2
577words
It was her.Emma Harper.
My best friend.
I looked at her,conflicted.She glanced back,raising an eyebrow,her gaze playful.
“Dinner’s ready,”Dad announced.
The maid,Mrs.Wilson,brought out exquisite dishes.I hadn’t seen so much food in years.The warm aroma made my stomach churn,nausea rising.
“Lily,it’s been ages!You’re so thin—eat up.I remember you loved shrimp bisque,”Emma said,feigning concern,serving me a bowl.
I paled.“I can’t drink soup now.”
I pushed it away,but she insisted.In the struggle,the soup spilled across the table,dripping onto the floor.
Everyone’s faces darkened.
Ethan slammed his fork down.“Three years in the hospital,and you still haven’t learned?You’re not eating tonight.”
Mom scolded,“Emma was being kind.You didn’t have to make a scene.”
“Maybe we should send her back for a few more years to tame her,”Dad added.
Their accusing glares pierced me like knives.
I couldn’t go back there.Trembling,I dropped to my knees,banging my head on the floor until it bled.“I’m sorry,I’m sorry!It’s my fault,I didn’t mean it.Please,don’t send me back!”
I licked the spilled soup off the floor,mixed with dust.
They stared,shocked into silence.
Ethan’s face twisted.“Lily,stop this pathetic act.Get up.”
I shook my head,my stomach spasming from the sudden heat.Cold sweat dripped as agony hit.Unable to hold it,I vomited,snot,tears,and bile pooling on the floor.
Emma gasped,covering her mouth.
I knew Mom’s face was livid.
I’d ruined everything.
Their gazes burned my back.I fled to the bathroom,clutching my stomach,retching violently.
Leaning against the toilet,I laughed bitterly.
How pathetic,Lily.
When Emma entered the bathroom,I was curled in a corner,dazed.
She smirked,delighted by my misery.“You’re such a loser.How could you ever deserve Ethan?”
“Sending you to the asylum was the right call.”
Her malice stung.I stared at her.“Why did you lie to me?”
In my darkest days,she’d burst into my life.
She’d bring me strawberry milk and bread in the mornings,ruffling my hair.“Lily,you’re too skinny.Eat up.”
At Christmas,she’d tie a red ribbon on my wrist,holding my hand,wishing,“May Lily be safe and happy forever.”
She brought light to my world,then betrayed me,egging me on to confess to Ethan,only to spread the video and orchestrate cyberbullying.
She thought I didn’t know.
I was just pretending,too scared to shatter my only shield.
“Why betray me?Weren’t we best friends?”I stood,stepping closer,gripping her wrist tightly.
“Best friends?”She laughed like it was a joke.“I was just messing with you.You actually believed it?”
“Was everything a lie?”I stared into her eyes,my voice low and hoarse.
Whispers filled my ears,countless voices clouding my thoughts.
“Not everything,”she said,leaning close,her eyes venomous,her voice soft.“You really are disgusting.”
She burst into laughter,doubling over.
I stared,a smile creeping onto my face.In the mirror,my disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes made me look like a demon.
Slap!I struck her left cheek,leaving it red and swollen.
“You enjoy making me suffer?”
“You hit me?”
Slap!I hit her right cheek.
“You’re too loud.Be quiet.”
The voices grew louder,faster.My eyes burned,rage boiling over.
Lily,what are you waiting for?
They all lied.
Ethan promised to take you home soon,but you rotted in hell for three years.
They made you bark like a dog,whipped you with salted barbed lashes.
Emma lied too.She said you were her best friend,wished you happiness.
All lies.
I lunged,straddling her.She screamed.
Slap!“I told you to shut up.”
She clawed at my face,nails drawing blood.
I frowned,annoyed.
My hands wrapped around her throat,squeezing.
She thrashed,nails digging into my skin,leaving bloody trails.
I felt no pain.
My mind was clear.
Kill her!Kill her!
