Saving Her Murdered Me

The basement air was thick, damp, and tasted like copper. I slumped against the bottom step, the blood from my temple carving a slow, hot path down my neck and soaking into the collar of my shirt.

Just minutes ago, my own parents had shoved me down these stairs. When the back of my skull cracked against the unforgiving concrete, the last thing I heard was my mothers voice: Paige, you need to stop being so selfish.

They said today was Carolines big day. If they could just get through this wedding, my older sister would finally be free of the prophecy.

But Justin was supposed to be my fianc.

It all started when my parents began seeing the floating words. Phantom, glowing text suspended in the air that only they could reada bizarre, digital omen they called the "Premonition." It predicted that Caroline would sink into a severe depression out of jealousy over my being the favored child, and that on the day of my wedding, her heart would simply give out.

The only way to cheat the prophecy is a total reversal of fates. My parents had clung to those spectral words like a lifeline.

Overnight, the center of gravity in our house shifted entirely to Caroline. They went so far as to announce to the world that Justin was actually marrying her.

Now, I weakly slapped my palm against the heavy, locked door at the top of the stairs. My voice was a shredded whisper. "Mom... Dad... I'm bleeding..."

My mothers muffled, impatient sigh bled through the wood. "Are you seriously making this about yourself right now? Do you really want your sister to die?"

Her footsteps clipped away. I tried to lift my arm to pound on the door again, but it was made of lead. My consciousness was draining away, leaking out onto the floor right along with my blood.

When I woke up, I felt weightless.

I looked down. My body was still crumpled on the bottom step, a dark, jagged pool of red staining the concrete around my head.

I was dead.

I drifted up through the basement door and stepped into the living room. It was an explosion of tulle and white roses. Joy radiated from the walls. Dad was on his knees, gently fussing with the hem of Carolines wedding gown, while Mom carefully adjusted her veil.

"Mom, shouldn't we let Paige out?" Caroline asked, chewing her bottom lip. "I still don't completely buy that whole Premonition thing. Paige is younger; its normal that you guys spoiled her a bit. Why would I get so depressed over that?"

Caroline started to stand, clearly intending to head for the basement, but Mom and Dad immediately pushed her gently back into her chair.

"Caroline, focus," Mom said, her eyes instantly welling with tears. "Do you have any idea whats at stake today" Her voice broke. "Nothing is more important than you today. We can deal with everything else tomorrow."

"But you guys favoring me because of that prophecy has already hurt Paige so much," Caroline protested, her voice tight. "And now making Justin marry me? I"

"She knows exactly what the Premonition said!" Mom snapped, cutting her off. "She knows you're in danger, yet she still throws tantrums out of sheer jealousy. Have you forgotten how she fought with you over the frosting on a cake and pushed you down the stairs, breaking your leg?"

Caroline fell silent, but her eyes kept darting anxiously toward the hallway that led to the basement.

I let out a bitter, hollow laugh.

Ever since my parents figured out how to save my sisters life, I had become entirely invisible.

Yes, I had been jealous of Caroline. On the day of my eighteenth birthday, my parents decided to throw a massive "do-over" birthday for her instead of celebrating mine. I had cried, we had argued, and in the scuffle, she lost her balance and fell down the stairs.

But I wanted my sister to live, too.

Because that same night, when my dad was furious and ready to practically beat me senseless, it was Caroline who had dragged her broken leg across the floor, shielding me with her own body. She had sobbed, begging him to stop, and then stroked my bruised cheek, whispering I'm sorry, I'm so sorry over and over again.

I understood why my parents had to tilt the scales to save her. I really did. But somewhere along the line, they hadn't just leveled the playing field. They had turned me into the enemy.

The sound of the front door opening pulled me back.

"Justin's here! Perfect timing," Mom said, clapping her hands. "Take Caroline to the car."

She sniffled, looking at my former fianc. "I'm so sorry, Justin. I know how much you and Paige love each other, but our hands are tied. Caroline has always been our rock. We can't lose her."

As Mom choked on a sob, Justin gave a solemn, reassuring nod. "I know, Diane. I believe Paige will understand why we had to do this."

