend money on me. Couldn't bring themselves to waste love on me, either.
Sure enough, the very next morning, my mother knocked on my door.
She put on a pained expression. "Desi, Mommy has your little brother in her tummy now, so I can't really take care of you. Could you go stay at Grandma's for a few days?"
I stared at her, cold and unblinking. "A few days. Really?"
My bluntness caught her off guard. She faltered for a moment, but recovered.
"Of course. Once Mommy's feeling better, I'll come bring you home."
I didn't look at her again. I turned around, grabbed my little backpack, and stuffed in the handful of clothes I owned and my one toy car.
"Let's go."
She was the one sending me away. But the second I got in the car, the tears started falling down her cheeks. "Let Daddy drive you. It'll upset Mommy too much to watch you leave."
Anyone watching would've thought she adored me.
The truth was simpler. She felt guilty.
After all, the "few days" trip was really going to last at least a year.
The car drove from the highway onto a narrow, winding mountain road. Eventually, the familiar run-down village came into view.
Sebastian's expression was the picture of composure. "Be good at Grandpa Galloway and Grandma's house. Help out where you can, don't throw tantrums, and call me if you need anything."
He pressed a kids' smartwatch into my hand. I stared at it for a long moment.
"Will you actually pick up?"
He blinked, caught off guard. "Of course I will. How could I not answer my little Desi's calls?"
"Don't worry. Even after the baby comes, you'll always be my favorite. Just be a good boy and stay with Grandpa and Grandma. I'll come get you in a few days."
Liar.
In my previous life, after they dumped me at my grandparents' house, my uncle's youngest son bullied me relentlessly, calling me an orphan nobody wanted.
I called my father in tears. He picked up, said he was at work, and hung up before I could finish a sentence.
That first month, still lost and scared in an unfamiliar place, I called him five times. He answered twice. Each call lasted a few seconds.
By the second month, he'd forgotten to top up the smartwatch plan. The phone couldn't dial out at all.