All Chapters of Locked Out of Warmth: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

I clutched my chest and struggled to breathe.Through the door, I could hear them fussing over Trevor."Living in the new condo near your prep school means you can sleep an extra half hour every morning. Give that final exam everything you've got, Trevor!""Only two months left. I canceled Micah's private tutoring and put the money toward better meals for you!"I no longer had the strength to care about their usual favoritism. I only kept pounding on the sauna door."Dad, Mom, help me... My heart hurts so badly..."Mom's cold voice came through the door."It's supposed to hurt! Who do you think you are, showing off in front of Trevor?"Dad sounded angry, though a trace of concern entered his voice."Will he really be all right locked in there alone? A heart attack could actually kill him..."Dad seemed to be wavering, and I was about to beg again when Trevor's gentle voice cut in."Uncle Richard, he'll be fine. The sauna is only set to seventy-nine degrees. That's practicall

Chapter 2

"Dad! Help me! Please come open the sauna door... I'm really going to die..."Dad's face on the video call was filled with disgust."Stop pretending. Trevor said he gave you the sauna key before he left."Take pictures of your math notes and send them to him right now. Math is his weakest subject."Trevor had never given me the key.Before leaving, he had leaned close enough to whisper only one thing."Die in there."I could barely breathe, but I forced myself to explain."No, Dad... He didn't give me the key. I'm still trapped in the sauna... I'm going to die. Please come save me..."Dad grew even angrier, convinced that I simply didn't want Trevor to have my notes."What are you pretending for? You're slandering Trevor again! Are you afraid he'll beat you on the final exam? You're supposed to be a man, yet you're this petty?"Send him the notes before I lose my temper."I was almost unable to speak, so I turned on the camera and aimed it at my burning red face.It was an

Chapter 3

I trembled with fury.Then I remembered the blocked air vent.Rosa and I were the only people left in the house. Who else could have done it?Through the narrow gap, I watched her deadbolt the front door, gather all her belongings, and flee the estate.The steam grew hotter, while my heart raced wildly inside my chest.The exposed skin had begun to split, and a sickening smell rose around me. This time, I truly felt I was going to die.With the last of my strength, I called 911.The fire department and ambulance would need at least twenty minutes. I didn't think I could last that long.Deciding that I should at least leave a final message, I lifted the burning phone and called one last person."Grandma... It's Micah. I miss you so much... I really can't hold on this time. Dad and Mom locked me in the sauna because of Trevor..."The more I spoke, the more wounded and childish my voice became."Grandma, I miss you so much... You were the only person in this family who loved me

Chapter 4

Dad's voice grew even angrier."He fooled you too? You're a fire captain, and you let a teenager play you for a fool. Aren't you embarrassed?"Daniel hung up in fury and ordered his crew to force entry.My vision was already fading. I didn't know whether I imagined it, but I could smell cooked meat.I might not survive until Daniel reached me.The next second, the sauna door crashed open, and Daniel stood in the doorway against a blaze of white light.The crew hurriedly carried me into an ambulance.Paramedics and nurses covered me in monitoring equipment and emergency lines.A nurse leaned over me, her voice close to tears."Don't be afraid. I'm here, and I'm going to save you."I lay blank-eyed in the ambulance while she performed chest compressions again and again.Outside the window, enormous fireworks arranged by my parents for Trevor's birthday lit up the sky."Sweetheart, you are our whole heart."Strangely, I felt no sadness left. There was even a strange sense of

Chapter 5

I lay in the intensive care unit with tubes covering my body.The television showed cheerful parents escorting students to their testing centers.The students' eyes were full of hope. Once the exam ended, their lives would finally become their own.A few tears slipped from the corners of my eyes.I had waited for that day for so long.Because my parents favored Trevor, I had dreamed countless times of escaping that house.I believed that after the exam, I could attend college somewhere far away and finally leave everything behind.Instead, I spent the day I had dreamed about in intensive care, surrounded by endless pain.Daniel came into the room, looked at me, and sighed."You're all right, kid. You can take the exam next year."I nodded, my gaze drifting toward the tubes running into my body.Would I still be alive next year?Meanwhile, my parents raced back to the estate.The first thing they saw was the shattered front entrance.The boot prints on the floor showed how

