Chapter 1

I was the Miller family's most well-behaved middle kid.

My sister Ella always came first, and my brother Aiden was endlessly pampered.

I studied hard and handled all the chores, just to hear a word of praise from my parents.

But on Christmas Eve, they left me outside in the cold for Ella's competition and Aiden's game.

That freezing night, with the temperature at 14 degrees, I curled up in the snow on the doorstep, my breath fading.

When they finally found me, my hand was still tightly gripping the meatballs I'd bought for everyone, now turned into icy rocks.

*****

My name was Avery Miller.

My parents said that when I was born, they hoped I'd be quiet, unlike strong-willed Ella or noisy Aiden.

I managed to do just that.

Growing up, I was always the quietest and the most invisible one in the family.

At dinner, the last drumstick always went back and forth between Ella and Aiden. No one ever asked if I wanted it.

Whenever Ella outgrew her clothes, they'd just tweak them a bit and pass them off as my new outfits, even though pink was my least favorite color.

When Aiden got tired of his toys, he'd toss them at my feet as if he was doing me a huge favor.

I got used to it.

I got used to always standing on the very edge in family photos, sometimes only half-visible in the picture.

I got used to doing well in class, and the first thing Dad would say was, "Ella always gets straight A's. Why can't you try harder?"

I got used to washing everyone's clothes late at night, my hands raw and numb from the cold, so Mom wouldn't have as much to do in the morning, and maybe she'd give me a smile.

But all she did was take the clothes, telling me to make sure Aiden's socks went in their own wash next time.

It felt like my whole existence was to prove that every family needed someone who was there to be the well-behaved one, the one who got sacrificed.

This year, I made it into a top high school in the city.

And I didn't rely on my parents for a cent. I paid my own tuition, waitressing all summer long, on my feet for more than ten hours a day, just so I could make enough.

On the first day of school, Mom and Dad drove Ella to her college, made her bed, took her roommates out for dinner, and snapped a bunch of photos to post online.

The caption read: [Our little girl is all grown up. Mom and Dad's pride and joy.]

Meanwhile, I was dragging my beat-up suitcase, crammed into a slow, crowded train for three hours, and found my way to school on my own.

When someone from the admissions office saw me alone, she asked why my family wasn't with me.

I smiled and said they were busy.

Yeah, they were busy.

They were busy setting up Ella for success and making Aiden's childhood something to celebrate.

And me? I was a forgotten backdrop along the way.

I thought that getting into a top high school would finally make them notice me.

At the very least, they'd acknowledge I wasn't a disappointment.

I started studying harder and consistently earned straight A's.

I saved up all my scholarship money and didn't buy myself a single new thing with it. I kept every dollar.

Christmas was just around the corner.

I wanted to give them a surprise.

Maybe, if the surprise was big enough, they would look at me when the Christmas chimes rang. Even if only for a second.