The earlier tension in the room vanished. It was terrifyingly quiet.

Things only eased up a bit when Liam offered to take the officers to find me and question me.

"Liam, does your sister like to go fishing late at night? What's she doing out by the river?" one officer asked.

"Hey, man, I can tell your sister gets on your nerves, right? My little sister's a handful too! But she's your sister. If you don't spoil her, who will? If you guys fight, just be the bigger person, it'll blow over! Don't get worked up over kid stuff!"

"I told you, she doesn't deserve it! She could drop dead for all I care!"

Liam suddenly exploded.

Like someone had crossed a line.

He furiously threw his phone on the ground, his chest heaving.

Everyone looked at him, worried and confused.

"You don't know the first thing! The victim in that first homeless attack was my mom! Chloe killed my mom! She's a damn jinx!"

"If she hadn't insisted on Mom taking her to the hospital for a little fever, Mom would never have been out there!"

The more Liam talked, the more unhinged he got.

He covered his face, desperately trying to hold back the unbearable grief.

In the end, he was practically screaming.

Like a young animal needing its mother's protection. "Because of her, I don't have a mom anymore! How could I possibly protect a murderer!"

"There wasn't even a body! Dad and I wanted to put up a headstone, but all we could do was bury her clothes!"

Liam cried, and I cried with him.

I cried so hard I couldn't breathe, so sick I wanted to throw up.

For years, every time I knelt by the river, these were the words I heard.

Dad said I was a jinx, a murderer, the most evil child in the world.

Liam hated me, hated me for getting Mom killed, hated me for insisting on going to the hospital in the middle of the night because of a fever.

They said I single-handedly destroyed our perfect family.

So they'd grab my neck, shove my head under the water, again and again, asking why it wasn't me who died that day.

It was like they were trying to tell me that between Mom and me, Mom was always more important.

But they forgot.

I used to be the girl they cherished.

The people around seemed to remember something, and sighed heavily.

"The dead are gone. It's the living who matter most. You're family, connected by blood!"

"I said, she doesn't deserve it!"

The light in my eyes died. I shook my head with a bitter smile.

If Liam knew I was dead, would he be a little happier, feel a little better?

Would he forgive me, just a little?

"Chief! We've searched this whole riverbank! There's no one here!"

"But there are a lot of jumbled footprints, and look, a strawberry barrette."

Liam made that barrette for me himself. There was even a tracker hidden inside.

Because one time after school, Liam forgot to pick me up, and I got lost.

The whole family, with the police, searched for half a year before they rescued me from some kidnappers' den.

I'll never forget the self-blame in Liam's eyes then, the concern on my family's faces.

Liam even swore he'd protect me and keep me safe forever.

But all that love turned into a knife.

And sent me back to hell.

Liam just glanced at it, then unconvinced, took a few steps forward to look.

My heart started pounding like crazy. I was full of hope.

I wasn't kneeling like I usually did, and the barrette was on the ground. Liam was smart; he should realize something was wrong, right?

Even if he just, maybe, hesitantly mentioned it to the police.

Maybe... they could still find me.

"Liam! Where's your sister? Don't tell me she's missing?"