You Ignored My Birthday So I Erased Myself From The Family HD Movie Dailymotion | Legal Adulthood Means Total Freedom ✨─影片 Dailymotion

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👇Download the app to watch full HD episode for free: https://reelslink.com/marketing/qSLWj2 👇Click to Find More HD EPs http://reelshort.com/movie/you-ignored-my-birthday-so-i-erased-myself-from-the-family-6aa14b83871c17602008654b 🍁Notice: All videos by ReelShort Drama Shorts are officially authorized. Being eighteen was supposed to be a celebration, but for her, it became the ultimate wake-up call. Left alone all day without a single birthday wish, she realized her presence meant nothing to her parents or siblings. But turning eighteen also comes with the power of choice. Is this the exact moment she packs her bags and vanishes without a trace?

Transcript

00:00:21To be continued...

00:00:30I had said it so many times. No one in this family remembered.

00:00:34This family celebrates everyone's birthday. Everyone's but mine.

00:00:39Because my parents only love my twin siblings, Ethan and Chloe. They don't love me.

00:00:44When Ethan wants a birthday party, my parents book a private room at his favorite steakhouse a month in advance.

00:00:51When it's Chloe's turn and she wants to go to Six Flags, the whole family goes.

00:00:55Mom even posts nine photos on Instagram.

00:00:57But on my birthday, this house always treats it like any other day.

00:01:02I thought turning 18 would be different.

00:01:04That morning, I got up early on purpose, put on light makeup, and sat on the living room couch to

00:01:10wait.

00:01:11Mom walked past me on her way out, carrying Chloe's dance bag.

00:01:15Heat up your own lunch. I'm taking Chloe to her intensive class.

00:01:20Dad was watering tomatoes in the backyard.

00:01:23Ethan called him to go play basketball at the park, and the two of them left soon after.

00:01:29At noon, I was the only one left in the house.

00:01:31I sent a message in the family group chat.

00:01:34I'm 18 today.

00:01:36No one replied.

00:01:38At 7 that night, everybody came home.

00:01:40No one sang.

00:01:41No one felt like anything was missing.

00:01:44I was 18 now.

00:01:46At last, I could decide for myself where I wanted to go.

00:01:50Mallory, delete that message from the group chat.

00:01:53I almost missed Grandpa's voice message.

00:01:56Ethan didn't even look up.

00:01:58He tapped the edge of his plate, lightly with his dinner knife, signaling Mom to give him more ribs.

00:02:06I looked down at my phone.

00:02:08The message in the family chat, I'm 18 today, was still sitting there.

00:02:12No one had replied.

00:02:15Mom came over with a plate of garlic bread and set it in the middle of the table.

00:02:21All right.

00:02:22No phones at dinner.

00:02:25I looked at the food on the table.

00:02:27Ethan liked ribs.

00:02:29Chloe liked mac and cheese.

00:02:31Mom had made the salad for herself.

00:02:32Not a single dish was for me.

00:02:35I liked seafood.

00:02:37Grilled salmon was my favorite.

00:02:39I had said it so many times.

00:02:42No one in this family remembered.

00:02:46Dad, today...

00:02:47Dad set down his iced tea and glanced at me.

00:02:51The next second, he turned back to Ethan.

00:02:54How's your wrist from basketball this afternoon?

00:02:56Does the sprain still hurt?

00:02:58It's okay.

00:02:59Shoot.

00:03:00It aches a little when I shoot.

00:03:01I'll take you to a sports therapist tomorrow.

00:03:04My words died in midair.

00:03:06I finished dinner quietly and went to wash the dishes.

00:03:09I turned the faucet on high.

00:03:13From the living room came the sound of Chloe practicing ballet basics.

00:03:17Her toes landing against the floor one by one.

00:03:20Mom counted beats beside her.

00:03:22Ethan was playing Xbox in his room, shouting every few minutes.

00:03:25Dad was on the couch with his iPad.

00:03:27Everyone in this house had something of their own.

00:03:30Everyone had someone answering them.

00:03:33Except me.

00:03:36I stood in the kitchen, washing platelets and cups for five people.

00:03:41The water was loud.

00:03:42Loud enough that even if I cried, no one would hear.

00:03:46After the dishes, I went back to my room and shut the door.

00:03:49My phone lit up.

00:03:50It was a message in the class group chat.

00:03:52It was the only happy birthday I had received all day from a classmate I had known for less than

00:03:56a year.

00:03:57I replied, thank you.

00:03:59Then I opened my photo album and kept scrolling back.

00:04:01After I turned six, mom's camera had almost completely turned toward them.

00:04:05Most of the photos were of them.

00:04:07I scrolled for a long time before I finally found one.

00:04:10It was from when I was nine and had entered the school speech contest.

00:04:14Mom had taken it from the audience.

00:04:15The photo was blurry.

00:04:18Only half my body was in it because the other half of the frame was Chloe in the front row,

00:04:23turning back toward the camera with a bright smile.

00:04:26I stood offstage in front of the microphone, my face barely visible.

00:04:31The phone screen dimmed and my face appeared in the black reflection.

00:04:3618-year-old Mallory Hayes had spent the whole morning putting on makeup,

00:04:40waited all day and still hadn't gotten a single happy birthday.

00:04:43Mom's voice came from outside the door.

00:04:48Mallory, wake your sister at seven tomorrow morning.

00:04:52She has training at 8.30.

00:04:55Okay.

00:04:58Hey, sis. It's seven.

00:05:00Chloe had woken up on her own.

00:05:02She stood in my doorway in a pink leotard, her hair half-tied.

00:05:06I checked my phone.

00:05:076.53.

00:05:09My alarm hadn't even gone off.

00:05:11You got up by yourself?

00:05:13Yeah.

00:05:14I set an alarm.

00:05:16Mom told you to wake me, but I was afraid you didn't sleep well last night.

00:05:20She said it so casually, but the words still stung.

00:05:23She knew I hadn't slept well last night.

00:05:26I'll help you tie your hair.

00:05:28No, it's fine.

00:05:30I can do it.

00:05:33She turned and left.

00:05:36Chloe had always been like that with me.

00:05:38She wasn't cruel.

00:05:40She just wasn't close.

00:05:43She called me sis, but the word carried no weight.

00:05:47The twins had their own rhythm, and I had never been able to enter it.

00:05:51At breakfast, Mom was warming milk for Chloe.

00:05:54Ethan wasn't up yet.

00:05:56Mally, have you eaten?

00:05:58I have.

00:05:59I hadn't.

00:06:01She didn't even check whether there was a bowl I'd used on the table.

00:06:04She just nodded.

00:06:06Chloe, did you pack your water bottle?

00:06:08It's hot today.

00:06:09Drink more water.

00:06:10I did.

00:06:12Mally, drive your sister there.

00:06:14She still doesn't know the stops near the training center.

00:06:17Chloe had been going to that training center for two years.

00:06:20Mom still said she didn't know the way.

00:06:23Okay.

00:06:25As we were leaving, Ethan finally got up and called from his doorway.

00:06:29Mom, what's for breakfast?

00:06:32I left you a bagel and yogurt on the table.

00:06:35A bagel and yogurt.

00:06:37Ethan's regular breakfast.

00:06:39No one had ever asked what I wanted in the morning.

00:06:42On the way to the training center,

00:06:44Chloe sat in the passenger seat scrolling through her phone.

00:06:48She wasn't trying to be cold.

00:06:50It just never occurred to her to talk to me.

00:06:55Sis?

00:06:57When she suddenly spoke, my palm tightened on the wheel.

00:07:01What?

00:07:02That message you sent in the group chat yesterday?

00:07:05Ethan told you to delete it?

00:07:08Yeah.

00:07:10Did you?

00:07:12No.

00:07:14She nodded, then lowered her head to look at her phone again.

00:07:17I waited for a long time, waiting for her to say,

00:07:20Happy birthday.

00:07:21She didn't.

00:07:23When we reached the training center, she unbuckled her seat belt.

00:07:27Sis, I'm here.

00:07:29Yeah.

00:07:29Train hard.

00:07:31Can you pick me up this afternoon?

00:07:32I finish at five.

00:07:33I have a study group this afternoon.

00:07:35That was a lie.

00:07:36I had nothing this afternoon.

00:07:38I just didn't want to go.

00:07:40Then I'll ask mom to pick me up.

00:07:41Okay.

00:07:43At 4.50 that afternoon, mom sent a message in the family group chat.

00:07:48Chloe finishes training at five.

00:07:50Who can pick her up?

00:07:51I'm in a meeting.

00:07:51I'm at a friend's house.

00:07:53Mallory, aren't you free this afternoon?

00:07:55I looked at that message.

00:07:57She started with who can pick her up, but in the end it still landed on me.

00:08:00It's on your way anyway, right?

00:08:02Just go pick her up.

00:08:03It wasn't on my way at all.

00:08:04But in this family, my road was always on the way.

00:08:07My time was always free.

00:08:08I typed okay and sent it.

00:08:11Then I turned my phone face down on the desk.

00:08:15Suddenly, I wondered, what would happen if one day I didn't reply with okay?

00:08:22If I turned off my phone, canceled my number, and disappeared too,

00:08:26would they first panic because no one could pick up Chloe?

00:08:30Or would they think of me first?

00:08:31I knew the answer.

00:08:33When I picked Chloe up, her face was flushed from training and her hair was damp.

00:08:37Sis, I'm thirsty.

00:08:39Where's your water bottle?

00:08:41Finished it.

00:08:42I handed her the spare bottle of water in the car.

00:08:44Thanks, sis.

00:08:46On the way home, she soon fell asleep against the window.

00:08:49I adjusted the air conditionings so the car wouldn't be so cold.

00:08:52She was the little princess everyone in the family revolved around.

00:08:55And most of the roads I had driven through this city had been for someone else,

00:08:58but not for much longer.

00:09:00Not long after, the school college counselor called me into her office.

00:09:04Mallory Hayes, I saw your awards record.

00:09:07Honorable Ments in the National Math Olympias.

00:09:09That's impressive.

00:09:10Awards like that carry real weight.

00:09:12Which schools are you considering for early applications?

00:09:15I'm still looking.

00:09:16What do your parents think?

00:09:17I haven't told them yet.

00:09:19Something this important, and you're not discussing it with your family first?

00:09:23I want to look into it myself first.

00:09:25I knew that even if I told them, no one would take it seriously.

00:09:28On last month's mock examen, I ranked third in the entire grade.

00:09:30I took a photo of my report card and sent it to the family group chat.

00:09:33My third place ranking stayed in the chat for only a very short while.

00:09:36All it got from mom was one sentence.

00:09:37Not bad.

00:09:38The next message was a video mom sent of Chloe dancing.

00:09:41That afternoon, when I got home,

00:09:42I found a dusty letter among a pile of bills and flyers on the coffee table.

00:09:46It said,

00:09:47Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes.

00:09:49Your daughter, Mallory Hayes, has received an honorable mention

00:09:52in the National High School Mathematics Olympiad.

00:09:54Two months had passed.

00:09:55The envelope hadn't even been opened.

00:09:57It was tucked between bills and pizza courons.

00:10:00Completely forgotten.

00:10:01At dinner, mom answered a FaceTime call from my aunt.

00:10:04My aunt asked about Ethan's swim meet.

00:10:05Mom said he had taken second place in the district,

00:10:08pride filling her voice.

00:10:09My aunt asked about Chloe's dance competition.

00:10:12Mom said she had won gold at regionals,

00:10:13and the judges had praised how steady she was off dyes.

00:10:16How's Mallory?

00:10:17She's applying to college soon, too, right?

00:10:21She's doing fine.

00:10:23Third in my grade, a National Math Olympiac award.

00:10:26In mom's mouth, all of it became doing fine.

00:10:28I sat at the dining table, still holding the award letter

00:10:31that had been forgotten for two months.

00:10:33No one asked how I had been lately.

00:10:34No one turned to me and said,

00:10:36Mallory, what about you?

00:10:37I went back to my room, opened my laptop,

00:10:39and started looking up colleges that would actually care

00:10:41about competition backgrounds.

00:10:42In the end, I stopped at Carnegie Mellon.

00:10:45Hundreds of miles away from home,

00:10:46no one would remember me,

00:10:47only when they needed someone to pick up my sister.

00:10:49I opened the application page.

00:10:51My fingers hovered over the screen for three seconds

00:10:54before I finally closed it.

00:10:56I decided to try one more time.

00:10:58If they still couldn't see me this time,

00:11:00I would leave.

00:11:02Completely.

00:11:06Mallory, Ashley is coming to stay with us for a while.

00:11:10Give her your room and share with Chloe for now.

00:11:13Saturday morning, mom said it casually

00:11:15while changing shoes by the door.

00:11:17I was sitting at the dining table eating cereal.

00:11:19My spoon stopped in midair.

00:11:24Why my room?

00:11:26Your room gets the best natural light.

00:11:28Ashley hasn't been feeling well lately,

00:11:30and the doctor said more sunlight would be good for her.

00:11:32Ethan's room has a window, too.

00:11:34Your brother is a boy.

00:11:35Ashley is a girl.

00:11:35How could they share a room?

00:11:37Then let her stay with Chloe.

00:11:38Chloe needs space to stretch at night.

00:11:40Your room only has a bed and a desk.

00:11:42It's easy to clear out.

00:11:43How long is she staying?

00:11:44About half a month.

00:11:45Her summer program is over here.

00:11:46Okay.

00:11:46I didn't argue anymore.

00:11:48Experience had taught me a long time ago

00:11:49that arguing was useless.

00:11:51That afternoon, Ashley came in

00:11:53dragging two large suitcases, smiling sweetly.

00:11:58Auntie, uncle.

00:12:00You're here.

00:12:01Come in.

00:12:03Mom was so warm,

00:12:04as if an important guest had arrived.

00:12:06Ashley pushed her suitcases into my room

00:12:09and looked around from the doorway.

00:12:11Auntie, can this bookshelf be moved out?

00:12:13I want to put a vanity mirror here.

00:12:16Of course.

00:12:17Mallory, move the bookshelf out.

00:12:20On my bookshelf were three years of notebooks,

00:12:22reference books, and a few certificates.

00:12:25It took me an hour to move everything

00:12:26into a corner of Chloe's room.

00:12:28That night, I laid a mattress

00:12:30on the floor of Chloe's room.

00:12:33Sis, why don't you sleep on the bed?

00:12:35I'll sleep on the floor.

