Chapter 3When the Number Vanished, So Did My Parents’ Love

The phone showed every update I’d posted for the 1,095-day wish-list challenge.

“Mom bought me new shoes today. Checked off.”

“Mom and Dad took me to Disneyland. Checked off.”

“Aunt Susie gave me a huge cash gift just for me. Checked off.”

Dad looked at me with more than anger now.

He was utterly disappointed in me.

Mom continued fueling his anger.

“She posted all of this online to show off. She lied about dying so we’d feel sorry for her and give her whatever she wanted.

“She’s so young, yet she can lie without even blinking. And she’s this vain already.”

I shook my head and hurried over to explain.

“That’s not true.

“The man running the challenge said that if I posted for 1,095 days, I could win a beach vacation for three people.

“I wanted to surprise you, Dad, and Lana.”

“Stop mentioning that number!”

Mom shoved me away.

“You said you’d die after 1,095 days. So why aren’t you dead?”

I stumbled and landed hard on the floor.

The fall hurt.

But her words hurt far more.

Dad came toward me.

I looked up at him.

“Daddy, I really didn’t lie.”

He refused to listen to another word.

His patience snapped, and he picked me up and carried me toward the back of the house.

“You want to go play in the water?

“Fine. I’ll let you play as long as you want!”

No matter how hard I struggled or cried, he didn’t stop.

He carried me into the bathroom and threw me into the bathtub.

The freezing water cut straight through me.

I thrashed around before managing to stand.

“Daddy, I’m sorry. But I really wasn’t lying.”

Dad stood in the bathroom doorway and gave a cold laugh.

“Fine. Then tell me what those numbers actually mean.”

I froze.

I didn’t know how to answer.

The last trace of hope disappeared from his face.

He turned away and shut the door.

“Your mother was right, Cecilia. We trusted you too much.”

I stood there, staring blankly at the number above my head.

The moment Dad spoke, it changed again.

Only this time, it wasn’t a number.

It was a line of words.

I read them one by one.

Suddenly, everything made sense.

I pounded on the door.

“Mom! Dad! I know what the numbers mean now!”

A lock clicked on the other side.

Lana slowly climbed down from the stool and copied Mom’s tone.

“Cece is a liar!”

“Mommy and Daddy said they never want to see you again! Neither do I!”

Then she deliberately raised her voice to drown me out.

“Mommy, Daddy, I really want to go to the beach too.”

Mom picked her up, her voice unbelievably gentle.

“Okay. We’ll leave right now.”

Dad immediately booked the tickets and began packing.

“Let’s go. We’ve spent the last three years taking care of that little liar. We haven’t taken Lana anywhere in ages.”

Lana glanced at the bathroom and snuggled deeper into Mom’s arms.

“What about Cece?”

That only made my parents angrier.

“There’s plenty of food and water in the house. She can come out when she gets hungry.

“We’re not going to take care of her forever.”

I stood there drenched, my teeth chattering as the cold seeped into my bones.

“Mom! Dad! I can’t get out!”

“Let’s go. Ignore that little liar!”

The front door slammed shut.