Chapter 1

I felt the suffocating feeling in my throat. But when I opened my eyes again, I realized that I was already floating in midair.

Right below me was the bed that I'd slept in for the past 16 years. The bedsheets and covers were a mess. My body was lying in it, my face completely purple.

A sailor's knot was wrapped tightly around my wrist. The knot dug deeply into my flesh, and some of the areas of my skin were also oozing slightly with dark red blood.

I froze and instinctively reached out to touch my face, but my hands went right through my body. I then took a closer look at my hands and realized that they were transparent.

My heart sank as it finally dawned on me.

I was dead.

I died because of the knots that my own mother had tied around my wrists and ankles. She said that sailor knots were the most secure type of knot that would keep tightening the more the person struggled.

I had struggled desperately for hours until my breathing eventually faded, my vision turned dark, and the rest of the world fell completely quiet.

Now, my soul was floating in the air. I stared at my frozen body and didn't feel any fear. There was just a weird, hollow feeling in my chest.

The rattle of keys in the front door caught my attention, so I floated out to take a look.

The door opened. Mom and Dad then entered with a few bags of groceries in their hands.

Dad seemed to hesitate for a moment and finally asked Mom, "Say, do you really think we should let the two kids go off by themselves? What if they get into any trouble? The SAT is in two days."

Mom sighed as she placed the produce on the table. "What else can we do about it? It's precisely because Matt and Carrie are about to sit for their SAT that we have to let them do what they want.

"If we let them go wherever they want now, they promised to come back the next day. But if we said no, what if they secretly left anyway and then refused to come back afterward? That would really be the end of it all."

I heard everything they said as I floated above them. There was a bitter feeling in my chest where my heart used to be.

So, Mom and Dad had actually already agreed to let my half-brother, Matt Hammond, and my half-sister, Carrie Hammond, go wherever they wanted to go. If that was the case, then why did Mom and Dad still have to tie me up as punishment?

Dad glanced at my bedroom door and softened his tone. "Then let's untie Archie and let him out. He's going to get uncomfortable if he stays tied up for too long."

He then started toward my room. But Mom grabbed him by the arm and said, "Wait. Wait till Matt and Carrie are gone before letting Archie out.

"If not, I'm afraid that they'll think that we're all for them leaving the house at such a crucial moment like this, and then they'll think they can walk all over us the next time."

Dad went silent for a while before nodding in agreement. "You're right. We can't afford to let those two get any more ideas. We'll just let Archie stay tied up for a while longer."

Mom began setting the table for dinner. She said nonchalantly, "He'll be fine. He's only going to be tied up for a couple of hours at most. It'll be over by the time he wakes up from a nap. He's used to it anyway. It's not the first time we've done it to him."

"I'm not used to it at all!" I screamed at them, unable to hold myself back any longer. But nobody could hear me. Nobody could see me either.

I felt like an outsider, watching my parents toy around with my life just for the sake of their stepchildren.

Dad brought the beef into the kitchen and said, "The beef brisket we bought today is really fresh. Archie loves it very much. We'll make sure to give him a few extra pieces later."

I was stunned.

So, Dad still remembered that I liked beef brisket. It was a shame that I was never going to get to eat it ever again.

Before disappearing into the kitchen, Dad called out to Mom, "Remember to put the slice of cake into the fridge. Carrie can bring it with her when she leaves later. And don't forget to remove the tags from Matt's new clothes before he wears them out."

Mom replied with a hum and went to grab the scissors before walking over to the rest of their shopping bags.

The first thing she took out was the game controller that Matt had been talking about for the past two weeks.