บททั้งหมดของ Blank Out of Spite: บทที่ 1 - บทที่ 10

"One more thing. You'd better give Jett the money you owe him, or I swear I'll make you regret it!"With that, she took Jett's hand and walked off without looking back.I sat slumped on the ground, watching the two of them walk away. The students and parents leaving the testing center shot me strange looks, and their whispers stung my ears. The sun was blinding, yet I felt cold all over.This was the sister I had given everything to raise. This was the sister I would have given up anything for.I sat there, laughing and crying at the same time. My tears mixed with the blood on my palms. I could not tell which hurt more.…I made my way home in a daze. The whole way, Hailey's words kept replaying in my head. She had turned in a blank test. She was going to spend four years having fun with Jett. If I did not give him the money, she would make me regret it. Every word cut into my heart like a knife, over and over again.Only when I reached my front door did I understand what she

"Let go of him!"I did not let go. I held on to Jett as tightly as I could. At that moment, only one thought filled my head. I was going to shut his lying mouth for good and make sure he never spread another word of his garbage."Hails!" Jett shouted.The next second, a hand shoved hard against my shoulder. It was Hailey.I toppled sideways, and my foot missed the step. The back of my head slammed against the edge of a stair, and then I tumbled down the staircase like a rag doll.Chaos filled my ears. The neighbors cried out in alarm. Jett was wailing, and Hailey was shouting. Over and over came the dull thud of my body hitting the stairs.As the world spun around me, the last thing I saw was Hailey's back as she stood shielding Jett.After that, everything went black.…When I woke up again, I was in the hospital.The fluorescent light overhead stung my eyes, and the smell of disinfectant filled my nose and left my throat raw. I tried moving my fingers.The hospital room wa

Hailey was the one who had refused to believe me. She was the one who only listened to Jett. She was the one who had pushed me down the stairs with her own hands and then walked away without looking back.Jett stared at his belongings strewn all over the hallway, looking close to tears. "Hails, do something! My game controllers! It took me forever to save up for that whole setup!"Hailey stood rooted to the spot as if every ounce of strength had been drained out of her. She could not say a single word.Jett lost his patience and jabbed her arm. "What, did you forget how to talk? Didn't you say this was your place? How did it suddenly become someone else's? Your brother's unbelievable too. If he was renting, fine, but why hide it from you? Look at this mess he made. Now we don't even have a place to live!"The more he talked, the angrier he got and the more convinced he became that he was right. Finally, he shot to his feet. "I never should have gotten with you! Your family doesn't

Jett kept his head down and said nothing."You never planned on spending the rest of your life with me either, did you?"The room suddenly went very quiet. Outside the motel, a car drove past, and its horn blared sharply.Jett gripped the blanket so tightly that his knuckles turned white. After a long while, he finally looked up. There were no tears in his eyes, only a coldness Hailey had never seen before."Hailey, let's break up."He said it calmly, so calmly that it sounded rehearsed.Hailey froze. She opened her mouth, but her throat seemed to close up, and not a single sound came out.Jett got up and started packing his things, moving quickly as if he were in a hurry."W-What did you just say?" When she finally found her voice again, it came out painfully hoarse."I said we're done." He did not even look up."Don't blame me. I don't have a choice. You got a 400 on the college entrance exam. No college is going to take you. What are you going to do with your life? Do cons

It had been taken on Christmas morning that year. The whole family had dressed up in new clothes and gone to a photo studio together. It was the last photo of the four of us together. Less than three months later, Mom and Dad were gone.As I looked at the picture, my eyes slowly grew red. I pressed my phone face down against my chest and closed my eyes.Silently, I apologized to Mom and Dad. I had not raised her right, and I had not been able to hold our family together. Still, I would live a good life, and I would live it for both of them.The days went by, and my life in the new city slowly settled into a routine. I went to work, came home, ate, and slept. On weekends, I sometimes went shopping with Dani or took walks in the park by myself.I started learning to cook the food I actually liked, loading it up with hot sauce, garlic, and all the seasonings I had never dared to use before.I started buying clothes I actually liked. I no longer had to pinch pennies or count every dol