Banished Child: The Regret My Parents Can't Undo

I was rushed to the operating room with five to six doctors around me, who were hastily stemming the bleeding as they stitched me back up. I was only successfully wrenched from the sweet embrace of death around dawn.

My parents, Bruce Smith and Dana Orwell, had been waiting outside all night and only let out a sigh of relief when they saw me being wheeled out.

Andrea Smith sobbed when she saw me wrapped in bandages, choking out, "I never imagined Cassandra would be so cruel! She pushed me down the stairs! Everything hurts... When I opened my eyes, I saw her with her throat slit wide open. I swear I didn't do anything!"

My brother, Tobias Smith, immediately shielded Andrea, saying, "None of this is Andrea's fault. Cassandra has clearly done this to get your attention! I've seen her do this plenty of times. If she really wanted to die, she would've sliced her head off.

"Why didn't she do that and instead make such a shallow cut?"

I was suffering from severe blood loss and was currently under anesthesia. Still, I could hear vague voices cutting through the fog.

I had to be good. I had to repay Andrea with my life. I didn't deserve to live.

Suddenly, I felt energized as my eyes snapped wide open. Then, I used all my strength to viciously tear open the stitched wound that had barely stopped bleeding.

I shrieked hysterically, "I'm sorry! This is all my fault! I'm sorry! I'll kill myself right now!"

Everyone, including Tobias, turned stark white when they saw crimson gushing down my neck.

Several doctors rushed to restrain me and promptly sedated me. I went mad as I felt their hands on me, tearing at the bedsheets as I cried out, "No, let me die! Please let me die!"

I had to be rushed back into the operating room less than five minutes after being wheeled out.

They could hear my broken moans and wails through the sealed doors.

Dana had gone pale as she collapsed to the floor, utterly shaken.

Bruce became livid as he slapped Tobias hard across the face and growled, "Look at what you've done to Cassandra! I promise you that you'll rue the day you're born if anything happens to her!"

Andrea had burst into tears, frightened by the series of events. Tobias gently pulled her into his arms and wiped her tears away.

Tobias had no choice but to bitterly swallow his anger under Bruce's fury. Still, he resented me for putting him in that position.

After the doctors managed to drag me back to the land of the living, I was promptly transferred to the ward that evening.

Tobias was my first visitor. Unfortunately, he wasn't here for a friendly visit. Instead, he was here to settle the score.

He sneered when he saw my barely breathing form on the hospital bed. "You're quite the actress. You've been back for less than a day. Yet, you've already made Andrea cry. You even used committing suicide as a means to bully her! Cassandra, you're such a malicious and two-faced she-wolf."

There was no warmth on his face, only resentment.

Whenever I saw that look on his face, I knew that something terrible was going to happen to me.

The fear that had never left me immediately ballooned to monstrous proportions. I whispered shakily, "I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry… I'll repay Andrea with my life…"

Then, I picked up a small green bottle and chugged the poisonous contents down my throat.

Bruce and Dana walked in just then. They froze, unsure what was transpiring between us.

Before they could react, I started spewing black blood from all my orifices.

"Cassandra!" Dana screamed as she rushed to my side.

Bruce urgently hollered for the doctors' help. Soon, more than a dozen white-clad doctors rushed into my ward. I could feel their hands on me as they scrambled to save me.

Tobias could only stand there with his jaw slack. Andrea was no better as she'd turned to stone out of sheer fright.

I didn't care for any of that as I desperately prayed to any god out there, "Please. Please let me die. Please take me away. I don't want to be saved."

I would do as Tobias wished and lay my life at Andrea's feet.

My consciousness began to slip, and I could feel my organs burning from the inside out.

Finally, I could no longer keep my eyes open.