Chapter 1

The crying in the living room stopped.

My little sister froze. Then she pulled the lollipop from her mouth and held it out to me with a wounded look.

“You can have it, Cece.”

She’d been giving me whatever I wanted for three years. The gesture had become second nature.

But this time, Mom stopped her halfway and pushed the lollipop back into her hand.

“Cecilia Miller, what’s going on?”

Her expression was stern, with a hint of anger at having been made a fool of.

I nervously twisted the hem of my shirt between my fingers.

“I don’t know.”

I pointed at the red number above my head in the mirror.

“It already reached zero.”

Mom’s brow furrowed.

For the first time, she questioned whether I’d been telling the truth.

“Can you really see those numbers?

“Or have you been lying this whole time?”

Before she could finish, Dad cut her off.

He looked at me, then at the clock on the wall, and let out a long sigh.

“The 1,095th day isn’t over yet.

“Let’s give it one more day. We’ll wait until midnight tonight.”

Mom said nothing, but she accepted his explanation.

For the rest of the day, they treated me the way they always had.

They woke me up and made sure I ate.

Dad still gave me the largest chicken drumstick.

Mom still took the remote from my sister and switched the TV to my favorite cartoon.

Only my sister seemed confused.

She kept tugging at Mom and asking the same question over and over.

“Why hasn’t Cece died yet?”

Mom patted her back.

“Just wait a little longer.”

Everyone still acted as though I came first.

But something had quietly changed.

At eleven fifty that night, my entire family gathered around my bed.

Dad tucked the blanket around me.

“Cece, if you miss us, come visit Mommy and Daddy in our dreams.”

My sister placed a new lollipop in my palm.

“Goodbye, Cece.”

Mom gently brushed the loose strands of hair from my forehead. Her voice finally softened.

“Cece, we’ve treated you well these past three years. You can go in peace.”

I nodded and closed my eyes.

The room became so quiet that I could hear the minute hand ticking.

Then the clock struck midnight.

Nothing happened.

I kept breathing steadily.

My heart continued beating.

No accident came to claim me.

Clutching the hem of my shirt, I cautiously opened my eyes.

The number above my head had changed to negative one.

Mom’s face twisted with rage.

She raised her hand high above me.

“I knew she was lying!”