Chapter 2

When I got home, the living room was empty.

The leftovers from dinner sat on the table.

Bowls of scraps were all mixed together, like a trough of slop.

This was Mom's punishment for me knocking over my sister's birthday cake.

She said I didn't value food and had done it just to grab attention, and that from now on I'd eat nothing but their leftovers at every meal.

A month ago, at their worst, they even tried to commit me to a psychiatric hospital.

Mom set the birthday video in front of the doctor.

"Look at this. She smashed her sister's birthday cake in front of everyone."

"I ordered that cake a month in advance through a contact. She's either rotten-hearted or out of her mind."

I dug my fingernails into my palms and cried, over and over, that I hadn't meant to.

That someone had tampered with the stairs.

The next second, all I got were several sharp slaps to the face.

"So now you've learned to lie too. What's next, are you going to say your sister set you up?"

I opened my mouth, but the words caught in my throat and I didn't know what to say.

In the end it was the hospital that refused to admit me, and only then did I get to go home safe.

Once we were home, my sister held up a psychology manual in front of Mom and patted her chest, swearing.

"I'm sure I can cure my sister's illness."

She told everyone to avoid talking to me as much as possible.

"The more attention you give her, the worse her illness gets."

So everyone started to freeze me out.

I cried, I made scenes, I even went to a psychiatrist and got a certificate.

Trying to prove I was a normal person.

But no one was willing to believe it.

I ignored the mess covering the table and went straight to my room to shower.

While I was hanging my laundry to dry, the balcony door behind me was suddenly locked.

Kate stood inside, mouthing the words with a smug look on her face.

"Beginning the final withdrawal treatment."

The heat didn't reach the balcony, and in my thin pajamas I got so cold my lips turned purple.

I pounded on the door and begged for help, but she just shook her head.

"Sis, you're still putting on an act."

"If you were really cold, you wouldn't be able to talk so smoothly."

"People only completely drop their masks under extreme conditions."

Mom handed her a bowl of hot soup.

"Kate really does have a sharp eye. She saw through the act in one glance."

The room was warm and hazy, and they curled up on the sofa watching TV, deaf to my cries for help.

Finally, the living room lights went out.

The heat kept pouring out of my body.

In the end, I couldn't even stay standing.

I could only crouch in the corner, running a fever through the night until I passed out.

I thought I would freeze to death on that little balcony.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in bed.

Curt sat at the head of the bed, changing out another fever patch on my forehead that was soaked through with sweat.

I saw the pain in his eyes, and my heart softened.

I thought his first words would be words of comfort.

But instead he said,

"Kate went a bit too far this time, but she didn't do anything wrong."

There was a ringing in my ears, and I thought I'd misheard.

So I asked again, unwilling to let it go.

"What did you just say?"

He pulled out a few tissues and wiped his hands.

"She meant well. Don't make such a big deal of it."

"And don't let me catch you fighting with Kate over this."

I closed my eyes, and the last trace of warmth in my heart went cold for good.

There was a knock at the door.

The door opened, and Kate was standing outside.

Her eyes were red, like she'd been crying.

"Sis, I had no idea it was that cold out there."

"I made sure to shut all the windows."

Winter in Harrisburg turns dripping water to ice.

A house with no heat can freeze a person to death.

She said she didn't know that simple fact.

Mom stood behind her, glaring at me, her eyes warning me not to push it any further.

Cold sweat soaked the mattress under me over and over.

Even my breath came out hot.

And Kate only had to smear a little blush around her eyes to win everyone's favor.

It had always been this way.

Everyone believed her but me.