00:12:37No, the floor is fine.

00:12:40Ashley is actually okay.

00:12:42Don't be upset.

00:12:44Ashley was never what upset me.

00:12:47What hurt was that in this house,

00:12:49I was always the one expected to give way.

00:12:53On the third day,

00:12:54I went back to my room to get review materials

00:12:56and opened the door to find Ashley

00:12:58flipping through my math competition notes.

00:13:00These are yours?

00:13:01Your handwriting is so neat.

00:13:03Yeah.

00:13:04Please put them back.

00:13:05I was just looking.

00:13:06You're way too protective of this stuff.

00:13:08She casually put the notebook back on the desk.

00:13:10I glanced over and suddenly realized one was missing.

00:13:13There was a blue one on the desk.

00:13:14Where is it?

00:13:15I didn't touch it.

00:13:16I didn't see it.

00:13:17I searched for ten minutes and finally found it in the trash can.

00:13:21Half the cover had been torn off

00:13:22and several pages inside were soaked with coffee.

00:13:25The writing blurred into smears.

00:13:26It was the problem-solving notebook I had been organizing since freshman year.

00:13:30Three years.

00:13:30I only had that one copy.

00:13:32Ashley, this?

00:13:34Oh, maybe I knocked it over when I was carrying coffee.

00:13:36Just write another one.

00:13:36I stood in the doorway holding the drenched notebook, my hands shaking.

00:13:43I took the notebook back to Chloe's room and dried it page by page with a hair broyer.

00:13:50Where the writing was blurred, I slowly filled it back in with a pencil.

00:13:56I worked until one in the morning.

00:13:58The next morning, Ashley sat in my old seat, chatting happily with Mom.

00:14:02No one asked why the circles under my eyes were so dark or what had happened last night.

00:14:06And I no longer needed to wait for that one last time.

00:14:10From that day on, I began preparing to leave.

00:14:13Until the day I received my acceptance letter, I knew the time had come to leave this house.

00:14:17I packed my suitcase and bought a Greyhouse ticket for the early dawn departure the next day.

00:14:21The destination was Pittsburgh.

00:14:23Then I walked to the door and placed my house key on the small entryway table.

00:14:27I left the group chat and deactivated my old phone number.

00:14:31The screen went dark.

00:14:32The whole world suddenly became much quieter.

00:14:36I pulled my suitcase, opened the door, and closed it softly behind me.

00:14:53Mom came over with a plate of garlic bread and set it in the middle of the table.

00:14:59All right.

00:15:00No phones at dinner.

00:15:03I looked at the food on the table.

00:15:05Ethan liked ribs.

00:15:07Chloe liked mac and cheese.

00:15:09Mom had made the salad for herself.

00:15:11Not a single dish was for me.

00:15:13I liked seafood.

00:15:15Grilled salmon was my favorite.

00:15:17I had said it so many times.

00:15:20No one in this family remembered.

00:15:22This family celebrates everyone's birthday.

00:15:26Everyone's but mine.

00:15:27Because my parents only love my twin siblings, Ethan and Chloe.

00:15:31They don't love me.

00:15:32When Ethan wants a birthday party, my parents book a private room at his favorite steakhouse a month in advance.

00:15:39When it's Chloe's turn and she wants to go to Six Flags, the whole family goes.

00:15:43Mom even posts nine photos on Instagram.

00:15:46But on my birthday, this house always treats it like any other day.

00:15:50I thought turning 18 would be different.

00:15:53That morning, I got up early on purpose, put on light makeup, and sat on the living room couch to

00:15:59wait.

00:15:59Mom walked past me on her way out, carrying Chloe's dance bag.

00:16:04Heat up your own lunch.

00:16:05I'm taking Chloe to her intensive class.

00:16:08Dad was watering tomatoes in the backyard.

00:16:11Ethan called him to go play basketball at the park, and the two of them left soon after.

00:16:17At noon, I was the only one left in the house.

00:16:20I sent a message in the family group chat.

00:16:22I'm 18 today.

00:16:24No one replied.

00:16:26At 7 that night, everybody came home.

00:16:28No one sang.

00:16:29No one felt like anything was missing.

00:16:32I was 18 now.

00:16:34At last, I could decide for myself where I wanted to go.

00:16:38Mallory, delete that message from the group chat.

00:16:41I almost missed Grandpa's voice message.

00:16:44Ethan didn't even look up.

00:16:46He tapped the edge of his plate, lightly with his dinner knife, signaling Mom to give him more ribs.

00:16:54I looked down at my phone.

00:16:56The message in the family chat,

00:16:58I'm 18 today, was still sitting there.

00:17:00No one had replied.

00:17:03Mom came over with a plate of garlic bread,

00:17:05and set it in the middle of the table.

00:17:09All right.

00:17:11No phones at dinner.

00:17:13I looked at the food on the table.

00:17:16Ethan liked ribs.

00:17:17Chloe liked mac and cheese.

00:17:19Mom had made the salad for herself.

00:17:21Not a single dish was for me.

00:17:23I liked seafood.

00:17:26Grilled salmon was my favorite.

00:17:28I had said it so many times.

00:17:30No one in this family remembered.

00:17:34Dad, today...

00:17:36Dad set down his iced tea and glanced at me.

00:17:39The next second, he turned back to Ethan.

00:17:42How's your wrist from basketball this afternoon?

00:17:44Does the sprain still hurt?

00:17:46It's okay.

00:17:47Shoot.

00:17:48It aches a little when I shoot.

00:17:49I'll take you to a sports therapist tomorrow.

00:17:51My words died in midair.

00:17:54I finished dinner quietly and went to wash the dishes.

00:17:58I turned the faucet on high.

00:18:02From the living room came the sound of Chloe practicing ballet basics,

00:18:05her toes landing against the floor one by one.

00:18:08Mom counted beats beside her.

00:18:10Ethan was playing Xbox in his room, shouting every few minutes.

00:18:13Dad was on the couch with his iPad.

00:18:15Everyone in this house had something of their own.

00:18:18Everyone had someone answering them.

00:18:22Except me.

00:18:24I stood in the kitchen, washing platelets and cups for five people.

00:18:29The water was loud.

00:18:31Loud enough that even if I cried, no one would hear.

00:18:34After the dishes, I went back to my room and shut the door.

00:18:37My phone lit up.

00:18:38It was a message in the class group chat.

00:18:40It was the only happy birthday I had received all day

00:18:43from a classmate I had known for less than a year.

00:18:45I replied, thank you.

00:18:47Then I opened my photo album and kept scrolling back.

00:18:49After I turned six, Mom's camera had almost completely turned toward them.

00:18:54Most of the photos were of them.

00:18:55I scrolled for a long time before I finally found one.

00:18:58It was from when I was nine and had entered the school speech contest.

00:19:02Mom had taken it from the audience.

00:19:04The photo was blurry.

00:19:06Only half my body was in it,

00:19:07because the other half of the frame was Chloe in the front row,

00:19:11turning back toward the camera with a bright smile.

00:19:14I stood off stage in front of the microphone,

00:19:17my face barely visible.

00:19:19The phone screen dimmed,

00:19:21and my face appeared in the black reflection.

00:19:2418-year-old Mallory Hayes had spent the whole morning

00:19:27putting on makeup,

00:19:28waited all day,

00:19:29and still hadn't gotten a single happy birthday.

00:19:32Mom's voice came from outside the door.

00:19:36Mallory, wake your sister at seven tomorrow morning.

00:19:40She has training at 8.30.

00:19:43Okay.

00:19:46Hey, sis.

00:19:47It's seven.

00:19:49Chloe had woken up on her own.

00:19:50She stood in my doorway in a pink leotard,

00:19:53her hair half-tied.

00:19:54I checked my phone.

00:19:566.53.

00:19:57My alarm hadn't even gone off.

00:19:59You got up by yourself?

00:20:01Yeah.

00:20:02I set an alarm.

00:20:04Mom told you to wake me,

00:20:05but I was afraid you didn't sleep well last night.

00:20:08She said it so casually,

00:20:10but the words still stung.

00:20:12She knew I hadn't slept well last night.

00:20:14I'll help you tie your hair.

00:20:16No, it's fine.

00:20:18I can do it.

00:20:21She turned and left.

00:20:24Chloe had always been like that with me.

00:20:26She wasn't cruel.

00:20:28She just wasn't close.

00:20:31She called me sis,

00:20:32but the word carried no weight.

00:20:35The twins had their own rhythm,

00:20:37and I had never been able to enter it.

00:20:39At breakfast, Mom was warming milk for Chloe.

00:20:42Ethan wasn't up yet.

00:20:45Mally, have you eaten?

00:20:47I have.

00:20:48I hadn't.

00:20:49She didn't even check whether there was a bowl I'd used on the table.

00:20:52She just nodded.

00:20:54Chloe, did you pack your water bottle?

00:20:56It's hot today.

00:20:57Drink more water.

00:20:59I did.

00:21:00Mally, drive your sister there.

00:21:02She still doesn't know the stops near the training center.

00:21:05Chloe had been going to that training center for two years.

00:21:09Mom still said she didn't know the way.

00:21:12Okay.

00:21:13As we were leaving, Ethan finally got up and called from his doorway.

00:21:17Mom, what's for breakfast?

00:21:20I left you a bagel and yogurt on the table.

00:21:23A bagel and yogurt.

00:21:25Ethan's regular breakfast.

00:21:27No one had ever asked what I wanted in the morning.

00:21:30On the way to the training center,

00:21:32Chloe sat in the passenger seat scrolling through her phone.

00:21:36She wasn't trying to be cold.

00:21:38It just never occurred to her to talk to me.

00:21:43Sis?

00:21:45When she suddenly spoke, my palm tightened on the wheel.

00:21:49What?

00:21:51That message you sent in the group chat yesterday?

00:21:53Ethan told you to delete it?

00:21:56Yeah.

00:21:58Did you?

00:22:00No.

00:22:02She nodded, then lowered her head to look at her phone again.

00:22:05I waited for a long time, waiting for her to say,

00:22:08Happy birthday.

00:22:09She didn't.

00:22:11When we reached the training center, she unbuckled her seatbelt.

00:22:15Sis, I'm here.

00:22:17Yeah.

00:22:18Train hard.

00:22:19Can you pick me up this afternoon? I finish at five.

00:22:21I have a study group this afternoon.

00:22:23That was a lie.

00:22:25I had nothing this afternoon.

00:22:26I just didn't want to go.

00:22:28Then I'll ask Mom to pick me up.

00:22:29Okay.

00:22:31At 4.50 that afternoon, Mom sent a message in the family group chat.

00:22:36Chloe finishes training at five.

00:22:38Who can pick her up?

00:22:39I'm in a meeting.

00:22:40I'm at a friend's house.

00:22:41Mallory, aren't you free this afternoon?

00:22:43I looked at that message.

00:22:45She started with who can pick her up, but in the end it still landed on me.

00:22:49It's on your way anyway, right?

00:22:50Just go pick her up.

00:22:51It wasn't on my way at all.

00:22:53But in this family, my road was always on the way.

00:22:55My time was always free.

00:22:56I typed okay and sent it.

00:22:59Then I turned my phone face down on the desk.

00:23:03Suddenly, I wondered what would happen if one day I didn't reply with okay?

00:23:10If I turned off my phone, canceled my number, and disappeared too, would they first panic because no one could

00:23:17pick up Chloe or would they think of me first?

00:23:20I knew the answer.

00:23:21When I picked Chloe up, her face was flushed from training and her hair was damp.

00:23:26Sis, I'm thirsty.

00:23:27Where's your water bottle?

00:23:29Finished it.

00:23:30I handed her the spare bottle of water in the car.

00:23:32Thanks, sis.

00:23:34On the way home, she soon fell asleep against the window.

00:23:37I adjusted the air conditionings so the car wouldn't be so cold.

00:23:40She was the little princess everyone in the family revolved around.

00:23:43And most of the roads I had driven through this city had been for someone else, but not for much

00:23:47longer.

00:23:48Not long after, the school college counselor called me into her office.

00:23:52Mallory Hayes, I saw your awards record.

00:23:55Honorable Ments in the National Math Olympias.

00:23:58That's impressive.

00:23:59Awards like that carry real weight.

00:24:00Which schools are you considering for early applications?

00:24:02I'm still looking.

00:24:04What do your parents think?

00:24:05I haven't told them yet.

00:24:07Something this important and you're not discussing it with your family first?

00:24:11I want to look into it myself first.

00:24:13I knew that even if I told them, no one would take it seriously.

00:24:16On last month's mock examine, I ranked third in the entire grade.

00:24:19I took a photo of my report card and sent it to the family group chat.

00:24:21My third place ranking stayed in the chat for only a very short while.

00:24:24All it got from mom was one sentence.

00:24:25Not bad.

00:24:26The next message was a video mom sent of Chloe dancing.

00:24:29That afternoon, when I got home,

00:24:30I found a dusty letter among a pile of bills and flyers on the coffee table.

00:24:34It said,

00:24:36Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes.

00:24:37Your daughter, Mallory Hayes,

00:24:39has received an honorable mention in the National High School Mathematics Olympiad.

00:24:42Two months had passed.

00:24:44The envelope hadn't even been opened.

00:24:45It was tucked between bills and pizza courons.

00:24:48Completely forgotten.

00:24:49At dinner, mom answered a FaceTime call from my aunt.

00:24:52My aunt asked about Ethan's swim meet.

00:24:54Mom said he had taken second place in the district,

00:24:56pride filling her voice.

00:24:57My aunt asked about Chloe's dance competition.

00:25:00Mom said she had won gold at regionals,

00:25:02and the judges had praised how steady she was off dyes.

00:25:05How's Mallory?

00:25:06She's applying to college soon too, right?

00:25:09She's doing fine.

00:25:11Third in my grade.

00:25:12A National Math Olympiac Award.

00:25:14In mom's mouth, all of it became doing fine.

00:25:16I sat at the dining table,

00:25:18still holding the award letter that had been forgotten for two months.

00:25:21No one asked how I had been lately.

00:25:23No one turned to me and said,

00:25:24Mallory, what about you?

00:25:25I went back to my room, opened my laptop,

00:25:27and started looking up colleges

00:25:28that would actually care about competition backgrounds.

00:25:30In the end, I stopped at Carnegie Mellon.

00:25:33Hundreds of miles away from home,

00:25:34no one would remember me,

00:25:36only when they needed someone to pick up my sister.

