Suddenly, Mom went off the deep end, yanking me around. "You've been nothing but trouble, a jinx, hogging everything since the womb, always bullying her."
"Why couldn't it have been you?! Give me back my Emily!"
Pushed to the ground, tears blurred my vision. "Mom, am I not your daughter too?"
Her eyes, fiery and filled with scorn, looked at me as if I were the plague. "No, you are not. My daughter is Emily, you're just a disaster. I wish I'd strangled you at birth before you had the chance to ruin her. Oh, my poor Emily..."
She was gasping for air between sobs, her eyes ablaze with utter loathing.
Dad approached, discarding the shredded paper. "Sarah, you're a murderer. It's your fault Emily's gone. How can you even think of college? You should be buried in the trash, that's the only way to atone."
They locked me in the storage room for the night.
By the next morning, hunger had me dizzy, but finally, the door swung open.
Dad carried me out.
Mom spoon-fed me seafood soup.
She even prepared a bath, claiming I was too weak to wash myself, and helped scrub me down.
"I was too harsh yesterday. Let's get you cleaned up and rested," she said, her forced smile tight.