My father was a raging alcoholic. Every time he got drunk, he'd abuse me and my brother, Leo. Afterward, he’d always throw a few hundred dollars at me as compensation. I accepted it calmly, sometimes even buying him his favorite greasy burger and a cheap bottle of whiskey. The neighbors tried to call the police for me, but I shook my head. I touched my bruised arm and smiled faintly. "If he hits me twice more, Leo will be hit twice less." Until that night, when he got drunk again and pushed Leo off a tall building at a construction site. Robert’s slap landed, and I heard the crisp snap of teeth colliding. One side of my face burned. My mouth filled with the taste of iron. A banknote fluttered to my feet. "Take it! Take the damn money!" "This is your old man's generosity, go buy something good to fix yourself up!" Robert’s neck was thick and red, his chest heaving, spittle flying onto my face. I said nothing, bending down to fumble for the money on the ground with fingers still swollen from being stepped on. The money was stained with my and Leo’s blood. But I knew, money was the only thing that could buy us what we needed. I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth with my sleeve, lifted my eyelids, and stared fixedly at him. "What are you staring at?! Stare at me like that again, and I'll gouge your eyes out and pickle them in booze! Now, go get me my alcohol!" He roared, then slumped onto the blackened wicker chair. The chair groaned under the strain. In the corner, Leo cowered behind the old kitchen counter, trembling. His arm was red and swollen, covered in purple belt marks. I walked over, squatted down, and touched his burning wound with my cold fingers. Leo flinched sharply, lifting his head. His eyes were filled with hatred. "Sarah… it hurts…" he squeezed out a groan. "Bear with it," I whispered into his ear, my voice icy. "It will be over soon." I stood up, clutching the fifty-dollar bill in my hand, and walked out into the dusty wind. The convenience store had a strange smell. I slapped the money onto the counter. "Mr. Henderson, I need a gallon of the nastiest rotgut." "The kind that feels like it’s burning a hole through your gut." The owner looked at the slap mark on my face. "Oh, Sarah, child, why do you put yourself through this?" "Your father beats you like this, and you still serve him?" "Yeah, that Robert is an animal." "If I were you, I’d have put rat poison in his drink long ago." The men hanging around were just spitting and talking loudly. I ignored them, watching expressionlessly as Mr. Henderson poured the murky liquid into a plastic jug. Next door, I bought two pounds of fatty cuts of pork. When I returned home, Robert was already passed out on the table, snoring like a freight train. I slammed the jug of liquor onto the table. The dull thud startled him awake. He suddenly sprang up. "My booze! Where's my booze!" "Did you, you wretched girl, steal my liquor?!" He snatched the jug, pulled off the cap, and guzzled it down. The murky liquid streamed down his stubble, wetting his greasy undershirt. "Dad, here's some braised pork, eat it while it's hot." "It's all fatty, smells delicious." I pushed the plate of pork in front of him, my voice submissive. Robert grabbed a piece of fatty meat and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing until his chin was dripping with grease. "Mmm… Sarah's so devoted… much better than that bastard brother of yours…" "That bastard is nothing but a burden…" As he spoke, he suddenly raised a hand and slapped himself hard across the face. The sharp crack echoed in the empty shack, making Leo in the corner flinch. "Dad's at his wit's end… Dad truly is at his wit's end…" "Sarah, don't blame your old man…" He burst into tears, snot and tears smearing his face. I stood in the shadows, watching him with cold eyes. I pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper from my pocket – an accident insurance policy. In the dim light, I checked the effective date over and over, a cold smile playing on my lips. Three more days. Just three more days, and his life would be worth something. Robert cried enough, then took another large gulp of alcohol, letting out a burp that sprayed onto my face. "Sarah… you drink too… it won't hurt anymore if you drink…" "You'll see your mom if you drink…" He held the bottle out to me, his bloodshot eyes staring. I quietly watched the vein in his neck throbbing wildly. I calculated in my mind how much longer that vein would beat. "I won't drink, Dad. I don't hurt." I said softly. The shack was damp and stuffy, filled with a foul smell. I rubbed balm on Leo's back wounds. With each stroke, his muscles tensed, but he bit his lip and didn't utter a sound.