00:25:38I opened the application page.

00:25:39My fingers hovered over the screen for three seconds

00:25:42before I finally closed it.

00:25:44I decided to try one more time.

00:25:47If they still couldn't see me this time,

00:25:49I would leave.

00:25:51Completely.

00:25:54Mallory, Ashley is coming to stay with us for a while.

00:25:58Give her your room and share with Chloe for now.

00:26:01Saturday morning, mom said it casually

00:26:03while changing shoes by the door.

00:26:05I was sitting at the dining table eating cereal.

00:26:08My spoon stopped in midair.

00:26:13Why my room?

00:26:14Your room gets the best natural light.

00:26:16Ashley hasn't been feeling well lately,

00:26:18and the doctor said more sunlight would be good for her.

00:26:20Ethan's room has a window, too.

00:26:22Your brother is a boy.

00:26:23Ashley is a girl.

00:26:24How could they share a room?

00:26:25Then let her stay with Chloe.

00:26:26Chloe needs space to stretch at night.

00:26:28Your room only has a bed and a desk.

00:26:30It's easy to clear out.

00:26:31How long is she staying?

00:26:32About half a month.

00:26:33Her summer program is over here.

00:26:34I didn't argue anymore.

00:26:36Experience had taught me a long time ago

00:26:38that arguing was useless.

00:26:39That afternoon,

00:26:41Ashley came in dragging two large suitcases,

00:26:44smiling sweetly.

00:26:46Auntie, uncle.

00:26:48You're here!

00:26:49You're here!

00:26:49Come in!

00:26:51Mom was so warm,

00:26:52as if an important guest had arrived.

00:26:55Ashley pushed her suitcases into my room

00:26:57and looked around from the doorway.

00:26:59Auntie,

00:27:00can this bookshelf be moved out?

00:27:02I want to put a vanity mirror here.

00:27:04Of course.

00:27:06Mallory,

00:27:06move the bookshelf out.

00:27:08On my bookshelf were three years of notebooks,

00:27:11reference books,

00:27:11and a few certificates.

00:27:12It took me an hour to move everything

00:27:15into a corner of Chloe's room.

00:27:17That night,

00:27:18I laid a mattress on the floor of Chloe's room.

00:27:21Sis,

00:27:22why don't you sleep on the bed?

00:27:24I'll sleep on the floor.

00:27:26No,

00:27:26the floor is fine.

00:27:28Ashley is actually okay.

00:27:30Don't be upset.

00:27:32Ashley was never what upset me.

00:27:35What hurt was that in this house,

00:27:37I was always the one expected to give way.

00:27:41On the third day,

00:27:43I went back to my room

00:27:43to get review materials

00:27:44and opened the door

00:27:45to find Ashley

00:27:46flipping through my math competition notes.

00:27:48These are yours?

00:27:50Your handwriting is so neat.

00:27:51Yeah.

00:27:52Please put them back.

00:27:53I was just looking.

00:27:54You're way too protective of this stuff.

00:27:56She casually put the notebook back on the desk.

00:27:58I glanced over

00:27:59and suddenly realized one was missing.

00:28:01There was a blue one on the desk.

00:28:03Where is it?

00:28:03I didn't touch it.

00:28:04I didn't see it.

00:28:05I searched for 10 minutes

00:28:07and finally found it in the trash can.

00:28:09Half the cover had been torn off

00:28:10and several pages inside

00:28:12were soaked with coffee.

00:28:13The writing blurred into smears.

00:28:15It was the problem-solving notebook

00:28:16I had been organizing

00:28:17since freshman year.

00:28:18Three years.

00:28:19I only had that one copy.

00:28:20Ashley,

00:28:21this?

00:28:22Oh,

00:28:22maybe I knocked it over

00:28:23when I was carrying coffee.

00:28:24Just write another one.

00:28:25I stood in the doorway

00:28:25holding the drenched notebook,

00:28:27my hands shaking.

00:28:31I took the notebook back to Chloe's room

00:28:33and dried it page by page

00:28:35with a hair broyer.

00:28:38Where the writing was blurred,

00:28:40I slowly filled it back in with a pencil.

00:28:44I worked until one in the morning.

00:28:46The next morning,

00:28:47Ashley sat in my old seat,

00:28:49chatting happily with Mom.

00:28:50No one asked why the circles under my eyes

00:28:52were so dark

00:28:53or what had happened last night,

00:28:54and I no longer needed to wait

00:28:56for that one last time.

00:28:58From that day on,

00:29:00I began preparing to leave

00:29:01until the day I received

00:29:02my acceptance letter.

00:29:03I knew the time had come

00:29:04to leave this house.

00:29:05I packed my suitcase

00:29:07and bought a Greyhouse ticket

00:29:08for the early dawn departure

00:29:09the next day.

00:29:10The destination was Pittsburgh.

00:29:12Then I walked to the door

00:29:12and placed my house key

00:29:14on the small entryway table.

00:29:15I left the group chat

00:29:16and deactivated my old phone number.

00:29:19The screen went dark.

00:29:21The whole world suddenly

00:29:22became much quieter.

00:29:25I pulled my suitcase,

00:29:26opened the door,

00:29:28and closed it softly behind me.

00:29:41Mom came over with a plate of garlic bread

00:29:43and set it in the middle of the table.

00:29:47All right.

00:29:49No phones at dinner.

00:29:51I looked at the food on the table.

00:29:54Ethan liked ribs.

00:29:55Chloe liked mac and cheese.

00:29:57Mom had made the salad for herself.

00:30:00Not a single dish was for me.

00:30:01I liked seafood.

00:30:04Grilled salmon was my favorite.

00:30:06I had said it so many times.

00:30:08No one in this family remembered.

00:30:11This family celebrates everyone's birthday.

00:30:14Everyone's but mine.

00:30:15Because my parents only love my twin siblings,

00:30:18Ethan and Chloe.

00:30:19They don't love me.

00:30:20When Ethan wants a birthday party,

00:30:23my parents book a private room

00:30:24at his favorite steakhouse

00:30:26a month in advance.

00:30:27When it's Chloe's turn

00:30:29and she wants to go to Six Flags,

00:30:30the whole family goes.

00:30:32Mom even posts nine photos on Instagram.

00:30:34But on my birthday,

00:30:36this house always treats it like any other day.

00:30:39I thought turning 18 would be different.

00:30:41That morning, I got up early on purpose,

00:30:44put on light makeup,

00:30:45and sat on the living room couch to wait.

00:30:48Mom walked past me on her way out,

00:30:50carrying Chloe's dance bag.

00:30:52Heat up your own lunch.

00:30:53I'm taking Chloe to her intensive class.

00:30:56Dad was watering tomatoes in the backyard.

00:30:59Ethan called him to go play basketball at the park,

00:31:02and the two of them left soon after.

00:31:05At noon, I was the only one left in the house.

00:31:08I sent a message in the family group chat.

00:31:11I'm 18 today.

00:31:13No one replied.

00:31:14At seven that night, everybody came home.

00:31:16No one sang.

00:31:18No one felt like anything was missing.

00:31:20I was 18 now.

00:31:22At last, I could decide for myself

00:31:24where I wanted to go.

00:31:26Mallory, delete that message from the group chat.

00:31:29I almost missed Grandpa's voice message.

00:31:32Ethan didn't even look up.

00:31:35He tapped the edge of his plate,

00:31:37lightly with his dinner knife,

00:31:39signaling Mom to give him more ribs.

00:31:42I looked down at my phone.

00:31:44The message in the family chat,

00:31:46I'm 18 today,

00:31:47was still sitting there.

00:31:49No one had replied.

00:31:51Mom came over with a plate of garlic bread

00:31:54and set it in the middle of the table.

00:31:57All right.

00:31:59No phones at dinner.

00:32:02I looked at the food on the table.

00:32:04Ethan liked ribs.

00:32:06Chloe liked mac and cheese.

00:32:07Mom had made the salad for herself.

00:32:10Not a single dish was for me.

00:32:11I liked seafood.

00:32:14Grilled salmon was my favorite.

00:32:16I had said it so many times.

00:32:18No one in this family remembered.

00:32:22Dad, today...

00:32:24Dad set down his iced tea

00:32:26and glanced at me.

00:32:28The next second,

00:32:29he turned back to Ethan.

00:32:30How's your wrist from basketball this afternoon?

00:32:32Does the sprain still hurt?

00:32:34It's okay.

00:32:35Shoot.

00:32:36It aches a little when I shoot.

00:32:37I'll take you to a sports therapist tomorrow.

00:32:40My words died in midair.

00:32:42I finished dinner quietly

00:32:44and went to wash the dishes.

00:32:46I turned the faucet on high.

00:32:50From the living room came the sound

00:32:51of Chloe practicing ballet basics,

00:32:53her toes landing against the floor one by one.

00:32:56Mom counted beats beside her.

00:32:58Ethan was playing Xbox in his room,

00:33:00shouting every few minutes.

00:33:02Dad was on the couch with his iPad.

00:33:04Everyone in this house had something of their own.

00:33:06Everyone had someone answering them.

00:33:10Except me.

00:33:12I stood in the kitchen,

00:33:14washing platelets and cups for five people.

00:33:17The water was loud.

00:33:19Loud enough that even if I cried,

00:33:21no one would hear.

00:33:22After the dishes,

00:33:23I went back to my room and shut the door.

00:33:25My phone lit up.

00:33:26It was a message in the class group chat.

00:33:28It was the only happy birthday I had received all day

00:33:31from a classmate I had known for less than a year.

00:33:33I replied, thank you.

00:33:35Then I opened my photo album and kept scrolling back.

00:33:38After I turned six,

00:33:39mom's camera had almost completely turned

00:33:41toward them.

00:33:42Most of the photos were of them.

00:33:44I scrolled for a long time

00:33:45before I finally found one.

00:33:47It was from when I was nine

00:33:48and had entered the school speech contest.

00:33:50Mom had taken it from the audience.

00:33:52The photo was blurry.

00:33:53Only half my body was in it

00:33:56because the other half of the frame

00:33:57was Chloe in the front row,

00:33:59turning back toward the camera with a bright smile.

00:34:02I stood off stage in front of the microphone,

00:34:05my face barely visible.

00:34:07The phone screen dimmed

00:34:09and my face appeared in the black reflection.

00:34:1318-year-old Mallory Hayes

00:34:14had spent the whole morning putting on makeup,

00:34:16waited all day,

00:34:17and still hadn't gotten a single happy birthday.

00:34:20Mom's voice came from outside the door.

00:34:24Mallory, wake your sister at seven tomorrow morning.

00:34:28She has training at 8.30.

00:34:31Okay.

00:34:34Hey, sis, it's seven.

00:34:37Chloe had woken up on her own.

00:34:39She stood in my doorway in a pink leotard,

00:34:41her hair half-tied.

00:34:42I checked my phone.

00:34:446.53.

00:34:45My alarm hadn't even gone off.

00:34:47You got up by yourself?

00:34:49Yeah.

00:34:50I set an alarm.

00:34:52Mom told you to wake me,

00:34:53but I was afraid you didn't sleep well last night.

00:34:56She said it so casually,

00:34:58but the words still stung.

00:35:00She knew I hadn't slept well last night.

00:35:02I'll help you tie your hair.

00:35:05No, it's fine.

00:35:06I can do it.

00:35:09She turned and left.

00:35:12Chloe had always been like that with me.

00:35:15She wasn't cruel.

00:35:16She just wasn't close.

00:35:19She called me sis,

00:35:21but the word carried no weight.

00:35:23The twins had their own rhythm,

00:35:25and I had never been able to enter it.

00:35:28At breakfast,

00:35:29Mom was warming milk for Chloe.

00:35:31Ethan wasn't up yet.

00:35:33Mally, have you eaten?

00:35:35I have.

00:35:36I hadn't.

00:35:38She didn't even check

00:35:39whether there was a bowl I'd used on the table.

00:35:41She just nodded.

00:35:42Chloe, did you pack your water bottle?

00:35:44It's hot today.

00:35:45Drink more water.

00:35:47I did.

00:35:49Mally, drive your sister there.

00:35:51She still doesn't know the stops

00:35:52near the training center.

00:35:54Chloe had been going to that training center

00:35:55for two years.

00:35:57Mom still said

00:35:58she didn't know the way.

00:36:00Okay.

00:36:01As we were leaving,

00:36:02Ethan finally got up

00:36:04and called from his doorway.

00:36:06Mom, what's for breakfast?

00:36:08I left you a bagel and yogurt on the table.

00:36:11A bagel and yogurt?

00:36:13Ethan's regular breakfast.

00:36:16No one had ever asked

00:36:17what I wanted in the morning.

00:36:18On the way to the training center,

00:36:21Chloe sat in the passenger seat

00:36:22scrolling through her phone.

00:36:24She wasn't trying to be cold.

00:36:27It just never occurred to her

00:36:28to talk to me.

00:36:32Sis?

00:36:33When she suddenly spoke,

00:36:35my palm tightened on the wheel.

00:36:37What?

00:36:39That message you sent in the group chat yesterday?

00:36:42Ethan told you to delete it?

00:36:44Yeah.

00:36:46Did you?

00:36:48No.

00:36:50She nodded,

00:36:51then lowered her head

00:36:52to look at her phone again.

00:36:54I waited for a long time,

00:36:55waiting for her to say,

00:36:56happy birthday.

00:36:58She didn't.

00:36:59When we reached the training center,

00:37:01she unbuckled her seatbelt.

00:37:03Sis, I'm here.

00:37:05Yeah.

00:37:06Train hard.

00:37:07Can you pick me up this afternoon?

00:37:08I finish at five.

00:37:09I have a study group this afternoon.

00:37:12That was a lie.

00:37:13I had nothing this afternoon.

00:37:15I just didn't want to go.

00:37:16Then I'll ask mom to pick me up.

00:37:17Okay.

00:37:19At 4.50 that afternoon,

00:37:21mom sent a message

00:37:22in the family group chat.

00:37:24Chloe finishes training at five.

00:37:26Who can pick her up?

00:37:27I'm in a meeting.

00:37:28I'm at a friend's house.

00:37:29Mallory,

00:37:30aren't you free this afternoon?

00:37:31I looked at that message.

00:37:33She started with,

00:37:34who can pick her up,

00:37:35but in the end,

00:37:36it still landed on me.

00:37:37It's on your way anyway, right?

00:37:38Just go pick her up.