Justin walked toward the basement door and tapped on it lightly.

"Paige, I know you're furious," he called out, his voice smooth and coaxing. "But we're doing this so Caroline doesn't die for nothing. Once midnight hits, everything goes back to normal. You know you're the only one I love. Okay?"

Silence.

Moms face hardened. She marched over and banged her fist against the wood. "Paige Gallagher, who do you think youre punishing in there? Is this how we raised you?"

She reached for the handle and pulled. The door cracked open an inch.

My phantom heart leaped into my throat. Is she going to see me? Is she going to see that I'm dead?

But Justin gently caught her wrist. He sighed, the picture of exhausted patience.

"Leave it, Diane. She's just pouting. Nothing we say right now is going to get through to her." He checked his watch. "We need to go, or we'll be late."

He glanced back at the dark slit of the door. "Hang in there, Paige. Tomorrow, were coming back and we are going to make this up to you."

With that, he wrapped his arm around my sister's waist and guided her out the door toward the waiting limousine.

Even as a ghost, the ache in my chest was blinding. I touched my face. My fingertips came away wet. I was crying.

Mom, Dad. Your premonition told you exactly when my sister was going to die.

But what about me?

By the time the reception ended, it was late afternoon.

Back in the hotel suite, Caroline immediately grabbed her phone, her brow furrowed in panic. I leaned over her shoulder. She was texting me.

[Paige, do you have your phone? There's a spare key under the mat by the basement door. Please come out.]

[I left you a plate in the fridge. Please eat.]

The bubbles remained grey. Unread.

She dialed my number. It went straight to voicemail. Dropping the phone, she practically ran into the adjoining room to find Dad.

"Dad, Paige isn't answering. She must have dropped her phone upstairs before you locked her in. Can you please go back and check on her? She's been down there all day, she hasn't eaten a thing."

Mom groaned, poking Caroline in the forehead. "Why are you still worrying about her? Her skipping a meal is nothing compared to you dying!"

"Mom!" Caroline pleaded.

"Fine, fine. I'll go let the brat out and bring her to the hotel so she can keep you company," Mom huffed, grabbing her purse.

Caroline shoved a Tupperware container into her hands. "It's all her favorites. Please make sure she eats. You know she gets those awful stomach cramps."

My throat felt tight. I reached out to hug my sister, but my arms passed right through her shoulders.

Thank you, Care.

But I'm never going to eat again.

Mom drove straight back to the house. When she walked in, the basement door was still shut. She sighed heavily and walked up to it.

"Your sister said there's a spare key under the mat. Open the door yourself," Mom called out. "She packed you some food. Eat it, and then we're going to the hotel."

No answer.

Mom's face darkened with rage. She slammed the Tupperware onto the entryway table.

"Fine, Paige! You want to throw a pity party? We are doing all of this for your sister! Are you really so petty that you'd rather see her dead? How did you get so vicious?"

She pounded on the door, then aggressively dug her own key out of her pocket and shoved it into the lock. The door clicked and swung open a few inches. The shadows of the basement shifted, the pale silhouette of my arm just barely catching the hallway light.

Right at that exact second, her cell phone rang. It was Dad, sounding panicked.

"Diane, get to a pharmacy! Caroline just slipped in the bathroom and cut her ankle, she's bleeding!"

Slam.

Mom pulled the door shut, locking it in one swift motion. She didn't even look back as she sprinted out the front door.

I stood there in the quiet house, a bitter laugh tearing from my chest.

She was an inch away. One inch from finding me dead.

Back at the hotel, Mom carefully applied a bandage to Caroline's ankle. Justin walked in, and the four of them huddled on the suite's plush sofas, watching the clock on the wall.

Usually, an hour flies by. Tonight, it felt like wading through molasses.

At 11:59 PM, Mom started to whimper, gripping Dad's hand. For the last thirty seconds, they pulled Caroline into a tight embrace, their eyes squeezed shut.

Ten seconds... five seconds... one second.

Midnight.

The room was dead silent.

"Is it over?" Mom whispered, her voice trembling.

