Part 2Family Reunion, Death Wish

After the doctor left, my mother came into my room with a glass of warm milk and sat on the edge of my bed.

She looked at me, her expression a mix of emotions I couldn't decipher.

“Caleb, tell me the truth.”

“Do you… do you really hate this family?”

I shook my head. “I don’t hate you.”

“Then why? Why do you do these things? Why do you keep hurting yourself?”

I took the glass, sipping the warm milk slowly as I answered her with complete sincerity.

“I just want to make everyone happy.”

My mother’s eyes instantly reddened.

“You’re my son, Caleb. My own flesh and blood. You don’t have to please anyone!”

I set the glass down and looked up at her.

“But since I came home, Adam hasn’t been happy. Scarlett hasn’t been happy.”

“Mom… was finding me a mistake?”

My question left her speechless. All she could do was pull me into a hug.

“No, Caleb. You’re not a mistake.”

Her embrace was warm.

But it reminded me of another life.

The one where Adam sliced his own hand with a knife and fell crying into her arms. The look she gave me then was ice-cold. She locked me in a dark, cramped utility closet, letting Adam turn on the gas valve outside, leaving me there to “reflect” until I learned not to “hurt” my brother again.

Back then, I didn’t understand what I had done wrong.

All I wanted was to survive, to make them all like me.

Now, all I wanted was to die.

And suddenly, my mother was calling me her precious son.

The next day, there was a family meeting.

Adam had cried all night, his eyes swollen like walnuts. He sobbed, “I really didn’t push him. I was just… I was just scared.”

“Scared that when he came back, you all wouldn’t want me anymore.”

Scarlett’s heart went out to him immediately. “Mom, Adam didn’t mean it. He’s just insecure. Look at Caleb! He’s only been back a few days and he’s turned the whole house upside down!”

She pointed a finger at me, her face contorted with disgust.

“He’s not normal!”

My father rubbed his temples, sighing in frustration.

“This can’t go on. Let’s find a psychiatrist for Caleb. Get him some proper help.”

On the day of the appointment, I was perfectly cooperative. I answered every question the doctor asked.

“Why do you keep thinking about dying?”

I sat on the soft leather couch and smiled. “Because it’s the easiest way to make all the problems disappear.”

The doctor adjusted his glasses, trying to guide me. “But have you ever considered that if you die, the people who love you will be very sad?”

I blinked, my curiosity genuine.

“Love me?”

“You mean like the caretakers at the orphanage, who said they loved me while they watched the other kids beat me?”

“Or like the man who took me, who called me his good boy while he locked me in a dog cage?”

“Or maybe…” I leaned in closer. “Like my sister. Who warns me not to upset her precious brother one minute, then waits until I’m half-drowned to pull me out of a pool the next?”

I lowered my voice to a conspiratorial whisper.

“They don’t love me, Doctor. They’re just afraid I’ll die in their house and cause them trouble.”

“They think I’m sick, that I need to be fixed.”

“But I’m not sick. I’m just… listening to them.”

“To make them happy, I’ll do whatever they ask. If they want me to die, I’ll die.”

“Is that so wrong?”

The doctor’s hand, pen in mid-air, froze. His face had gone deathly pale.