It was during dinner, Friday night, that Adelaide sat back in her chair, fiddling with her light ginger hair and picked at her food, that she decided to do it. All up and down that deep oak dining table, her half-brothers and sisters noticed that she was eating less than usual, setting off alarm bells. If there was one thing Adelaide loved, it was dinner. To some, she may not be the most genetically pretty, and to be sure, when she was younger she felt a lot of pressure not to eat so much, but supposedly wider hips and a little bit of meat on one's bones was "in", so she was finally allowed to eat as much as she wanted. Frankly Adelaide never cared about her looks as much as she let her family believe. Sometimes she wondered how she ever fit in here. "Mother, may I say something?"
The entire table went silent. Brothers looked at sisters like Adelaide would be smote. For all she just did, she might be. No one asked Aphrodite to speak during dinner unless it was important. "Yes, of course Adelaide," Aphrodite said with a smile. "What do you wish to say?"
"Well...as most people here at the table know, I've been confused about who I've been attracted to as of late. Boys, girls," she waved a hand around the air as if to illustrate her point. She was nervous. Very nervous. "I did some searching, and I think I found who I am." Adelaide looked at everyone watching her carefully and she took a deep breath. "I'm asexual," she said. "I'm a heteroromantic asexual."
The entire table erupted into laughter. Adelaide looked around in shock. Out of all the possible outcomes she could have expected, laughter was near the worst she could have imagined. "Seriously, Addy?" one of her older brothers asked.
"Funny, Adelaide!" a small, but stunning olive-skinned girl exclaimed.
"Wow, out of all the people I expected to do something like this, you were last on my list!"
"You're in such trouble."
"Adelaide the asexual?! Hahahahaha!"
The trees outside the windows on the other side of the table seemed to shake in time with Adelaide's beating heart. "Adelaide," her mother warned. "Now is not a time for jokes."
Adelaide knew where this was going, but she refused to take back what she was. Not anymore, she wasn't a child who would bend to her mother's every whim. "I-I'm not joking, mother. I'm an asexual. Y'know, I have no sexual attraction to anyone--"
"I know what it means, Adelade!" her mother snapped.
Adelaide jumped. Aphrodite had never snapped at her before. "Mother...?"
"I can't believe what a disappointment you are," her mother spat. "I did everything right! Everything! I'm the goddess of not only beauty, but sexuality. Do you know what that means?!"
Adelaide swallowed. "That you accept who I am despite not being straight...?"
"It means I do not have broken children!" her mother roared.
Adelaide grabbed her knife quickly on instinct and shook. "Mother...I'm not broken! I'm just...!" she started to cry. "Not having sex is just as natural as having it!"
Aphrodite laughed. "Oh, that's what they all say to make themselves feel better!"
Adelaide sobbed, "What did I do wrong?! I've always been in your favor, the stupid diets you'd but me on, cutting back my food, wearing the clothes you chose for me, I've always been in your favor! What did I do?!"
"You are broken!" Aphrodite screamed. "No child of mine is going to be broken!"
"S-so what are you saying? Are you disowning me?!" Adelaide said quietly, a horrible understanding dawning on her. "I just want to clarify. I don't know my dad, in fact about the only people I know are family, and you think it's okay to disown your own child, for being asexual?!"
Aphrodite's nostrils flared. "Get out."
Adelaide scowled through her tears. "Gladly. You're all freaks anyway, and I've always loved reading more than looks! Screw you all!"
With haste she went to her room and packed her things. Her work uniform, her favorite clothes, toiletries, and her 5 favorite books along with her cell phone and a charger all went into her backpack. She never carried a bag; it had too few places to hold things, and she'd seem too much like her siblings, while she always wanted to be different. She was glad of that now. Though not so much so that getting disowned could be seen as a blessing rather than a curse. She ran out of the house, straight into one of her youngest sisters, Madeline, who was only 5. The younger kids had already had dinner and were playing before they got ready for bed. "Adelaide?!" she asked. "Why are you crying?"
Should I tell her everything? No, it'll only make things worse, and she may as well have a few hours of denial of needing to be perfect. Adelaide sniffed. "Mommy says I'm not your sister anymore, Maddy. I've got to go away."
Madeline frowned. "Okay...can I come visit you?"
Adelaide laughed. The kid really didn't know much of anything about the world yet. It was one of the reasons Adelaide loved Madeline. She wasn't yet in the practice of blindly following their mom wherever she went. "Sorry, sweetpea, but it's not the going away where I write, or come back."
Madeline cocked her head to the side. "Why not?"
"Because according to Mommy," Adelaide's voice cracked. "I'm broken, and she doesn't want an imperfect daughter. But you know that I love you, right? I'll always love you."
Madeline frowned, mulling this over, but nodded. Kid's taking this so well, she probably thinks I'm joking, Adelaide realized grimly. "Do I get one last hug?" she asked hopefully.
Adelaide laughed and nodded, giving her half-sister a quick hug. "I love you," she said, walking off into the street, away from the suburbs.
As she was almost out of earshot, Aphrodite came to the door and yelled, "Don't you ever come back, do you understand me?! You're never welcome here again!"
Adelaide put her hands over her ears and kept walking. She needed to get to work in New York if she expected to earn enough money to find a place to stay up there, and she could probably pay off the guards to let her sleep in the beds or maybe on some of the recliners. She didn't have a plan yet, but as soon as she found one, she'd try it. Tears stung at her eyes and she rubbed the blank space over her right middle finger where she had planned to get herself an asexual pride ring. Moot point now. Everyone she knew in her new life already was aware she was apparently a freak. Although there might be a few people out there to help her...she just had to find them.
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