Coughing and gasping for air, I lay on the ground, water pooling beneath me. Beside me, frantic voices filled the night.
“Scarlett, wake up! Wake up!” My parents’ anxious cries rang out thick with desperation.
A soft gasp broke through the commotion. Scarlett’s lashes fluttered and with a feeble voice, she murmured, “She… she suddenly sped up her wheelchair. I tried to save her, but… I got pulled in with her…”
Whispers rippled through the crowd like an uneasy tide.
“I heard her foster sister shattered her legs on her birthday five years ago… Could the memories have been too much? Did she try to end it all?”
Elijah’s gaze flickered, a fleeting trace of guilt flashing across his face.
My father’s expression twisted with something that almost looked like regret. My mother, sobbing, threw herself at me, clutching my drenched sleeves.
“Daughter, why would you do something so foolish? We’ll take care of you for the rest of our lives!”
I looked at them, my lips curling into a cold, humorless smile.
Not long ago, all their worry had been for Scarlett. But now, under the scrutiny of the guests, they put on this grand performance, one dripping with feigned concern.