Chapter 2The Final Hide-and-Seek

The closer the car got, the more visibly Mom's body trembled.

It had been nearly five years since the earthquake. The area had long since changed, with new buildings rising one after another. But the stretch where my sister and I had been that day was still a wasteland of rubble.

I still remembered how my parents had clawed through the ruins like they'd lost their minds that day, tearing through stone after stone until all ten fingers were slick with blood.

"Ellie loved barbecue chips, so I made sure to buy extra. And I brought plenty of chocolate milk, too." Dad took the food out of the car and set each item on the rubble.

Mom's eyes were already brimming with tears. When she saw Dad lift the suitcase out of the car, she lunged for it, but he held her back.

"Just let me look one more time," she begged, her voice raw with desperation.

Dad's brows furrowed, his eyes full of exhaustion and heartache. He rested his hand on the combination lock, hesitating.

My heart leapt into my throat.

Would they find out? Would they realize they'd grabbed the wrong suitcase and that what was inside wasn't Ellie's belongings but my body?

"Looking will only make it harder to let go. Forget it. Don't open it. The past needs to stay in the past." Dad sighed, resigned.

But Mom didn't pull her hand away.

While they stood at a stalemate, Dad's phone rang.

He answered, and the anxious voice of our housekeeper came through on the other end, "Mr. Corwin, I can't find Landon again. Where has that boy gone and hidden himself this time?"

Mom snatched the phone, her temper igniting instantly.

"Why bother with him? He's doing it on purpose, deliberately causing trouble on a day like this. Mrs. Gallagher, just lock his bedroom door and let him stay there."

Irritation surfaced in Dad's eyes too. He told Nancy Gallagher not to worry about it and hung up without hesitation.

"He's clever, isn't he? He thinks hiding from me is going to earn him forgiveness?" Mom scoffed.

The silence that followed was heavy, thick with something raw and bitter just under the surface. Dad didn't say a word and quietly prepared to light the fire. But the fire in Mom's eyes only burned brighter.

"This is all Landon's fault. He's the reason I can't even hold on to the last of Ellie's things. We treated him so well, so how can he be this cruel? Tricking his little sister into hiding during an earthquake with some stupid game of hide-and-seek.

"Ellie's dead, and she still can't rest in peace. Does he really hate his own sister that much?"

Mom snarled through gritted teeth, her eyes bloodshot. I'd heard words like these countless times. I knew Mom was in too much pain, and she always needed someone to take it out on.

I turned to look at Dad. Whatever tenderness he'd once had for me was long gone from his face, replaced by nothing but numbness and indifference. Because of me, he'd lost his little girl. And because of me, Mom had developed a severe mental illness.

Dad was a lawyer. Logic and composure had defined his entire life. But the relentless, day-after-day grief had eaten through all of that, and he couldn't look at me without resentment.

There was a time when Mom hurt me, and he'd sneak candy to me while I hid in the closet, leaning against the door and whispering apologies. "Landon, Mom's just having a rough spell. Hide a little longer, okay? I know it's not fair to you."

But later, he started drinking heavily where Mom couldn't see. He'd grab me and demand to know why I had to make Ellie play hide-and-seek.

After that, he stopped caring when Mom hit me. He'd lock my bedroom door and forget to bring me food after leaving me shut in all day.

And now he just said it, voice hollow and distant, "Yeah. Once we've sent Ellie off, I'll send the boy to live with my parents. After that, we start over."

It was as if I were nothing more than a piece of trash to throw away.

My heart skipped a beat. I wanted to smile. I wanted to be happy for them, happy that they were finally free of the nightmare and brave enough to start fresh.

But the flames in front of me were already leaping, eager to swallow the last traces of my existence.

My hollow chest still ached.

Mom held Ellie's teddy bear with a dazed, lost look on her face. I let my soul settle into the stuffed animal, and it felt like being back in my mother's arms. A warmth I hadn't felt in years wrapped around me.

I remembered being pulled from the rubble, barely able to see anything, and Mom sweeping me into her arms. But that last bit of warmth shattered the moment I said the words "hide-and-seek", and Mom slapped me across the face.