00:37:39It wasn't on my way at all,

00:37:41but in this family,

00:37:42my road was always on the way.

00:37:43My time was always free.

00:37:45I typed okay and sent it.

00:37:47Then I turned my phone

00:37:48face down on the desk.

00:37:52Suddenly,

00:37:52I wondered,

00:37:54what would happen

00:37:55if one day

00:37:56I didn't reply with okay?

00:37:58If I turned off my phone,

00:38:00canceled my number,

00:38:01and disappeared too,

00:38:03would they first panic

00:38:04because no one could pick up

00:38:06Chloe?

00:38:06Or would they think of me first?

00:38:08I knew the answer.

00:38:09When I picked Chloe up,

00:38:11her face was flushed from training

00:38:12and her hair was damp.

00:38:14Sis,

00:38:15I'm thirsty.

00:38:16Where's your water bottle?

00:38:17Finished it.

00:38:18I handed her the spare bottle

00:38:19of water in the car.

00:38:21Thanks, sis.

00:38:22Mmm.

00:38:23On the way home,

00:38:24she soon fell asleep

00:38:25against the window.

00:38:25I adjusted the air conditionings

00:38:27so the car wouldn't be so cold.

00:38:28She was the little princess

00:38:29everyone in the family

00:38:30revolved around,

00:38:31and most of the roads

00:38:32I had driven through this city

00:38:33had been for someone else,

00:38:34but not for much longer.

00:38:37Not long after,

00:38:38the school college counselor

00:38:39called me into her office.

00:38:41Mallory Hayes,

00:38:42I saw your awards record.

00:38:43Honorable Ments

00:38:44in the National Math Olympias.

00:38:46That's impressive.

00:38:47Awards like that

00:38:48carry real weight.

00:38:49Which schools are you considering

00:38:50for early applications?

00:38:51I'm still looking.

00:38:52What do your parents think?

00:38:54I haven't told them yet.

00:38:55Something this important,

00:38:56and you're not discussing it

00:38:57with your family first?

00:38:59I want to look into it myself first.

00:39:01I knew that even if I told them,

00:39:03no one would take it seriously.

00:39:04On last month's mock examine,

00:39:05I ranked third in the entire grade.

00:39:07I took a photo of my report card

00:39:08and sent it to the family group chat.

00:39:09My third place ranking

00:39:10stayed in the chat

00:39:11for only a very short while.

00:39:12All it got from mom

00:39:13was one sentence.

00:39:14Not bad.

00:39:14The next message

00:39:15was a video mom sent

00:39:16of Chloe dancing.

00:39:17That afternoon,

00:39:18when I got home,

00:39:19I found a dusty letter

00:39:20among a pile of bills

00:39:21and flyers on the coffee table.

00:39:23It said,

00:39:24Congratulations,

00:39:24Mr. and Mrs. Hayes.

00:39:25Your daughter, Mallory Hayes,

00:39:27has received an honorable mention

00:39:28in the National High School

00:39:29Mathematics Olympiad.

00:39:31Two months had passed.

00:39:32The envelope hadn't even been opened.

00:39:33It was tucked between bills

00:39:35and pizza courons,

00:39:36completely forgotten.

00:39:37At dinner,

00:39:38mom answered a FaceTime call

00:39:39from my aunt.

00:39:40My aunt asked about

00:39:41Ethan's swim meet.

00:39:42Mom said he had taken

00:39:43second place in the district,

00:39:44pride filling her voice.

00:39:46My aunt asked about

00:39:47Chloe's dance competition.

00:39:48Mom said she had won gold

00:39:49at regionals,

00:39:50and the judges had praised

00:39:51how steady she was off dyes.

00:39:53How's Mallory?

00:39:54She's applying to college

00:39:55soon too, right?

00:39:57She's doing fine.

00:39:59Third in my grade,

00:40:00a National Math Olympiac award.

00:40:02In mom's mouth,

00:40:03all of it became doing fine.

00:40:05I sat at the dining table,

00:40:06still holding the award letter

00:40:07that had been forgotten

00:40:08for two months.

00:40:09No one asked how I had been lately.

00:40:11No one turned to me and said,

00:40:12Mallory, what about you?

00:40:13I went back to my room,

00:40:14opened my laptop,

00:40:15and started looking up colleges

00:40:16that would actually care

00:40:17about competition backgrounds.

00:40:19In the end,

00:40:19I stopped at Carnegie Mellon.

00:40:21Hundreds of miles away from home,

00:40:23no one would remember me,

00:40:24only when they needed someone

00:40:25to pick up my sister.

00:40:26I opened the application page.

00:40:28My fingers hovered over the screen

00:40:29for three seconds

00:40:30before I finally closed it.

00:40:33I decided to try one more time.

00:40:35If they still couldn't see me this time,

00:40:37I would leave.

00:40:39Completely.

00:40:42Mallory,

00:40:43Ashley is coming to stay with us

00:40:44for a while.

00:40:47Give her your room

00:40:48and share with Chloe for now.

00:40:49Saturday morning,

00:40:50Mom said it casually

00:40:51while changing shoes by the door.

00:40:53I was sitting at the dining table

00:40:55eating cereal.

00:40:56My spoon stopped in midair.

00:41:01Why my room?

00:41:02Your room gets the best natural light.

00:41:04Ashley hasn't been feeling well lately

00:41:06and the doctor said more sunlight

00:41:07would be good for her.

00:41:08Ethan's room has a window too.

00:41:10Your brother is a boy,

00:41:11Ashley is a girl,

00:41:12how could they share a room?

00:41:13Then let her stay with Chloe.

00:41:14Chloe needs space to stretch at night.

00:41:17Your room only has a bed and a desk.

00:41:18It's easy to clear out.

00:41:19How long is she staying?

00:41:20About half a month.

00:41:21Her summer program is over here.

00:41:23I didn't argue anymore.

00:41:24Experience had taught me

00:41:25a long time ago

00:41:26that arguing was useless.

00:41:27That afternoon,

00:41:29Ashley came in

00:41:30dragging two large suitcases,

00:41:32smiling sweetly.

00:41:35Auntie, uncle?

00:41:36You're here!

00:41:37You're here!

00:41:38Come in!

00:41:39Mom was so warm

00:41:40as if an important guest had arrived.

00:41:43Ashley pushed her suitcases

00:41:44into my room

00:41:45and looked around from the doorway.

00:41:47Auntie,

00:41:48can this bookshelf be moved out?

00:41:50I want to put a vanity mirror here.

00:41:52Of course.

00:41:54Mallory,

00:41:55move the bookshelf out.

00:41:56On my bookshelf

00:41:57were three years of notebooks,

00:41:59reference books,

00:42:00and a few certificates.

00:42:01It took me an hour

00:42:02to move everything

00:42:03into a corner of Chloe's room.

00:42:05That night,

00:42:06I laid a mattress

00:42:07on the floor of Chloe's room.

00:42:10Sis,

00:42:11why don't you sleep on the bed?

00:42:12I'll sleep on the floor.

00:42:14No,

00:42:15the floor is fine.

00:42:17Ashley is actually okay.

00:42:18Don't be upset.

00:42:20Ashley was never

00:42:21what upset me.

00:42:23What hurt

00:42:24was that in this house,

00:42:25I was always the one

00:42:27expected to give way.

00:42:29On the third day,

00:42:31I went back to my room

00:42:32to get review materials

00:42:33and opened the door

00:42:34to find Ashley

00:42:34flipping through

00:42:35my math competition notes.

00:42:37These are yours?

00:42:38Your handwriting is so neat.

00:42:39Yeah.

00:42:40Please put them back.

00:42:41I was just looking.

00:42:42You're way too protective

00:42:43of this stuff.

00:42:44She casually put the notebook

00:42:46back on the desk.

00:42:47I glanced over

00:42:48and suddenly realized

00:42:49one was missing.

00:42:49There was a blue one

00:42:50on the desk.

00:42:51Where is it?

00:42:52I didn't touch it.

00:42:52I didn't see it.

00:42:54I searched for ten minutes

00:42:55and finally found it

00:42:56in the trash can.

00:42:57Half the cover

00:42:58had been torn off

00:42:59and several pages inside

00:43:00were soaked with coffee.

00:43:01The writing blurred

00:43:02into smears.

00:43:03It was the problem-solving

00:43:04notebook I had been

00:43:04organizing since freshman year.

00:43:06Three years.

00:43:07I only had that one copy.

00:43:09Ashley, this?

00:43:10Oh, maybe I knocked it over

00:43:11when I was carrying coffee.

00:43:12Just write another one.

00:43:13I stood in the doorway

00:43:14holding the drenched notebook,

00:43:15my hands shaking.

00:43:20I took the notebook

00:43:21back to Chloe's room

00:43:22and dried it page by page

00:43:23with a hair broyer.

00:43:26Where the writing was blurred,

00:43:28I slowly filled it back in

00:43:30with a pencil.

00:43:33I worked until one

00:43:34in the morning.

00:43:35The next morning,

00:43:36Ashley sat in my old seat,

00:43:37chatting happily with Mom.

00:43:39No one asked why the circles

00:43:40under my eyes were so dark

00:43:41or what had happened last night,

00:43:43and I no longer needed to wait

00:43:44for that one last time.

00:43:47From that day on,

00:43:48I began preparing to leave

00:43:49until the day I received

00:43:50my acceptance letter.

00:43:52I knew the time had come

00:43:52to leave this house.

00:43:53I packed my suitcase

00:43:55and bought a Greyhouse ticket

00:43:56for the early dawn departure

00:43:57the next day.

00:43:58The destination was Pittsburgh.

00:44:00Then I walked to the door

00:44:01and placed my house key

00:44:02on the small entryway table.

00:44:03I left the group chat

00:44:05and deactivated

00:44:05my old phone number.

00:44:07The screen went dark.

00:44:09The whole world suddenly

00:44:10became much quieter.

00:44:13I pulled my suitcase,

00:44:15opened the door,

00:44:16and closed it softly behind me.

00:44:19I was in the house.

00:44:29Mom came over with a plate

00:44:31of garlic bread

00:44:32and set it in the middle

00:44:33of the table.

00:44:36All right.

00:44:37No phones at dinner.

00:44:40I looked at the food

00:44:41on the table.

00:44:42Ethan liked ribs.

00:44:44Chloe liked mac and cheese.

00:44:45Mom had made the salad

00:44:46for herself.

00:44:48Not a single dish was for me.

00:44:50I liked seafood.

00:44:52Grilled salmon was my favorite.

00:44:54I had said it so many times.

00:44:56No one in this family remembered.

00:44:59This family celebrates

00:45:00everyone's birthday.

00:45:02Everyone's but mine.

00:45:04Because my parents

00:45:04only love my twin siblings,

00:45:06Ethan and Chloe.

00:45:07They don't love me.

00:45:09When Ethan wants a birthday party,

00:45:11my parents book a private room

00:45:13at his favorite steakhouse

00:45:14a month in advance.

00:45:15When it's Chloe's turn

00:45:17and she wants to go to Six Flags,

00:45:18the whole family goes.

00:45:20Mom even posts nine photos

00:45:21on Instagram.

00:45:23But on my birthday,

00:45:24this house always treats it

00:45:26like any other day.

00:45:27I thought turning 18

00:45:28would be different.

00:45:29That morning,

00:45:30I got up early on purpose,

00:45:32put on light makeup,

00:45:33and sat on the living room couch

00:45:35to wait.

00:45:36Mom walked past me

00:45:37on her way out,

00:45:38carrying Chloe's dance bag.

00:45:40Heat up your own lunch.

00:45:41I'm taking Chloe

00:45:42to her intensive class.

00:45:45Dad was watering tomatoes

00:45:46in the backyard.

00:45:48Ethan called him

00:45:49to go play basketball

00:45:50at the park,

00:45:51and the two of them

00:45:52left soon after.

00:45:53At noon,

00:45:54I was the only one

00:45:55left in the house.

00:45:56I sent a message

00:45:57in the family group chat.

00:45:59I'm 18 today.

00:46:01No one replied.

00:46:02At seven that night,

00:46:03everybody came home.

00:46:05No one sang.

00:46:06No one felt like

00:46:07anything was missing.

00:46:09I was 18 now.

00:46:10At last,

00:46:11I could decide for myself

00:46:12where I wanted to go.

00:46:14Mallory,

00:46:15delete that message

00:46:16from the group chat.

00:46:18I almost missed

00:46:19Grandpa's voice message.

00:46:21Ethan didn't even look up.

00:46:23He tapped the edge

00:46:24of his plate,

00:46:25lightly with his dinner knife,

00:46:27signaling Mom

00:46:28to give him more ribs.

00:46:31I looked down at my phone.

00:46:32The message in the family chat,

00:46:34I'm 18 today,

00:46:36was still sitting there.

00:46:37No one had replied.

00:46:40Mom came over

00:46:41with a plate of garlic bread

00:46:42and set it in the middle

00:46:43of the table.

00:46:46All right.

00:46:47No phones at dinner.

00:46:50I looked at the food

00:46:51on the table.

00:46:52Ethan liked ribs.

00:46:54Chloe liked mac and cheese.

00:46:55Mom had made the salad

00:46:57for herself.

00:46:58Not a single dish

00:46:59was for me.

00:47:00I liked seafood.

00:47:02Grilled salmon

00:47:03was my favorite.

00:47:04I had said it

00:47:05so many times.

00:47:06No one in this family

00:47:07remembered.

00:47:10Dad,

00:47:11today...

00:47:12Dad set down

00:47:13his iced tea

00:47:14and glanced at me.

00:47:16The next second,

00:47:17he turned back to Ethan.

00:47:19How's your wrist

00:47:19from basketball

00:47:20this afternoon?

00:47:21Does the sprain

00:47:22still hurt?

00:47:23It's okay.

00:47:24Shoot.

00:47:24It aches a little

00:47:25when I shoot.

00:47:26I'll take you

00:47:26to a sports therapist

00:47:27tomorrow.

00:47:27My words died

00:47:29in midair.

00:47:31I finished dinner

00:47:32quietly

00:47:32and went to

00:47:33wash the dishes.

00:47:34I turned the faucet

00:47:35on high.

00:47:38From the living room

00:47:39came the sound

00:47:40of Chloe practicing

00:47:41ballet basics,

00:47:42her toes landing

00:47:43against the floor

00:47:43one by one.

00:47:44Mom counted beats

00:47:45beside her.

