When the Most Loved Becomes the Most Hated

In the dead of night, Ryan Fox led his distraught female classmate, Elena Smith, who had just failed the SAT exam, to a bar to drown their sorrows in alcohol.

Midway through their drinking session, Ryan suddenly called me to fetch milk for Elena, who was drunk.

I refused.

His anger flared, and with a sharp click, he hung up.

Little did I know, he would resort to coaxing my younger sister, Mia, into venturing alone to the convenience store for the milk.

The streets were dark and eerie, shadows lurking in every corner.

In a dark alley, a stray dog pounced.

It mauled Mia, leaving her lifeless on the cold pavement.

By the time I found her and rushed her to the hospital, it was too late.

Her final words were a whisper in the night, "Don't cry, Madeline. Tell Ryan I bought the milk."

Tears streamed down my face when I dialed Ryan's number over and over, but each call went unanswered.

Racing to the bar, I saw Ryan onstage, holding Elena close. Their bodies moved sensually to the music.

Enraged, I confronted him with my voice trembling with anger, "Ryan, do you know Mia was bitten by a dog while buying milk for Elena?"

Being interrupted, Ryan responded callously, "Why did the dog bite her and not someone else? She must have provoked it!"

My heart sank.

The words "Mia is dead" stuck in my throat, too heavy to utter.

Instead, I managed to say, "Ryan, let's break up."

With tears in her eyes, Elena pleaded, "Madeline, don't be angry. After tonight, I'll return Ryan to you."

Ryan gently wiped her tears. "Madeline, as you wish. Let's break up. Don't make things difficult for her."

Exhausted, I returned to the hospital, cradling Mia's frail body, now devoid of life. "Mia, I'll take you home," I whispered.

Her tiny form was so light in my arms.

The tears welled up again, blurring my vision.

At home, the house was draped in sorrow. Mia lay in a coffin, and I knelt, keeping vigil.

For two days, Ryan was silent, not a message or call to be seen.

On the third day, he appeared at my door.

"Madeline, where's the notebook I left here? Elena needs it, so please return it to me first."

He leaned against the doorframe and indifferently glanced at me.

Traces of Elena's lipstick was still on his collar.

I knelt motionless, the weight of grief heavy upon me.

When I first knew Ryan, his grades were abysmal, while I was among the top students.

To attend the same university as me, he often sought my help with his studies, often staying until midnight.

I once asked why he worked so hard.

He replied, "With my current grades, I'd only get into a third-tier university. The one I dream of is Skyford University. Madeline, the thought of traveling thousands of miles to see you after college is unbearable."

His words moved me, so I found myself dedicating mere hours of each day to revisiting the lessons imparted by my teachers. In a bid to carve out more time for him, I even relinquished the evening study sessions at school and my cherished habit of visiting the library. All for the sake of nurturing his understanding and filling the gaps in his knowledge with the hours I had set aside.

The notebook he spoke of was undoubtedly his, yet its pages were brimming with the annotations I had penned while guiding him through the exercises.

Seeing my silence, Ryan strode into the room.

His eyes scanned the somber scene. His brows furrowed as he looked at me, dressed in white, my eyes red from crying.

"Madeline, Elena was upset, so I just spent some time with her. It would've been fine if you hadn't bought the milk, but must you make such a tragedy of it? She was drunk, and I couldn't leave. You refused, so I had to ask your sister to buy milk. Who are you trying to provoke by making such a fuss over something so trivial?"

His words implied that my meticulous preparation of the mourning hall was a mere petty act of defiance.

His lack of remorse filled me with a seething hatred.

I fixed him with a piercing stare. "Ryan, my sister is but eight years old. How could you find it within yourself to deceive her into venturing out alone at night to fetch milk for Elena? Where were you when she was mauled by a dog? How can you dismiss this as a mere trifle? Would Elena have perished if she hadn't had that milk?"

After ending the call at that time, I went to shower.

By the time I came out of the shower, it was too late because Mia had already left.

I had forgotten that Ryan had Mia's phone number, and I never imagined he could be so heartless as to call her and ask her to buy milk for Elena.

Mia had always been obedient.

She did as she was told by Ryan and me, never questioning or arguing.

Reflecting on how Mia must have felt in her final moments, knowing she couldn't hand the milk to Ryan, pierced my heart with unbearable pain.

My sudden outburst of emotion momentarily took Ryan aback.

Then, he spoke with a dismissive tone, "Madeline, is your sister alright? Don't worry, I'll visit her at the hospital when I have time. Stop making a scene. Clean up this place quickly; it's creepy."

With that, he stepped over the coffin and entered the room to search for his notebook.

Had he looked a few more times, he would have realized the coffin was not empty. Mia lay within.