Chapter 4Ghosting My Toxic Family

Day 5. Dad wakes up. He’s lucid, not manic. He asks about me.

"Where is your daughter?"

I suddenly feel hopeful. I whisper in his ear, I’m right here, Dad.

He scratches his ear confusedly.

Mom explains again. "She’s with friends. Haven't seen her."

Dad frowns. He snorts coldly.

"You better go find her. Don't let her die out there with no one to collect the body."

I go, "Whoa."

Dad’s intuition is elite. Father-daughter connection is real.

Mom explodes. "Julian! Can you say one nice thing?! Do you want her to die? Would you be happy if the kids and I all died?! Sunny is the only good thing in this house! I don't ask you to love her, but can you not be so heartless to your own flesh and blood?!"

Dad realizes he crossed a line. He purses his lips, a flash of guilt in his eyes.

"I didn't mean it like that. I just meant you should check..."

His phone rings, cutting him off.

"Hello, is this Damian's mother? Your son is on a roof dragging a girl with him. You need to come now."

See? Siblings know siblings.

Mom is already stressed. Hearing Damian is trying to fly without wings again pushes her over the edge.

"Every single day, just trouble..."

She sighs, forces herself to calm down, and mutters, "I never realized the house would be this chaotic without Sunny here."

Dad actually agrees with her.

"Yeah."

First time hearing them praise me. I’m blushing.

Mom grabs her coat. I float along as she rushes to the scene. Damian and Luna are standing on the edge of a 50-story roof.

Luna is shaking like a leaf, trying to talk him down.

"You brat! What is wrong with you?!" Mom screams the second she bursts onto the roof.

I want to tell her to use a gentle parenting voice, but Mom has zero patience for Damian. She thinks he’s useless because he couldn't win Dad’s heart.

Damian just looks back at her with dead eyes, then takes a small step forward, dragging Luna.

"Damian! Calm down!" Luna screams, gripping his hand for dear life.

Damian looks at her with tragic, puppy-dog eyes.

"Luna... my life is a mess."

"I don't understand why I was born."

"Every time I see my parents, I feel suffocated. I want to live, I do... but when I see them, I lose control."

I really want to say: Can you solve your trauma without killing my future sister-in-law?

"Damian, think about Sunny! Do you want your sister to come home and find your cold dead body?!" Luna pleads.

Mentioning me actually works. He hesitates.

I feel a little proud.

Damian looks around. "I brought her here once. I wanted to jump with her. I thought she was pathetic like me."

Thanks for the memory, bro.

"I stood here for a long time. When I turned around, she was asleep. I couldn't do it. She was so small. She didn't know anything."

Yeah, you dragged me up here at 3 AM. Of course I slept.

"So you have to stay calm! Or Sunny will live with the regret of not seeing you one last time!"

Luna is the MVP. She talks him off the ledge.

Mom sees him step down and immediately rubs her temples. She hands the cleanup to her assistant and turns to leave.

Damian calls out.

"Mom. Which friend did Sunny go to see?"

I get excited. My brother is the reliable one!

"We just need to call the friend, realize I'm missing, and trace the timeline!"