00:47:46Ethan was playing

00:47:47Xbox in his room,

00:47:48shouting every few minutes.

00:47:50Dad was on the couch

00:47:51with his iPad.

00:47:52Everyone in this house

00:47:53had something

00:47:53of their own.

00:47:54Everyone had someone

00:47:55answering them.

00:47:58Except me.

00:48:00I stood in the kitchen,

00:48:02washing platelets

00:48:03and cups

00:48:03for five people.

00:48:06The water was loud.

00:48:07Loud enough

00:48:08that even if I cried,

00:48:09no one would hear.

00:48:11After the dishes,

00:48:11I went back to my room

00:48:12and shut the door.

00:48:14My phone lit up.

00:48:15It was a message

00:48:16in the class group chat.

00:48:17It was the only

00:48:17happy birthday

00:48:18I had received all day

00:48:19from a classmate

00:48:20I had known

00:48:21for less than a year.

00:48:22I replied,

00:48:22thank you.

00:48:23Then I opened

00:48:24my photo album

00:48:25and kept scrolling back.

00:48:26After I turned six,

00:48:28Mom's camera

00:48:28had almost completely

00:48:29turned toward them.

00:48:30Most of the photos

00:48:31were of them.

00:48:32I scrolled for a long time

00:48:33before I finally found one.

00:48:35It was from when I was nine

00:48:36and had entered

00:48:37the school speech contest.

00:48:39Mom had taken it

00:48:39from the audience.

00:48:40The photo was blurry.

00:48:42Only half my body

00:48:43was in it

00:48:44because the other half

00:48:45of the frame

00:48:46was Chloe in the front row,

00:48:48turning back toward the camera

00:48:49with a bright smile.

00:48:51I stood off stage

00:48:52in front of the microphone,

00:48:54my face barely visible.

00:48:56The phone screen dimmed

00:48:57and my face appeared

00:48:59in the black reflection.

00:49:01Eighteen-year-old Mallory Hayes

00:49:02had spent the whole morning

00:49:03putting on makeup,

00:49:05waited all day,

00:49:06and still hadn't gotten

00:49:07a single happy birthday.

00:49:08Mom's voice came

00:49:09from outside the door.

00:49:12Mallory,

00:49:13wake your sister

00:49:14at seven tomorrow morning.

00:49:16She has training at 8.30.

00:49:25Chloe had woken up on her own.

00:49:27She stood in my doorway

00:49:28in a pink leotard,

00:49:29her hair half-tied.

00:49:31I checked my phone.

00:49:326.53.

00:49:33My alarm hadn't even gone off.

00:49:36You got up by yourself?

00:49:37Yeah.

00:49:38I set an alarm.

00:49:40Mom told you to wake me,

00:49:42but I was afraid

00:49:43you didn't sleep well

00:49:43last night.

00:49:45She said it so casually,

00:49:46but the words still stung.

00:49:48She knew I hadn't slept

00:49:49well last night.

00:49:51I'll help you tie your hair.

00:49:53No, it's fine.

00:49:54I can do it.

00:49:58She turned and left.

00:50:00Chloe had always been

00:50:02like that with me.

00:50:03She wasn't cruel.

00:50:04She just wasn't close.

00:50:07She called me sis,

00:50:09but the word carried no weight.

00:50:11The twins had their own rhythm,

00:50:13and I had never been able

00:50:15to enter it.

00:50:16At breakfast,

00:50:17Mom was warming milk for Chloe.

00:50:19Ethan wasn't up yet.

00:50:21Mally, have you eaten?

00:50:23I have.

00:50:24I hadn't.

00:50:26She didn't even check

00:50:27whether there was a bowl

00:50:28I'd used on the table.

00:50:29She just nodded.

00:50:31Chloe, did you pack

00:50:32your water bottle?

00:50:32It's hot today.

00:50:33Drink more water.

00:50:35I did.

00:50:37Mally, drive your sister there.

00:50:39She still doesn't know

00:50:40the stops near the training center.

00:50:41Chloe had been going

00:50:43to that training center

00:50:44for two years.

00:50:45Mom still said

00:50:46she didn't know the way.

00:50:48Okay.

00:50:49As we were leaving,

00:50:51Ethan finally got up

00:50:52and called from his doorway.

00:50:54Mom, what's for breakfast?

00:50:57I left you a bagel

00:50:58and yogurt on the table.

00:50:59A bagel and yogurt?

00:51:01Ethan's regular breakfast.

00:51:04No one had ever asked

00:51:05what I wanted in the morning.

00:51:07On the way to the training center,

00:51:09Chloe sat in the passenger seat

00:51:11scrolling through her phone.

00:51:13She wasn't trying to be cold.

00:51:15It just never occurred to her

00:51:17to talk to me.

00:51:20Sis?

00:51:21When she suddenly spoke,

00:51:23my palm tightened on the wheel.

00:51:25What?

00:51:27That message you sent

00:51:28in the group chat yesterday?

00:51:30Ethan told you to delete it?

00:51:32Yeah.

00:51:34Did you?

00:51:37No.

00:51:38She nodded,

00:51:39then lowered her head

00:51:40to look at her phone again.

00:51:42I waited for a long time,

00:51:43waiting for her to say

00:51:44happy birthday.

00:51:46She didn't.

00:51:48When we reached the training center,

00:51:49she unbuckled her seat belt.

00:51:51Sis, I'm here.

00:51:53Yeah.

00:51:54Train hard.

00:51:55Can you pick me up this afternoon?

00:51:56I finish at five.

00:51:57I have a study group this afternoon.

00:52:00That was a lie.

00:52:01I had nothing this afternoon.

00:52:03I just didn't want to go.

00:52:04Then I'll ask mom to pick me up.

00:52:06Okay.

00:52:07At 4.50 that afternoon,

00:52:09mom sent a message

00:52:10in the family group chat.

00:52:12Chloe finishes training at five.

00:52:14Who can pick her up?

00:52:15I'm in a meeting.

00:52:16I'm at a friend's house.

00:52:18Mallory,

00:52:18aren't you free this afternoon?

00:52:20I looked at that message.

00:52:21She started with

00:52:22who can pick her up,

00:52:23but in the end

00:52:24it still landed on me.

00:52:25It's on your way anyway, right?

00:52:27Just go pick her up.

00:52:28It wasn't on my way at all,

00:52:29but in this family,

00:52:30my road was always on the way.

00:52:32My time was always free.

00:52:33I typed okay and sent it.

00:52:35Then I turned my phone

00:52:36face down on the desk.

00:52:40Suddenly, I wondered

00:52:42what would happen

00:52:43if one day I didn't reply with okay?

00:52:46If I turned off my phone,

00:52:49canceled my number,

00:52:49and disappeared too,

00:52:51would they first panic

00:52:52because no one could pick up Chloe

00:52:54or would they think of me first?

00:52:56I knew the answer.

00:52:57When I picked Chloe up,

00:52:59her face was flushed from training

00:53:00and her hair was damp.

00:53:02Sis, I'm thirsty.

00:53:04Where's your water bottle?

00:53:05Finished it.

00:53:06I handed her the spare bottle

00:53:08of water in the car.

00:53:09Thanks, sis.

00:53:11On the way home,

00:53:12she soon fell asleep

00:53:13against the window.

00:53:14I adjusted the air conditionings

00:53:15so the car wouldn't be so cold.

00:53:17She was the little princess

00:53:18everyone in the family

00:53:19revolved around,

00:53:19and most of the roads

00:53:20I had driven through this city

00:53:21had been for someone else,

00:53:23but not for much longer.

00:53:25Not long after,

00:53:26the school college counselor

00:53:27called me into her office.

00:53:29Mallory Hayes,

00:53:30I saw your awards record.

00:53:32Honorable Ments

00:53:32in the National Math Olympias.

00:53:34That's impressive.

00:53:35Awards like that

00:53:36carry real weight.

00:53:37Which schools are you considering

00:53:38for early applications?

00:53:39I'm still looking.

00:53:40What do your parents think?

00:53:42I haven't told them yet.

00:53:44Something this important

00:53:44and you're not discussing it

00:53:46with your family first?

00:53:47I want to look into it myself first.

00:53:49I knew that even if I told them,

00:53:51no one would take it seriously.

00:53:52On last month's mock examine,

00:53:54I ranked third in the entire grade.

00:53:55I took a photo of my report card

00:53:56and sent it to the family group chat.

00:53:58My third place ranking

00:53:58stayed in the chat

00:53:59for only a very short while.

00:54:00All it got from mom

00:54:01was one sentence.

00:54:02Not bad.

00:54:02The next message

00:54:03was a video mom sent

00:54:04of Chloe dancing.

00:54:05That afternoon,

00:54:06when I got home,

00:54:07I found a dusty letter

00:54:08among a pile of bills

00:54:09and flyers on the coffee table.

00:54:11It said,

00:54:12Congratulations,

00:54:12Mr. and Mrs. Hayes.

00:54:14Your daughter,

00:54:14Mallory Hayes,

00:54:15has received an honorable mention

00:54:16in the National High School

00:54:18Mathematics Olympiad.

00:54:19Two months had passed.

00:54:20The envelope hadn't even been opened.

00:54:22It was tucked between bills

00:54:23and pizza courons.

00:54:24Completely forgotten.

00:54:25At dinner,

00:54:26mom answered a FaceTime call

00:54:27from my aunt.

00:54:28My aunt asked about

00:54:29Ethan's swim meet.

00:54:30Mom said he had taken

00:54:31second place in the district,

00:54:33pride filling her voice.

00:54:34My aunt asked about

00:54:35Chloe's dance competition.

00:54:36Mom said she had won gold

00:54:37at regionals,

00:54:38and the judges had praised

00:54:39how steady she was off dyes.

00:54:41How's Mallory?

00:54:42She's applying to college

00:54:43soon too, right?

00:54:46She's doing fine.

00:54:48Third in my grade,

00:54:48a National Math Olympiac award.

00:54:50In mom's mouth,

00:54:51all of it became doing fine.

00:54:53I sat at the dining table,

00:54:54still holding the award letter

00:54:55that had been forgotten

00:54:56for two months.

00:54:57No one asked how

00:54:58I had been lately.

00:54:59No one turned to me and said,

00:55:00Mallory, what about you?

00:55:01I went back to my room,

00:55:03opened my laptop,

00:55:04and started looking up colleges

00:55:05that would actually care

00:55:05about competition backgrounds.

00:55:07In the end,

00:55:08I stopped at Carnegie Mellon.

00:55:09Hundreds of miles away from home,

00:55:11no one would remember me,

00:55:12only when they needed someone

00:55:13to pick up my sister.

00:55:14I opened the application page.

00:55:16My fingers hovered over the screen

00:55:18for three seconds

00:55:18before I finally closed it.

00:55:21I decided to try one more time.

00:55:23If they still couldn't see me this time,

00:55:25I would leave.

00:55:27Completely.

00:55:30Mallory,

00:55:31Ashley is coming to stay with us

00:55:32for a while.

00:55:35Give her your room

00:55:36and share with Chloe for now.

00:55:37Saturday morning,

00:55:38mom said it casually

00:55:39while changing shoes by the door.

00:55:41I was sitting at the dining table

00:55:43eating cereal.

00:55:44My spoon stopped in midair.

00:55:49Why my room?

00:55:50Your room gets the best natural light.

00:55:53Ashley hasn't been feeling well lately

00:55:54and the doctor said more sunlight

00:55:55would be good for her.

00:55:57Ethan's room has a window too.

00:55:58Your brother is a boy.

00:55:59Ashley is a girl.

00:56:00How could they share a room?

00:56:01Then let her stay with Chloe.

00:56:03Chloe needs space to stretch at night.

00:56:05Your room only has a bed and a desk.

00:56:06It's easy to clear out.

00:56:07How long is she staying?

00:56:09About half a month.

00:56:09Her summer program is over here.

00:56:11Okay.

00:56:11I didn't argue anymore.

00:56:12Experience had taught me

00:56:13a long time ago

00:56:14that arguing was useless.

00:56:16That afternoon,

00:56:17Ashley came in

00:56:18dragging two large suitcases,

00:56:20smiling sweetly.

00:56:23Auntie, uncle.

00:56:24You're here.

00:56:25You're here.

00:56:26Come in.

00:56:27Mom was so warm

00:56:29as if an important guest had arrived.

00:56:31Ashley pushed her suitcases

00:56:33into my room

00:56:33and looked around from the doorway.

00:56:36Auntie,

00:56:36can this bookshelf be moved out?

00:56:38I want to put a vanity mirror here.

00:56:40Of course.

00:56:42Mallory,

00:56:43move the bookshelf out.

00:56:45On my bookshelf

00:56:45were three years of notebooks,

00:56:47reference books,

00:56:48and a few certificates.

00:56:49It took me an hour

00:56:50to move everything

00:56:51into a corner of Chloe's room.

00:56:53That night,

00:56:54I laid a mattress

00:56:55on the floor of Chloe's room.

00:56:58Sis,

00:56:59why don't you sleep on the bed?

00:57:00I'll sleep on the floor.

00:57:02No,

00:57:03the floor is fine.

00:57:05Ashley is actually okay.

00:57:06Don't be upset.

00:57:09Ashley was never what upset me.

00:57:12What hurt

00:57:12was that in this house,

00:57:14I was always the one

00:57:15expected to give way.

00:57:18On the third day,

00:57:19I went back to my room

00:57:20to get review materials

00:57:21and opened the door

00:57:22to find Ashley

00:57:23flipping through

00:57:23my math competition notes.

00:57:25These are yours?

00:57:26Your handwriting is so neat.

00:57:28Yeah.

00:57:28Please put them back.

00:57:30I was just looking.

00:57:31You're way too protective

00:57:31of this stuff.

00:57:32She casually put the notebook

00:57:34back on the desk.

00:57:35I glanced over

00:57:36and suddenly realized

00:57:37one was missing.

00:57:38There was a blue one

00:57:39on the desk.

00:57:39Where is it?

00:57:40I didn't touch it.

00:57:41I didn't see it.

00:57:42I searched for 10 minutes

00:57:43and finally found it

00:57:44in the trash can.

00:57:45Half the cover

00:57:46had been torn off

00:57:47and several pages inside

00:57:48were soaked with coffee.

00:57:49The writing blurred

00:57:50into smears.

00:57:51It was the problem-solving notebook

00:57:52I had been organizing

00:57:53since freshman year.

