1 World Cup final day, the city roared. I sat alone in the silent living room, staring at four faded jerseys on the table—Dad’s number 10, Mason’s 7, Noah’s goalie kit, and Mom’s bright red supporter shirt she’d worn to every game. Past tournaments, we’d cram into this room, eating barbecue and screaming at the TV. Dad once promised, “Graduate high school, Andrea, and we’ll all go live.” I’d graduated. But they’d taken my adopted sister Beth to Cabo for the final. In Mason’s post, Beth sat center, radiant. His caption: A family of four, finally whole.I stared until the words blurred. They’d cut me from the roster long ago. Last summer, Beth shattered my state physics trophy, wailing, “Andrea wins everything—what’s the point of me?” Dad ripped my gold certificate. Mom banned me from academic decathlons. Mason funded Beth’s European healing trip, banishing me to a dingy basement for senior year. “You’re a genius,” he’d said. “Study anywhere.” I did. Perfect 1600 on the national merit exam, full ride to Stanford. I stuffed the jerseys into a trash bag, tossed it by the dumpster. As the players lifted the trophy on screen, I held my acceptance letter. This time, I wasn’t waiting for their applause. ... "Andrea, why the hell did you throw away our jerseys?!" The front door slammed open, and Mason’s furious voice exploded through the living room. I sat on the sofa, not even bothering to look up. Dad walked in carrying bags of expensive souvenirs, while Mom hovered protectively around Beth. The last person to walk through the door was Noah. He was carrying a pristine pink gift box. It was the limited-edition collectible Beth had been bragging about online all week. "Are you mute? Answer me!" Mason closed the distance between us in three long strides. "Mom and Dad felt bad that you were home alone, so they paid out the ass to change our flights and rush back early. And the first thing we see when we pull up is our gear sitting next to the garbage." He slammed the plastic trash bag onto the coffee table. "Do you have any idea how much these mean to us?" I looked at the washed-out fabric spilling from the bag. They did mean a lot. They were the last remaining proof that this family used to love each other. But now, they were just dirty rags. "They’re old. We don't need them anymore," I said, my voice completely flat. Mom’s face contorted in disgust. "What do you mean we don't need them? How did you get so cold-blooded? Beth was worried sick about you the whole time we were in Cabo. She insisted we come back early to watch the replay with you. Why are you acting like a psycho?" Beth shrank behind Mom’s back, her eyes rimmed with red. "Andrea, are you mad at me? Are you upset because my health is bad and Mom and Dad had to take me to the beach to recover?" Dad slammed the souvenir bags onto the floor, his face dark with rage. "Do you even have a heart, Andrea? If Beth’s biological father hadn't pushed me out of the way of that semi-truck, you wouldn't even have a dad today! And if you hadn't pushed Beth down the stairs all those years ago, she wouldn't suffer from these chronic migraines!" My fingers twitched. That same old story. When I was twelve, Beth missed a step and tumbled down the staircase. But she pointed her trembling finger at me and told everyone I pushed her. From that day on, I became the resident sinner of this house. Noah placed the pink gift box into Beth’s hands and turned his disappointed gaze to me. "Andrea, stop throwing a tantrum." I slowly picked up my phone from the table, letting the screen light up. "I’m not throwing a tantrum. I’m just giving you a heads-up. I got into Stanford." The room went dead silent for a fraction of a second. Mason blinked, then let out a scoffing laugh. "You’ve been a straight-A nerd your whole life. Getting into a good college is expected. Mom and Dad pay for your food and board." Mom nodded in immediate agreement. "Exactly. Your sister bombed her SATs this year, and she is already depressed about it. Did you really have to rub salt in her wound today?" Beth’s tears started falling faster. "Am I just completely useless? I just drag everyone down, don't I?" Dad immediately wrapped his arms around her, shooting me a lethal glare. I watched them crowd around Beth, cooing and comforting her. I watched Noah gently rub her back to soothe her. It was purely absurd. I had bled over my textbooks for twelve years to get into one of the best universities on the planet. And my reward was a room full of people screaming at me. "She’s depressed?" I let out a dry, hollow laugh. "Depressed from taking selfies in Paris? Or