No, she wasn't waiting for Dad's approval. She knew he would just casually nod. But she asked that question in front of me anyway 'cause she knew that even if I already knew what Dad would say, his words would still break me inside.

She always enjoyed seeing me suffer. Like hurting me was just a game for her.

And then, as I expected, Dad nodded without hesitation, like Ginny's suggestion made perfect sense. Like I deserved it.

He turned his back on me, and that's when Charlie stepped in.

Without warning, he shoved me down. I didn't even have a second to brace myself before I hit the floor. My glasses broke, and one of the pieces cut my cheek.

The pain was sharp, but what really hurt was the casual way they did it like I was nothing more than a food wrap.

They've been doing it for so long, I was almost numb to it.

Then they dumped this pile of rotten food right in front of me. I swear, the smell was so awful I could puke!

Then Ginny leaned over me. That crazy girl laughed like she already imagined what's gonna happen next.

"Go on, eat it. Don't worry. It's way cleaner than a dead mouse," she said, smirking down at me.

That's my life. I'd stopped trying to fight back. No one ever listened anyway. It's always been like that.

So I did it. I opened my mouth, and I took a handful of spoiled rice and rotten fish. The taste was so much more horrible than the smell.

Mango. There was mango in it.

I remember that because I'm allergic. It was sickening. But I swallowed it anyway, like a part of me wished it would just kill me. Maybe then my life would stop hurting.

Charlie was annoyed I wasn't eating fast enough, so he pushed my head onto the floor. The food smeared all over my face, and I just… couldn't stop crying. His hand was so heavy it muffled my sobs on the thick pile of rotten food.

I was fucking humiliated, but what was the point of fighting?

You might be asking where my mom was. Well, she was upstairs playing with a new dog. I could hear her voice. It was cheerful and carefree.

Then I heard Dad's heavy footsteps echoing and then fading on the stairs. He just left me there, discarded like the food I was forced to eat.

I thought, at least it was done. But then Ginny pressed her foot onto my face, hard enough that I could feel my skin bruising under her shoe.