Chapter 3

Chloe invited me to grab some KFC, saying she'd wait for me at the alley outside our school.

I rushed over as soon as class was finished.

This was my first KFC outing with my close friend.

I was so excited.

Just then, a chilling scream shattered my happy thoughts.

A bunch of shirtless guys had cornered a girl, barely clothed and looking terrified.

I froze at the entrance of the alley.

When I realized it was Chloe, the look of pure fear in her eyes made my blood run cold.

Without thinking, I dove into the fray, swinging my backpack and fighting tooth and nail.

I had no time for relief. After years of being Lily's personal punching bag, getting tossed around was nothing new.

I could take a beating, and I'd learned to guard my vital spots.

I knew my way around a fight.

I fought those guys off and sent them running.

I collapsed to the ground, my back slick with sweat and sticking uncomfortably to my shirt.

When I managed to catch my breath, a sharp, bone-deep pain twisted through my whole body.

Pushing aside the pain, I picked up her clothes from the ground and draped them gently over her shoulders.

Still, I reached out and softly brushed the tears from Chloe's cheeks.

"It's okay. I'm here," I said quietly.

She didn't say anything and kept crying.

I squeezed her shaking hand, determined to lead her away from that awful place.

Suddenly, I saw Lily show up at the entrance of the alley.

She came running straight toward us, looking frantic.

When she got to us, she shoved me out of the way without thinking.

I lost my footing and ended up slamming into the wall.

The pain in my back was so sharp that it felt like my skin was getting ripped open.

Lily glanced at me before scooping Chloe into her arms, clutching her as if she were something fragile and priceless, murmuring soft words to calm her down.

Chloe gave me that helpless, trembling look, her eyes filled with fear and panic.

"Mom, I don't know how I upset Emily. I promise, I won't dare do it again," she whimpered.

I stood there, stunned.

What was she even talking about?

Chloe, tears streaming down her face, clung tightly to Lily. "Emily said she'd meet me for KFC, but instead, a bunch of guys rushed me. I... I..." Chloe stammered.

Her words, dripping with accusation, made my blood boil.

I glared at Chloe and said angrily, "Chloe, you're lying. Why are you lying to her? It was you who..."

*****

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

She was my only friend.

But she was being so cruel to me. How could she?

She went this far and put on a twisted show to drag my name through the mud.

For the first time, I saw how dark people's hearts could be.

It turned out that I never knew Chloe at all.

"Emily, why are you so cruel?" Lily asked, and her eyes were full of undisguised disappointment and disgust.

My heart went ice-cold.

It felt like a million needles were stabbing me all over.

I stared at Chloe, curled up and sobbing on the ground. I pleaded, "Chloe, please tell the truth. Be honest."

Chloe clung to Lily and said tearfully, "Mom, I'm not lying."

Ignoring the pain stabbing through me, I rushed at Chloe and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her as hard as I could.

"Chloe, how could you do this?" I cried out, pain and betrayal flooding my voice. "I treated you as my one true friend. I gave you everything you ever wanted. Why are you trying to hurt me?"

Chloe looked terrified, shaking her head hard.

Lily didn't hesitate and slapped me hard.

Her slap sent me sprawling to the ground.

My face stung at first, but then it went numb.

Lily looked at me like I was a hardened criminal. Then she said, "Emily, if you admitted your mistakes, maybe I'd respect you, but you refuse to own up and keep shifting the blame. How did I end up with a daughter like you?"

I sat on the floor, desperately shaking my head, refusing to believe it.

Fear and panic took over, and I said, "I'm not lying. It was Chloe—"

But my weak protests only made the disgust burning in Lily's eyes fiercer.

She cut me off, "I don't want to hear another word. If you weren't my daughter, I'd call the cops right now and have you hauled off to juvie."

Her conviction that I was nothing but trouble made my already frozen heart feel as if it were being shattered by a blade.

All my life, she never took my side.

I couldn't help but wonder if she was my real mother.

Even Chloe, someone she adopted, got every ounce of her love and protection.

So what was I to her?

She pulled Chloe close, shielding her as they started walking away.

I threw myself forward, clinging desperately to her leg, and screamed, "I swear I'm innocent. I didn't do anything. It was Chloe. She's the one who hurt me. It was all her, not me."

Lily tried to pry my hands off her, but I wouldn't budge.

I clung to her leg with everything I had, refusing to let go.

Using her other leg, she kicked me away. "Emily, you're as disgusting as your father. I regret ever taking custody of you," she spat.

At that moment, my whole world came crashing down.

I collapsed into the filthy mud, watching helplessly as Lily walked away with Chloe, their figures disappearing into the darkness of the alley.

I sat alone in the deepest part of the alley, sobbing and screaming, letting the flood of pain pour out of me.

The pain in my back was savage, stabbing right through to my heart and bones.

But what hurt even more was how nobody understood my desperate breakdown.

Everyone saw me as the deranged villain losing her mind.

No one knew that Chloe had taken off her own clothes on purpose to frame me and shatter my reputation.

My whole life has always felt like one big mistake.

I've lived every day being tossed aside like garbage.

And now, the one friend I thought I could count on pushed me even deeper into the pit.

They called me a murderer, a scheming bitch, and every other cruel word you could imagine.

Everyone kept throwing disgusting accusations and hate at me.

Everyone acted innocent as if they were saints.

But they schemed and crushed me into the mud, making sure I'd never have a chance to crawl back up.

Even my mother, the one I kept deepest in my heart, never wanted to be close to me.

She'd always, without a second thought, side with anyone but me, condemning me and painting me as the root of all evil.