Rigged From Birth: I Still Fought Back Chapter 2

I shoved my way through the crowd and tearfully confronted Mom. "You lied to me! You said winners take all, so why does he get to be here when he lost?"

Looking at me with disappointment, she sighed.

Alan set down his glass, looking thoroughly annoyed. "I'd gotten my acceptance letter from Swafford College ages ago. I only took the SATs to kill time.

"Did you honestly think you could beat me? Is this really a place for someone like you? You're seriously ruining the mood!"

He didn't even care about the very thing I'd spent ten years fighting for?

I stood there in a daze, feeling my entire world collapse around me. Dad came over and tried to pull me outside.

But I stubbornly refused to leave. Even if it was just once, I wanted to be part of something like this.

Then I spotted the cake on the table. As if possessed, I rushed over, grabbed a handful, and shoved it into my mouth. I was sobbing and gagging at the same time.

The guests were horrified by my behavior, looking at me like I was some kind of lunatic.

Mom marched over and slapped me hard across the face. "What's the point of crying? If you're not good enough, then work harder instead of acting like a lunatic to get people's sympathy!

"Did you really think acting like this would make us baby you and give you whatever you want?"

Disgusted by my lack of class, Alan suddenly snapped. He swept the rest of the cake off the table.

"Jeremy Barton, I've been sick of you for years! I don't even know the point of your existence! You burn through Mom and Dad's money, and all you have to show for it is nothing but garbage. How does that make any sense?

"Even a dog or a pig serves some purpose. What's yours? Where is your value? This family would be a lot happier if you just didn't exist!"

His words knocked the air right out of me, leaving me feeling crushed beneath them.

I screamed through my tears, "I might be useless, but I'm still their son!"

The entire room fell dead silent. In the deafening quiet, Mom suddenly muttered, "You're utterly worthless."

The moment I heard those words, my mind went blank.

I just stood there in shock. "I've worked harder than anyone! How am I the worthless one? If I'd had private tutors and all the opportunities Alan had, I'd have done even better than him!"

Alan stormed over to shove me to the ground, and I landed right in the smashed cake. "I earned all of that with my own abilities. Do you really think you deserve any of it?"

Mom watched me with cold eyes while Dad tried to calm Alan down. Not a single person cared about the state I was in.

I scrambled to my feet and ran outside, screaming, "Fine! I'm clearly not good enough for this family! I'll stay out of your lives from now on. And I'll never ask any of you for help again!"