Chapter 2

Getting back to the hospital, I showed Dad the video.

Glancing at him coldly, I questioned, "Emily's been bullied for so long. As her father, you knew nothing about it?"

He didn't dare to meet my eyes. "She's already a college student. She did tell me about being bullied before, but I thought it was just some quarrels. I mean, why did they pick on her instead of anyone else? She must have done something wrong..."

So, it was Emily's fault?

Dad was terrified by my gaze, stumbling backward uncontrollably.

I bit down on the tip of my tongue, and the blood, along with the sharp pain, managed to calm me down temporarily.

I realized dealing with him wasn't my priority—at least not now.

Just then, the door to the ER was opened. Walking out, the surgeon told us Emily was no longer in a critical condition.

She lay in bed, barely breathing. Even the blanket and the sheets were a mess.

Lowering my head, I gently blew on her wounds. How scared and hurt she must have been?

Turning around, I stared at Dad. "Why didn't you call the police?"

He explained carefully, "Her counselor called me, saying she jumped on her own and there was no need to call the police..."

Hearing this, Mom jumped up, her voice broke. "No way! Emily called me yesterday, talking about celebrating Nina's discharge. And you're telling me she jumped on her own? That's bullshit!"

Trembling in anger, Mom made Dad call Emily's counselor, Ruth Powers.

"Ms. Powers, we found a video of Emily being bullied by her classmates on her phone. There's no way she jumped on her own!"

Ruth paused for a while. "A video? Is it from today?"

Mom said, "No. It was from earlier."

Ruth instantly sounded displeased. "How's that gonna prove anything? They're just some girls, messing with each other. It doesn't mean Emily was bullied.

"I understand this is tough for you. No offense, but Emily indeed isn't likable. She's always seeking attention and has such a fragile ego. These sensitive types are the most likely to do something drastic. She jumped on her own, which is for sure. No one pushed her."

Then her husband, the school's Dean, took the phone.

"Hey, you should be careful with your words. Or others may sue you for defamation. You wanna check the surveillance? Sorry, but the ones in the hallway are broken. We won't know who entered the bathroom with Emily. As for the bathroom—of course, we don't have cameras in there."

They hung up without any hesitation.

Mom trembled violently, wanting to call them again.

But I pressed her hand, stopping her.

"Forget it, Mom. Let's just call the police."

Whenever I made a mistake, Mom would scare me by saying the police would come and arrest me.

But my screw-ups paled in comparison to those monsters' unforgivable acts.

So, I believed the police would do right by Emily.

Mom called the police.

Finally, we got to see Ruth and the parents of those bullies.

Samantha was the ringleader in bullying Emily, and the woman who sat in the middle was her mom.

Her mom struck us as a gentle woman, but the moment she spoke, we knew we were wrong.

"You, I mean, Emily's mom, stop slandering Samantha. She's always so well-behaved and kind-hearted. Yes, she did go to the bathroom during lunch break that day, but she never came anywhere near Emily."

"That's right. Our daughters said the same," the other two moms echoed. "Who knows what Emily was doing in the bathroom? Stop trying to pin this on our daughters."

The more they spoke, the more worked up they became. It was almost like their daughters were the bullied ones.

Mom was never good at arguing, and she passed out in a fit of anger and anxiety.

Ruth frowned and stepped back, distancing herself from my mom instantly. "Stop acting, Sally. Sure enough—the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Both you and Emily enjoy playing the victim and pinning the blame on others. Now I get where Emily learned her little games."

Dad could no longer hold back. He took out Emily's phone and pointed at the videos, snapping, "Emily is the victim! Look what these bullies did!"

Samantha's mom leaned forward to glance at the screen. Her face turned pale slightly, but she soon regained composure.

Lifting her chin, she said with disdain, "Samantha has never done anything out of line. You know what? I bet it's Emily's fault. She must have done something bad, leaving Samantha with no option."

I was in the bathroom as they spoke.

Worried that I might get impulsive and hurt someone, Mom had me tied up and locked up in here before the others showed up.

I was seething with rage as I listened to their conversation. How I wished I could rush out and tear them apart!

They argued with my dad fiercely.

Eventually, it was the police who separated them.

As the police spoke to the parents, Mom unlocked the bathroom and freed me.

After a long time, the police came back.

"From what we have now, it's hard to prove Ms. Carter was pushed off the building by her classmates. But the videos you provided are enough to show she had been bullied. So, the three parents have agreed to offer compensation—it'll be 300 dollars each."

I gritted my teeth in anger, the veins on my forehead bulging. "900 dollars for ruining Emily's life? If their own precious daughters were the ones bullied, would they accept this?"

The police seemed a bit torn. "But we don't have enough proof. So, we can only classify this as self-harm..."

"Bullshit!" I snapped. "You can't even find out the truth? And you call yourself a cop? How could you be so stupid? If Emily really wanted to die, she could have jumped from a high building and ended it all. Why would she bother hurting herself before jumping from the third floor?"

Terrified by my outburst, the police officer stumbled back.

Mom wrapped her arms around my waist, pleading, "Nina, please. Calm down, alright?"

The police officer wiped his sweat. "The thing is, the three girls are all showing signs of depression, so I suggest that you take the settlement. It's the wise choice to make."

I suddenly quieted down after hearing his words.

So, depression was the way to escape punishment?

What about insanity, then?

I was a lunatic, wasn't I?