Chapter 2

When I drifted back home, I found the couch piled high with shopping bags. Bridget was trying on her new clothes.

Dad smiled at her fondly. "You look beautiful."

Mom nodded in satisfaction. "Bridget has flawless skin. She looks good in everything."

Floating nearby, I suddenly felt a little envious.

Bridget had inherited all of our parents' best features. She had fair skin, was tall for her age, and got excellent grades. I, on the other hand, was tan, short, and did only average in school.

We had the same parents, yet we looked nothing alike.

Mom straightened Bridget's collar, then sighed. "Unlike Sophie, who still looks terrible no matter how expensive her clothes are."

Dad simply chuckled. "She's still young. She'll grow into her looks."

Mom pursed her lips. "She's not that young. How much more can she still change? Sometimes I really wonder if she's even our biological daughter."

A sharp pain stabbed through my chest.

Back in fourth grade, my final exam scores dropped me out of the class's top ten. Mom had flung my report card at my face.

"How could you get questions like these wrong? How can you be so dumb? I seriously wonder if the hospital switched you with someone else when you were born!"

That very afternoon, she dragged Dad and me to get a paternity test. I was terrified when they drew my blood, but deep down, I felt hopeful.

I thought that if the test proved I was really their daughter, maybe Mom would finally stop picking on me. The report came out three days later—I was, indeed, their biological daughter.

Overjoyed, I threw my arms around them. "Mom, Dad, I really am your daughter!"

She stared at the report in a daze, while Dad lowered his head and lit a cigarette. After a long silence, she said with undeniable disappointment, "Just my luck. She really is ours."

On the way home, they walked so fast that I struggled to keep up. Neither of them held my hand.

That was when I finally understood. To them, the fact that I was their daughter was something to be ashamed of. Hearing Mom say those words again still sent a sharp pang into my chest.

I was dead, Mom. You would never have to stand beside me and feel embarrassed again.

After that, Mom went into the kitchen to make dinner. Before long, the mouthwatering aroma of garlic shrimp filled the living room. It was my favorite dish, and Bridget's too.

But Mom always said that as the older sister, I had to wait until Bridget had eaten her fill before I could touch anything. Nine out of ten times, there was nothing left by then.

At the dinner table, Dad glanced at the door. "Should we save some food for Sophie?"

Mom snorted. "For what? Let her starve. Maybe then she'll learn her lesson."

Despite saying that, she still filled a plate with some of the dishes. Then, after a pause, she picked up a whole shrimp and placed it on the plate.

I froze. It was the first time Mom had ever set aside a shrimp for me without being asked.

"Forget it. She cried so much today. I almost feel sorry for her," she said. "She's been punished enough. Once she comes home, she can sit with us and eat. I'll take her to the doctor's for an eye exam tomorrow."

I crouched beside the table, tears silently dripping onto the floor. I had never once been allowed to eat a whole shrimp. I reached out to pick it up, but my fingers passed right through it.

Time ticked by, minute by minute. Even by 11:00 pm, there was still no sign of me.

Mom's expression darkened with every second. Dad frowned. "Why hasn't she come home yet? It's so late. What if something happened to her? Maybe I should look for her."

My eyes reddened as I turned to Dad. "Dad, you finally remembered me! I'm in the ditch… I'm about to—"

Before I could finish, Mom sprang to her feet and picked up the dinner plate. With a sharp flick of her hand, she dumped the food into the trash.

"I knew she'd take my kindness for granted! From now on, I won't lift a finger to help her, even if she gets on her knees and begs!"