“Mylife? Did it ever occur to you how dreadful my life would be without you now that you’ve told me you love me?”
“Leave your lovers spat for later,” Diane hissed, gesturing at the scene before them.
His stepmother could not have missed at such close range. When Brendan threw himself as a shield, Zhu Zhu ran out from the comfort of the shadows, screaming, and tackled her mother to the ground. As his stepmother tried to throw off her daughter, Zhu Zhu continued to screech and hug her mother’s body tighter. “Liar! Murderer!”
“You despicable girl! You stupid girl! You ugly girl who never appreciated what I did for you!” Yin Mei shoved her daughter off, accidentally slamming the gun into Zhu Zhu’s face.
Zhu Zhu collapsed, her grip slipping away. The stepmother stood up, turning her arm toward Aiden once more, but He Bao rushed out and grabbed her wrist.
Brendan and Aiden clambered to Zhu Zhu, helping the sobbing girl up. “Let me look at you,” Brendan said, peeling her hand away from her face to reveal an already forming black eye.
“What are you doing, He Bao?” Yin Mei shrieked at He Bao. “Are you going to betray me, too, like your sister just did? After everything I’ve done for you?”
He Bao’s grip constricted around her wrist. “Why are you trying to hurt them?” He whispered, his face marred with confusion. “Why would you hurt Zhu Zhu like that?”
“She was getting in my way—it’sherfault! After all that I did to raise her, and she callsmea liar!” She kicked his legs. “Let go of me right now!”
He Bao’s hand opened and snatched the gun from her hand. Undeterred, she whirled and pointed at Diane. “Kill her, He Bao. You need to kill her. She’s the reason for everything. Kill her, and all our problems will be solved!”
“Wait, He Bao,” Aiden dashed in front of him. In the corner of his eye, Diane rolled her eyes and got comfortable on the floor.Go on, shoot me like your mother tells you to.Even with his back turned, Aiden felt the taunt drilling into both his and He Bao’s heads.
“Kill her, He Bao! Before she gets away!”
He Bao’s hands shook, but they tightened around the handle of the weapon. His arms bulged. His fingers curled white in its grip.
“He Bao, if you don’t want to, don’t do it.” Aiden placed a hand against the trembling boy’s arm.
“He Bao, youhaveto kill her for your sake. For everyone’s sake!”
“What do you want?” Aiden whispered and stared into He Bao’s panicked eyes. “Tell me what you want.”
A whimper escaped from He Bao’s mouth. “I’m scared.” The words creaked out. Tears fell from his eyes. His body trembled. “I want to leave. I don’t want to be here anymore.” He Bao’s hand loosened, and the gun dropped into Aiden’s waiting hand. “I want to go home.”
Heart bursting, Aiden threw his arms around He Bao. “Then we’re leaving,” he promised. He tightened his embrace. “Now.”
“Okay,” He Bao sniffled.
With tears brimming in his eyes, Aiden stepped back and patted He Bao’s shoulder. He tossed the gun back to Diane. Turning his back to his stepmother, he ushered He Bao toward the door.
“You cannot leave like that—you are choosing to abandon your mother!” His stepmother ran forward.
“Oh please, shut up. You’ve gotten boring now,” Diane growled. She swiped at the woman’s legs and watched her drop to the ground. When his stepmother tried to climb back up, Diane landed a well-aimed kick into the woman’s stomach. A smile crawled on her face as his stepmother hacked and groveled below her. She grabbed the woman’s long, luxurious black hair.
“Diane, we’re going. Unlock the door,” Aiden commanded. He ran over to He Bao, who had crouched onto the ground with his face covered. Zhu Zhu buried her face into Brendan’s shoulder. He kept his eyes on Diane. “You don’t need to torment their mother anymore. The job is done.”
With a sigh, Diane left his stepmother on the floor, removed the lock, and opened the door.
“Zhu Zhu, come on.” Brendan helped Zhu Zhu up, and Aiden grabbed her hand and led her to her brother. He Bao wrapped his arms around his sister’s shoulders, gave a nod of thanks to Brendan, and fled the house. The two refused to look back at their mother.
Aiden grabbed Brendan’s hand to step outside.
“It’s not my fault,” his stepmother mumbled. “I just did what needed to be done. I’m not wrong.”
Aiden turned around.
Her jewelry had fallen off in the fight. Her hair stuck out like branches from her usual tight and perfect bun. Her red lipstick smeared against her mouth, and her eyes continued to stubbornly look forward, seeking whatever invisible and uncatchable thing she desired. Her cheek puffed out from how she landed on the ground, and she whimpered at the blood dripping from her nose.
“I’m sorry it ended this way,” he said. He meant it with all sincerity, staring at the woman still stuck in a dream he could not see or understand. “I didn’t want it to end this way.”
