Chapter 1
At the family dinner, Evelyn Carter, the girl who had been living my life for years, leaned in and whispered, "The Carters only need one heiress. To them, you're nothing but a country bumpkin."
I thought she was right.
So, I turned around and walked straight into the path of oncoming traffic.
My family went into a total panic, screaming and dragging me back from the edge.
My brother, Michael Carter, warned me with a stern face never to upset Evelyn like that again.
I nodded obediently, but later that night, I turned on the gas and left a suicide note.
It read: [I'm sorry for upsetting Evelyn. I'll just take the whole family to heaven with me so no one has to worry anymore.]
The entire family looked at me as if they had seen a ghost.
Later, at another party, Evelyn and her friends pushed me into the swimming pool.
I didn't struggle. I let my body sink slowly to the bottom.
Evelyn had to jump in frantically to pull me out.
"You idiot!" she yelled. "What if you'd actually drowned? Mom and Dad would never forgive me!
"Why didn't you even try to swim?"
What she didn't know was that I had fought back before, but each time it only led to more tragic deaths.
I traveled back ten times.
This time, I'd decided to truly seek death.
*****
The chlorine in the water hit my stomach like a wave of fire, burning and stinging with every second I was submerged.
Michael dragged me out, and I lay sprawled at the edge of the pool, barely hanging on as I coughed up water.
Evelyn's face went ghostly pale.
Her friends started babbling over each other, scrambling to explain.
"We were just joking around," one whispered.
"Yeah, who knew she'd just jump in like that?" another chimed in.
"Seriously, who just lies there when they're drowning? Is she faking it to get us in trouble or something?" a third voice added.
I crawled out of the pool, wrapped in Michael's suit jacket.
I was shivering so hard my teeth were chattering.
But I still managed to force a smile and looked at Evelyn.
"Evelyn, you told me to go in, so I did.
"I just do what you tell me," I said.
Evelyn felt a chill run down her spine as she met my eyes and stepped back a few paces.
She looked at me like I was some kind of monster.
"What nonsense are you spouting?
"When did I ever tell you to jump in?" she snapped.
She turned desperately to our parents, who had just rushed over.
She cried, "Dad, Mom, don't believe her. She's crazy.
"Briana's just trying to frame me."
My parents' faces were grim as they frowned at me, Briana Carter, dripping wet.
One of the girls in a designer dress mustered up some courage and said, "She jumped in all by herself.
"We tried to help her out, but she just wouldn't budge."
I peeked out from behind Michael, looking all innocent.
"I wasn't refusing to come up.
"If Evelyn tells me to do something, I have to do it perfectly. Otherwise, she'll get upset.
"And if Evelyn's upset, then Michael will be upset, and so will Mom and Dad," I said softly.
I looked at them, dead serious. "So, what do I have to do to make you all happy?"
The whole place went dead silent.
Everyone stared at me like I was crazy.
Michael froze up.
He grabbed my arm, nearly crushing it with his grip.
"Briana, shut up," he snapped.
Dad barked at the butler, "Take Briana back to her room and get the doctor to check her out."
Then he turned to Evelyn, his gaze unusually stern. He said, "Evelyn, you come with me, too."
Evelyn had always been the apple of the family's eye.
Nobody ever had the heart to scold her.
She was so scared that tears started streaming down her face, crying her eyes out.
"Dad, it really wasn't me," she sobbed.
The way everyone looked at me, all grim and cold, just made me feel exhausted to my core.
I hadn't known what I needed to do to make them happy.
When Evelyn's puppy went missing, I ended up with a collar around my neck, eating dog food, and sleeping in the doghouse.
When she went camping with her friends, she zipped me up inside a sleeping bag and shoved me down the slope.
My head and body crashed into the jagged rocks. The pain was so excruciating that it left me numb and gasping for air.
Evelyn just looked down at my mangled form from above and curled her lip in disdain.
"Looks like this sleeping bag is pretty lousy. I'm definitely leaving a bad review for the seller.
"At least Briana helped me test it out," Evelyn sneered.
This time, I didn't even bother to resist Evelyn's abuse.
But Mom, Dad, and Michael still weren't pleased. It left me feeling totally bewildered.