For the eighteenth time, Mom delivered a gift that was supposed to be mine straight to Hayden’s room. She shot me a guilty look, but immediately turned it around to blame me. “Why didn’t you remind me? Well, since things turned out this way, let’s just let Hayden have it.” I froze in place. Watching Hayden look so incredibly happy with my gift, I just nodded. I didn’t care anymore. Ever since Hayden was born, Mom always “accidentally” gave my things to him. She promised to take me to the theme park, but ended up giving my ticket to Hayden. I had a high fever in the middle of the night, but Mom rushed Hayden to the ER instead, frantically asking the doctors if he was going to catch whatever I had. Even on my birthday, my cake was delivered straight to his room. “Since things turned out this way, let Hayden go play.” “Since things turned out this way, we can’t let Hayden get sick.” “Since things turned out this way, it’s fine to let Hayden blow out the candles first.” Just like right now. Mom smiled as she carried my birthday cake over to Hayden. My lips twitched into a bitter smile. Mom had completely forgotten. I had terminal stomach cancer. The doctor said this would likely be my last birthday. So be it.
The sound of keys jingling came from the front door. Dad was home from work. I forced myself to ignore the sharp, stabbing pain in my stomach. Clutching the wall, I slowly dragged myself out of my room. Years ago, if I coughed even once, Dad would drive me to the urgent care clinic in the middle of the night. Now, I was standing in the living room, covered in cold sweat, but Dad didn’t even spare me a glance. He walked straight past me to Hayden, shoving a limited-edition Transformer into his arms. “Happy birthday, Hayden! Do you like the present Dad got you?” Hayden squealed with joy, jumping up to plant a big kiss on Dad’s cheek. Dad’s eyes crinkled with laughter. It was only when he turned around that he finally saw me, pale and swaying against the wall. His smile vanished instantly. His brows furrowed into a tight, angry knot. “What is up with that look on your face?” “Today is Hayden’s birthday. Do you have to ruin the mood with that miserable face?” “You’re getting more and more depressed every day. It’s exhausting just looking at you.” I bit my lower lip so hard it bled. My fingers tightened around the medical diagnosis sheet inside my pocket. “Today is my birthday, too,” my voice trembled. Dad froze for a second. A flash of guilt crossed his eyes. But that tiny sliver of regret was instantly swallowed by annoyance. “How old are you now? Why are you still throwing tantrums over Hayden’s birthday? Can’t we just buy you another cake in a couple of days?” Mom was slicing the cake nearby. She rolled her eyes. “Don’t buy her anything. She just can’t stand seeing Hayden happy.” “She loves throwing drama all day long. She’s just desperate for attention.” I slowly pulled the sweat-soaked diagnosis sheet out of my pocket. “The doctor said… this might be my last birthday.” “Stomach cancer…” Both Mom and Dad frowned. For a brief second, their eyes softened. But suddenly, Hayden pointed at me and started crying hysterically. “Mom! Audrey is being scary! I don’t want her to die! Make her stop!” Seeing Hayden cry, Mom rushed over, snatched the diagnosis sheet from my hand, and threw it right into the trash can. “Audrey, are you out of your mind?” “So what if you have stomach cancer? Do you have to scare Hayden to death just to feel satisfied?!” I stood there, completely numb. I shook my head frantically. “No, I didn’t…” SLAP! A heavy blow struck my face. The force knocked me straight to the floor. My ears rang loudly, and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. Dad stood over me, looking down with pure disgust. “You are absolutely toxic!” “How did we raise such a selfish loser who only knows how to bully her little brother!” Lying on the cold floor, I stared at the trash can. The diagnosis sheet was sitting right there, stamped in red by the hospital. But nobody wanted to look at it. Suddenly, a wave of exhaustion washed over me. All my urge to explain, all my hurt—it all died right there. I used the wall to push myself up and wiped the blood from my mouth with the back of my sleeve. I turned around and walked toward my room. Dad grabbed a glass from the table and shattered it right at my feet. “Always acting like a corpse!” “If you ever use death to threaten us again, get the hell out of this house and die outside!” “We don’t need your bad luck in this family!”
