Chapter 5: Sisterhood Ruined

He’s the one who knows best what I’ve been through.

No one else saw the nights I cried myself to sleep, or the way my hands shook after every accusation. Evan did—he saw it all.

But now he wants me to apologize to her.

It was the ultimate betrayal. Of all people, I never thought he’d pick her side.

How ironic.

Life had a twisted sense of humor, always putting me in the punchline.

Lily Harper’s disappearance had nothing to do with me at all.

I was eight, building Lego castles on the living room floor. I didn’t even know what had happened until the police came knocking.

It was my mom who sent her out to play and got distracted by a phone call, which led to her being taken away.

It was an accident—one that haunted my mother ever since. But somehow, the blame always found its way to me.

When I was a sophomore in high school, my parents miraculously found her.

It was like something out of a Dateline special. Missing girl returns, family reunion, tears all around. The town buzzed for weeks.

I heard she hadn’t had a good life, so they doubled their efforts to make it up to her.

Guilt fueled their every move—dance lessons, new clothes, private tutors. Nothing was too much for Lily.

I felt even more sorry for her, wishing I could give her the whole world.

I tried to step up, tried to be the big sister everyone said she needed. I gave her my favorite jacket, showed her my secret hiking spot by the river.

I taught her how to dress and do makeup, took her to etiquette lessons, helped her fit in.

We sat side by side at Sephora counters, giggling over lipstick shades. I walked her through the maze of high school cliques, showed her how to dodge the mean girls.

I thought we could be good sisters.

I really believed it, at first. I wanted to believe.

But I was wrong.

Some people are just born knowing how to twist the knife.

At first, it was just little tricks—she’d purposely sprain her ankle next to me when our parents were around.

Her timing was always perfect, just as Mom walked in. Cue the waterworks, the injured bird act.

She’d pretend to accidentally show the bruises on her wrist when Evan was with me.

Evan’s eyes would darken, and suddenly all his attention was on her. I became invisible.

Until one day, I saw her with my own eyes cut her own school uniform, then run into my mom’s arms sobbing, “Maya didn’t mean it…”

She was good—really good. Tears on cue, voice trembling just so. I watched in horror as Mom wrapped her in a hug, glaring at me over Lily’s shoulder.

I was furious and rushed over to argue, but she trembled as she lifted her sleeves and pant legs, revealing shocking wounds.

I couldn’t believe it. She’d gone so far just to make me the villain. The room spun, my stomach twisting.

“Sis, do you not want me to come home? I’ll be good, don’t hit me anymore, okay?”

Her words stabbed deeper than any knife. I reached for her, desperate to explain, but Mom was already pulling me away.

So they decided I was bullying her, and locked me in a dark room for a day and a night.

I still remember the darkness, the scratch of the door as it closed, the cold ache in my bones as I waited for someone to believe me. No one ever did.

After that, we dropped all pretense.

The sister act was over. We became rivals—bitter, wary, each of us playing our part.

From that day on, I learned to carry a recorder with me and avoided being alone with her.

My purse grew heavier, full of little insurance policies. I lived in fear of the next setup.

But even so, after every conflict, my parents would always hug her, hearts aching, and say to me, “Lily’s had a hard life, you have to let her have her way.”

No matter what I did, Lily won. She always did.

How ridiculous.

I said it out loud once, and Mom burst into tears. Dad told me to keep my voice down. I started screaming, but it didn’t matter.

It wasn’t me who caused her suffering, but I had to give up everything to make it up to her.

Some debts can never be repaid, but that didn’t stop them from trying to collect.

Evan knew her tricks and always firmly stood by my side.

He was the only one who saw through her, the only one who offered me a safe place—until he didn’t.

But now, he’s changed too.

Even Evan couldn’t resist her orbit. I watched him slip away, bit by bit.

I turned and dumped the entire bowl of soup on him. “Get out!”

The soup splattered across his shirt, a scalding, messy goodbye. For once, Evan looked truly shocked.