Chapter 4

4: 4

My mother stood there, face dark, glaring at me.

"Alexandra Henson! Did you hit someone with a car?"

"You little monster!"

"You cause trouble and all you know how to do is hide. You don't even have the guts to face what you did! We fed you all these years for nothing!"

She yanked me so hard I stumbled.

"Mom, what are you talking about? I've been in the hospital the whole time—"

I looked up, lost.

My father jabbed a finger in my face and roared,

"You do wrong, you own it!"

"The victim's family is already at our door! And you still dare lie."

He turned aside. Several men stood outside the doorway.

Iron pipes in their hands, faces full of rage.

"I already told you, it wasn't me." I said it word by word.

Cynthia wore a look like she had my best interests at heart, and coaxed,

"Sis, wasn't ruining my graduation party enough? You went and hurt someone too?"

"Just admit it. Don't keep making things worse."

I looked at my brother without thinking.

He'd filled in my admission paperwork. All he had to do was pull up the records...

But he looked away, and said in a low voice,

"You made this mess, you clean it up. Don't count on the family to take the fall for you."

Every word was a nail driven into my chest.

"It wasn't me! I don't even know how to drive!"

"If it wasn't you, then who?"

My mother shoved me hard, and I slammed into the wall, pain blacking out my vision.

"You're the only one in this family who's nothing but trouble!"

She pointed at my face and shrieked, "You're going with the victim's family right now, to atone."

Those vicious-looking men looked me up and down, taking in my clothes.

"She looks this shabby. She can afford a car?"

Their tone was doubtful. "Better not be getting played..."

I seized the chance to hold up my phone and open the hospital records.

"I really was in the hospital for seven days."

"This is the chart, this is the payment receipt..."

But my mother snatched the phone out of my hand and smashed it hard against the floor.

The screen went black instantly.

"Acting! Keep acting!"

She looked at me, all disappointment.

"You think you can fake a medical chart and slip through?"

"Let me tell you, if you don't confess today, I don't have a daughter like you."

She dragged me into the inner room and shut the door.

When she turned around, her eyes were rimmed red.

"Alexandra, my baby."

She lowered her voice, pleading,

"Your sister's about to start college. She can't have a record."

"If word of this gets out, how is she supposed to live it down?"

I froze.

"You're the older sister. You have to protect your sister."

"Just confess, all right?"

I stared at her, dazed.

So my life was meant to be sacrificed.

So even when everyone knew it wasn't my fault, they would force it onto my head anyway.

My eyes went red.

In eighteen years, this was the first time she'd called me her baby.

And it was to make me take the blame for her little daughter.

Something in my chest felt like it split open.

The pain made it hard to breathe.

"Fine. I'll confess."

My voice was calmer than it had any right to be.

"I confess."

My parents let out a breath, as if a weight had lifted.

I was hauled to the hospital by the whole group.

The victim's parents rushed straight at me, each grabbing a fistful of my hair.

"So it's you, you little monster?"

"If my son ends up disabled, I'm not done with you."

They forced me down onto my knees, my forehead pressed to the floor.

The slaps came down like rain.

I knelt for a day and a night.

By some mercy, the victim was fine.

They dumped me roughly out on the road and left me to fend for myself.

My phone had slid out of my pocket, the screen cracked, but it still worked.

There was a message from my father.

【Alexandra, you have to smooth things over with them.】

【If they insist on suing, give them the document in your pocket.】

Trembling, I pulled a sheet of paper out of my pocket.

【Liability Waiver for Injury or Death】

At the bottom were four signatures.

Dad, Mom, my brother, my sister.

I stared at those four names for a long time.

Then I laughed.

So from the very beginning, they'd been ready to sacrifice me.

Even if I'd been beaten to death in the street, they could use my life to keep my sister safe.

My family really was so considerate toward my sister...

I laughed until I couldn't breathe, and then came the dry heaving, wave after wave.

I borrowed three hundred dollars from my homeroom teacher and bought a train ticket.

Just then, another message came from my mother.

【I heard they're dropping the case over there. What are you still wasting time for? Get your ass back home!】

【Cynthia's redoing her graduation party. We're short a greeter. Come back and help.】

【As a reward, the bedding set you take to college can be new, not Cynthia's hand-me-downs.】

Expressionless, I watched the screen go dark.

Your reward is too heavy. I don't want it anymore.

The moment the train pulled away,

I knew I was free.