All Chapters of Born to Be a Blood Bag: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

That night, Mom stayed glued to Betty's side, fetching her tea and refilling her water. Only there, next to her, did Mom ever act like a real mother.It brought back a memory from when I was fifteen, the time I came down with a raging fever, my whole body burning up.Betty had pressed her palm to my forehead out of curiosity, then yanked it back the second she felt how hot I was.I curled into myself, miserable, and Mom slapped me across the face without a word of warning. "Don't you know your sister's already fragile?" she demanded. "If you're sick, stay away from her, you little jinx."The blow left me dizzy, my whole body drained of strength. Mom spat on me, then scooped Betty into her arms and walked out.From down the hall, I heard her mutter, "Stay away from that jinx. Come on, I'll buy you something good to eat."The only reason Mom bothered with me at all that day was her fear that if I died, it might somehow hurt Betty's recovery. Left to her own instincts, she wouldn't

That night, Betty came down with a low fever and started murmuring in her sleep."Zoey, don't hate me. I just want to live. Mom and Dad are getting old. I can't let them bury their own child. That would be the worst kind of disrespect."Her face had gone pale, sweat beading on her forehead, but the words never stopped coming.Mom, furious, flung the towel in her hand to the floor and stomped on it again and again, as if the crumpled cloth were me, as if she were already taking revenge on my sister's behalf.I took a step back. Mom planted her hands on her hips and let loose a stream of curses."That tramp. Even now, at a time like this, she's throwing a tantrum instead of coming to check on Betty, making her worry herself sick. I regret ever giving birth to something like her. What rotten luck for this family. If anything happens to Betty, I'll pay it back on her tenfold."Mom was convinced Betty had been wronged, and she was determined to fight for her.On the bed, Betty lay wi

Dad wiped at the corner of his eye, brushing away tears that weren't actually there. He looked devastated, but I understood better than anyone that he couldn't have cried a real tear if he'd tried. His performance wasn't even convincing.In the end, all that remained of me was a small box of ashes. A whole person, reduced to something that size.Mom's hands shook slightly. She let out a sigh, then carried my ashes home.Betty only learned the news the next day, through her phone.Mom held a funeral for me, small and quiet, almost secretive.She was probably afraid someone would ask how I'd died, or blame Betty for taking my life.But some people show up whether they're invited or not. The nurse arrived carrying a grim funeral portrait and planted herself at the service without a shred of hesitation.Her words came out sharp and deliberate."Your daughter is dead, and you only invited a handful of people? Are you feeling guilty? Or scared? What exactly are you afraid of? It's be

Most people couldn't wrap their heads around it: how could any mother have a child just to keep another daughter alive?It sounded cruel. It went against basic decency. It had no morals in it at all.What makes a person human is the ability to think, to hold a moral line, to treat life with the reverence it deserves.Mom paced in circles inside the hospital director's office, frantic, while even Betty sat there with her eyes lowered, cold and calculating.I imagined she must have been furious with herself in that moment, furious that she hadn't been careful enough, that the truth had gotten out and dragged her name through the mud too.The director looked out at the grief-stricken crowd and finally stepped outside, out of options.The last look he gave Mom carried both disappointment and resolve. It was clear she was about to be cut loose: her career here was over.Sure enough, standing in front of the crowd, the director announced, "This is the hospital's failure, and it's my f

"You monster! You disgusting monster!"Mom lunged at Betty without any restraint, ripping out a chunk of her hair, tearing away a patch of scalp with it.Even knowing the truth now, there was nothing Mom could do about it: Betty had drained my blood at home, in private, and Mom had no proof, no way to clear her own name.After Mom was sentenced, Dad finally came back. He visited her in prison, cursing under his breath the whole time."This is all your fault. You never treated Zoey right, and now I'm the one paying for it. That precious daughter you gave birth to turned out to be a monster."I trailed behind him and watched Betty grow even more vicious than before. She threatened Dad that if he didn't obey her every word, she'd do to him exactly what she'd done to Mom.Dad had no choice but to become her loyal servant.That arrangement lasted two full years, until Mom was released from prison.She'd grown thin and worn down. Prison hadn't been kind to her: everyone there had shu