00:57:54Three years.

00:57:55I only had that one copy.

00:57:57Ashley,

00:57:58this?

00:57:58Oh,

00:57:59maybe I knocked it over

00:57:59when I was carrying coffee.

00:58:00Just write another one.

00:58:01I stood in the doorway

00:58:02holding the drenched notebook,

00:58:03my hands shaking.

00:58:08I took the notebook

00:58:09back to Chloe's room

00:58:10and dried it page by page

00:58:11with a hair broyer.

00:58:14Where the writing was blurred,

00:58:16I slowly filled it back in

00:58:18with a pencil.

00:58:21I worked until 1 in the morning.

00:58:23The next morning,

00:58:24Ashley sat in my old seat,

00:58:25chatting happily with Mom.

00:58:27No one asked why the circles

00:58:28under my eyes were so dark

00:58:29or what had happened last night.

00:58:31And I no longer needed to wait

00:58:33for that one last time.

00:58:35From that day on,

00:58:36I began preparing to leave.

00:58:37Until the day I received

00:58:39my acceptance letter,

00:58:40I knew the time had come

00:58:41to leave this house.

00:58:42I packed my suitcase

00:58:43and bought a Greyhouse ticket

00:58:44for the early dawn departure

00:58:45the next day.

00:58:46The destination was Pittsburgh.

00:58:48Then I walked to the door

00:58:49and placed my house key

00:58:50on the small entryway table.

00:58:52I left the group chat

00:58:53and deactivated

00:58:54my old phone number.

00:58:55The screen went dark.

00:58:57The whole world suddenly

00:58:58became much quieter.

00:59:01I pulled my suitcase,

00:59:03opened the door,

00:59:05and closed it softly behind me.

00:59:18Mom came over

00:59:19with a plate of garlic bread

00:59:20and set it in the middle

00:59:21of the table.

00:59:24All right.

00:59:25No phones at dinner.

00:59:28I looked at the food

00:59:29on the table.

00:59:30Ethan liked ribs.

00:59:32Chloe liked mac and cheese.

00:59:34Mom had made the salad

00:59:35for herself.

00:59:36Not a single dish was for me.

00:59:38I liked seafood.

00:59:40Grilled salmon was my favorite.

00:59:42I had said it so many times.

00:59:44No one in this family remembered.

00:59:47This family celebrates

00:59:49everyone's birthday.

00:59:51Everyone's but mine.

00:59:52Because my parents

00:59:53only love my twin siblings,

00:59:54Ethan and Chloe.

00:59:56They don't love me.

00:59:57When Ethan wants

00:59:58a birthday party,

00:59:59my parents book

01:00:00a private room

01:00:01at his favorite steakhouse

01:00:02a month in advance.

01:00:04When it's Chloe's turn

01:00:05and she wants to go

01:00:06to Six Flags,

01:00:07the whole family goes.

01:00:08Mom even posts

01:00:09nine photos on Instagram.

01:00:11But on my birthday,

01:00:12this house always treats it

01:00:14like any other day.

01:00:15I thought turning 18

01:00:16would be different.

01:00:17That morning,

01:00:18I got up early on purpose,

01:00:20put on light makeup,

01:00:21and sat on the living room

01:00:23couch to wait.

01:00:24Mom walked past me

01:00:25on her way out,

01:00:26carrying Chloe's dance bag.

01:00:28Heat up your own lunch.

01:00:30I'm taking Chloe

01:00:31to her intensive class.

01:00:33Dad was watering tomatoes

01:00:34in the backyard.

01:00:36Ethan called him

01:00:37to go play basketball

01:00:38at the park,

01:00:39and the two of them

01:00:40left soon after.

01:00:42At noon,

01:00:42I was the only one

01:00:43left in the house.

01:00:44I sent a message

01:00:46in the family group chat.

01:00:47I'm 18 today.

01:00:49No one replied.

01:00:51At seven that night,

01:00:52everybody came home.

01:00:53No one sang.

01:00:54No one felt like

01:00:55anything was missing.

01:00:57I was 18 now.

01:00:59At last,

01:01:00I could decide for myself

01:01:01where I wanted to go.

01:01:03Mallory,

01:01:03delete that message

01:01:04from the group chat.

01:01:06I almost missed

01:01:07Grandpa's voice message.

01:01:09Ethan didn't even look up.

01:01:11He tapped the edge

01:01:12of his plate,

01:01:13lightly with his dinner knife,

01:01:15signaling Mom

01:01:16to give him more ribs.

01:01:19I looked down at my phone.

01:01:21The message

01:01:21in the family chat,

01:01:23I'm 18 today,

01:01:24was still sitting there.

01:01:25No one had replied.

01:01:28Mom came over

01:01:29with a plate of garlic bread

01:01:30and set it in the middle

01:01:31of the table.

01:01:34All right.

01:01:35No phones at dinner.

01:01:38I looked at the food

01:01:39on the table.

01:01:40Ethan liked ribs.

01:01:42Chloe liked mac and cheese.

01:01:44Mom had made the salad

01:01:45for herself.

01:01:46Not a single dish

01:01:47was for me.

01:01:48I liked seafood.

01:01:50Grilled salmon

01:01:51was my favorite.

01:01:52I had said it

01:01:53so many times.

01:01:55No one in this family

01:01:56remembered.

01:01:58Dad,

01:01:59today...

01:02:00Dad set down

01:02:01his iced tea

01:02:02and glanced at me.

01:02:04The next second,

01:02:05he turned back

01:02:06to Ethan.

01:02:07How's your wrist

01:02:07from basketball

01:02:08this afternoon?

01:02:09Does the sprain

01:02:10still hurt?

01:02:11It's okay.

01:02:12Shoot.

01:02:13It aches a little

01:02:13when I shoot.

01:02:14I'll take you

01:02:15to a sports therapist

01:02:15tomorrow.

01:02:16My words died

01:02:17in midair.

01:02:19I finished dinner quietly

01:02:20and went to wash

01:02:21the dishes.

01:02:22I turned the faucet

01:02:24on high.

01:02:26From the living room

01:02:27came the sound

01:02:28of Chloe practicing

01:02:29ballet basics,

01:02:30her toes landing

01:02:31against the floor

01:02:31one by one.

01:02:33Mom counted beats

01:02:33beside her.

01:02:35Ethan was playing

01:02:35Xbox in his room,

01:02:36shouting every few minutes.

01:02:38Dad was on the couch

01:02:39with his iPad.

01:02:40Everyone in this house

01:02:41had something of their own.

01:02:43Everyone had someone

01:02:44answering them.

01:02:46Except me.

01:02:49I stood in the kitchen,

01:02:50washing platelets

01:02:51and cups

01:02:52for five people.

01:02:54The water was loud.

01:02:55Loud enough

01:02:56that even if I cried,

01:02:57no one would hear.

01:02:59After the dishes,

01:03:00I went back to my room

01:03:01and shut the door.

01:03:02My phone lit up.

01:03:03It was a message

01:03:04in the class group chat.

01:03:05It was the only

01:03:05happy birthday

01:03:06I had received all day

01:03:07from a classmate

01:03:08I had known

01:03:09for less than a year.

01:03:10I replied,

01:03:11thank you.

01:03:12Then I opened my photo album

01:03:13and kept scrolling back.

01:03:14After I turned six,

01:03:16Mom's camera had almost

01:03:17completely turned toward them.

01:03:18Most of the photos

01:03:19were of them.

01:03:20I scrolled for a long time

01:03:22before I finally found one.

01:03:23It was from when I was nine

01:03:24and had entered

01:03:25the school speech contest.

01:03:27Mom had taken it

01:03:28from the audience.

01:03:29The photo was blurry.

01:03:31Only half my body

01:03:32was in it

01:03:32because the other half

01:03:33of the frame

01:03:34was Chloe in the front row,

01:03:36turning back toward the camera

01:03:37with a bright smile.

01:03:38I stood off stage

01:03:40in front of the microphone,

01:03:42my face barely visible.

01:03:44The phone screen dimmed

01:03:45and my face appeared

01:03:47in the black reflection.

01:03:49Eighteen-year-old Mallory Hayes

01:03:51had spent the whole morning

01:03:52putting on makeup,

01:03:53waited all day,

01:03:54and still hadn't gotten

01:03:55a single happy birthday.

01:03:57Mom's voice came

01:03:58from outside the door.

01:04:00Mallory, wake your sister

01:04:02at seven tomorrow morning.

01:04:04She has training at 8.30.

01:04:08Okay.

01:04:11Hey, sis.

01:04:12It's seven.

01:04:13Chloe had woken up

01:04:14on her own.

01:04:15She stood in my doorway

01:04:16in a pink leotard,

01:04:18her hair half-tied.

01:04:19I checked my phone.

01:04:206.53.

01:04:21My alarm hadn't even gone off.

01:04:24You got up by yourself?

01:04:25Yeah.

01:04:27I set an alarm.

01:04:28Mom told you to wake me,

01:04:30but I was afraid

01:04:31you didn't sleep well

01:04:32last night.

01:04:33She said it so casually,

01:04:35but the words still stung.

01:04:36She knew I hadn't slept

01:04:37well last night.

01:04:39I'll help you tie your hair.

01:04:41No, it's fine.

01:04:43I can do it.

01:04:46She turned and left.

01:04:49Chloe had always been

01:04:50like that with me.

01:04:51She wasn't cruel.

01:04:53She just wasn't close.

01:04:56She called me sis,

01:04:57but the word carried no weight.

01:05:00The twins had their own rhythm,

01:05:02and I had never been able

01:05:03to enter it.

01:05:04At breakfast,

01:05:05Mom was warming milk for Chloe.

01:05:07Ethan wasn't up yet.

01:05:09Mally, have you eaten?

01:05:11I have.

01:05:12I hadn't.

01:05:14She didn't even check

01:05:15whether there was a bowl

01:05:16I'd used on the table.

01:05:17She just nodded.

01:05:19Chloe, did you pack

01:05:20your water bottle?

01:05:21It's hot today.

01:05:22Drink more water.

01:05:23I did.

01:05:25Mally, drive your sister there.

01:05:27She still doesn't know

01:05:28the stops near the training center.

01:05:30Chloe had been going

01:05:31to that training center

01:05:32for two years.

01:05:33Mom still said

01:05:34she didn't know the way.

01:05:36Okay.

01:05:38As we were leaving,

01:05:39Ethan finally got up

01:05:40and called from his doorway.

01:05:42Mom, what's for breakfast?

01:05:45I left you a bagel

01:05:46and yogurt on the table.

01:05:48A bagel and yogurt?

01:05:50Ethan's regular breakfast.

01:05:52No one had ever asked

01:05:53what I wanted in the morning.

01:05:55On the way to the training center,

01:05:57Chloe sat in the passenger seat

01:05:59scrolling through her phone.

01:06:01She wasn't trying to be cold.

01:06:03It just never occurred to her

01:06:05to talk to me.

01:06:08Sis?

01:06:10When she suddenly spoke,

01:06:11my palm tightened on the wheel.

01:06:14What?

01:06:15That message you sent

01:06:17in the group chat yesterday?

01:06:18Ethan told you to delete it?

01:06:21Yeah.

01:06:23Did you?

01:06:25No.

01:06:27She nodded,

01:06:28then lowered her head

01:06:29to look at her phone again.

01:06:30I waited for a long time,

01:06:32waiting for her to say,

01:06:33happy birthday.

01:06:34She didn't.

01:06:36When we reached the training center,

01:06:38she unbuckled her seat belt.

01:06:39Sis, I'm here.

01:06:41Yeah, train hard.

01:06:44Can you pick me up this afternoon?

01:06:45I finish at five.

01:06:46I have a study group this afternoon.

01:06:48That was a lie.

01:06:49I had nothing this afternoon.

01:06:51I just didn't want to go.

01:06:52Then I'll ask mom to pick me up.

01:06:54Okay.

01:06:56At 4.50 that afternoon,

01:06:58mom sent a message

01:06:59in the family group chat.

01:07:01Chloe finishes training at five.

01:07:02Who can pick her up?

01:07:04I'm in a meeting.

01:07:04I'm at a friend's house.

01:07:06Mallory,

01:07:06aren't you free this afternoon?

01:07:08I looked at that message.

01:07:10She started with,

01:07:11who can pick her up?

01:07:11But in the end,

01:07:12it still landed on me.

01:07:13It's on your way anyway, right?

01:07:15Just go pick her up.

01:07:16It wasn't on my way at all.

01:07:17But in this family,

01:07:18my road was always on the way.

01:07:20My time was always free.

01:07:22I typed okay and sent it.

01:07:24Then I turned my phone

01:07:25face down on the desk.

01:07:28Suddenly,

01:07:29I wondered,

01:07:31what would happen

01:07:32if one day

01:07:33I didn't reply with okay?

01:07:35If I turned off my phone,

01:07:36canceled my number

01:07:38and disappeared too.

01:07:39Would they first panic

01:07:41because no one

01:07:42could pick up Chloe

01:07:42or would they think of me first?

01:07:44I knew the answer.

01:07:46When I picked Chloe up,

01:07:47her face was flushed

01:07:48from training

01:07:49and her hair was damp.

01:07:50Sis,

01:07:51I'm thirsty.

01:07:52Where's your water bottle?

01:07:53Finished it.

01:07:55I handed her

01:07:55the spare bottle of water

01:07:56in the car.

01:07:57Thanks, sis.

01:07:59On the way home,

01:08:00she soon fell asleep

01:08:01against the window.

01:08:02I adjusted the air conditionings

01:08:03so the car wouldn't be so cold.

01:08:05She was the little princess

01:08:06everyone in the family

01:08:07revolved around

01:08:08and most of the roads

01:08:08I had driven through this city

01:08:10had been for someone else

01:08:11but not for much longer.

01:08:13Not long after,

01:08:14the school college counselor

01:08:15called me into her office.

01:08:17Mallory Hayes,

01:08:18I saw your awards record.

01:08:20Honorable Ments

01:08:21in the National Math Olympias.

01:08:22That's impressive.

01:08:23Awards like that

01:08:24carry real weight.

01:08:25Which schools are you considering

01:08:26for early applications?

01:08:27I'm still looking.

01:08:29What do your parents think?

01:08:30I haven't told them yet.

01:08:32Something this important

01:08:33and you're not discussing it

01:08:34with your family first?

01:08:36I want to look into it

01:08:37myself first.

01:08:38I knew that even if I told them,

01:08:39no one would take it seriously.

01:08:41On last month's mock examine,

01:08:42I ranked third

01:08:42in the entire grade.

01:08:43I took a photo of my report card

01:08:45and sent it to the family group chat.

01:08:46My third place ranking

01:08:47stayed in the chat

01:08:47for only a very short while.

01:08:48All it got from mom

01:08:49was one sentence.

01:08:50Not bad.

01:08:51The next message

01:08:51was a video mom sent

01:08:52of Chloe dancing.

01:08:53That afternoon,

01:08:54when I got home,

01:08:55I found a dusty letter

01:08:56among a pile of bills

01:08:57and flyers

01:08:58on the coffee table.

01:08:59It said,

01:09:00congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Hayes.

01:09:02Your daughter,

01:09:03Mallory Hayes,

01:09:03has received an honorable mention

01:09:05in the National High School

01:09:06Mathematics Olympiad.

01:09:07Two months had passed.

01:09:08The envelope hadn't even been opened.

01:09:10It was tucked between bills

01:09:11and pizza courons,

01:09:12completely forgotten.

01:09:14At dinner,

01:09:14mom answered a FaceTime call

01:09:16from my aunt.

01:09:16My aunt asked about

01:09:17Ethan's swim meet.

01:09:18Mom said he had taken

01:09:19second place in the district,

01:09:21pride filling her voice.

01:09:22My aunt asked about

01:09:23Chloe's dance competition.

01:09:24Mom said she had won gold

01:09:26at regionals

01:09:26and the judges had praised

01:09:28how steady she was off dyes.

01:09:29How's Mallory?

01:09:30She's applying to college

01:09:31soon too, right?

01:09:34She's doing fine.

01:09:36Third in my grade,

01:09:37a National Math Olympiac award.

01:09:39In mom's mouth,

01:09:40all of it became doing fine.

01:09:41I sat at the dining table,

01:09:42still holding the award letter

01:09:44that had been forgotten

01:09:44for two months.

01:09:45No one asked how I had been lately.

01:09:47No one turned to me and said,

01:09:49Mallory, what about you?

01:09:50I went back to my room,

01:09:51opened my laptop,

01:09:52and started looking up colleges

01:09:53that would actually care

01:09:54about competition backgrounds.

01:09:55In the end,

01:09:56I stopped at Carnegie Mellon.

01:09:57Hundreds of miles away

01:09:59from home,

01:09:59no one would remember me,

01:10:00only when they needed someone

01:10:01to pick up my sister.

01:10:02I opened the application page.

01:10:04My fingers hovered over the screen

01:10:06for three seconds

01:10:07before I finally closed it.

01:10:09I decided to try one more time.

01:10:11If they still couldn't see me this time,

01:10:14I would leave.

01:10:15Completely.

01:10:18Mallory,

01:10:19Ashley is coming to stay

01:10:20with us for a while.

01:10:23Give her your room

01:10:24and share with Chloe for now.

01:10:26Saturday morning,

01:10:27Mom said it casually

01:10:28while changing shoes by the door.

01:10:30I was sitting at the dining table

01:10:31eating cereal.

01:10:32My spoon stopped in midair.

01:10:37Why my room?

01:10:39Your room gets the best natural light.

01:10:41Ashley hasn't been feeling well lately,

01:10:42and the doctor said more sunlight

01:10:44would be good for her.

01:10:45Ethan's room has a window too.

01:10:46Your brother is a boy.

01:10:48Ashley is a girl.

01:10:48How could they share a room?

01:10:49Then let her stay with Chloe.

01:10:51Chloe needs space to stretch at night.

01:10:53Your room only has a bed and a desk.

01:10:55It's easy to clear out.

01:10:56How long is she staying?

01:10:57About half a month.

01:10:58Her summer program is over here.

01:10:59I didn't argue anymore.

01:11:01Experience had taught me

01:11:02a long time ago

01:11:02that arguing was useless.

01:11:04That afternoon,

01:11:05Ashley came in

01:11:06dragging two large suitcases,

01:11:08smiling sweetly.

01:11:11Auntie, uncle?

01:11:13You're here!

01:11:14Come in!

01:11:15Mom was so warm

01:11:17as if an important guest had arrived.

01:11:19Ashley pushed her suitcases

01:11:21into my room

01:11:22and looked around from the doorway.

01:11:24Auntie,

01:11:25can this bookshelf be moved out?

01:11:26I want to put a vanity mirror here.

01:11:29Of course.

01:11:30Mallory,

01:11:31move the bookshelf out.

01:11:33On my bookshelf

01:11:34were three years of notebooks,

01:11:35reference books,

01:11:36and a few certificates.

01:11:38It took me an hour

01:11:39to move everything

01:11:39into a corner of Chloe's room.

01:11:41That night,

01:11:42I laid a mattress

01:11:43on the floor of Chloe's room.

01:11:46Sis,

01:11:47why don't you sleep on the bed?

01:11:48I'll sleep on the floor.

01:11:50No,

01:11:51the floor is fine.

01:11:53Ashley is actually okay.

01:11:55Don't be upset.

01:11:57Ashley was never what upset me.

01:12:00What hurt

01:12:01was that in this house,

01:12:02I was always the one

01:12:03expected to give way.

01:12:06On the third day,

01:12:07I went back to my room

01:12:08to get review materials

01:12:09and opened the door

01:12:10to find Ashley

01:12:11flipping through

01:12:11my math competition notes.

01:12:13These are yours?

01:12:14Your handwriting is so neat.

01:12:16Yeah.

01:12:17Please put them back.

01:12:18I was just looking.

01:12:19You're way too protective

01:12:20of this stuff.

01:12:21She casually put the notebook

01:12:22back on the desk.

01:12:23I glanced over

01:12:24and suddenly realized

01:12:25one was missing.

01:12:26There was a blue one

01:12:27on the desk.

01:12:27Where is it?

01:12:28I didn't touch it.

01:12:29I didn't see it.

01:12:30I searched for ten minutes

01:12:31and finally found it

01:12:32in the trash can.

01:12:33Half the cover

01:12:34had been torn off

01:12:35and several pages inside

01:12:36were soaked with coffee.

01:12:38The writing blurred

01:12:38into smears.

01:12:39It was the problem-solving

01:12:40notebook I had been organizing

01:12:41since freshman year.

01:12:43Three years.

01:12:43I only had that one copy.

01:12:45Ashley,

01:12:46this?

01:12:46Oh,

01:12:47maybe I knocked it over

01:12:48when I was carrying coffee.

01:12:49Just write another one.

01:12:49I stood in the doorway

01:12:50holding the drenched notebook,

01:12:52my hands shaking.

01:12:56I took the notebook

01:12:57back to Chloe's room

01:12:58and dried it

01:12:59page by page

01:13:00with a hair broyer.

01:13:03Where the writing

01:13:03was blurred,

01:13:05I slowly filled it back in

01:13:06with a pencil.

01:13:09I worked until

01:13:10one in the morning.

01:13:11The next morning,

01:13:12Ashley sat in my old seat,

01:13:14chatting happily with Mom.

01:13:15No one asked

01:13:16why the circles

01:13:16under my eyes

01:13:17were so dark

01:13:18or what had happened

01:13:19last night,

01:13:19and I no longer needed

01:13:21to wait for that

01:13:21one last time.

01:13:23From that day on,

01:13:24I began preparing to leave

01:13:26until the day I received

01:13:27my acceptance letter.

01:13:28I knew the time

01:13:29had come to leave

01:13:29this house.

01:13:30I packed my suitcase

01:13:31and bought a Greyhouse ticket

01:13:32for the early dawn departure

01:13:34the next day.

01:13:34The destination was Pittsburgh.

01:13:36Then I walked to the door

01:13:37and placed my house key

01:13:38on the small entryway table.

01:13:40I left the group chat

01:13:41and deactivated

01:13:42my old phone number.

01:13:44The screen went dark.

01:13:45The whole world

01:13:46suddenly became

01:13:47much quieter.

01:13:49I pulled my suitcase,

01:13:51opened the door,

01:13:53and closed it

01:13:54softly behind me.

01:14:06Mom came over

01:14:07with a plate

01:14:07of garlic bread

01:14:08and set it

01:14:09in the middle

01:14:09of the table.

01:14:12All right.

01:14:13No phones at dinner.

01:14:16I looked at the food

01:14:17on the table.

01:14:18Ethan liked ribs.

01:14:20Chloe liked mac and cheese.

01:14:22Mom had made the salad

01:14:23for herself.

01:14:24Not a single dish

01:14:25was for me.

01:14:26I liked seafood.

01:14:28Grilled salmon

01:14:29was my favorite.

01:14:30I had said it

01:14:31so many times.

01:14:33No one in this family

01:14:34remembered.

01:14:35This family celebrates

01:14:37everyone's birthday.

01:14:39Everyone's but mine.

01:14:40Because my parents

01:14:41only love my twin siblings,

01:14:43Ethan and Chloe.

01:14:44They don't love me.

01:14:45When Ethan wants

01:14:46a birthday party,

01:14:47my parents book

01:14:48a private room

01:14:49at his favorite steakhouse

01:14:50a month in advance.

01:14:52When it's Chloe's turn

01:14:53and she wants to go

01:14:54to Six Flags,

01:14:55the whole family goes.

01:14:56Mom even posts

01:14:57nine photos on Instagram.

01:14:59But on my birthday,

01:15:00this house always treats it

01:15:02like any other day.

01:15:03I thought turning 18

01:15:04would be different.

01:15:06That morning,

01:15:07I got up early on purpose,

01:15:08put on light makeup,

01:15:10and sat on the living room

01:15:11couch to wait.

01:15:12Mom walked past me

01:15:14on her way out,

01:15:15carrying Chloe's dance bag.

01:15:17Heat up your own lunch.

01:15:18I'm taking Chloe

01:15:19to her intensive class.

01:15:21Dad was watering tomatoes

01:15:23in the backyard.

01:15:24Ethan called him

01:15:25to go play basketball

01:15:26at the park,

01:15:27and the two of them

01:15:28left soon after.

01:15:30At noon,

01:15:30I was the only one

01:15:31left in the house.

01:15:33I sent a message

01:15:34in the family group chat.

01:15:35I'm 18 today.

01:15:37No one replied.

01:15:39At seven that night,

01:15:40everybody came home.

01:15:41No one sang.

01:15:42No one felt like

01:15:43anything was missing.

01:15:45I was 18 now.

01:15:47At last,

01:15:48I could decide for myself

01:15:49where I wanted to go.

01:15:51Mallory,

01:15:51delete that message

01:15:53from the group chat.

01:15:54I almost missed

01:15:55Grandpa's voice message.

01:15:57Ethan didn't even look up.

01:15:59He tapped the edge

01:16:01of his plate,

01:16:01lightly with his dinner knife,

01:16:03signaling Mom

01:16:04to give him more ribs.

01:16:07I looked down at my phone.

01:16:08The message in the family chat,

01:16:11I'm 18 today,

01:16:12was still sitting there.

01:16:14No one had replied.

01:16:16Mom came over

01:16:17with a plate of garlic bread

01:16:18and set it in the middle

01:16:20of the table.

01:16:22All right.

01:16:24No phones at dinner.

01:16:26I looked at the food

01:16:27on the table.

01:16:29Ethan liked ribs.

01:16:30Chloe liked mac and cheese.

01:16:32Mom had made the salad

01:16:33for herself.

01:16:34Not a single dish

01:16:35was for me.

01:16:36I liked seafood.

01:16:38Grilled salmon

01:16:39was my favorite.

01:16:40I had said it

01:16:41so many times.

01:16:43No one in this family

01:16:44remembered.

01:16:46Dad,

01:16:47today...

01:16:49Dad set down

01:16:50his iced tea

01:16:50and glanced at me.

01:16:52The next second,

01:16:54he turned back to Ethan.

01:16:55How's your wrist

01:16:56from basketball

01:16:56this afternoon?

01:16:57Does the sprain still hurt?

01:16:59It's okay.

01:17:00Shoot.

01:17:01It aches a little

01:17:01when I shoot.

01:17:02I'll take you

01:17:03to a sports therapist tomorrow.

01:17:04My words died in midair.

01:17:07I finished dinner quietly

01:17:09and went to wash the dishes.

01:17:11I turned the faucet on high.

01:17:14From the living room

01:17:16came the sound

01:17:16of Chloe practicing ballet basics,

01:17:18her toes landing

01:17:19against the floor

01:17:20one by one.

01:17:21Mom counted beats

01:17:22beside her.

01:17:22Ethan was playing

01:17:23Xbox in his room,

01:17:25shouting every few minutes.

01:17:26Dad was on the couch

01:17:27with his iPad.

01:17:28Everyone in this house

01:17:29had something of their own.

01:17:31Everyone had someone

01:17:32answering them.

01:17:34Except me.

01:17:37I stood in the kitchen,

01:17:38washing platelets

01:17:39and cups

01:17:40for five people.

01:17:42The water was loud.

01:17:44Loud enough

01:17:44that even if I cried,

01:17:46no one would hear.

01:17:47After the dishes,

01:17:48I went back to my room

01:17:49and shut the door.

01:17:50My phone lit up.

01:17:51It was a message

01:17:52in the class group chat.

01:17:53It was the only happy birthday

01:17:54I had received all day

01:17:56from a classmate

01:17:57I had known

01:17:57for less than a year.

01:17:58I replied,

01:17:59thank you.

01:18:00Then I opened my photo album

01:18:01and kept scrolling back.

01:18:02After I turned six,

01:18:04mom's camera

01:18:05had almost completely

01:18:05turned toward them.

01:18:07Most of the photos

01:18:07were of them.

01:18:08I scrolled for a long time

01:18:10before I finally found one.

01:18:11It was from when I was nine

01:18:13and had entered

01:18:13the school speech contest.

01:18:15Mom had taken it

01:18:16from the audience.

01:18:16The photo was blurry.

01:18:19Only half my body

01:18:20was in it

01:18:20because the other half

01:18:21of the frame

01:18:22was Chloe in the front row,

01:18:24turning back toward the camera

01:18:26with a bright smile.

01:18:27I stood offstage

01:18:28in front of the microphone,

01:18:30my face barely visible.

01:18:32The phone screen dimmed

01:18:34and my face appeared

01:18:35in the black reflection.

