I Was Born For Their Mistakes, Not For Love Chapter 03
Just as Dad reached for the keypad lock, Mom suddenly grabbed his wrist and shook her head.
“Wait.” Her eyes narrowed coldly at Caleb and Maya. “You two have already lied to me once tonight. A minute ago you were still covering for her, and now suddenly you’re swearing up and down? How do I know you’re not still lying?”
Maya’s whole body trembled with anger.
But she knew losing control would only make things worse for me.
“What do you want us to do, then?” she choked out.
Mom pretended to think for a moment before speaking.
“How about this. Caleb, come with me so I can disinfect your hand before it gets infected. Maya, go
eat dinner and stop hovering around here. As for Hazel…” She glanced toward the locked door. “She’ll stay in there tonight. I’ll let her out tomorrow morning.”
Caleb stiffened instantly. “Tomorrow morning? That’s way too long. Hazel’s already…”
Mom’s expression turned icy.
“You have a problem with my decision?”
Maya’s tears spilled down her cheeks as she crouched beside the tiny window in the confinement
room door.
“Hazel, hang in there, okay? I’ll come get you first thing tomorrow morning.”
I nodded weakly.
“Okay,” I whispered.
But the tears still slid uncontrollably down my face.
The second Mom saw them, she shoved Maya aside and leaned toward the window.
“Stop crying right now! What exactly are you crying for? Did I wrong you somehow?” she snapped. “Everything I’m doing is for your own good!”
I flinched so hard my shoulders shook.
I hurriedly wiped at my face with both hands. “I-I’m not crying anymore. Hazel’s not crying
anymore. Please don’t be mad, Mom.”
She ignored me completely.
Instead, she grabbed Caleb by the arm and walked away.
Their footsteps gradually faded down the hallway until the entire house fell silent.
I curled up in the corner, clutching my stomach.
It felt like someone was twisting a knife inside me.
At some point, exhaustion dragged me into a hazy sleep.
In my dream, Mom opened the door and let me out.
She held me gently in her arms while Dad, Caleb, and Maya stood around us smiling and laughing.
For one beautiful moment, everything felt warm again.
Then suddenly, it felt like someone shoved a piece of burning metal straight into my stomach.
The agony ripped me awake.
I screamed.
My body thrashed violently across the floor like a fish flopping on dry land.
Blood-flecked foam bubbled from my throat as I cried out in pain.
The noise woke Caleb and Maya instantly.
“Hazel?!”
“Hazel, what’s wrong?!”
I forced my eyes open, but my vision was blurry and spinning.
“It hurts…” I gasped. “Maya… it hurts so bad…”
Panic erupted outside the door.
A second later, Maya came running back with a bottle of painkillers in her shaking hands.
“Hazel, take these. Please. They’ll help.”
I shoved the pills into my mouth and chewed them dry.
The bitter powder caught in my throat, triggering another violent coughing fit.
Then I lifted my head and forced out a smile through the narrow gap beneath the door.
“Maya… I don’t hurt anymore.”
Maya broke down sobbing.
“You idiot… your face is completely white. How much pain are you in right now?”
Caleb’s eyes were bloodshot red.
“Don’t be scared, Hazel. I’m getting you out of there right now.”
He dropped to the keypad and started entering passwords frantically.
“It has to be Mom’s birthday… no, wait… maybe Dad’s…”
His voice became more desperate with every failed attempt.
Wrong.
Wrong again.
Nine failed tries in a row.
Then came the tenth.
The instant the error message flashed red, a deafening alarm exploded through the entire house.