Chapter 6

"How could two parents be this cruel? For the sake of your nephew, you abandoned your own son, who has a congenital heart condition, inside a sauna."Do you know how hot it was? No one with a heart condition could survive one hundred fifty degrees, especially after being locked inside. If you didn't want him, you could have given him to me. Rachel loves Micah. There was no reason to torture him."Dad kept his head lowered under the criticism, but something Daniel said made him look up."Wasn't it seventy-nine degrees?"Daniel stared at him as though he had lost his mind."Which of us knows what happened? You, or the man who actually pulled Micah out?"Dad was about to answer when an alarm sounded on his phone.It meant Trevor had finished the morning exam and my parents were supposed to take him to lunch.Dad hesitated, then still spoke."We should pick Trevor up first. This exam is too important. We need to stay with him the entire day."Daniel almost laughed from sheer ange

Chapter 7

"Micah, what's wrong? It's Dad. I brought the vintage pendant you always wanted. Remember?"I brought it for you. Please look at me."It wasn't only the pendant I loved most. I had saved for two years to buy it as an apology gift for Grandma.But after Trevor saw it, he tried to tear it from my hands.Dad pinned me down while Mom wrenched the pendant away.Her sharp nails dug into my palm, drawing blood.They cursed me for being ungrateful."Trevor's parents died because of you, and you still won't let him have one little thing? You ungrateful brat!"Whenever Trevor and I came into conflict, they repeated the same accusation.But they knew perfectly well that Trevor's parents hadn't died because of me.My parents had been busy and asked Trevor's parents to drive me to a music lesson on their way across town.Trevor's parents had always envied my parents' successful company, but they didn't dare confront them directly.Instead, they hurt me. They pinched every part of my bod

Chapter 8

I had lost count of how many times I had endured situations like this since Trevor entered our home.Even when he was responsible, one shallow apology ended everything.The previous winter, he pushed me into a frozen river, and I nearly drowned. Then he told my parents with false sorrow."Aunt Melissa, Uncle Richard, it's my fault. If I'd grabbed Micah in time, he wouldn't have fallen through the ice."Before that, he paid people to flood the school group chat with sexual rumors about me. When I traced the messages back to him and confronted him with the evidence, he apologized just as falsely."I'm sorry, Aunt Melissa and Uncle Richard. Someone must have hacked my account."Every time, my parents comforted the person who hurt me instead of me, because they were afraid he might feel guilty.They even called me petty for refusing to let things go.I had had enough.Daniel and his wife, Rachel, could no longer stand it and moved to throw my parents out.The next second, perhaps

Chapter 9

"Trevor, this is wrong. I watched Micah grow up. I can't do this to him.""Don't you want the money that could save your son's life? It would be such a shame if he died so young.""All right... I agree. But won't Mr. and Mrs. Pruitt become suspicious?""Don't worry about those two fools. They believe anything I tell them. I've framed him hundreds of times over the years, and it has never failed."Trevor panicked and ripped the microphone cable from the stage.It did nothing. Even without the microphone connected, the conversation continued playing repeatedly throughout the banquet hall.My parents' faces turned sickly pale.Relatives and family friends began talking all around them."Trevor always bragged that his aunt and uncle adored him. So this is how he stole their affection. That's disgusting!""He almost murdered his own cousin. Micah must have the worst luck imaginable to be related to someone like that.""I warned Melissa that raising someone else's child could end b

Chapter 10

"You'll regret this! All of you will regret it!"Seeing the ambition burning in Trevor's eyes, Mom stepped backward in fear."So all the kindness you showed us... It was an act."With Trevor's confession and Rosa's testimony, he was soon sentenced to three years in state custody.After everything ended, my parents tried several times to speak to me, but the words always died before leaving their mouths.They finally understood that they had misjudged me for years and had repeatedly helped Trevor abuse me.Grandma learned the truth as well. She held me and cried."You foolish child. Why didn't you tell me you had suffered all these years?"The sight of her made my eyes sting, and my voice came out muffled."I was afraid you still hadn't forgiven me."Grandma cried harder, examining the scars across my body."My child, I never blamed you. Not once. I only hate myself for not coming sooner and seeing what they were doing to my Micah."Grandma took my hand and tried to lead me

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP