Chapter 1: The Last Call Home

After my parents chose to go bankrupt just to pay for my cousin Lola Winters's medical treatment, I was forced to drop out of school and start earning money. Every dollar I sent home went straight to Lola's hospital bills. By twenty, I looked forty from juggling eight part-time jobs.

My mom told me, "Your aunt did so much for our family. We have to take care of Lola."

My dad said, "You're the older cousin. You need to make way for her. Put her first."

I thought if I just kept giving in and being understanding, my parents would finally see how much I was hurting. But then the accident happened.

I was working construction when the tunnel collapsed. Trapped under the rubble, barely alive, I called my mom for the ninety-ninth time. All I got was a scolding.

"You're supposed to be working, not calling around!"

In the background, I heard my dad's excited voice.

"Happy birthday to our little princess Lola!"

I opened my cousin's livestream. There she was, dripping in designer brands. And standing right next to her, dressed just as fancy, were my parents singing happy birthday. Around Lola's neck was a necklace worth a fortune.

In complete despair, I made one last call.

"Mom ... do you really love me?"

"Love is for rich families, Samantha. We don't have that kind of luxury right now. Are you feeling sad? I'll make you your favorite cabbage soup tonight."

But Mom, cabbage soup tastes terrible. And you'll never see me again.

The call ended. My last bit of strength gave out. My phone slipped from my hand. Even so, Mom still hung up before I could.

And even so, I still heard Lola's excited voice in that final second.

"Thank you for the necklace, Aunt Macey!"

I'd seen that necklace online the week before. The price made my head spin. Mom had snatched my phone out of my hand and snapped, "Samantha, what's wrong with you? Instead of thinking about how to earn money for Lola's treatment, you're looking at this?"

It turned out it was never impossible. It was just impossible for me.

The smell of blood and the crushing weight disappeared. I thought I'd been rescued. Then I realized—I was dead.

As my soul drifted up from the rubble, I heard the contractor sighing over the collapse.

"See? This is exactly what I was worried about. I told you, she was just a kid in her twenties, skin and bones. Something like this was bound to happen. But you just had to keep her on."

"Come on, I didn't think she'd actually die! She gave me this whole sob story about her little sister being deathly ill and needing money."

Watching the foreman's guilty face, I felt a strange sense of shame. I never should have come to the construction site in the first place.

Every month, my parents took almost everything I earned for Lola's medical bills. They left me with twenty bucks. I survived on bread and water. One time, I was so hungry I collapsed on the side of the road. I called them in a daze, begging for an advance.

Mom said, "Samantha, why can't you be more reasonable? Twenty dollars a month isn't enough? When your father and I were your age, we got by just fine on ten."

Dad added, "It's not that we don't want to give you money, honey. We just finished paying off our debts. There's nothing left."

That very night, Lola posted a screenshot of her chat with my parents. All she'd done was send a crying emoji. They each sent her a thousand dollars.

A few days later, I passed out from low blood sugar at work again. I thought maybe, after hearing from the doctor how weak I was, my parents would finally care. Maybe they'd try to make things right.

Instead, they blamed me for not exercising enough and told me to start working construction.

"It'll build your strength," they said. "Plus, room and board are included. You'll save money. It's perfect."

Now I was finally free. So why did my heart feel like it was tearing in two?

When they dug my body out, it was unrecognizable. Bruised, broken, barely intact. In some places, bone was showing. Since no one could reach my family, they left me lying there on the ground. Within minutes, flies were swarming.

The thought of not even getting a proper burial made my eyes burn. I couldn't watch anymore.

My soul drifted home. The moment I reached the door, I heard Lola's sweet voice.

"Aunt Macey, you faked going broke all these years just to pay for my treatment. You don't think Samantha will be mad when she finds out, do you?"

I floated through the door. There was my mother, dressed in fine clothes, gently stroking Lola's hair.

"Your mother entrusted you to me before she died," she said softly. "I promised to raise you like my own daughter.

"Samantha was always so possessive as a child. If she saw her father and me doting on you, she would've been jealous. But now her attitude has improved a lot. I think it's finally time to tell her we never actually lost our money."

But Mom, I'm never coming home again.