01:18:3718-year-old Mallory Hayes

01:18:39had spent the whole morning

01:18:40putting on makeup,

01:18:41waited all day,

01:18:42and still hadn't gotten

01:18:43a single happy birthday.

01:18:44Mom's voice came

01:18:46from outside the door.

01:18:49Mallory,

01:18:50wake your sister

01:18:50at seven tomorrow morning.

01:18:53She has training

01:18:54at 8.30.

01:18:56Okay.

01:18:59Hey, sis.

01:19:00It's seven.

01:19:02Chloe had woken up

01:19:02on her own.

01:19:03She stood in my doorway

01:19:04in a pink leotard,

01:19:06her hair half-tied.

01:19:07I checked my phone.

01:19:096.53.

01:19:10My alarm hadn't even gone off.

01:19:12You got up by yourself?

01:19:14Yeah.

01:19:15I set an alarm.

01:19:17Mom told you to wake me,

01:19:18but I was afraid

01:19:19you didn't sleep well

01:19:20last night.

01:19:21She said it so casually,

01:19:23but the words still stung.

01:19:24She knew I hadn't slept

01:19:26well last night.

01:19:27I'll help you tie your hair.

01:19:29No, it's fine.

01:19:31I can do it.

01:19:34She turned and left.

01:19:37Chloe had always been

01:19:38like that with me.

01:19:39She wasn't cruel.

01:19:41She just wasn't close.

01:19:44She called me sis,

01:19:45but the word carried

01:19:47no weight.

01:19:48The twins had their own rhythm,

01:19:50and I had never been able

01:19:51to enter it.

01:19:52At breakfast,

01:19:53Mom was warming milk

01:19:54for Chloe.

01:19:55Ethan wasn't up yet.

01:19:58Mally, have you eaten?

01:20:00I have.

01:20:01I hadn't.

01:20:02She didn't even check

01:20:03whether there was a bowl

01:20:04I'd used on the table.

01:20:05She just nodded.

01:20:07Chloe, did you pack

01:20:08your water bottle?

01:20:09It's hot today.

01:20:10Drink more water.

01:20:11I did.

01:20:13Mally, drive your sister there.

01:20:15She still doesn't know

01:20:16the stops near the training center.

01:20:18Chloe had been going

01:20:19to that training center

01:20:20for two years.

01:20:22Mom still said

01:20:22she didn't know the way.

01:20:25Okay.

01:20:26As we were leaving,

01:20:27Ethan finally got up

01:20:28and called from his doorway.

01:20:30Mom, what's for breakfast?

01:20:33I left you a bagel

01:20:34and yogurt on the table.

01:20:36A bagel and yogurt?

01:20:38Ethan's regular breakfast.

01:20:40No one had ever asked

01:20:42what I wanted in the morning.

01:20:43On the way to the training center,

01:20:45Chloe sat in the passenger seat

01:20:47scrolling through her phone.

01:20:49She wasn't trying to be cold.

01:20:51It just never occurred to her

01:20:53to talk to me.

01:20:56Sis?

01:20:58When she suddenly spoke,

01:21:00my palm tightened on the wheel.

01:21:02What?

01:21:04That message you sent

01:21:05in the group chat yesterday?

01:21:06Ethan told you to delete it?

01:21:09Yeah.

01:21:11Did you?

01:21:13No.

01:21:15She nodded,

01:21:16then lowered her head

01:21:17to look at her phone again.

01:21:18I waited for a long time,

01:21:20waiting for her to say

01:21:21happy birthday.

01:21:22She didn't.

01:21:24When we reached

01:21:25the training center,

01:21:26she unbuckled her seat belt.

01:21:28Sis, I'm here.

01:21:30Yeah.

01:21:31Train hard.

01:21:32Can you pick me up this afternoon?

01:21:33I finish at five.

01:21:34I have a study group this afternoon.

01:21:36That was a lie.

01:21:37I had nothing this afternoon.

01:21:39I just didn't want to go.

01:21:41Then I'll ask mom to pick me up.

01:21:42Okay.

01:21:44At 4.50 that afternoon,

01:21:46mom sent a message

01:21:47in the family group chat.

01:21:49Chloe finishes training at five.

01:21:51Who can pick her up?

01:21:52I'm in a meeting.

01:21:53I'm at a friend's house.

01:21:54Mallory,

01:21:55aren't you free this afternoon?

01:21:56I looked at that message.

01:21:58She started with

01:21:59who can pick her up,

01:22:00but in the end

01:22:00it still landed on me.

01:22:02It's on your way anyway, right?

01:22:03Just go pick her up.

01:22:04It wasn't on my way at all,

01:22:05but in this family,

01:22:06my road was always on the way.

01:22:08My time was always free.

01:22:09I typed okay and sent it.

01:22:12Then I turned my phone

01:22:13face down on the desk.

01:22:16Suddenly, I wondered

01:22:19what would happen

01:22:20if one day I didn't reply with okay?

01:22:23If I turned off my phone,

01:22:25canceled my number,

01:22:26and disappeared too,

01:22:27would they first panic

01:22:29because no one could pick up Chloe

01:22:31or would they think of me first?

01:22:32I knew the answer.

01:22:34When I picked Chloe up,

01:22:35her face was flushed from training

01:22:37and her hair was damp.

01:22:38Sis, I'm thirsty.

01:22:40Where's your water bottle?

01:22:42Finished it.

01:22:43I handed her the spare bottle

01:22:44of water in the car.

01:22:45Thanks, sis.

01:22:47On the way home,

01:22:48she soon fell asleep

01:22:49against the window.

01:22:50I adjusted the air conditionings

01:22:52so the car wouldn't be so cold.

01:22:53She was the little princess

01:22:54everyone in the family

01:22:55revolved around,

01:22:56and most of the roads

01:22:57I had driven through this city

01:22:58had been for someone else,

01:22:59but not for much longer.

01:23:01Not long after,

01:23:03the school college counselor

01:23:04called me into her office.

01:23:05Mallory Hayes,

01:23:06I saw your awards record.

01:23:08Honorable Ments

01:23:09in the National Math Olympias.

01:23:10That's impressive.

01:23:12Awards like that

01:23:12carry real weight.

01:23:13Which schools are you considering

01:23:14for early applications?

01:23:16I'm still looking.

01:23:17What do your parents think?

01:23:18I haven't told them yet.

01:23:20Something this important

01:23:21and you're not discussing it

01:23:22with your family first?

01:23:24I want to look into it myself first.

01:23:26I knew that even if I told them,

01:23:28no one would take it seriously.

01:23:29On last month's mock examine,

01:23:30I ranked third in the entire grade.

01:23:32I took a photo of my report card

01:23:33and sent it to the family group chat.

01:23:34My third place ranking

01:23:35stayed in the chat

01:23:35for only a very short while.

01:23:37All it got from mom

01:23:37was one sentence.

01:23:38Not bad.

01:23:39The next message

01:23:40was a video mom sent

01:23:41of Chloe dancing.

01:23:42That afternoon,

01:23:43when I got home,

01:23:44I found a dusty letter

01:23:45among a pile of bills

01:23:46and flyers on the coffee table.

01:23:47It said,

01:23:48Congratulations,

01:23:49Mr. and Mrs. Hayes.

01:23:50Your daughter,

01:23:51Mallory Hayes,

01:23:52has received an honorable mention

01:23:53in the National High School

01:23:54Mathematics Olympiad.

01:23:55Two months had passed.

01:23:57The envelope hadn't even been opened.

01:23:58It was tucked between bills

01:23:59and pizza courons.

01:24:01Completely forgotten.

01:24:02At dinner,

01:24:03mom answered a FaceTime call

01:24:04from my aunt.

01:24:05My aunt asked about

01:24:06Ethan's swim meet.

01:24:07Mom said he had taken

01:24:08second place in the district,

01:24:09pride filling her voice.

01:24:10My aunt asked about

01:24:11Chloe's dance competition.

01:24:13Mom said she had won gold

01:24:14at regionals

01:24:15and the judges had praised

01:24:16how steady she was off dyes.

01:24:18How's Mallory?

01:24:19She's applying to college soon too,

01:24:20right?

01:24:22She's doing fine.

01:24:24Third in my grade,

01:24:25a National Math Olympiac Award.

01:24:27In mom's mouth,

01:24:28all of it became doing fine.

01:24:29I sat at the dining table,

01:24:31still holding the award letter

01:24:32that had been forgotten

01:24:33for two months.

01:24:34No one asked how I had been lately.

01:24:36No one turned to me and said,

01:24:37Mallory, what about you?

01:24:38I went back to my room,

01:24:39opened my laptop,

01:24:40and started looking up colleges

01:24:41that would actually care

01:24:42about competition backgrounds.

01:24:43In the end,

01:24:44I stopped at Carnegie Mellon.

01:24:46Hundreds of miles away from home,

01:24:47no one would remember me,

01:24:48only when they needed someone

01:24:49to pick up my sister.

01:24:51I opened the application page.

01:24:52My fingers hovered over the screen

01:24:54for three seconds

01:24:55before I finally closed it.

01:24:57I decided to try one more time,

01:24:59if they still couldn't see me this time,

01:25:02I would leave.

01:25:04Completely.

01:25:07Mallory,

01:25:07Ashley is coming to stay with us

01:25:09for a while.

01:25:11Give her your room

01:25:12and share with Chloe for now.

01:25:14Saturday morning,

01:25:15mom said it casually

01:25:16while changing shoes by the door.

01:25:18I was sitting at the dining table

01:25:19eating cereal.

01:25:21My spoon stopped in midair.

01:25:26Why my room?

01:25:27Your room gets the best natural light.

01:25:29Ashley hasn't been feeling well lately

01:25:31and the doctor said more sunlight

01:25:32would be good for her.

01:25:33Ethan's room has a window too.

01:25:35Your brother is a boy,

01:25:36Ashley is a girl,

01:25:36how could they share a room?

01:25:38Then let her stay with Chloe.

01:25:39Chloe needs space to stretch at night.

01:25:41Your room only has a bed and a desk,

01:25:43it's easy to clear out.

01:25:44How long is she staying?

01:25:45About half a month.

01:25:46Her summer program is over here.

01:25:47I didn't argue anymore.

01:25:49Experience had taught me

01:25:50a long time ago

01:25:51that arguing was useless.

01:25:52That afternoon,

01:25:54Ashley came in

01:25:54dragging two large suitcases,

01:25:56smiling sweetly.

01:25:59Auntie, uncle.

01:26:01You're here, you're here.

01:26:02Come in.

01:26:03Mom was so warm

01:26:05as if an important guest had arrived.

01:26:08Ashley pushed her suitcases

01:26:09into my room

01:26:10and looked around from the doorway.

01:26:12Auntie,

01:26:13can this bookshelf be moved out?

01:26:15I want to put a vanity mirror here.

01:26:17Of course.

01:26:19Mallory,

01:26:19move the bookshelf out.

01:26:21On my bookshelf

01:26:22were three years of notebooks,

01:26:24reference books,

01:26:24and a few certificates.

01:26:26It took me an hour

01:26:27to move everything

01:26:28into a corner of Chloe's room.

01:26:30That night,

01:26:31I laid a mattress

01:26:32on the floor of Chloe's room.

01:26:34Sis,

01:26:35why don't you sleep on the bed?

01:26:37I'll sleep on the floor.

01:26:39No,

01:26:39the floor is fine.

01:26:41Ashley is actually okay.

01:26:43Don't be upset.

01:26:45Ashley was never what upset me.

01:26:48What hurt

01:26:49was that in this house,

01:26:50I was always the one

01:26:52expected to give way.

01:26:54On the third day,

01:26:55I went back to my room

01:26:56to get review materials

01:26:57and opened the door

01:26:58to find Ashley

01:26:59flipping through

01:27:00my math competition notes.

01:27:01These are yours?

01:27:02Your handwriting is so neat.

01:27:04Yeah.

01:27:05Please put them back.

01:27:06I was just looking.

01:27:07You're way too protective

01:27:08of this stuff.

01:27:09She casually put the notebook

01:27:10back on the desk.

01:27:11I glanced over

01:27:12and suddenly realized

01:27:13one was missing.

01:27:14There was a blue one

01:27:15on the desk.

01:27:16Where is it?

01:27:16I didn't touch it.

01:27:17I didn't see it.

01:27:18I searched for 10 minutes

01:27:20and finally found it

01:27:20in the trash can.

01:27:22Half the cover

01:27:23had been torn off

01:27:23and several pages inside

01:27:25were soaked with coffee.

01:27:26The writing blurred

01:27:26into smears.

01:27:27It was the problem-solving notebook

01:27:29I had been organizing

01:27:30since freshman year.

01:27:31Three years.

01:27:32I only had that one copy.

01:27:33Ashley,

01:27:34this?

01:27:35Oh,

01:27:35maybe I knocked it over

01:27:36when I was carrying coffee.

01:27:37Just write another one.

01:27:37I stood in the doorway

01:27:38holding the drenched notebook,

01:27:40my hands shaking.

01:27:44I took the notebook

01:27:45back to Chloe's room

01:27:46and dried it page by page

01:27:48with a hair broyer.

01:27:51Where the writing was blurred,

01:27:53I slowly filled it back in

01:27:54with a pencil.

01:27:57I worked until one

01:27:58in the morning.

01:27:59The next morning,

01:28:00Ashley sat in my old seat,

01:28:02chatting happily with Mom.

01:28:03No one asked why the circles

01:28:05under my eyes were so dark

01:28:06or what had happened last night.

01:28:08And I no longer needed to wait

01:28:09for that one last time.

01:28:11From that day on,

01:28:13I began preparing to leave

01:28:14until the day I received

01:28:15my acceptance letter.

01:28:16I knew the time had come

01:28:17to leave this house.

01:28:18I packed my suitcase

01:28:19and bought a Greyhouse ticket

01:28:21for the early dawn departure

01:28:22the next day.

01:28:23The destination was Pittsburgh.

01:28:24Then I walked to the door

01:28:25and placed my house key

01:28:26on the small entryway table.

01:28:28I left the group chat

01:28:29and deactivated

01:28:30my old phone number.

01:28:32The screen went dark.

01:28:34The whole world

01:28:35suddenly became

01:28:35much quieter.

01:28:38I pulled my suitcase,

01:28:39opened the door,

01:28:41and closed it softly

01:28:42behind me.

You Ignored My Birthday So I Erased Myself From The Family HD Movie Dailymotion | Legal Adulthood Means Total Freedom ✨

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