Chapter 4Mother Knows Best

Mom audited my shopping orders every week.

Yesterday, she noticed I bought an extra pack of pads.

She suspected a health issue and called. But it was after 10 PM. My phone was off.

She called the dorm warden to wake me up, only to find out I wasn't in my bed.

She flew to the city overnight.

She looked at me with pure disgust.

"Chloe Jiang, your wings have really hardened, haven't they? Staying out all night!"

"What are you wearing? That skirt doesn't even cover your knees! Did you go out to find men?"

Her rage boiled over. She pulled a pair of scissors out of her purse.

She grabbed a handful of my long hair and hacked it off.

"I told you not to be a slut!"

"Liar! I know everything! You’ve been eating junk food! Buying things for others to get cash! Is this how you repay me?"

"You are rotten to the bone!"

She screamed curses, hitting and kicking me right there on the sidewalk.

I had been through this a thousand times.

I curled into a ball, protecting my head, staring at the concrete.

I didn't dare look up. I was terrified of meeting the eyes of the students walking by.

My roommates tried to intervene.

"Ma'am, calm down! Chloe was with us all night..."

"Get lost, you tramps!" Mom shoved Sarah to the ground.

"It’s you lowlifes who corrupted my daughter!"

"She was perfect before she came here!"

No...

You forced me to be perfect.

Suddenly, Mom grabbed my wrist.

She yanked my head up. Her eyes were bloodshot, her hair wild.

"You're coming home! You're dropping out!"

"You're only safe when you're with Mommy!"

That sentence broke me. The dam holding back eighteen years of suppression burst.

I lunged and snatched the scissors from her hand.

I pressed the sharp tip against my own throat.

"I am not going with you! I am not going back to that cage!"

"Get out of here! Leave me alone or I’ll die right now!"

I was done.

Done with the pink room. Done with the suffocation. Done with being her pet dog.

"Chloe, don't be stupid!"

Panic flashed in her eyes.

I pressed harder. A drop of blood trickled down my neck.

She froze.

Then, she dropped to her knees.

She started wailing.

"What did I do wrong?! Why are you breaking my heart like this?!"

"If you die, I'll die too!"

She started listing her sacrifices again, trying to weaponize her pain to make me bow my head.

But it just destroyed my last shred of sanity.

Shut up!

I wanted to die. She wanted to die.

Fine! Let's all just die!