4
Dad’s expression tightened, his brows
furrowed.
I clearly saw his lower eyelids twitch violently.
He slammed the safe shut.
“Honey, what do you want? We won’t let
Carolyn get a bone marrow transplant, we
won’t give her money for treatment, are we
supposed to watch her die?”
Mom sat on the floor, grabbed a fruit knife
and pressed it against her wrist, threatening,
“I don’t care! You promised that the family
savings would be used for Lily’s overseas studies and buying her a house as a wedding gift! It’s not even enough, if you give the
money to Carolyn, what about my Lily?!”
Dad softened his tone, gently coaxing:
“Honey, don’t worry, I’ll make more money. Today I give Carolyn two hundred thousand,
tomorrow I’ll make two million for Lily, okay?”
But Mom raised her head and pointed at me,
furious.
“Life and death are predetermined, this
ungrateful child deserves it if she dies! If
you’d seen her wish list, you’d know spending
a dime on her is a waste!”
She crawled towards the trash can and pulled
out a crumpled piece of paper.
“Lily’s soft–hearted, she wanted to see what
Carolyn wished for. Who knew she’d see such
a vicious curse!”
“James, Lily’s been crying in her bed every
night, haven’t you noticed?”
“We chose not to pursue this, it’s our greatest
forgiveness for Carolyn!”
Dad snatched the paper, quickly glancing at
- it.
He clenched his fists, his fingernails tearing
through the paper.
But in the end, his pent–up anger erupted on
- me.
“Carolyn, you’ve gone too far!”
“Miserable people are always hateful! I never
thought this would describe my own
daughter! Forget it, if you die, it’s your fault!”
Dad roared at me, his voice hoarse.
I stood there frozen.
I couldn’t understand why my seven words
could enrage my parents so much.
Lily cried anxiously, wringing her hands.
After a long silence, she first helped her
mother up, then shielded me from my raging
father.
“Mom, Dad, calm down. My sister is sick now,
let’s figure this out, okay?”
Mom hardened her expression, adding fuel to
C
the fire.
“Look, the wound on Carolyn’s palm is
scabbing over, someone with leukemia should
be bleeding continuously, right?”
“My Lily is so weak, so timid! I think she’s
using the bone marrow donation as an excuse
to force her sister to her death!”
So, Dad took out two stacks of cash from the
safe and threw them in my face.
Mom threw a fit, throwing me and my
belongings out of the house.
“Carolyn, don’t you want gifts? Here’s two
thousand dollars, is that enough? Consider it
severance pay!
“From now on, consider yourself estranged
from the Miller family. We raised you for
eighteen years, we don’t expect anything in
return, and don’t bother us if anything
happens to you!”
My ears rang. Lonly remembered those were
<
their final words to me.
But no one noticed the few drops of blood
trickling down Lily’s philtrum.
Drip, drip, drip.
