His Punishment Broke Me, I Died

Chapter 2

I never got the short end of the stick growing up. Born with a silver spoon in my mouth, I'd never gone without anything I wanted.

That's why I'd always had such a headstrong personality. I never let anyone push me around, and I refused to take any garbage from anyone.

Years ago, my parents died in a car crash.

My older brother thought our big house felt way too empty with just the two of us, so he brought his adoptive little sister home to live with us.

Zendaya called me sister so sweetly when my brother was around, but the second his back was turned? She turned right around and lied that I'd hit her.

My brother yelled at me, called me childish, and said he'd spoiled me rotten.

There was no way I was gonna let that slide. Right there, in front of both of them, I slapped Zendaya hard right across the cheek, and made sure she got the message.

"This is what actually hitting someone looks like."

She burst into heart-wrenching sobs, threw herself down at my brother's knees, and wailed for justice.

My brother demanded I apologize. When I refused, he lifted his arm and got ready to slap me too.

That's when I spoke, calm as still water, "Henry, think this through. If that hand comes down on me, you stop being my brother from that second on."

A thick blue vein popped out on his temple, his whole face twisted with rage. But that raised hand never came down.

Instead, he turned away, helped Zendaya back to her feet, and cooed at her softly, his voice dripping with pity, "I'm sorry, Zendaya. Sara has been spoiled by me, I'll teach her a lesson. Don't be upset, okay?"

Back then, I just rolled my eyes internally. What kind of 'lesson' could he possibly give me, anyway?

Worst case scenario he'd beat me. First chance I got, I'd get my payback, simple as that.

Turns out I couldn't have been more wrong.

Just a few days later, my brother dropped the bombshell; the family was bankrupt. He was charged with financial crimes and sentenced to six years in prison.

I panicked right away. I dragged out every piece of jewelry, every designer bag he'd ever given me and dumped them all out to sell.

In the end, it wasn't even enough to cover the down payment on his debts. He went to prison anyway. Our villa got seized, and I was left homeless, all alone in the world.

For the next five years, every door I tried to open slammed right in my face. All of my brother's old enemies targeted me nonstop.

I couldn't land a normal job to save my life, and not even a seedy bar would hire me as a hostess. I ended up scavenging through trash just to get by. I was worse off than a rat scurrying around in a gutter.

Every single day, I'd get creepy messages telling me how many times I'd have to sleep with men to pay off my brother's debts.

Red paint got slathered all over the walls of every cheap place I crashed in, thick and bright, just like freshly spilled blood. No matter how hard I scrubbed, it would never come off.

The sound of knocking on my door in the dead of night was terrifying beyond belief. Every time I forced myself to open the door, there would never be anyone standing in the empty hallway.

Just paper hell money, funeral wreaths, and paper offerings scattered all across the floor.

It's not like I never thought about packing up and leaving home for good. But my brother was still in prison, waiting for me.

So I was trapped in this endless loop, shattering under the torture, patching myself back together, over and over, I couldn't even manage to die for good.

Over and over it went. No end in sight.

Truth be told, when I swallowed those sleeping pills, guilt gnawed at me. Zendaya had already run off, and now I was bailing on everything too. When my brother got out, he'd have no one left. How was he supposed to survive alone?

But somehow, he saved me.

Why? Why did you save me, Henry? You shouldn't have pulled me back. You should've stayed out of it, done nothing, just stood there cold and sneering while I killed myself.

That would've been better than letting me find out this brutal, blood-soaked five years I've lived through... was nothing but your punishment for me.

I cried every last tear I had, then set out for the prison.

Before this day, I'd never worked up the courage to go see him. I was terrified he'd see how ragged and broken I'd become, that he'd pity me.

But by then I'd figured it out. Chances were, he'd been living the high life this whole time. I was the only one dragging myself through all this misery.

And sure enough, when the guard heard what I wanted, he laughed right in my face.

"Honey, we don't have any inmate named Henry Smith here. Are you sure you got the name right?"

The sun blazed so bright it seared my eyes, and I could already feel a fresh flood of tears welling up.

I dropped my gaze.

"I guess you're right. If he's not here, then I'll just head home."