The next morning, I woke up from a stabbing pain in my stomach. I hadn’t eaten dinner last night, and nobody had come to check on me. Even though it was my birthday, I could only curl up in my room, listening to Hayden celebrate his birthday right outside my door. I struggled to open my eyes. Surprisingly, there was a glass of milk and two slices of toast on my nightstand. Mom was sitting on the edge of my bed. She had a rare, gentle smile on her face. “You’re awake? Come on, eat something.” I stared at her. My nose stung with tears. She did something she hadn’t done in years—she reached out and gently stroked my hair. “Your dad was just stressed yesterday. Don’t take it to heart.” “This weekend, I’ll take you to that theme park you’ve been begging to go to, okay?” My dry, cracked lips trembled. The dying embers of hope in my chest sparked back to life. The theme park. I had been waiting for this for three years. When I was little, Dad used to put me on his shoulders, laughing as we rode the carousel. Maybe… maybe they still loved me. As long as I behaved, as long as I didn’t make Hayden mad, they would still care about me. I swallowed the stomach pain and nodded quickly. “Okay. I’ll go.” “Thank you, Mom.” I held on until the weekend. I pulled my favorite white dress out of the closet. It was a bit too short for me now, but I couldn’t bear to throw it away. Since I got sick, I hadn’t gotten any new clothes. I stood in front of the mirror, splashing cold water on my face to make myself look a bit more alive. I didn’t want to ruin their mood. I leaned against the wall, taking slow steps out of my room. In the living room, Mom was on the phone. She was packing Hayden’s bright yellow backpack, her voice dripping with affection. “Yeah, taking Hayden to the theme park today. Already got the VIP passes.” “Oh, don’t worry about Audrey. She looks like a walking corpse anyway. Bringing her would just ruin the fun.” “Exactly. Hayden’s happiness is what matters. Who wants to drag a sick drag-along around?” I froze. It felt like my entire world had collapsed. Mom’s milk that morning, her promise, her gentle smile, and her comforting words… How did it all change so fast? I dragged my weak body into the center of the living room. “Mom…” My voice was incredibly hoarse. “You said… you were taking me.” Mom hung up the phone. The smile on her face vanished instantly. She knitted her brows in disgust. “Are you having another episode? Didn’t I tell you to stay in your room?” “But you promised me…” “Promised you what? Look at yourself in the mirror!” She looked me up and down with pure disdain. “Dressed like that… are you trying to embarrass us in public?” Hayden ran over and shoved me hard. “Get out of the way! Mom gave the tickets to me! They’re only taking me to the theme park, not you!” I was already running on empty. His shove threw me completely off balance. I reached out, trying to grab Mom’s sleeve to steady myself. But Mom flinched away as if I were a leper, shaking me off violently. “Don’t touch Hayden! Are you trying to fake a fall to blame him now?” My body slammed hard against the solid wooden coffee table. A sharp, agonizing pain shot through my lower back. The pain was so intense that I curled up on the floor, cold sweat instantly soaking through my dress. I gasped for air, unable to even scream. Mom watched me writhe on the floor with cold eyes. “Cut it out. Stop acting. I’m sick of your little guilt trips.” She took Hayden’s hand and walked toward the front door. Before stepping out, she stopped and threw one last icy look at me. “Look at you, acting like this. Why would we bring an embarrassment like you to the theme park?” “Don’t bother calling me today. Nobody is going to ruin Hayden’s weekend!” The front door slammed shut.
Once the door closed, the house fell deathly quiet. The stabbing pain in my back and the violent cramps in my stomach twisted together. Every breath I took tasted like blood. After lying there for hours, my condition took a sudden, violent turn for the worse. A warm, thick rush of liquid erupted from my throat. Bright red blood instantly stained my favorite white dress, pooling onto the hardwood floor. I convulsed violently, my body locking up in pain. I reached my hand out, desperately trying to grab onto anything. Staring at the growing pool of dark blood on the floor, my survival instinct kicked in. I didn’t want to die. I really didn’t. I grit my teeth and started crawling toward the landline phone in the corner of the living room. It was only a few feet, but it took me ten agonizing minutes. I dragged myself forward, leaving a horrifying trail of blood behind me. Memories of when I was seven flashed through my mind. That year, I was hit by a car and broke my leg. Mom and Dad had rushed to the hospital so fast they didn’t even put their shoes on properly. Mom had held me, crying her eyes out, while Dad begged the doctors with teary eyes to save me. I thought, even if they hated me now, even if they preferred Hayden… If they knew I was actually dying, if they knew I was bleeding this much… They would run back to save me without a second thought, just like they used to. With trembling fingers, I dialed Dad’s number. It rang for a long, long time before he finally picked up. Through the receiver, I could hear