"Sarah, I want to kill him." Leo suddenly spoke, his voice cold. My hand froze, the balm dripping onto the sheet, spreading a dark red stain. "Don't be silly," I reprimanded in a low voice. "Murder means prison, we still need to live our lives." "Then how much longer do we have to wait?" He turned his head, his eyes fixed on mine. "Soon." I pulled up his shirt, covering his scars. "Once that day comes, we'll be free." Outside the shack, Robert’s loud voice drifted in, him bragging to his coworkers. "I tell you, having a daughter is like having a goldmine!" "When she gets married, the dowry will be at least fifty grand!" "Robert, you're full of it. Your girl's as skinny as a rail." "Who'd pay that much money?" "Bullshit! My girl's slender!" "Besides, she's obedient! If I tell her to go east, she won't dare go west!" A burst of laughter followed. My heart remained unmoved. That evening at dinner, I crushed a bottle of disulfiram, an alcohol deterrent, and mixed it into Robert's blood pressure medication bottle. The book said disulfiram, if consumed with alcohol, would trigger violent psychotic episodes within 5-10 minutes. Robert suspected nothing, grabbing a handful of pills and shoving them into his mouth, washing them down with a large gulp of the rotgut. "Why does this medicine taste a little bitter?" He smacked his lips, frowning. "Good medicine tastes bitter, Dad. This is imported, it works really well." I lied without batting an eye. After a few more drinks, the medication kicked in. Robert became agitated, pacing around the room, his eyes bulging. "Ghosts! There are ghosts! That dead bitch is back!" "She's here to claim my life!" He pointed at the empty corner, screaming and waving an empty liquor bottle. Leo and I huddled in the corner of the bed, watching him go mad with cold eyes, calculating that the medicine was indeed working! The next morning, Mr. Jenkins from the neighboring village came knocking. He was a local contractor and also a pimp. "Robert, Sarah's not getting any younger, I see." "That limp Mr. Davies from the next town is offering ten thousand dollars as a dowry…" My hand, washing clothes, abruptly stopped. To my surprise, Robert suddenly flew into a rage, smashing the bottle of liquor Mr. Jenkins had brought. "Get out! You old scumbag!" "Who said I'm selling my daughter?! My daughter is going to college!" He grabbed a shovel and went after Mr. Jenkins. Mr. Jenkins scrambled out of the shack. I was stunned. Late that night, I was woken by grinding teeth. I saw Leo sitting on the bed. Moonlight shone on his face. He held a rusty pair of scissors, hovering them over Robert's head. I scrambled up, snatched the scissors, and clapped my hand over his mouth. "Are you crazy?! Didn't we agree I'd be the one to do it!" I hissed into his ear. Leo turned his head to look at me, his face full of grievance. "Sarah, I don't want to wait anymore. I'm afraid he'll sell you again." "I don't want to be separated from you." I hugged his frail body, tears streaming uncontrollably. "It won't happen. I'll never abandon you." The next day, Robert sobered up. He sat on the edge of the bed, staring at a photo of Leo and me. We were smiling happily in the picture; it was taken when Mom was still alive. A tear dropped onto the photo, landing on Mom's face. "Sarah… take good care of your brother from now on… Dad's a piece of trash…" "Dad's sorry for you both…" He mumbled, his voice hoarse. I stood outside the door, listening to his repentance, my mind solely on that spiked bottle of liquor. The sky was gloomy, storm clouds gathered. On the construction site, the wind howled through the scaffolding. A thirty-story building, with only a few steel pipe railings. Robert was on the night shift today, guarding building materials on the rooftop. I used the excuse of bringing him food, and with Leo, slipped into the construction zone, avoiding all cameras. After climbing thirty flights of stairs, my legs were trembling. "Sarah, it's here." Leo pointed to the railing near the edge, his voice calm. Leo pulled an adjustable wrench from his backpack and handed it to me.
