Chapter 2

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!"