Dad pulled out his phone with shaking hands. "It's past twelve. The text didn't appear. The premonition... it's broken."

They stared at each other for a long, suspended moment. And then, they broke down. Loud, ugly, joyous sobbing.

"You're safe! Caroline, my baby, you're safe!"

They held her like she had just been pulled from the wreckage of a plane crash.

"We have to go back," Caroline said urgently, wiping her face. "We have to tell Paige! She's been locked in there all day, she must be starving and terrified."

They piled into the car. The mood was euphoric. Dad kept glancing at Caroline in the rearview mirror, grinning through his tears.

"We really owe Paige an apology," Dad admitted softly. "Once we get back, we should take her on a trip. Just the four of us."

"We haven't celebrated her birthday properly since she turned eighteen," Caroline said, her fingers absentmindedly tracing the silver pendant around her necka gift I had bought her. "I want to throw her a huge party."

"We will," Mom sighed, leaning her head against the window. "We've neglected her for too long. It's time to make it right."

Sitting in the backseat beside them, I just smiled a sad, broken smile.

I wondered what they would look like when they saw my body.

They arrived at the house quickly. But the moment they walked into the kitchen, they froze.

The Tupperware Mom had left on the table was covered in a fuzzy layer of blue-green mold.

I hadn't come out of that basement in two days.

Dad finally snapped. He marched down the hall and kicked the basement door with the heel of his boot.

"Paige, enough is enough! Get out here right now!" he roared. "Your sister literally just survived a death curse, and you can't even come out to say congratulations? Who the hell are you punishing?"

Justin frowned, stepping up to the door.

"Paige, stop acting like a child," Justin said, his tone dripping with disappointment. "Come out. Caroline is safe. I told you we'd make up for everything today. But acting like this? It's just selfish. She's your sister."

Silence.

Justin, you're an idiot, I thought, staring at his perfectly styled hair. No matter what you say, I literally cannot answer you.

It was Caroline who realized something was wrong.

"She wouldn't do this. Her stomach cramps get so bad when she skips meals," Caroline said, her voice rising in panic. "She must have dropped her phone out here!"

She frantically searched the hallway, but my phone was nowhere to be found.

I looked through the floorboards at my own corpse. My phone was lying inches from my lifeless head.

"She has it on her. She's just screening us," Mom said, her face hardening. She grabbed Caroline's arm.

"Fine. If she wants to rot down there and prove a point, let her. Your sister literally cheats death and you're still throwing a tantrum? Ungrateful little brat." Mom turned to Dad. "Pack the bags. We're taking Caroline to Carmel for the week to celebrate. I shouldn't have ever had that second child; she's been nothing but a headache!"

Mom dragged Dad and Caroline toward the stairs to pack.

Justin lingered by the basement door for a long moment. His eyes were unreadable. Finally, he let out an exasperated sigh, turned on his heel, and walked out the front door.

I closed my ghostly eyes, the bitterness pooling in my mouth.

There were two keys to that basement. One under the mat. One in my mothers purse.

She could have opened the door right then. But she chose not to.

She missed me. Again.

...

They took Caroline and Justin to a luxury resort in Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Like a tethered balloon, my soul was dragged along with them. I watched them toast to Caroline's new lease on life with champagne on the beach. I watched them go shopping, buy her expensive gifts, and laugh in the California sun.

Three days passed like this.

In the hotel room, Caroline sat on the edge of her bed, staring at our text thread.

Nothing.

"Mom, I think we should go home," Caroline said, pressing a hand to her chest. "Ive had this awful feeling all day. My eye won't stop twitching. Paige hasn't opened my messages in almost a week. What if something happened to her down there?"

Dad scoffed from the armchair. "Ignore her. She's stubborn just to be stubborn."

But Mom slowly lowered the blouse she was holding.

"She's never held a grudge this long," Mom murmured, a flicker of genuine uncertainty crossing her face. "If she has her phone... why wouldn't she at least text to yell at us? By now, she usually gives up and demands we order her takeout..."

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the room.

Then, Mom's phone buzzed. It was our next-door neighbor.