"Sarah, do it. Just two turns." "No one will ever find out. It'll just be an accident." I took the wrench, my palms slick with sweat. I squatted down, gritting my teeth, and jammed the wrench onto the nut fixing the railing. The nut was rusted solid. I used too much force, and my fingernail snapped, bleeding. "My turn." Leo pushed me aside, picked up a crowbar, and inserted it into the steel pipe's connection point. With a soft "CRACK," the weld snapped, and the steel pipe wobbled. We then poured a layer of used engine oil onto the steel pipe. Leo looked at the trap, a faint smile on his face. After all this, we packed up, ready to head back the way we came. As we reached the second-floor stairwell, a cough suddenly came from a dark corner. "Cough, cough… Who's there! Trying to steal my rebar, huh?! Stop right there!" It was Robert's voice. I grabbed Leo's hand and was about to run for the exit. "Sarah? Leo? What are you two doing here?" Robert emerged from the shadows, holding a flashlight. The bright light blinded me. I instinctively tried to hide the backpack behind my back. "Dad… I… I saw it was going to rain today, so I brought you some warm clothes." I stammered an explanation. Robert looked at us suspiciously, his gaze lingering on our muddy shoes. "Why didn't you call me if you were bringing clothes?" "This construction site is full of hazards, what if you fall?" He grumbled, pulling a plastic bag from his pocket and stuffing it into my hand. "Take it! These are calcium supplements, for Leo." "The kid's too short." I clutched the bag of calcium, still warm from his body heat. "Thank you, Dad. You… be careful up there, the wind's strong." "Don't drink too much." "Alright, alright, now hurry home and do your homework!" "You two just annoy me! You two burdens!" He waved a hand, turned, and walked upstairs, his back stooped. I watched his silhouette disappear, the cold wrench in my backpack digging painfully into my back. Late that night, the heavy rain arrived as expected, lightning tearing across the sky. Thunder shook the construction site, all sounds drowned out by the rain. Leo and I, wrapped in raincoats, climbed to the top floor. In the shack, Robert sat by the railing, holding a liquor bottle. I had spiked that bottle with half a bottle of disulfiram, and with the liquor's strong taste, he hadn't noticed. After drinking half a bottle of the doctored liquor, Robert’s eyes bulged, his face contorted in madness. "Drink! All of you, drink!" "Tonight, us two men won't stop until we're drunk! Hahaha!" Seeing us enter, he slammed the bottle onto the table. "Sarah! Leo! You're just in time!" "Look, your mom's here to pick us up! She's flying in the sky!" He pointed at the night sky outside, a twisted smile on his face. Suddenly, his expression changed. "No! You bitch! How dare you bring another man here!" "You're making a fool of me!" He grabbed a wooden stool and smashed it fiercely into the air. Wood chips flew. He turned, his bloodshot eyes locking onto Leo. "It's you! You bastard!" "You're the one who led your mom astray! You must be her and that other man's bastard! You want to hurt me, don't you!" He lunged forward, clutching a broken stool leg. "Run! Run!" I shouted, pushing Leo toward the railing. Leo screamed, turning to run, his steps faltering. "I'll cleanse this family today!" "I'll kill you two dogs! Die, both of you!" Robert ran wildly on the muddy ground, chasing Leo. Leo reached the railing, stopping abruptly. He turned to look at Robert, then leaned backward. Half his body instantly hung in the air. "Ah! Help!" Leo let out a scream. Robert reached him, saw Leo falling, and his expression froze. The murderous intent in his eyes instantly turned to terror. "Leo!" He roared, threw away the stool leg, and lunged without hesitation. He grabbed Leo's collar tightly, trying to pull him back. The railing couldn't bear the weight of two people. "CRACK!" A muffled snap. The steel pipe came loose, and the railing instantly collapsed. Robert lost his balance and tumbled over with the railing. Leo, however, using Robert's push, flipped back onto the platform. He lay on the ground, panting, his eyes calm. Robert didn't fall immediately; he grabbed onto the rebar at the edge of the platform. He hung suspended in mid-air, the heavy rain washing over his face. "Sarah… save me… pull your old man up…" "Please, pull your old man up…" He saw me, and desperation exploded in his eyes. I walked to the edge of the platform, looking down at him. Rainwater ran from my hair into my eyes, stinging. I slowly squatted down, reached out my hand, and placed it over his. "Dad, didn't you say living was too tiring?" I said softly. Robert was stunned: "Sarah… what are you doing… I'm your dad…" "I'm your own father…" "I know." I nodded, forcing a smile. "So, I'm sending you to see Mom. She's been waiting for you down there for a long time." With that, I exerted force, one by one, prying his fingers open. Just as he was about to fall, a sudden chill ran down my spine. Behind me, in the rain, I heard extremely faint footsteps. Robert stared intently at the shadow behind me, his face contorted with terror. "Run!!" The next second, before I could act, he actually let go of the hand he was using to save himself!
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