Chapter 3

3.

In the middle of the night, someone dragged me out of bed.

I was thrown hard onto the cold floor.

Pain shot through my knees and elbows.

I looked up to see my father's face twisted in rage. He started screaming at me immediately.

"Summer, how can you be so heartless? You know your sister is deathly allergic to acrylic paint."

"How dare you keep that filth in this house? Are you trying to kill her?!"

He was holding my ceramic doll.

"No, Dad!" I scrambled toward him, begging.

"It's not the doll! There's no acrylic in it, I swear!"

"Please, give it back. It's the only thing I have left of my mom!"

I reached for it, but he shoved me away. I fell back to the ground.

"No? You're still lying!" Samuel's anger boiled over. He pointed at the doll.

"Your sister broke out in hives the second she left your room. She couldn't breathe. The doctor said it's an allergy. What else could it be but this trash?"

He raised his arm.

"Don't!"

There was a loud crash.

The ceramic doll shattered into pieces right in front of me.

"Mom... Mom..."

I knelt on the floor. My hands shook as I tried to pick up the shards.

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't put it back together.

The next day, Scarlett walked past my room.

I finally snapped out of my trance. I stood up.

I had someone clean up the mess.

I walked to my desk and looked at a dusty family photo.

In the picture, Scarlett was hugging Samuel. They looked so happy. It made me sick.

Outside, the sky was dark and ominous.

I picked up a lighter and set the photo on fire. I watched it turn to ash.