depressed from eating lobster on a private beach in Cabo?" Mason lunged forward and pointed his finger an inch from my nose. "Why the hell are you picking a fight with a sick girl?" I stared dead into Mason’s eyes. "Because I’m not sick, I deserved to rot in a basement for a year? I deserved to have my family not even text me on the day college decisions came out?" Mom waved her hand dismissively, cutting me off. "Enough. Cut the crap. Since you got accepted, you can spend the rest of the summer tutoring Beth. She has to repeat her senior year." I slowly stood up and slipped my phone into my pocket. "No." Dad’s face turned purple. "Say that again." I looked at all of them, my voice perfectly steady. "I said, I don't owe you people a damn thing." Dad raised his hand, fully intending to slap the defiance out of my mouth. Noah caught his wrist just in time. "Mr. Davis, don't. Andrea is just stressed from exams. Let it go." He turned to look at me, using that tone reserved for unreasonable toddlers. "Apologize to Beth, and we can forget this ever happened." I looked at Noah’s handsome, familiar face. Once upon a time, that face was my only light in the dark. When I had a fever, he carried me to the clinic on his back. When kids bullied me, he was the shield standing in front of me. But now. "Why should I?" I looked him dead in the eye. Noah’s brows furrowed deeply. "You already have everything, Andrea. The grades, the perfect future. It’s all yours. Beth only has us. Would it kill you to just let her have this?" The corners of my mouth twitched. "She only has you? She has my parents' absolute devotion, my brother’s endless wallet, and your protection. I have nothing but my grades." Suddenly, Beth grabbed her chest and started hyperventilating. "Mason, my head... it’s spinning..." She collapsed straight into Noah’s arms. Noah caught her immediately, total panic washing over his face. "Beth! Hey, look at me, what’s wrong?" Mom turned pale as a sheet and started frantically digging through her purse for pill bottles. Dad pointed a trembling finger at me. "If anything happens to her, I will never forgive you!" Mason shoved me hard by the shoulder, knocking me into the wall. They swarmed Beth, scooped her up, and rushed out the front door. The heavy door slammed shut, plunging the house back into suffocating silence. I leaned against the plaster wall, slowly sliding down until I hit the floor. The bruise on my shoulder throbbed, but it was nothing compared to the massive, hollow cavity in my chest. ... Early the next morning, my homeroom teacher called me. "Andrea, the principal wants to throw an honors assembly for you next Wednesday. You need to prepare a speech." Her voice was bursting with pride. "Make sure you bring your parents. Having the valedictorian of the entire district is a huge honor for your family." I gripped my phone, my throat feeling like sandpaper. "Thank you, Mrs. Gable." I hung up. I was standing in the kitchen, trying to figure out how to tell them, when the front door clicked open. They were back with Beth. Dad was on his cell phone. "Yes, next Wednesday at noon. The biggest banquet hall you have. We are throwing an eighteenth birthday and cheer-up party for my youngest. She didn't do well on her exams, so we need to make her feel special." I froze in my tracks. Next Wednesday. The exact same day as my honors assembly. Mason noticed me standing there and immediately scowled. "You cause a massive scene yesterday, and you don't even bother coming to the hospital to check on her? What is wrong with you?" I ignored him and spoke slowly. "Next Wednesday, the school is throwing an honors assembly for me. The principal wants you all there." Mason let out a loud, mocking snort. "An honors assembly? Who cares? It’s just a bunch of teachers blowing hot air." Dad hung up the phone and glared at me. "We can't do next Wednesday. We are celebrating Beth’s birthday." My fingernails dug into my palms. "This is the most important moment of my academic life. I am the district valedictorian." Mom walked past me toward the kitchen, rolling her eyes. "So you got good grades. Does that mean you can just abandon your sister? Beth is traumatized by her scores, and you want to parade around at some assembly? Do you have any idea how bad that will make her look in front of our relatives?" I stared at her entitled, unapologetic face. "Did you ever stop to think how it makes me look? The district valedictorian, standing on stage without a single family member in the audience?" Mason stepped into my space, looking down at me with sheer disgust. "Stop being so incredibly