Chapter 1

“Look out, Rebecca!”

Four-year-old Rebecca Parson noticed the traffic cone a bit too late. Her eyes widened, and she stumbled forward, about to trip over it and fall to the ground.

But then she suddenly felt a firm grip on her arm, pulling her back just in time.

“That was close,” her father’s voice drifted into her ears, his tone relieved. “Sheesh, you should watch where you’re going next time, okay?”

“Are you all right, sweetie?” her mother asked worriedly as she picked Rebecca up, letting her sit on her forearm like a makeshift cushion. Meanwhile, her other arm held the child by the waist to keep her stable. “You’re not hurt or anything, are you?”

Rebecca nodded enthusiastically. “I’m okay! Daddy saved me just in time!” she said with a wide grin.

“That’s good. I wouldn’t want my little angel getting any bruises on her skin, after all,” her father said with a chuckle, poking Rebecca gently on the cheek. Then he reached over and took Rebecca into his own arms. “Let me carry her, Helena. You shouldn’t be overexerting yourself.”

Helena let out a soft laugh. “Carrying my own daughter doesn’t take that much effort. You worry too much, Kevin.”

Kevin shook his head and hugged Rebecca tightly to himself for a few seconds in an exaggerated motion, making her laugh in response. “Indulge me. I can’t get enough of my own daughter, you know.” He reached out and took Helena’s hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Including spending time with my beautiful wife.”

Helena laughed again. “Such a charmer.”

“I’ll keep protecting you and Rebecca for the rest of my life. I promise you that,” he said, turning to his daughter with an affectionate smile. “I’ll make sure that my little angel lives the best life she could ever ask for.”

“Pinky promise, Daddy?” Rebecca asked, beaming.

“Pinky promise,” Kevin said, linking his pinky with her tiny one.

It was a sunny day, with beautiful weather that only served to make the moment even more picturesque than it already was. Rebecca smiled so widely that her cheeks began to ache.

“...becca.”

Then the sunlight became almost blinding, and her parents’ voices started growing distant, as though they were drifting farther and farther away.

“Rebecca…”

And then darkness swallowed the scene, as if it were fading away into nothingness, taking the feeling of warmth and affection along with it.

“Rebecca!”

Fifteen-year-old Rebecca Parson jerked awake at the sound of her name being shouted right beside her ear.

Startled, she turned her head to see her aunt standing next to the bed with her arms folded across her chest, wearing an impatient scowl.

“You lazy brat! Just how long are you planning to keep on sleeping?!” Aunt Karen barked, narrowing her eyes in displeasure. “It’s almost six! How dare you make me come in here just to wake you up?!”

Rebecca blinked several times, as if she were still lost in the haze of her beautiful, fleeting dream.

Now that the traces of sleep were disappearing from her system, the truth of her reality came crashing back.

‘That’s right…’ she thought to herself bitterly. ‘I’m no longer the little angel who’s constantly being worried over and protected.’

Instead of her old pink bedroom that had been carefully furnished and filled with her precious things, she was now in her current bedroom, which honestly barely even qualified as one.

It was a tiny room, almost the size of a janitor’s closet. The paint on the walls was already peeling, and there were cracks in the ceiling that leaked a little whenever it rained.

The only things in this room were her small bed with a thin mattress, a small closet, and an old electric fan that could no longer move as briskly as it was supposed to.

“Hey, answer me when I’m talking to you! My god, you’re such a thorn in my side. I’ll end up getting more gray hairs because of you,” Aunt Karen muttered in exasperation as she rubbed her temples, as if she were extremely stressed by even the simple act of waking Rebecca up.

Rebecca slowly pushed herself off the bed. “I’m sorry,” she said solemnly.

Aunt Karen waved her away dismissively and turned to leave the room. “Save your apologies. Now come on and start making breakfast. Honestly, you shouldn’t even need to be told what to do anymore! I can’t keep holding your hand like you’re a helpless child! You’re fifteen now!”

Rebecca followed behind her, not saying a word.

“By the way, Cole said he needs his uniform ironed today because he has a test this morning. Also, your uncle has an important meeting later on, so make sure to iron his shirt as well. Oh, and the bathroom needs some scrubbing, too. I noticed some grime on the floor last night. Didn’t I tell you to check whether it needed cleaning before you went to bed? I swear, you’re—”

Aunt Karen just kept on yapping and scolding here and there while Rebecca remained silent as always. Whenever her aunt went on a tirade like this, it was best to keep quiet, otherwise she’d get punished again.

Without even looking, Rebecca already knew what the kitchen probably looked like.

The sink would be overflowing with dirty dishes after Aunt Karen ate another late-night meal and left the plates behind for Rebecca to clean. Empty beer bottles would be scattered across the table where Uncle Ben had left them after drinking himself to sleep, as usual. Bits of snacks would be littered on the floor where Cole, her younger brother who could do no wrong, had left them after playing video games late into the night in the living room.

‘I wish I could’ve stayed in that dream forever,’ Rebecca thought somberly as she took the ingredients out of the fridge and started preparing breakfast for the three of them. Excluding herself, of course, because apparently letting her eat proper meals was a waste of money, which meant it was another day of eating stale toast before school. ‘But this is my life now.’

‘I guess pinky promises are worthless after all, huh, Daddy?’