I Stole My Sister's Life for Ten Years, and She Never Woke Up

I stood outside the gym, soaked to the bone, clutching a pair of limited-edition sneakers I'd waited three hours in line to buy.

My boyfriend Brandon walked out with Vivian on his arm, the two of them sharing a black umbrella.

Vivian was wearing the women's version of the same limited-edition sneakers. Together with the men's pair in my hands, they made a matching couples' set.

I clenched my jaw and hid the shoebox behind my back.

Brandon spotted me, his voice dripping with annoyance.

"Sophie, what are you doing here? Vivian's afraid of the dark. I'm walking her back to the dorm."

Vivian nestled closer against him, her voice syrupy and delicate.

"Sophie, don't blame Brandon. I twisted my ankle and couldn't walk."

I looked at her perfectly steady stance, and the hurt welled up inside me.

Today was the third anniversary of the day Brandon and I first met. He'd promised to take me out to dinner.

I took a deep breath, trying to force a smile.

"Brandon, you promised me today..."

"Enough. Stop making a scene." Brandon shoved me away.

My feet slipped out from under me and I crashed into a puddle of muddy water. The shoebox tumbled away, and those expensive sneakers were caked in mud.

Brandon didn't even glance at me. He turned and walked off with Vivian.

Despair swallowed me like ice water rising over my head.

And then a sharp pain lanced through my skull.

My vision flickered, and suddenly I was watching from the inside.

Hailey had surfaced.

"You pathetic little thing. Get back in there and stay put."

Hailey's cold voice echoed through my mind.

I watched "myself" climb out of the mud, brush the dirt off my hands, and stride toward Brandon.

She grabbed his shoulder and wrenched him around.

Crack!

Brandon's head snapped to the side. He stared back in total disbelief.

"Sophie, have you lost your mind?"

Hailey let out a cold laugh and backhanded Vivian across the face.

"A dog and his little tramp. You two deserve each other."

Vivian shrieked, clutching her cheek. Brandon raised his hand to hit back.

A firm grip caught his wrist.

Ethan stepped forward, a clear umbrella shielding Hailey from the rain.

"Hitting a girl, Brandon? Not a great look."

Brandon recognized the one person on campus nobody dared cross. Ethan was the heir of the city's most powerful family. His face twitched, and he slunk away with Vivian in tow.

I expected Hailey to say thank you.

Instead, she grabbed Ethan's tie, rose on her toes, and kissed him hard.

I screamed inside my own head.

Ethan didn't push her away.

He tilted the umbrella just enough to block out the wind and rain, hiding both their faces from view.

Hailey pulled back and licked her lips.

"Ethan, take me away."

Something complicated flickered in Ethan's eyes. He slipped off his jacket and draped it over "my" shoulders.

"Okay, Hailey."

He called her Hailey.

I froze completely. How did Ethan know my sister's name?

That was my deepest secret.