selfish, Andrea. Next Wednesday, you are going to put on a nice dress and sit quietly at the banquet hall." I took a deep breath, fighting the acidic burn behind my eyes. "I’m not going." Dad slammed his leather briefcase onto the dining table. "If you dare walk out that door next Wednesday, you can forget about calling me your father!" I looked at his purple, furious face, and felt nothing but pure, unadulterated exhaustion. "Fine. Then I won't." Before the words even settled in the air, a heavy hand cracked across my face. The slap echoed in the room. My head snapped to the side, my ears ringing violently. Dad roared at the top of his lungs. "Then pay me back every single dime I spent raising your ungrateful ass!" Just then, the doorbell rang. Noah pushed the door open and walked in. He saw my bright red, swollen cheek and froze. "What happened?" Beth immediately threw herself into his arms, crying beautifully. "Noah, Andrea is insisting on going to her school assembly, and it made Dad so mad. It’s all my fault. I shouldn't have planned my party for next Wednesday." Noah held her, gently stroking her hair. He looked up at me, his brows knit in heavy disapproval. "Andrea, are you really not happy unless you are tearing this family apart?" I looked at his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, and the sight made my stomach turn. "Get your facts straight, Noah. They are the ones stripping away the proudest moment of my life." Noah let out a heavy sigh, sounding like a exhausted parent. "Beth’s health is fragile. She can't handle the stress. Plus, her biological dad literally died for your family. Giving up one day of the spotlight won't kill you." As he spoke, he pulled a small velvet box from his jacket pocket. "Look what I brought you, Beth." He popped the box open. Resting on the black velvet was a delicate silver bracelet adorned with tiny, glittering stars. My breathing stopped completely. That was the bracelet Noah gave me for my sixteenth birthday. He had told me, "Andrea, you are the brightest star in my sky. I’ll protect you forever." But a few months later, Beth "accidentally" lost it. I searched the house for a month, crying until my eyes bled. Noah had held me and promised to buy me a better one. It turns out, she never lost it. It just got a new owner. "Oh my god, Noah, it’s gorgeous!" Beth giggled through her tears. Noah smiled warmly and fastened it around her wrist. "No one is ever going to bully you again." I took a step forward, biting the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood. "Noah, that bracelet is mine." Noah’s hands stopped. "You’re remembering things wrong. I had this custom-made just for Beth." Beth immediately covered her wrist with her other hand, looking at me like a terrified deer. "Andrea, are you really going to steal the gift Noah bought for me?" Mason lost whatever patience he had left. He grabbed my shoulders and shoved me violently out the front door. "You are absolutely insane! Get your ass back to the basement and don't come out until you learn how to act like a human being!" The heavy door slammed in my face. I stood in the humid hallway, touching my burning cheek, and suddenly let out a laugh. I laughed so hard the tears finally spilled over. I walked back to my dingy basement apartment in a complete daze. When I pushed the cheap door open, I froze. The room was completely trashed. My competition notebooks from the last six years, my medals, my certificates. All of them were submerged in a plastic tub full of water. The ink had bled through the pages, turning years of my blood, sweat, and tears into a soggy, illegible mess. My phone buzzed. A voice memo from Beth. "Hey Andrea, I am so, so sorry. I wanted to clean up your apartment and maybe borrow your study notes. But I accidentally kicked over the mop bucket. You’re so smart, you won't hold a grudge against me, right?" I gripped my phone so tight my knuckles turned white. I didn't reply. I walked over to the tub and stared at the ruined remains of my entire childhood. I pulled them out, one by one. And I dropped them straight into the trash can. Along with every last ounce of love and hope I had left for that family, and for Noah. "Good," I whispered to the empty room. "Now I can leave without carrying any baggage." The next morning, I woke up burning with a high fever. I dragged myself out of bed, fumbling for my phone to call an Uber to the clinic. The moment the screen unlocked, a notification from the family group chat popped up. Mom had sent a photo. Beth was lying in a VIP hospital bed, surrounded by everyone. Dad was peeling