But suddenly, I was the one getting attention for being wronged.
And they hated that.
I finally picked up on the fourth call, keeping my voice casual.
“Oh, hey, Mom. What’s up?”
She went off.
“What the hell are you doing, Alex? People are seeing this. You’re making us look bad.”
I held back a laugh.
“I’m just thanking the people who actually showed up for my birthday.”
She gasped like I had stabbed her.
“How dare you try to embarrass us like this? You know we would have celebrated with you if we didn’t have prior commitments.”
I snorted.
“Oh, right. Emma’s exciting news.”
“We raised you, Alex,” she snapped. “And this is how you repay us? By making us look like bad parents?”
I was done.
So done.
I took a deep breath and said, “If you didn’t want to look like bad parents, you probably shouldn’t have acted like bad parents.”
Silence.
Then my dad got on the phone.
“You need to take that post down. Now.”
I grinned.
“No.”
“Alex.”
His voice was low, threatening.
“If you don’t take it down, there will be consequences.”
I leaned back in my chair.
“Oh, like what?”
He didn’t answer right away.
I could hear my mom whispering furiously in the background.
Then he said, “We’re coming over.”
And that, Reddit, is where things got really interesting.
I leaned forward, gripping my phone as my dad’s words echoed in my ear.
“We’re coming over.”
A rush of adrenaline shot through me, but I kept my voice steady.
“All right,” I said, barely able to contain my smirk. “See you soon.”
Then I hung up.
Lily, who had been sitting next to me on the couch, raised an eyebrow.
“That was your parents, wasn’t it?”