They Wanted Me to Chaperone My Sister Abroad, So I Vanished Chapter 01

They Wanted Me to Chaperone My Sister Abroad, So I Vanished Chapter 01

The day SAT scores dropped, I pulled up my results—a perfect 1580—and silently closed the tab.

No cheers, no celebration. Everyone was swamped planning Linda Miller’s overseas college enrollment, my little sister, born a year after me.

They didn’t even remember to ask about my scores until they overheard others talking about the exam results by chance.

“I barely hit the 1200 cutoff,” I forced a stiff, sorrowful smile. “I messed up bad.”

Marcus Thorne, my childhood friend, barely glanced up as he double-checked Linda’s overseas study essentials checklist. “Figures. You barely slept the night before the exam; a low score was inevitable.”

Owen Miller, my older brother, scrolled through online shops ordering Linda’s favorite snacks, his voice flat and dismissive. “Then this works out perfectly. You can study overseas with Linda. It’s only right the older sister looks out for her.”

I dropped my gaze, a bitter, quiet smirk tugging at my lips.

Owen dotes on Linda so fiercely—why didn’t he turn down his spot at the University of Washington to fly abroad and keep her company instead?

***

On exam day, Ms. Bennett had stared at the dark bruise-like circles under my eyes and assumed I’d pulled all-nighters cramming out of test anxiety.

The truth was far crueler. My consistent top-tier scores meant my parents had dragged me into Linda’s room the whole night before the SAT, forcing me to drill practice questions for her nonstop.

Linda burst into hysterics the second she walked out of the testing hall. She’d filled in the answers in the wrong order, tanking her entire SAT attempt in one go.

Without a second thought, my parents booked her a spot at a sketchy overseas college, completely ignoring my scores that easily qualified me for the country’s most elite universities. They were dead set on making me abandon my own future to act as her full-time caretaker abroad.

I spoke softly, hollow inside. “Fine. I’ll do whatever you want.”

My parents huddled over travel guides, jotting down packing lists for Linda’s trip.

“That’s our good girl. You’re brilliant—talent shines anywhere you go.”

“But Linda only has this one shot to get an education overseas. We’d lose our minds worrying if she’s all alone over there.”

“Besides, clearly standardized testing isn’t your strong suit. You flubbed the SAT last year, and here we are again. You might as well let go of college dreams and head abroad too—this is us looking out for you.”

“Quit wasting time talking about her. Let’s finish ordering Linda’s supplies; none of this stuff’s easy to find overseas…”

I said nothing, only letting that bitter smile stretch wider across my face.

I failed to sit for the SAT last year because my state ID—my only valid test document—disappeared moments before entry. I couldn’t get inside the testing hall at all and missed every section of the exam.

I found out months later my parents had hidden it on purpose. They’d known my scores were exceptional, and wanted me to repeat junior year to tutor Linda full-time.

I’d screamed and sobbed, only to get a cold, careless dismissal.

“Your grades are flawless. What’s one gap year gonna hurt, Bella? Don’t be so selfish.”

“Linda’s outshone by you in every way. You need to think about her more.”

Linda was an unplanned child, just one year younger than me. Frail and sickly from birth, she’d mastered the art of wide-eyed, tearful pleading long before she could form full sentences.

That’s why Mom, Dad, Owen, even Marcus—everyone’s default instinct was to coddle her first.

I was just a kid too. All I’d ever craved was a scrap of my family’s love. So I poured every ounce of effort into being perfect, foolishly believing excellence would finally earn me the affection I begged for.

Back in elementary school, I’d been picked as cheer captain for graduation ceremonies—tall, neat, photogenic.

I endured two months of brutal midday heat practicing parade steps, only to have the spot ripped away the second Linda threw a screaming tantrum about wanting the role instead.

Every school year, I’d stack the most certificates on our kitchen counter. Linda never brought home a single award, so my parents tore my hard-earned certificates to shreds just to soothe her hurt feelings.

Even when Owen and Marcus took us out for the day, their full attention locked onto bubbly, chatty Linda. They’d snap at me for failing to “act like a proper older sister.”

But I was only one year older than her.

“You’re prettier, smarter, more likable, Bella. You’ve got everything going for you. We have to spoil Linda extra—otherwise life’s unfair to her.”

What about fairness for me?

After finishing their travel checklist, Mom handed Linda a bank card. “One bad SAT doesn’t define you, baby. Mom and Dad will always have your back. Happy graduation.”

Owen handed her a brand-new high-end laptop next, and Marcus presented her a designer bracelet.

They clustered on the couch laughing and gushing over Linda, while I sat alone at the dining table, a forgotten shadow on the edge of their joy.

My throat burned with unshed tears. I stared down at my phone, scrolling through friends’ posts: every single one showed lavish graduation gifts from their families.

A sharp, hollow ache twisted my chest, and I voiced the question I already knew the answer to. “…Did anyone get me a graduation gift?”

The warm, lighthearted atmosphere crashed to a standstill. After a beat, Owen’s jaw tightened with irritation.

“You got plenty of gifts from your friends, remember? Linda didn’t get any, so we skipped yours to make it fair.”

Even. Fair. Balance.

When one bowl sits fuller than the other, they scoop from the overflowing side without caring how much blood, sweat, and tears filled that bowl in the first place.

They’d rather cut down the exceptional than lift up the inadequate—never mind the cost of reaching that height.

I should’ve seen this coming years ago.

All light drained from my eyes. I grabbed my laptop and locked myself in my bedroom, shutting their laughter out behind a closed door.

On my college application portal, only one school sat listed: University of California, Berkeley.

Far from Washington, D.C.—the perfect escape for a girl who had nothing left to lose in this twisted household obsessed with so-called fairness.

I squeezed my eyes shut and clicked confirm on my submission.

Tears spilled, hitting my desk with a sharp splatter, shattering completely.