Chapter 2

Paula sighed. "How could Lorraine blame you for Claire's death? No one wants to get sick."

She looked at me. "Do you have the house key?"

I shook my head.

Paula took out her phone and handed it to me. "Call your mom and ask if she left the key somewhere."

I nodded.

I dialed Mom's number like I'd done a hundred times before.

"Hello, Mom," I said when she answered.

The moment she heard my voice, Mom hung up.

When I tried again, the line was busy.

I looked at Paula awkwardly. "Looks like Mom is busy."

Paula gave me a sympathetic look and didn't expose my lie.

"Why don't you try calling your dad?" she suggested.

I dialed Dad's number with familiar ease.

The phone rang and rang, but no one picked up.

Just as I was about to give up, Dad finally answered.

He sounded awkward. "N-Nadia, your mom and I are going away for a few days to relax. Be good and stay home, okay?"

I took a deep breath and asked softly, "Dad, where did you leave the key for me?"

"You don't have the house key?" Dad asked.

Mom snapped through the phone, "Claire is dead. So you don't have a key? Go steal one, go rob someone, do whatever you want. I don't believe you can't survive a few days without us. If you really can't, then just go die."

The phone went dead again.

I handed the phone back to Paula.

Paula took it and asked gently, "Nadia, why don't you just crash at my place tonight?"

"No need. I'll stay at a classmate's for a few days. Thanks, Paula," I said.

After saying goodbye to Paula, I took the elevator downstairs.

Paula's place was a two-bedroom apartment with bunk beds for her two sons. I didn't want to make things harder for her.

Regret hit me once I reached the ground floor.

I stared at the thousands of glowing windows, but not a single one was my home.

I drifted through the night like a wandering spirit.

Every passing glance, even if accidental, felt like mockery to me.

"See that girl? Her parents ditched her. Nobody wants her now," I could almost hear them whisper.

I hated being noticed.

Before I realized it, I'd wandered into a lonely, empty street.

Suddenly, two punks with bleached hair rolled up on motorcycles and whistled at me.

"Hey, girl, wanna have some fun?" one of them called out.

Panic hit me hard. I spun around and took off running.

They chased after me, laughing. "Acting all innocent? You're wearing so little at this hour, so you're obviously out here looking for trouble."

They were like cats playing with a mouse, just trailing behind, enjoying the chase.

I darted into a narrow alley, barely wide enough for one person.

Their bikes couldn't squeeze in, so they shouted a string of curses my way before roaring off.

Just as I started to relax, a pair of big hands suddenly covered my mouth.

The stench of booze and sweat slammed into me.

He grabbed me from behind, muffled my screams, and dragged me into an abandoned building.

I sobbed, begging him to let me go.

I fought back with everything I had, but he was afraid of getting caught, so he choked me, hard.

Everything went black.

I didn't know how much time passed, but suddenly I was looking down at my body lying there on the ground.

My whole body was battered and torn, a total wreck.

The floor was so dark and cold it felt like ice stabbing right through me.

I looked like a broken doll that had been tossed aside and forgotten.

Suddenly, a golden light flashed, and I saw my parents walking together on the beach.

Mum's eyes were still red.

She turned to Dad and snapped, "Claire wanted to come to the beach this summer. It's all Nadia's fault. If it wasn't for her, Claire wouldn't be dead."

Dad let out a heavy sigh. "This was just meant to be. Nadia can't spend her whole life living for Claire."

Lorraine glared at him, furious. "What are you saying, Richard? You know we only had Nadia to save Claire. She was only born to save Claire."

I'd always known the truth, but hearing her say it out loud like that still made my heart ache.

It didn't matter anymore, Mom. Claire was gone, and now I was dead too.

Maybe now she'd be happy.

Mom and Dad spent three days on the beach.

During those three days, Mom kept talking about Claire.

She'd gaze out at the ocean, missing Claire.

She'd look up at the blue sky, her mind still on Claire.

Not once did they mention me, the daughter they'd left behind at home.

It was as if I'd never existed in this family at all.

On the last day, Dad casually mentioned me.

"Who knows how Nadia's been getting by these past three days? She doesn't really get along with anyone. She's probably struggling," he said.

Mom scoffed. "Struggling? At worst, she'll freeze for a few nights and go hungry a few times. Claire is dead. So what if Nadia has it rough?"

When they got home and saw I wasn't waiting at the door, Dad went over to Paula and asked if she'd seen me around.

Paula didn't hold back. She really let Dad have it for being so careless.

She told him she hadn't seen me at all in the past three days.