Chapter 2

It hurt. Seriously, it hurt so badly.

It felt like my entire body had been run over. Reduced to a lump of mangled flesh, I was thrown from the overpass and slammed into a tree nearby.

Fortunately, the pain didn't last long.

I died.

I felt my soul being squeezed out of my body. Then, I floated up into the sky.

Looking down, I saw the horrific scene on the highway. The truck had crashed into several cars.

Inside one crushed car, a little girl about my age was crying. Her mother held her tightly in her arms. Miraculously, the girl was completely unharmed.

"Don't be scared. Mommy's here. You're okay."

The woman's head had been split open. Her grievous injury and bloody injury was horrifying to look at. She was trembling all over from the pain, but she reached out and covered the girl's eyes.

Her voice was gentle and calm as she said, "Mommy's going to play a game with you. Once we count to ten thousand, everything will be okay."

The girl miraculously calmed down and obediently began counting.

I stared blankly at the scene. Something struck my soul, and my eyes instantly reddened.

So, even someone who had never experienced love could cry when they saw someone else's act of love.

I couldn't bear to watch anymore. I floated away and caught up with my parents' car.

Without me, the atmosphere inside the car was noticeably more joyful. Amanda chatted excitedly about the celebrities she followed. She even declared that she would pay ticket scalpers a fortune for their concert tickets.

My parents smiled adoringly as they listened to her.

They said, "It doesn't matter if it's expensive. Our money is your money anyway."

Amanda snorted and deliberately brought me up. "What about Addie? Didn't you say you were going to dump her in our hometown this time?"

My parents exchanged a glance. It was obvious that the mere mention of me had ruined their good mood.

Mom sounded annoyed as she ranted, "Seriously. Sandra had agreed to take Addie in and raise her as her future daughter-in-law. But who knew her son would drop out of school and rack up debts? Their family is a complete mess now."

Dad waved his hand. "If that's not working out, we'll just leave her in our hometown. We've got a house and land there. There are plenty of rural kids around. She'll survive somehow."

"True." Mom laughed breezily, relieved that her problem had been dealt with.

They casually decided my fate as if I were nothing more than a piece of trash that they couldn't wait to throw away.

Two minutes later, their car stopped at a rest area.

My parents took Amanda inside and spent a good chunk of money to eat and drink to their fill. Then, they got back in the car.

Only then did Mom remember that she'd left me behind.

"Where's Addie? We've been driving so slowly. Why hasn't she caught up yet? She can't seriously be mad at us for driving away, can she? Doesn't she know we can't stop on the highway for too long? The rest area is so close. She should have gotten here after walking a few steps."

She frowned, suppressing her irritation, then turned her attention back to Amanda. "Don't worry, Maddie. You'll get your plushie back soon."

But after several more minutes, Amanda started to get impatient. She lowered her head and began to sob.

"Addie must be mad at me. She's hiding from us."

Mom's expression darkened immediately, and she quickly agreed with Amanda. "Exactly. It's such a short distance. How could she still not be here? She's doing it on purpose. Who does she think she is to throw a tantrum? Forget about her, Keenan. Let's go."

Dad hesitated for a moment. It seemed like he was unsure.

I thought that he might finally show me some consideration toward me.

However, he turned to Amanda and asked, "Are you really okay with this? I bought that rabbit plushie for you at Darneyland. Won't you be sad if you lose it?"

So, that was his concern.

Even at this point, Amanda's plushie was still more important than my life.

"It's okay. You can just buy me another one," Amanda replied with a smile, unable to hide the smugness in her eyes.

Dad relaxed and nodded with a smile. "Okay, let's go. There's a rest area here anyway. Addie will be fine. She brought this on herself by being so cheeky. Let this teach her a lesson."

He added callously, "It's not that far from home. I'll have one of my buddies pick her up when he passes by."

With that, my family got back into the car without a care.