Chapter 4
Lily packed up a few clothes and shipped me off to Grandma's old house out in the suburbs, all under the pretense of protecting Chloe.
No one had set foot here since Grandma was gone.
Because of my dust allergies, I left the door wide open and passed out for the entire day.
The only reason I woke up was because my busted wound had gotten all inflamed.
The pain was so bad that it pulled me out of sleep.
Clutching my last one hundred dollars, I went alone to a cheap clinic to get patched up.
With the college entrance exams coming up, there was no way they'd let me take any time off.
So I had no choice but to drag my barely alive body back to class every single day.
Ever since I ended up at Grandma's old place, Lily didn't do anything for me except wire over my living allowance once a week.
Other than that, we were out of touch.
I couldn't care less.
After all, I was used to her treating me like I didn't exist my whole life.
What I didn't see coming was that, with only two weeks left before the college entrance exams, the story about me framing Chloe went viral around school.
Suddenly, I was the center of all hate.
People cut me off, shunned me, cursed me out, and even mailed letters hoping I'd drop dead.
Some told me straight up to keep my head down, or else they'd snitch on me.
To them, I was a dirty rat crawling through the gutter. No one wanted anything to do with me.
All it took was Chloe, the one who started this whole mess, saying she didn't blame me.
She even claimed it was her own fault for not knowing how to get on my good side.
Just a few sly, dramatic lines from her and everyone instantly took her side.
I kept telling myself once the college entrance exams were done, I'd leave her, leave this house, and leave Lily who never loved me.
That day, Chloe walked right up to me, putting on this super understanding, thoughtful face.
Then, out of nowhere, she pulled out the fruit knife she kept on her and cut herself.
When she dropped to the floor, sobbing like crazy, I was shell-shocked.
Right in front of the whole crowd, I was called out, accused of attacking her.
Before I could say a word, Chloe threw on her best terrified act, pointing right at me. "It was her. She brought a knife. She wanted to kill me," Chloe shouted.
All at once, everyone was busy pitying Chloe for having such a wicked sister.
I crouched down coldly and asked, "What are you trying to pull?"
Chloe's lips parted, her face all pitiful.
But those eyes of hers looked almost insane. She replied, "I want to see you lose everything."
I scoffed, stood up, and walked away.
She didn't realize I'd already lost everything.
Lily stormed into the school faster than I'd ever seen her move.
She hit me first, her face like stone, and then, without batting an eye, called the cops.
My own mother went to the police on her own daughter.
Without a shred of defense, I got tossed straight into juvie.
Every day, I got brainwashed nonstop with lectures about how I needed to start over and act like some model citizen.
A week later, they let me out.
After that, I gave up on Lily completely.
Not once did I ever expect her to love me again.
Even with that black mark on my record, the moment I stepped back into school, Chloe was right there, bullying me all over again.
She gathered up her gang of self-proclaimed justice warriors.
They yanked me into the girls' bathroom and baptized every inch of me with their piss.
They caught me on my way home from school.
They jumped me and beat the crap out of me.
All while telling me it was payback on behalf of their kind Chloe.
All I could do was choke down all the injustice by myself.
I didn't have a shred of evidence or a single soul in my corner.
Every time I came home from another beating, I'd scrub myself raw, counting the shocking scars that covered my bruised and battered body.
Old wounds blurred together with fresh ones.
Half the time, I couldn't even tell which marks were from today and which ones had been left on me yesterday.
I pulled out my phone, hoping to see what Lily was up to.
But of course, what popped up first was Chloe's social media feed.
On the front was a photo of bread, the kind I could spot in my sleep.
The caption under it read: [Right now, I'm the happiest person alive.]
That shape of the bread was burned into my memory.
Back before I turned six, I ate it pretty much every day.
She always made bread like that, with her own hands.
I shut off my phone.
The quiet night made every tear that landed on my screen sound loud.
All eighteen years of my life had been a ridiculous joke.
My eighteenth birthday was coming up, two days before the college entrance exams.
Last week, for Lily's birthday, I was locked up in juvie, so I couldn't even send her a simple happy birthday.
This year, on my own birthday, I hoped I could tell Lily that I loved her one last time.
After that, I'd ace the exams and get into a good university. Then I was done here for good.
I spent all my hard-saved pocket money on a pink-and-white princess dress I'd been dreaming about forever, telling myself it was time to make myself happy for once.
I also bought a delicate cake, the kind Lily always loved, hoping maybe she'd notice for once.
I was bubbling with excitement, waiting for her to celebrate my birthday. But when I opened the door, there was Chloe at the front, flanked by her squad of fake do-gooders.
They were holding a wooden box, each wearing a malicious grin that promised trouble.
A chill hit me hard, and I instinctively moved to close the door.
But there was no way I could fight off a whole gang like them all by myself.
They forced the door back, refusing to let me close it.
Chloe feigned concern, her voice dripping with fake sweetness as she said, "Emily, we're here to celebrate your birthday. Don't you want us here?"
I was sweating bullets, but I couldn't bring myself to start a fight. I replied, "Maybe some other time. I'm not feeling too great today."
Out of nowhere, a blade flashed through the crack and slashed deep into my arm.
The second I faltered, they shoved their way inside, slammed the door shut, and locked us in.
"You're all dressed up. Were you waiting for us?" Chloe sneered.