Ground to Dust for My Sister's Fate

My limbs felt as heavy as lead.

Through the thick door, I heard my older sister, Danielle Campbell's voice. "Mom, Dad, please just let Sophie out! She has excellent grades, and you can't let this ruin her SAT—"

"Shut up!" My mom, Marie Edwards, snapped, her voice sharp and frantic, "How could you still defend her at a time like this? Have you forgotten the year she scored first place and rubbed it in your face?"

I knew what Mom was talking about.

I was ten years old then. I had scored full marks on my math test, beating Danielle by 20 points.

When I ran home waving my test paper, my face was flushed with excitement as I shrieked, "I'm better than Danielle!"

Danielle's eyes immediately turned red-rimmed when she heard.

Mom broke down in panicked tears, while my dad, Thomas Campbell, rushed over and slapped me so hard that he knocked me onto the floor. Blood dripped from my nose, staining the perfect score on my test paper.

That night, I was locked in the freezer to reflect on my actions, and I had lost all sensation in my hands and feet by the time they let me out the next morning.

"Sophie has always been calculative and manipulative," Mom said coldly. "She knew what the astrologer predicted, yet she still came home flaunting her perfect score. She must've done it on purpose!"

I leaned against the door, too weak to even shake my head.

"That's not true, Mom. I was just ten years old, a child who yearned for your praise. I understand that you're terrified of losing Danielle, but why do you have to treat me like an enemy? I'm your daughter, too…" I murmured to myself.

I pounded on the door, over and over, hoping to remind them that they had forgotten to turn off the cooling system.

"But I'm older now, Mom," Danielle pleaded in a genuinely concerned voice. "I'm not that fragile anymore. There's no way I'd fall apart just because Sophie is better than me.

"What if that astrologer was wrong? You can't just lock her away because of that—"

Dad immediately cut her off. "Enough, Danielle! We can't let you take that risk!"

With that, he turned toward the freezer door, his tone softening into something solemn and earnest. "We're doing this for the sake of this family, Sophie Campbell. You wouldn't want to see Danielle jump off a building because of you, would you?

"Just behave and stay in there. This will all be over after Danielle finishes her exams, okay?"

I couldn't say a single word. The freezing air had filled my lungs, and my chest hurt as if it were cracking apart from the cold.

Gathering the last of my strength, I slammed my fist against the door one last time.

Mom stormed over and kicked the door. "What the hell is with this attitude, Sophie? Do you want me to teach you a lesson?"

With that, she opened the freezer door.

The door finally cracked open, and a single ray of light seeped in.

My heart seemed to leap into my throat.

Was I going to be saved?