Chapter 4

"Hugo… He…" Mom sobbed, her voice trembling. "His homeroom teacher scolded him, and he shoved her to the ground."

"And then?" I pressed.

Dad closed his eyes, swallowing hard.

"She was eight months pregnant. She and the baby both died."

My head spun, and I staggered before finally finding my voice again. "So… What do you want me to do?"

"Mikey, will you take the blame for him?" Mom pleaded, gripping my arm tightly. "We've looked into it. Even the lightest sentence for something like this would mean juvenile detention. Hugo's bipolar disorder is severe. If he gets sent there, he'll die.

"His whole life is just beginning! Your college can wait. We'll take care of the withdrawal paperwork later. Don't worry. We'll sell everything we have to hire the best lawyer we can find. We'll do everything possible to get you out."

I stared at her in disbelief, my legs going weak.

"What about me?" I asked, incredulous. "I worked my ass off to get into the college I wanted. You can just throw my future away?"

Mom looked hurt.

"Why would you think of it that way?" she cried. "Hugo's sick! You're his older brother. Isn't taking care of him what you're supposed to do? Forget college. Your father and I will support you for the rest of your life!

"Once this is over, it won't affect your future at all."

Tears burned in my eyes as I glowered at her.

"I can't do this!" I shouted.

Hugo immediately burst into tears, Dad stormed over and slapped me across the face.

The force knocked me to the floor, and my ear felt hot and wet. When I reached up to touch it, my hand came away covered in blood.

The moment Hugo realized I was finally fighting back, something shifted in his eyes. He suddenly started crying and threatened to jump from the window.

"Mikey doesn't care about me anymore! I don't want to live! My life is already ruined anyway!"

Mom and Dad thought he was having another episode. They panicked and immediately wrapped their arms around him, desperately trying to calm him down.

"Hugo, don't be afraid. Mom and Dad won't let anything happen to you! We'll take care of everything. We promise!"

I stared at them blankly as they scrambled to comfort Hugo.

"So that's how it works in this family?" I murmured. "As long as you threaten to kill yourself, you can do whatever you want? What if I killed myself too? What would you do then?"

The only response I got was a glass flying through the air.

"Your brother is sick!" Dad roared. "How can you even compare yourself to him? He only became this way because we spent all our time and attention on you when you were younger and neglected him!"

The glass shattered against my head, blood and liquid running down my face together. Whatever last bit of hope I'd had for my parents finally died.

They locked me in my bedroom and took away my phone. From outside the door, I could hear them trying to calm Hugo down.

My head throbbed, and everywhere I reached, my hands were covered in blood. Blood trickled from my head and my ear, smearing across my face.

I fought through the pain and pounded on the door, begging for help, but my voice was quickly drowned out by Hugo's sobbing and screaming.

I could only watch as the light beneath the door slowly faded. The voices outside grew quieter until everything went silent, and darkness finally swallowed me whole.