Chapter 3

Mom tossed the toys onto the couch, clearly still fuming.

“That Chloe, she actually snatched a popsicle from Bella today.”

“I told her before Bella even arrived that she had to be accommodating to her little cousin.”

Dad, hands on his hips, looked just as furious.

“Yeah, Mom, I never thought Chloe could be so manipulative, so malicious.”

“They always say kids raised with love are supposed to be kind and understanding, right?”

“We’ve been so good to her, but she still turned out so twisted.”

“I saw Bella downstairs earlier and just found out Chloe bullied her. It’s despicable!”

“Chloe, you come out here right now! I’m going to teach you a lesson today!”

Dad yelled into my bedroom.

I shook my head, frantically trying to explain to Dad.

“It’s not like that, Dad! I didn’t snatch her popsicle at all!”

“She said she didn’t want it, and it was the last one of my favorite flavor, so I just picked it up to eat!”

But Mom, Dad, and Grandma couldn’t hear me speak.

When no sound came from the bedroom, Mom immediately frowned.

“Chloe, so now you’ve learned to play mute, have you?!”

She moved to go into the bedroom to find me, but Grandma stopped her.

“I looked everywhere, inside and out. Chloe isn’t home!”

Mom took a deep breath, stunned.

“Then where did that child go?”

Bella immediately piped up.

“Aunt Sarah, this morning I heard Chloe say she was going downstairs to play with her friend Ashley. She’s probably at Ashley’s house!”

Ashley was my best friend from school, and also my neighbor, so I often went to her house to play.

Dad scoffed.

“She’s just a little kid, and she’s already pulling stunts like running away in a huff!”

“Hmph, let her stay at Ashley’s house! We’re not going to pick her up.”

Grandma sighed.

“She’s still just a child, after all. Maybe go get her back soon.”

“I’ll make dinner. Those chicken wings I bought for Chloe are still in the freezer, right?”

“I’ll make her favorite Coke chicken wings!”

My heart instantly leaped into my throat.

Grandma was going to open the freezer. Would she see my body?

Grandma was old and had high blood pressure. My frozen body must look horrifying. Please, don’t let her see it; don’t let it scare her!

I tried to block Grandma with my body, but it was no use. Grandma passed right through me and walked toward the kitchen again.

I watched Grandma enter the kitchen.

“Mom, don’t cook tonight! Bella’s still here. Let’s just order pizza!”

Dad opened his delivery app, stopping Grandma just as she was about to open the freezer door.

Grandma nodded but still worried about me.

“Call Chloe back for dinner. It’s not good for her to always eat at other people’s houses.”

Mom waved her hand dismissively.

“Mom, don’t even worry about her! I just sent her a SnapChat.”

“I told her I was ordering her favorite cheesy shrimp pizza. That greedy kid will be back in less than ten minutes!”

Mom’s reminder made me instinctively look at my wrist.

My wrist was empty. Oh no! My smartwatch was frozen in the freezer too!

That was my birthday gift last year, from Mom and Dad.

Now I’d ruined it. Mom would definitely be even angrier with me!

I really was a bad kid, always making Mom angry.

Mom throwing me in the freezer was justified.

I huddled in the corner of the couch, crying heartbrokenly.

Half an hour later, the takeout arrived.

Seeing I still wasn’t back, Mom gritted her teeth in anger.

“That Chloe! I just said a few words to her, and she’s still pouting and refusing to come home!”

Dad just opened the takeout bags.

“We’re eating! We’re not waiting for her. She won’t starve at Ashley’s house!”

Grandma tried to speak up for me, but Dad cut her off directly.

“Mom, please don’t interfere when we’re disciplining Chloe!”

“If she defies us today, who knows what serious trouble she’ll get into tomorrow!”

“We’re going to eat! No one pays her any attention!”

Bella took out the largest slice of pizza from the takeout bag.

“Mark, Sarah, Chloe loves this one. Should we save it for her?”

Mom and Dad’s eyes filled with satisfaction. They stroked Bella’s hair, praising her.

“You’re so thoughtful.”

“It’s okay, we’ll eat. Don’t mind her!”

I watched Bella sit in my special chair.

Mom, Dad, and Grandma gathered around her, happily eating my favorite pizza.

It was as if they were a family all along, and I was the outsider.

My heart ached with a sharp, wrenching pain, and the tears just wouldn’t stop falling.

Why was I still hurting and crying as a ghost? Was this God’s punishment for a bad kid like me?

I hid in the corner of the living room, trembling with sobs.

Until Dad was about to put the leftover pizza in the freezer. I instantly held my breath.