Chapter 3

My younger brother, Yorick James, was on the couch scrolling on his phone, but his eyes kept darting to the door.

Seeing Gus, Wanda hurried over, peeking behind him. "Where's Lisa? Didn't you pick her up?"

Gus took off his shoes as he replied nonchalantly, "Why? Doesn't she have legs to walk home?"

Wanda's face paled. "But it's pouring outside, and she didn't have an umbrella—"

"Well that's her own fault!" Gus snapped, cutting her short. "Or did we tell her not to come home? Let the rain clear her mind!"

Yorick dropped his phone right then and stood up with an annoyed glare. "Can't you be nicer to her for once? It's… a special day for her!"

Special day?

I was stunned—so Yorick remembered that it was on this day three years ago when I was forced to meet the cartel boss' son for the first time.

It was raining heavily too, and Gus accused me of stealing money, even though it was Nana who had taken it to buy a Burberry bag.

I refused to say that it was me, so Gus shut me outside, leaving me in the rain the whole night.

Since then, I decided to help him catch the drug lord and prove I wasn't a loser.

But now, Gus was glaring at Yorick coldly in turn. "What, are you learning from her now? Tolerance breeds repugnance—you and your mom have spoiled her way too much!"

Nana gingerly tugged on Gus' sleeve. "It's alright, Dad. It isn't Yorick or Mom's fault—Lisa might be having too much fun and simply forgot the time."

Wanda sighed and headed to the kitchen, returning with a bowl of chicken soup. "I made this for her. I'm keeping it warm for when she returns."

Yorick picked up an umbrella too. "I'll go pick her up. The rain is really heavy."

Watching them, my ghost felt a type of warmth I hadn't felt for a long time.

So Wanda and Yorick were still worried about me.

They still cared, but it was already too late.

I couldn't drink Wanda's soup, and Yorick would only find my cold corpse if he went to West Street.

Nonetheless, just as Yorick was about to step out the front door, Gus grabbed him and bellowed, "Don't you dare! Let that wild beast rot outside and reflect on herself! Anyone who goes to her is against me!"

Yorick's eyes were red with frustration. "There's a limit to how much you can play favorites! Lisa is your biological daughter!"

Smack!

Slapping Yorick across the face, Gus kept bellowing, "Shut up! In this house, what I say goes!"

Yorick was left clutching his face and staring at Gus in disbelief, while Wanda dropped the bowl in shock.

As the bowl shattered into pieces and the brownish soup splattered all over the floor, I thought it looked just like how my blood covered that alley.

Gus was pointing at the door and bellowing, "No one shall leave the door open for her! Let her show me how tough she can be!"

He even went over and secured the front door with the chain latch with an audible clatter, preventing me from ever getting in…

Not that I had to get through that front door anyway.

I remained floating on the ceiling, watching as Wanda sobbed and Yorick returned to his room, slamming the door shut.

I watched as Gus sat on the couch, his chest heaving with frustration.

He was convinced he was just disciplining a delinquent and doing it for my sake, unaware that he had already shut out my actual existence.

He had a good night's sleep too, dreaming that he had secured another major accomplishment and that everyone was applauding him.

I myself couldn't dream and lay under the icy rain the whole night.

-

The next morning, the sun had just pierced through the gray clouds when a scream shattered the silence of that alley on West Street.

A street cleaner had found my body, and soon, police sirens blared around the block.