Chapter 3

After Emily finished recording me, she watched the video carefully from beginning to end.

Then she nodded in satisfaction.

She posted it in a parents’ support-group chat filled with people just like her.

“She finally behaved herself today. At least her attitude was acceptable.”

Emily’s younger sister was the first to comment.

“One day Jessica will understand that you did all of this for her own good.”

Other comments quickly followed.

“Kids these days are so ungrateful.”

“You need to control how Jessica dresses. Otherwise, she’ll only get worse.”

Emily took their words to heart.

Her eyes practically lit up.

She immediately dragged me into the bathroom.

My father stood there holding the clippers, hesitating.

“Do we really have to cut it that short? She’s still a girl...”

Emily waved him off excitedly.

“I’m doing this for her own good. Without her hair, she won’t be able to seduce people anymore.”

I clenched my teeth so hard they hurt.

I didn’t even dare look at myself in the mirror.

As more and more hair fell to the floor, the light in my eyes faded little by little.

Until nothing remained.

“There. Doesn’t that look so much cleaner? Lift your head.”

With my pale scalp exposed beneath uneven stubble, I stared at her blankly.

Emily got on the phone and proudly reported her victory to a friend.

“She’s much better behaved now. She doesn’t try to seduce people anymore.”

Later, she took me outside to buy something.

The neighbors stared at my butchered hair in shock.

“Oh my God. Who cut her hair like that? It looks like an animal chewed it off.”

“Poor girl. Possessed by a demon at such a young age. Hopefully she gets better soon.”

I kept my eyes lowered.

Their whispers couldn’t reach me anymore.

Then a familiar pair of shoes stopped in front of me.

I slowly looked up.

My eyes were as empty as a puppet’s.

Ethan was staring at me.

There was heartbreak in his eyes.

Anger too.

But more than anything, there was the helplessness of a teenage boy who didn’t know how to save me.

“Jessica...”

“Are you Jessica’s friend? She’s sick, so we had to shave her hair off.”

Emily yanked me toward her.

She looked gentle on the surface, but where no one could see, her fingers dug brutally into my skin.

I could only nod along.

Then I forced a stiff smile.

The moment we got home, a slap crashed across my face.

“I take my eyes off you for a few seconds and the demon inside you starts acting up again! When are you ever going to stop making me worry?”

Ethan’s fists had clenched so tightly I had heard his knuckles crack.

At dinner, Emily bought more than three pounds of fatty pork.

She cooked all of it for me.

“Hurry up and eat! You need to put on weight.”

The pale slabs of fat were like solidified grease.

They rolled around in my throat, refusing to go down.

Emily kept urging me to eat.

My face twitched as I swallowed each bite like I was swallowing knives.

Then a violent wave of nausea surged up.

I didn’t even make it to the bathroom.

I vomited right there.

Congealed grease filled my nose and throat.

Fannie immediately pinched her nose.

“That’s disgusting! Did you do that on purpose? How am I supposed to eat now?”

My father, Oliver, sighed too.

“Forget it. If she doesn’t want to eat, don’t force her.”

“No!”

Emily’s face darkened completely.

“I finally managed to suppress the demon in her body. I can’t stop now.”

She picked up the remaining half bowl of meat.

Then she grabbed my face and started shoving it into my mouth.

“Eat! Who do you think I’m doing all this for?”

I ate and threw up at the same time.

My heart pounded so violently it felt ready to burst.

Then the doorbell rang.

Emily froze.

She put down the bowl and went to open the door.

“Linda? What are you doing here?”

Emily politely invited her inside.

Linda had been smiling at first.

But when her gaze landed on me sprawled on the floor, her eyes instantly turned red.

“Jessica...”

Emily snapped back to reality and immediately helped me up with exaggerated gentleness.

“Go clean yourself up. I’ll explain everything to your teacher.”

I nodded slowly.

Then I obediently went into the bathroom.

From beginning to end, I didn’t say a single word.

Linda took a deep breath and pulled up a video on her phone.

“Emily, this is surveillance footage from the school. You can see for yourself that Jessica has never had inappropriate contact with any boys. What you told me before has to be a misunderstanding.”

“And I’d also like to know what just happened to Jessica.”

The smile on Emily’s face faded.

Tears immediately filled her eyes.

She heard the accusation in Linda’s voice.

“Linda, kids these days know how to hide that kind of thing. Why would they let you catch them?”

“Do you really think parents would intentionally hurt their own children?”

Linda was silent for a few seconds.

Then she continued.

“At least let Jessica come back to school. Her grades have always been straight As, and she’s an excellent student. She has one of the best chances in the school of getting into a good college.”

“She can study at home just as well. You saw her. Jessica isn’t healthy. She throws up after eating. I’m not comfortable sending her back to school.”

Emily refused to listen to anything anyone said.

“It’s getting late. If there’s nothing else, Linda, you should go.”

Linda had no choice but to stand.

Before leaving, she looked in my direction.

Her eyes were filled with sorrow.

“Jessica, if you need anything, message me.”

Her lips moved.

It looked like she wanted to say more.

But then she seemed to understand.

Nothing she said would matter.