We Shared a Body They Chose Her Every Time Chapter 06

We Shared a Body They Chose Her Every Time Chapter 06

Liam froze, then ran downstairs and threw open the door.

Sure enough, an elderly man stood there with a calm, knowing expression, shaking his head with a sigh

Liam’s heart dropped.

Dr. Cross walked inside. “Give me the card.”

My mother handed it over.

He looked at it. “The soul attached to the long card is no longer in that body. Dead, or asleep. Either way,

she’s gone.”

The words landed like a bomb. The three of them went rigid, their faces dark with shock.

Liam practically roared. “That’s impossible. Emily was fine. She can’t just be gone.”

His voice cracked. “Yesterday she was fine. How can she be gone today?”

I floated nearby and watched, feeling the irony.

I didn’t think they were sad because I was gone. I thought they were just sad because Sophia had lost her

punching bag, her shield.

Dr. Cross spoke slowly. “I warned you back then. Don’t favor one over the other. The three of you didn’t listen,

did you?”

The three of them froze.

My mother was the first to deny it. “No. We always treated them the same. They’re both my daughters,

they’re the same person. I would never treat them differently.”

Dr. Cross’s eyes seemed to see right through them. “Is that so? Then why did you tamper with my cards?

Why did you draw the short card twice as often as the long one?”

My mother had no answer.

Liam stepped in, his breathing fast.

“Because Emily is much smarter than Sophia. She’s a very gifted child.”

“We were afraid Sophia would feel insecure, so we gave her a little more love to make up for it.”

I stood where I was. The words cut straight through my heart.

Make up for it? But why did their compensation have to come at my expense? What did I ever do wrong?

My eyes filled with tears that burned.

Dr Cross shook his head.

“No Your compensation went far beyond reasonable. Take what happened with the Vance family. Why did you bring Emily out to take the punishment for Sophia?”

“That was physical harm. It had nothing to do with intelligence.”

Liam choked, his face going pale. He had nothing to say.

Why had he instinctively made Emily take that punishment too?

My mother started crying, and she and my father looked lost and guilty.

Dr. Cross sighed. “I could control which soul woke and which slept. That’s why I gave you the cards with my power in them.”

“But I can’t stop a person’s heart from dying of disappointment.”

“There’s nothing you can do now but accept it.”

He nodded and left the house.

Liam’s legs gave out, and he fell onto the couch, his eyes hollow.

“Gone. She’s gone.” The sister who was brilliant but always quiet-she was gone.

A sharp pain shot through his heart, so intense that he doubled over like an old man, all his strength drained.

His eyes drifted to the shelf under the TV, where dozens of photos sat.

He realized for the first time that all the smiling faces in those photos were Sophia, not one was Emily.

When did he stop being kind to Emily? When did that start?

And why had he never taken that photo she always wanted?

He stared at the pictures, lost.

From the time his sister was born, he knew she was different. Two souls in one body.

Sophia was always whining for his attention, calling his name, making his heart soft.

Emily was different. She was more mature. She didn’t whine or act as lively as Sophia. She was quiet and kept to herself.

Little by little, his heart shifted.

She was smarter than Sophia. To make sure they both had good lives and good colleges, he and his parents decided to let Emily handle all the hard things.

The SATS, the entrance exams, the dance competitions, piano competitions, art competitions, all of it.

And then, feeling sorry that Sophia had nothing, he would wake her up to accept all the praise and awards.

But right now, in this moment, he realized for the first time: Emily had never once been praised, never once

been taken on a trip, never once.

Liam’s eyes went red.

Upstairs, Sophia had watched everything, her expression shifting.

When Dr. Cross said Emily was gone, she was happy.

But then she saw her parents and brother starting to feel guilty.

She clenched her hands.

What was there to feel guilty about? This body was hers. Emily should have disappeared a long time ago.

She looked at the long card, and a cruel look came into her eyes.

“Emily can’t really be gone.” She ran downstairs and lunged toward her mother, pretending to trip.

And then, the long card snapped completely.