Dying in Three, Two, One

My three elder brothers treated Phoebe like a princess but avoided me like the plague. Even the maids brushed me off.

It was a regular occurrence for me to go to bed while starving. That didn't stop me from reaching the age of 18, though.

Carl always said I was a monster who would forever plague the rest of the family, and I somewhat agreed. I wondered whether I was still alive because I was too evil for hell to take me in.

On this day, I got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to wash up. My hair was dry and frizzy, and my cheeks were sunken. No one would ever think I was the oldest daughter of the affluent Jensen family.

That was beside the point, though. What caught my attention was the countdown timer above my head. I saw the bright red numbers above my mirror reflection.

The day had finally come. I wanted to smile but only managed to lift the corners of my lips slightly.

I slowly put down my glass of water and stared dazedly at my reflection. I didn't have friends and rarely came into contact with anyone. How was I going to spend my final day in this world?

After a long moment of consideration, I washed up and descended from the attic where I lived. My original room had been converted into Phoebe's walk-in wardrobe shortly after her birth.

In the past, I'd looked out the small attic window at the little girl running around and having fun in the garden. She was innocent, pure, and free of worries. Meanwhile, I could only hide in the shadows and peek at her happiness.

It wasn't exactly early, so I was surprised Phoebe and my second brother, Eugene, were still at home. I heard Phoebe's tinkling laughter as I headed downstairs.

She held up a tie and said, "Let me tie your tie, Eugene!"

He lowered his head and watched her indulgently as she tied a crooked tie. When she was done, she stepped back to take a look at it, sounding upset as she said, "It's crooked. Maybe you should take it off and do it yourself."

He didn't. Instead, he caressed her head with a smile. "It's okay. This is your first time tying a tie, and you've done well. Come on, I'll take you to school today."

Phoebe held his hand happily when she heard that.

Bitterness washed over me when I recalled my younger self. I'd knitted a scarf for the first time. It had taken me days but had still turned out crooked and uneven.

I'd nervously given it to Eugene, hoping he would compliment me and caress my head as he'd done in the past. To my dismay, he hadn't even accepted the scarf. On the contrary, he'd given me a dirty look and snarled, "Who knows whether I'll be cursed if I wear that?"

I'd later given the scarf to our dog, Lulu. I hoped it would make her bed cozier and warmer. However, I saw it in the trash can the following day. It had been cut into pieces and could no longer be put together.

I'd dug it out, uncaring of the dirt. I'd picked up the pieces, washed them, and tucked them into a box. They'd never seen the light of day after that day.

The main door swung open, and Eugene and Phoebe were about to leave. I decided to try to make them stay. "Eugene, Phoebe."

The looks on their faces were very different when they turned to look at me. Phoebe's eyes lit up when she saw me, and she happily called my name.

Beside her, Eugene's expression darkened. He seemed to want to say something but stopped himself after glancing at Phoebe.

"Can we have dinner together? Just this once is enough," I said, nervously awaiting their answer.

"Of course!"

"No."

The answers were simultaneous but completely different. Phoebe turned to Eugene, looking confused. "Why not?"

Yeah, why not?

"Didn't you promise Gary that you would accompany him to an auction? That's tonight," he said.

"Really?" Something occurred to Phoebe when she met Eugene's confident gaze. The realization dawned on her, and she turned to look at me apologetically. "I'm sorry, Holly. It looks like we won't have time to have dinner together tonight."

She smiled after some thought. "How about we do this tomorrow? We can have dinner as a family tomorrow."

A family? I forced out an ugly smile, almost drowning in my bitterness. There was no tomorrow for me, but I still agreed to her suggestion and watched her leave the house.

Before turning away, Eugene gave me a warning look. It was sharp, and I felt like he wanted to stab me with it. "Don't let me catch you trying to pull something funny, Holly. Touch a hair on Pheebs' head, and we'll come after you with everything we've got. Stay away from her."