Chapter 1
The three-fifty milkshake was what finally broke me.
My parents bought my sister a five-hundred-dollar prom dress without blinking. But me? They made me beg our waiter for three dollars. In front of everyone. Called it 'building character.'
When she framed me for stealing Mom's ring, they had me shipped off to some hellhole wilderness camp in Utah.
'Go learn how to act normal,' Dad said. 'And quit faking being sick.'
Thing is, I wasn't faking.
The day the sheriff showed up with my autopsy report, Mom was in the kitchen frosting cupcakes for my sister's party. Dad actually laughed. Told the cop I was just playing another one of my games.
His smile died when they made him identify the body.
Rachel's POV
It was a sweltering July afternoon in California, the kind where the sunlight hit so hard it made you dizzy.
The four of us sat in a restaurant off Santa Monica Boulevard. I was wedged into the far corner of a red leather booth, the AC blasting directly onto the back of my neck. My already thin frame shook with a chill I couldn't control.
Across from me sat Katherine and Robert—my biological parents.
And next to Katherine, clutching her arm affectionately, was Hannah. My sister. Hannah had gorgeous blonde hair and innocent blue eyes like a porcelain doll. Ever since she was born, I'd become transparent. Unnecessary. Even disgusting.
"Mommy, are you really gonna buy me that dress?" Hannah bit her lower lip, cradling a Frappuccino with extra whipped cream. "But... it's five hundred dollars. Isn't that, like, way too much?"
Katherine reached over and tapped Hannah's nose, her voice going all sweet and syrupy. "Of course, sweetheart. It's your first formal dance in high school. You HAVE to be the most beautiful girl there."
"Five hundred dollars? Honey, that's nothing. As long as you're happy, Daddy and I will buy you anything you want."
Robert chimed in with a laugh, his large hand ruffling Hannah's hair. "Your mom's absolutely right. That dress looks like it was made just for you."
He paused, his eyes flicking over to me.
"Unlike SOME people. Looks like she's going to a funeral no matter what she wears."
The "some people" Robert meant was me.
I kept my head down, staring at the frayed edge of my faded T-shirt. My stomach churned.
I hadn't eaten in nearly twenty hours. Last night, because I'd accidentally broken a plate while washing dishes, Robert punished me by withholding dinner.
This morning they'd taken Hannah shopping at some upscale mall and left me waiting in the car for four solid hours.
The waiter approached with the check, smiling politely. "Sir, ma'am, here's your bill. Two steak dinners, one Frappuccino, and a strawberry milkshake for the young lady. That comes to seventy-eight fifty."
Robert pulled out his credit card and handed it over.
Katherine suddenly reached out and stopped him.
Her gaze pierced me like an ice pick, full of disgust.
"Wait a second." Katherine pointed at one line on the receipt. "This three-fifty strawberry milkshake. We're not paying for it."
The waiter froze, awkwardly holding the card reader. "Um, ma'am, I'm sorry—what do you mean?"
"You heard me." Katherine crossed her arms, chin tilted up. "Rachel, there's no such thing as a free lunch. We just spent a fortune on Hannah's dress. We need to watch our expenses."
She looked at me like I was a criminal on trial.
"You're seventeen years old. Time you learned to pay for your own stuff."
I jerked my head up, staring at her in disbelief.
My throat burned, dry as sandpaper.
Three dollars and fifty cents.
They'd just dropped five hundred on a dress for Hannah without blinking, and now they were humiliating me in public over less than four bucks for a milkshake.
"But... I don't have any money." My voice trembled, barely audible. "You stopped my allowance last month. And... I'm really hungry."
"Hungry?" Robert slammed his palm on the table, making the water glasses rattle. "Well, that's YOUR fault! Who told you to break a dish last night?"
Heads turned from nearby tables, customers eyeing us like we were some kind of show.
The suffocating sensation of being watched crashed over me.
My somatic symptoms kicked in.
My heart started pounding. A buzzing filled my ears. The edges of my vision blurred. Sweat beaded on my forehead. I dug my nails into my palms.
If I had money, I would've slammed those three-fifty on the table and walked out without looking back.
But I didn't.
All I could do was shrink into the corner like a trapped animal.
Hannah tugged gently on Katherine's sleeve. "Mommy, come on. Just let it go. Don't be mad at her anymore."
"The milkshake... just take it out of MY allowance, okay? I don't want to see her go hungry."
"Baby, you've got too big a heart." Robert shook his head, his tone dripping with condescension. "Just yesterday you brought her leftover pizza from that party, and what did she do? She deliberately smashed your favorite dish set!"
He turned to me, his eyes cold as ice.
"Rachel, look at your sister, then look at yourself! You're an UNGRATEFUL little brat!"
The waiter stood there, caught in the middle, trying quietly to smooth things over. "Sir, um, how about I just comp the milkshake for the young lady—"
"NO!" Katherine cut her off sharply. "This is a family matter! No one's paying for her today!"
She turned back to me, a cruel smile curling her lips.
"Rachel, you wanted the milkshake, didn't you? Well, since you don't have money, you better find a way to pay for it yourself."
She paused, savoring my fear.
"Either you go wash dishes in the kitchen right now to work it off, OR you stand in the middle of this restaurant and beg from every single customer here until you scrape together three-fifty!"
My mind went blank.
Make me beg in public? That was worse than beating me.
I stared at Katherine's meticulously maintained yet viciously cruel face, and suddenly she looked like a stranger—no, like a monster.
"I don't want it anymore..." I reached out with shaking hands, trying to push the untouched milkshake away. "I'll give it back. I won't drink it. Please..."
"Too late!" Robert grabbed my wrist, his grip vise-like, as if he wanted to crush my bones.
He yanked me out of the booth and shoved me hard into the aisle.
I stumbled, my whole body crashing down onto the floor. My knee slammed against the hard tile with a sickening thud.
Pain shot through me like electricity.
"GO! Beg NOW!" Robert's voice boomed through the restaurant. "Tell everyone how USELESS you are! Can't even afford a damn milkshake!"
The room went dead silent.
The customers' stares felt like a thousand needles pricking my skin.
I stayed on the floor, watching Hannah hide in Katherine's arms. A barely noticeable smirk of satisfaction played at the corner of her mouth.
It was nearly ninety degrees outside, but I felt bone-chilling cold.
I closed my eyes as despair swallowed me whole.