the roar of a roller coaster and Hayden’s cheerful laughter. “What do you want now?!” Dad’s voice was filled with extreme impatience. I gasped for air, crying into the phone with the last of my strength. “Dad… it hurts so bad…” “I’m bleeding so much… my stomach… please, come back and save me…” There was a brief second of silence on the other end. Then, Mom’s mocking voice drifted over. “I knew she’d pull something! Listen to her, she’s faking her death again!” “She just can’t stand us having a good time!” Dad hesitated. “What if… what if it’s real?” Mom sneered. “Real? She’s just trying to ruin our day because we took Hayden out and left her behind.” Dad let out a sigh of relief. Then, he let out a cold, mocking laugh. “Audrey, you’ll really use any cheap trick just to compete with Hayden, won’t you?” “You think we’ll run back just because you claim you’re bleeding? Do you think I’m a gullible idiot?” I clutched the phone cord in despair, my tears mixing with the blood on the floor. “I’m not lying… it really hurts… please…” In the background, Hayden screamed, “Dad! I want that giant strawberry ice cream!” Dad’s voice instantly softened into a gentle tone. “Okay, buddy. Dad will buy it for you right now.” But when he spoke back into the receiver, his voice was pure ice. “Do you hear that? Hayden is happy right now.” “If you want to die, go do it somewhere else. Stop calling to ruin our day!” I opened my mouth, but another surge of blood rushed up my throat. I coughed up a huge splash of blood right onto the phone receiver. I couldn’t make a sound. Dad roared angrily on the other end. “I’m warning you! If you dare call again, I’ll come back and break your legs!” Click. The line went dead.
Listening to the dial tone, the pain suddenly faded. The agonizing cramps that felt like they were tearing my stomach apart seemed to disappear with that beep. I thought, maybe this is for the best. I really was a bad kid. Even getting sick was just me “demanding attention.” I shouldn’t have done that. I slowly put down the bloody receiver and wiped the tears from my face with my sleeve. I looked at the long, horrifying streak of blood on the floor. It was so dirty. Mom loved a clean house. If she came back and saw the floor ruined, she would scream at me. Leaning against the wall, I used the very last of my strength to crawl to the bathroom and grab a rag. On my hands and knees, inch by inch, I wiped up every single drop of my blood until the floor was spotless. The water in the bucket turned a deep, dark red. I poured it into the toilet and flushed it five times until the water ran clear. Hayden’s Transformers and building blocks were scattered all over the sofa. I picked them up, piece by piece, and neatly arranged them back into his toy chest. After doing all this, I went back to my room. I pulled a dusty metal box from under my bed and took out a stack of crumpled bills. It was exactly three hundred dollars. It was the money I saved by secretly stopping my expensive cancer meds, sneaking out to hand out flyers behind their backs. I found a clean sheet of paper and grabbed a pen. “Mom, Dad, please don’t be angry anymore.” “I secretly stopped taking my medication. Since things are already like this, and it’s terminal anyway, let’s not waste any more money.” “Please use this three hundred dollars to buy Hayden’s school supplies or get him some new toys.” “As long as you guys had fun at the theme park today, I am happy.” “I won’t call to annoy you or ruin your mood ever again.” “I hope you are always happy.” I wrapped the money inside the letter and walked slowly to my parents’ bedroom. I carefully tucked it right under their soft pillows. After that, I returned to my dark, tiny bedroom. I took off the stained white dress and put on my faded school hoodie. It was the only piece of clothing they had bought me in the last few years. I climbed onto my hard little bed and curled up in the corner against the wall. I pulled my knees to my chest, tucking myself into a fetal position. Slowly, my breathing grew shallower and shallower, until my chest stopped moving entirely. My soul felt light as it floated up, drifting to the ceiling. I looked down at the tiny, stiff body on the bed that would never cry in pain again. It was nice. I would never get screamed at again. At eight in the evening, the sound of keys jingling came from the front door. My parents, holding a giant colorful balloon for Hayden, walked into the house full of laughter. The living room was spotless. There was no trace of blood, as if nothing had ever happened. Mom kicked off her shoes and walked habitually to my closed bedroom door. She put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. “Locking yourself in your room to play dead all day! You don’t even know enough to come out and get Hayden a glass of water!” “Do I seriously have to invite you out? Get your butt out here!” Hearing no response, her anger flared. She grabbed the doorknob and shoved the door open violently. The bright light from the hallway spilled into my dark room. The room was silent. So silent that it made her heart skip a beat. Her eyes fell upon my body on the bed. The phone in Mom’s hand slipped through her fingers, hitting the floor with a loud thud.
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