5

My eyes were so blurred I could barely open them.

I couldn't tell if it was rain or tears. I have congenital asthma. My brothers had always been extremely protective of me because of it, but now, they seemed to have forgotten.

My head felt foggy, and I could feel a fever coming on.

Gradually, my body went numb as I dragged my suitcases toward the exit of our gated community.

I wondered if the university dorms were locked by now.

To be honest, I didn't know where I was going.

Sarah ran after me, her voice dramatically tearful: "Sister, I'm sorry, don't go. If you don't like me, I can leave instead."

Then came Matthew's urgent voice:

"Don't you know your own health condition? What if you catch a cold in this rain!"

For a moment, I thought he was calling out to me.

In my dazed state, I vaguely heard his next words:

"Daniel, tell the housekeeper to make some ginger tea for Sarah!"

I tried to smile, but couldn't.

Between staying up all night yesterday and rushing here this morning to pack my things, then getting soaked in the downpour, my vision started to darken.

Just as I was about to collapse, a strong hand suddenly steadied me.

The rain stopped hitting my head.

I looked up with effort, and after a moment recognized Jake, a senior from my department.

His car was parked in the rain.

Without a word, he took my luggage and put it in his trunk.

"Leaving so quickly? You must have had your escape route planned," Matthew sneered from behind me. "Why can't you just accept Sarah? I don't think you care about your family at all."

He must have followed me out just to see me in my misery.

Jake looked at my bedraggled state and angrily came to my defense:

"Do they even deserve to be called your brothers?"

"You're leaving in a few days anyway..."

"Jake!" I frantically interrupted him.

Jake immediately went silent.

He opened the car door and firmly pushed me inside.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Matthew's face darken:

"Jake, what do you mean by that?"

Jake gave him a look of disgust and scoffed: "What do I mean? In a few days, you'll find out."

My heart instantly jumped to my throat.

Matthew stood frozen in place, as if he couldn't process what was happening.

After a moment, as the car was about to leave, he rushed forward to open my door.

Jake had already locked the car.

Through the window and the rain, I could barely make out Matthew's lips forming the words:

"Emma, get out of the car!"

His expression was angry, but mixed with something else I couldn't identify.

I couldn't understand it. All I knew was that by now, my departure probably meant nothing to them.

Not to him, or to Daniel, or William.

I felt so sick that I could barely breathe.

As the car drove away, I could see in the rearview mirror that Matthew was still standing there.

Jake continued his angry tirade: "Are you really their biological sister? You have asthma—how could they throw you out in the rain? I don't understand why you went back there just to be treated like this."

I turned to look out the window at the pouring rain.

After a long silence, I spoke softly: "They used to love me very much."

Jake didn't believe me.

I only met him when I started college. He had never seen how my brothers once treated me with kindness.

My eyes misted over, and I earnestly repeated:

"Really. They used to love me. They truly did."