Chapter 2

Another echoed, "Just give in a little, and he'd never have the heart to throw you out."

I'd been arguing with Clive for ten years now.

And every single time, I was the one who had to back down and apologize.

I was done listening to all that. I walked out of the complex and stepped right into the cold, gray snow.

I had no idea how far I'd walked.

The noise and gossip behind me finally faded away.

Suddenly, everything went dark.

The snowy world started spinning around me, making me dizzy.

I managed to pull myself together for a second and remembered that I was still burning up with a fever.

I'd been stuck in bed for three days, and Clive hadn't come back from the camp once.

But just a little while ago, Alyssa tried to pick up my cat while I was feeling sick.

My gut was screaming at me that something was off.

I forced myself out of bed and ended up getting physical with her during the argument.

When Clive heard what happened, he rushed back right away.

I lost control of my emotions and forgot all about being sick for a moment.

But now, the icy wind whipped across my face, sharp as knives slashing at my skin.

The last bit of strength I was holding onto vanished, like a thread snapping.

I swayed and collapsed into the snow.

As my consciousness faded, I caught a blurry glimpse of my cat pressed against my face, crying out in panic.

Then it raced off toward the base housing I'd just left behind.

I drifted into a long dream in the snow.

When I finally came to, I was already in the hospital.

I found out that my cat had drowned in the little pond in the yard while desperately searching for someone to save me.

One of Clive's buddies gathered up my cat's body and laid it next to me in the hospital.

My cat had been with me for a decade, already old, but in the end, it never got the peaceful ending it deserved.

I looked down at my cat, its body cold and stiff in that tiny basket.

For a long time, I couldn't pull myself together.

Clive's buddy sat next to me, letting out a sigh as he tried to comfort me.

He said, "Clive is just sharp-tongued but soft-hearted.

"That day after he drove you away, he didn't say a single word to Alyssa.

"He even drank himself sick in the camp, coughed up blood, and kept calling your name."

He said a lot.

But in the end, it was always the same old line.

He said, "Lucia, if you go say one kind word to him, he'll take you home right away."

I looked at him, feeling numb. He was just another one of those unwavering people always making excuses for Clive.

After a long moment, I said, "What about my cat?"

He was at a loss for words.

After a moment, he spoke up, still not really getting it.

He said, "Come on, it's just a cat. Nobody meant for this to happen."

All the blood in my body seemed to rush to my head at once.

My body trembled as I screamed, "It's not just a cat!"

As soon as the words left my mouth, a wave of helplessness crashed over me all at once.

It was dead.

I clenched my fist so tightly that the IV site on the back of my hand started bleeding, bright red seeping out around the needle.

My eyes, burning red, locked onto the man. "Where's Clive? Where is he?"

He let out a sigh, hesitating before speaking.

He said, "Alyssa was really shaken up last night.

"She saw the cat fall into the water and got so scared she had to be admitted to the hospital."

So Clive went to stay with Alyssa, since she was still so frightened.

I ripped the IV out of my hand, fighting off a wave of dizziness, and rushed out of the room.

It was not like the hospital was some giant maze.

Sure enough, at the end of the hallway on the same floor, I saw Alyssa sitting on her hospital bed.

Ten years of bottled-up resentment exploded in that instant, pushing me right over the edge.

I burst into the room without thinking.

Like a madwoman, I yanked Alyssa's hair, totally losing control.

I screamed, "You killed my cat, didn't you?"

I refused to believe my cat slipped and fell in by itself.

Alyssa's face went pale with fear; her eyes darted to the door, then quickly welled up with tears.

Clive stormed in, holding a medical report, his voice exploding behind me.

He said, "Lucia, are you out of your mind?"

He yanked me away, so furious he couldn't hold back anymore.

He snapped, "It's just a cat.

"How many times have you thrown a fit over that animal? Now maybe we'll finally get some peace."

I heard the last thread in my mind snap.

I spun around and slapped Clive across the face with all my strength.

Clive looked like he wanted to scold me, but no words came out.

He was still pissed off, but he froze right there.

We'd been fighting for ten years, but I'd never actually hit him before.

I was shaking all over, locking eyes with Clive.

I said, "Jelly is more than just my cat.

"Who was it given to in the first place? Ten years, and you still don't remember?"

A hint of confusion flashed in Clive's eyes.

So he really didn't remember.

Ten years ago, after our parents died, he was so devastated he blacked out.

After that, he lost all his memories of our parents and me.

The only thing that kept him calling me his sister was our blood relation.

Clive didn't get it.

He said, "Wasn't it just some stray that showed up ten years ago? Who else could it have been for?"

I stared at him.

He was the brother who once always had my back. Now, all that was left on his face was coldness and confusion.

The doctor tried to comfort me. "It's just his mind putting up walls to protect himself.

"Lucia, maybe it's better this way. Don't force him to remember.

"No matter what, you're still family. He's still your brother, isn't he?"

But was he really still my brother?

Besides the blood running in our veins, was there anything left between us?

My eyes suddenly burned with tears.

I spun around, blinking back the sting, and hurried out of the room.