Familial Bond 短篇故事與 Ruthless Awakening 小說

Ten years after being reunited with my birth family, the Lancasters, I still reign as the family's undisputed attention magnet. When Dad forgets to take his medication, I put on a pair of sunglasses, barge into the conference room, and take away his coffee. "Mr. Lancaster, you're suspected of abusing your stomach. Please come with me." He scowls as he takes his medication, while the other shareholders fight hard to contain their laughter. When Mom has insomnia and can't sleep, I put on a white bedsheet and drift into the room. "Your application for an early death has been rejected as your daughter objected to it." She scolds me for saying such cursed things, yet tears stream down her face from her laughter. When my older brother, Thomas Lancaster, sprains his ankle during a sports match but refuses to go to the school doctor, I latch onto his leg and wail loudly, "Oh, Mr. Campus Hunk, I'm a loyal fan of yours!" The school doctor learns of the injury and rushes over, so Thomas receives treatment for his ankle. I, on the other hand, become known as the girl who tried to latch onto the campus heartthrob. They are always complaining about how noisy and humiliating I am, about how I'm not as quiet and considerate as their fake daughter, Janet Lancaster. Yet, every time something goes wrong, they always turn to me first. One day, during the school's anniversary celebration, Thomas is backstage when he suffers from a panic attack. I put on a mascot costume and rush onto the stage, turning the gala into a farce. This draws everyone's attention to me, allowing Thomas to be quietly escorted away. But because of that, Janet's piano solo fails to make it onto the trending list. With red-rimmed eyes, she asks me, "Mel, do you really like to steal the spotlight from me that much?" Mom rips my mascot costume right there in public, while Dad forces me to give up my arts student recommendation slot. I look at Thomas, who ducks his head and remains silent. He doesn't speak up for me. As it turns out, even the very person I tried to protect at the risk of my own reputation thinks that I'm embarrassing. Pulling off the red clown nose, I hand Janet the recommendation form. "Fine, here you go. From now on, don't drag me into your family's celebrations or troubles."

I suffered sudden kidney failure and lay unconscious in the ICU for seven straight days. The doctors issued three critical condition notices. In the end, it was my eighteen-year-old son, Nolan Brooks, who donated one of his kidneys to save my life. Everyone praised him for being such a devoted son. The media hailed him as "the most devoted son" and even planned to turn our story into a public service campaign. But the first thing I said to him after I woke up was: "Nolan, I’m cutting all ties with you. You’re no longer my son." His face went pale, and with red-rimmed eyes, he asked me, "Dad, I just gave you a kidney. And now you’re disowning me?" I looked at his haggard face and answered, each word deliberate. "It’s precisely because you gave me a kidney that I need to sever all ties with you. Completely."

When the university announced a nine-day break, my roommate started booking their tickets home on their phone while I was busy answering trivia questions on mine. This was my family rule. I had to answer questions to earn my allowance. There were ten questions, and every correct answer would get me $2. There were four levels for the trivia, which were Beginner Level, Intermediate Level, Advanced Level, and Expert Level. I did the trivia for seven years, from high school until my second year of university. One morning, my father, Norm Livingston, texted in the family group chat. [Whoever gets all ten questions correct, I'll pay for the ticket home during Thanksgiving.] I tried hard to suppress my excitement as I focused on answering the questions, but I got one wrong. I texted the results to Norm with clenched teeth and begged, [Dad, the questions this time were really difficult, but I got nine right. The train ticket is only $50. Can you cover it for me?] However, Norm replied right away with a voice note, and he berated me. "The rules are the rules. Look at your brother. He got all ten questions right and won himself the flight ticket. You should work harder to improve your knowledge. Stop thinking about having fun all the time." My younger brother, Ezra Livingston, texted the group with a screenshot of Norm transferring him the money for the ticket. [First-class ticket worth $1,000 to come home to your family.] The text was followed by another text from my older sister, Edith Livingston. [I specially set your questions at Beginner Level for you.] I stared at their texts and looked at my questions, which were at Expert Level, and I called my counselor after that. "Is it too late to submit my application to Gerasia as an exchange student?" I no longer wanted to reunite with my family during Thanksgiving.

I find myself standing at the same intersection again after I die in a car accident. I assume that I've been given a second chance at life. However, when I notice the number "4" on my arm, I realize that things aren't as simple as they seem. I die for the first time when Dad is rushing me to go home. I'm swallowed by the shadow of a truck amid the screeching sounds of a brake. In the next second, my phone rings again. Dad's familiar voice echoes from the receiver, "When are you coming back to do the chores, Luke? I'm old and weak, while Miles is too young. Do you think that we can do the chores?" My mind goes blank just as the truck barrels toward me again. I instinctively roll forward and barely avoid getting run over by the wheels of the truck, feeling relieved that I have escaped death this time. However, after I return home, Dad kicks me out of the house because I get into an argument with my brother, Miles Dover. Unfortunately, I bump into a killer in the stairwell. My blood splatters all across the scene. When I jolt awake once more, I see the familiar truck again. The number on my arm has gone down from "4" to "3". A chill runs down my spine. It turns out that I haven't been given a second chance at life. Instead, I'm stuck in a cycle! If I'm unable to break out of the cycle, I'll never wake up again once the number on my arm reaches zero.

I have always known since I was young that I am not the Luther family's biological son. I accidentally break my younger brother Henry Luther's limited-edition figure while cleaning the room, and Dad punishes me by making me kneel in the rain all night. Dad actually defends Henry when he accidentally blinds me in one eye with a high-powered laser pointer, saying, "Henry didn't do it on purpose. He just got rowdy while playing around, Julian." Henry flashes me a triumphant smile once I go permanently blind in my right eye. "That's what you get for living in our house when you're nothing but an outsider!" I am nothing but an outsider to them. I have done everything I can to please them for the past 18 years, but I have never managed to become part of their family. I accidentally discover a shocking truth one day—the paternity test clearly proves that I am Dad's biological son, whereas Henry is the adopted one. In that instant, my breath catches in my throat.