Ghost Me Once More And I’m Gone Chapter 02
I spent three days in the hospital.
I went through the stitches, dressing changes, and bandaging alone.
During those three days, my parents didn’t call once.
Not even a text.
Meanwhile, Chloe’s Instagram kept updating.
First she posted that she had nicked her finger while cutting fruit, and Mom and Dad immediately took time off work to stay home with her.
Then she showed off a designer bracelet she had casually mentioned wanting, saying Ethan had brought it back specially for her from a business trip.
The comments were exactly what I expected.
“My baby girl should never have to suffer.”
“Don’t thank me. You deserve the best. As long as you’re happy.”
Then a notification from my company appeared.
My transfer to the London office had been officially approved.
I read the notice twice.
Then I clicked Accept.
The day I was discharged, I looked down at the ugly centipede-like scar on my calf and took a cab home by myself.
The house was as lively as always.
Chloe sat on the couch watching reality TV, laughing with Ethan.
Mom and Dad were in the open kitchen cutting fruit for her.
I stepped inside and quietly shut the door behind me.
No one looked over.
Only the sound of the door made Ethan glance up.
His eyes stayed on me for a second.
Something complicated crossed his face, as if he wanted to say something.
But Chloe gave him one look.
He turned away.
The Ghost Game still wasn’t over.
In the past, I would have cried.
I would have done anything to make them speak to me, even once.
Now I only thought, Quiet is actually kind of nice.
I went upstairs to the attic room I had lived in for twenty years.
It was the smallest room in the house, with a ceiling so low I could almost touch it by raising my hand.
I folded my clothes into a suitcase one by one.
Halfway through packing, Ethan secretly texted me behind Chloe’s back.
Does your leg still hurt?
I stared at the message and laughed.
When I had begged him for help in the woods, he hadn’t asked whether I was in pain.
When I had spent three days in the hospital alone, he hadn’t asked then either.
Now he remembered?
Too late.
Not long after, my parents called from outside my door.
“Come downstairs for dinner. Chloe says the Ghost Game is over.”
At the table, Chloe slipped an arm around my shoulders.
“Come on. I was just messing with you. Don’t be so sensitive.”
The same excuse.
Every time she hurt me, she called it a joke.
Maybe it was a joke to her. It had never felt like one to me.
I shifted away from her touch.
Chloe immediately stumbled as if I had shoved her.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Ow…”
Ethan pulled her into his arms at once.
“Emma! Chloe was trying to be nice to you. Do you really hate her that much?”
My parents instantly turned on me too.
“She’s your sister. How can you be so cruel?”
My injured leg struck the edge of the table, and blood quickly seeped through the white bandage.
I clenched my teeth and made no sound.
Chloe gripped Ethan’s shirt and sniffled.
“From the day Emma was born, she took half of Mom and Dad’s attention away from me. Half of yours too. I just wanted one little game. Why does she have to take even that from me?”
“And I’ve been working so hard on her engagement party in three days. I wanted to surprise her.”
“Emma, you really hurt me.”
I listened to her turn everything around on me and didn’t argue.
There was no point.
Sure enough, my parents immediately backed her up.
“Chloe has been calling relatives all morning, confirming the venue, ordering flowers and cake. She’s doing all of this for you.”
Ethan looked at me with open disappointment.
“I was originally going to wait until next year before seriously discussing the wedding. Chloe was the one who suggested we have an engagement party first.”
“She was worried you’d think I wasn’t serious about you. She wanted you to be happy.”
“And this is how you treat her?”
Chloe had never even allowed my parents to properly celebrate my birthday.
She hated the idea of everyone paying attention to me for one day.
Since I was ten, I had spent every birthday alone in the attic, lighting one candle for myself.
And now she suddenly cared about my engagement party?
I didn’t believe it.
After the three of them carefully escorted Chloe back to her room, I got a message from my supervisor.
Emma, what’s the earliest you can fly to London?
I watched the four of them disappear farther away from me.
Three days.