an apple for her. Mason was making funny faces. Noah was reading a book out loud to her. Mom’s caption read: Beth had a headache flare-up today. The whole crew is here. Praying for my baby’s health. I stared at the picture and couldn't even muster a bitter smile. I dropped the phone, forced myself to get dressed, and swallowed two expired ibuprofen pills. By the time I took the bus to the local urgent care, it was late afternoon. My fever had broken slightly, but my stomach was cramping from hunger. I was standing in a massive line at the pharmacy counter, clutching my prescription slip. "Andrea?" A familiar voice echoed behind me. I turned around. It was Noah. He was holding a stack of lab results, his brows pulled tightly together. "What are you doing here? You look terrible." I didn't answer him. I just turned back around and stared at the back of the person in front of me. My coldness clearly stung his ego. He marched up and grabbed my wrist. "Andrea, I am talking to you! Are you seriously still throwing a fit over a piece of jewelry?" I yanked my arm out of his grip. "Don't touch me." Noah looked stunned. Right then, Beth’s sickly sweet voice called out from down the hall. "Noah? Who are you talking to?" She was wearing a hospital gown, leaning heavily on Mason’s arm as they walked over. The second she saw me, she started trembling violently, hiding behind Mason’s broad shoulders. "Andrea, I swear I didn't mean to ruin your notes." Mason instantly flared up. He stormed over and pointed his finger right in my face. "You have some nerve showing up here! Beth’s head is killing her today because of the stunt you pulled yesterday!" I looked at him with dead eyes. "Do you own this hospital?" Mom and Dad hurried over from the waiting area, hearing the commotion. "What are you doing here? Did you come here to stress her out even more?" Dad barked. I looked at the group of people standing in front of me. My biological parents, my flesh-and-blood brother, and the boy who promised to protect me. They were guarding Beth like I was a serial killer holding a knife. "I have a fever. I came to get an IV," I said, my voice completely devoid of emotion. Mom let out a vicious sneer. "A fever? Beth is the one who is actually sick. Cut the crap and stop acting." Suddenly, Beth grabbed her head and dropped into a crouch, screaming in agony. "Mason, it hurts! It feels like someone is driving needles into my brain!" Total panic seized Noah. He shoved me out of the way to get to her. He used his full body weight. I was already weak and dizzy from the fever. When his hands hit my chest, I flew backward. The back of my skull slammed violently against the cold tile wall of the corridor. A sickening crack echoed in my head, and a blinding wave of agony swallowed me whole. Right before the darkness took over, I heard Noah shouting. "Doctor! Get a doctor for Beth right now!" Not a single one of them turned around to look at me. Good. That made this so much easier. When I finally woke up, I was lying in a curtained-off ER bed. A nurse was gently removing an IV from the back of my hand. "You are crazy for walking around alone with a 103-degree fever, honey. That fall gave you a mild concussion. You need to go home and rest in a dark room." I stared at the blinding fluorescent lights on the ceiling and whispered a raspy "Thank you." By the time I walked out of the sliding glass doors of the hospital, it was pitch black outside. I went back to the basement and clicked on the flickering desk lamp. I pulled a rusted metal lockbox out from under my bed. Inside were eighteen years of blood, sweat, and glory. State math olympiad gold medals, regional physics trophies, straight-A report cards, and thick stacks of scholarship certificates. I took them out, one by one, and lined them up perfectly on my cheap desk. Then, I opened the local university forum on my laptop. I was about to create a new post when a recommended thread on the homepage caught my eye. It was an anonymous burner account named Beth Hates Meds. I scrolled through the posts, recognizing the highly specific details and photos. I let out a cold, sharp laugh. I ran a script to backup and download the entire account history. Then, I clicked 'New Thread' and typed out my headline. Incoming Stanford Freshman Auctioning Off 18 Years of Medals, Trophies, and Academic Blood. All proceeds will be used to pay a legal severance fee to my toxic biological family. I clicked post. Seeing the 'Published Successfully' banner flash across the screen, I let out a long, heavy exhale.
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