Olive ran out of her parents' room after they had roughly pushed her out. Tears were quickly streaming down her cheeks, soaking her reddened face.

For as long as she could remember, Olive had always wanted a little brother or sister. When she visited her cousins in New York, she was captivated by the idea of having one or more children living together in the same house. They could play for endless hours, from the moment they woke up until they went to sleep. It was like having endless sleepovers. They would share breakfast and lunches with laughter, know the same games, have inside jokes, and share funny vacation stories.

All those things that Olive didn't have in her home. They didn't know what boredom was, which tortured Olive. She lived alone with her parents and with Milo, the orange tabby cat that had been left to them by an Addison patient.

She loved the little feline madly, from the moment she saw him she felt a deep connection and she loved him like nothing else, but what she wanted most in the world was a sibling.

She doesn't remember very well how it happened, but the long-awaited sibling began to be delayed. At first, her father was very excited, telling her that he would arrive soon, but soon became more and more doubtful. Addison couldn't get pregnant after several months of trying, and answering Olive's questions about it was increasingly difficult.

"You have to be patient, Ols. Not yet."

"When it's on the way, you'll be the first to know, my love..."

"In a few months, perhaps, you have to keep waiting..."

"Sometimes they take a long time to come because they have to go on a very long journey to get to Mommy's belly..."

"We don't know if it will come, Ollie."

"Don't you want another kitten, Ols?"

The excitement began to wane. The waiting was dragging on and becoming more and more uncertain.

One day, Addison finally told her the news she had been waiting for: she was pregnant. Her little brother or sister was actually on the way, and that marked the beginning of another wait, for his arrival in the outside world.

For Olive, the pregnancy seemed endless. At her young age, her perception of time was distorted and those nine months were truly torture.

She would see her mother's belly grow day by day, but the baby wasn't the only thing growing. The bad mood and discomfort were intensifying.

Although Addison tried to hide any discomfort in front of Olive, there were days when she couldn't. Back pain, acidity, contractions, lack of sleep, or migraines would make her feel irritable and that's when Olive began to realize that having a little sibling wasn't as great as she thought.

Her little brother or little sister made her mother feel bad. It made her mother go to sleep instead of playing with her or lie down in bed instead of being with her. It made her suffer or sometimes cry from pain.

Her little sibling meant she couldn't be picked up anymore, or run with her in the garden because of her belly weight.

Many times her little sibling was the only topic of conversation. The baby was the only thing they talked about during those months. The baby's ultrasounds and check-ups, the baby's clothes, the baby's room. What name would the baby have? Who would be the baby's godparents? Who would come to see the baby?

All of that made Olive have feelings she had never experienced before. Were these the first signs of jealousy and insecurity? The idea that her parents wouldn't love her anymore after her little sibling was always in her mind, yet she was still excited about its imminent arrival.

She had been waiting for it for almost two years and luckily, one day the wait came to an end and her sister was born. She remembers that her aunt Amelia went to pick her up from kindergarten that day and took her to the hospital to meet her.

And finally having her sister face to face was... disappointing.

Seeing that she was a baby was disappointing. In her mind, she would arrive and go straight to play with her. They would jump together in the garden, climb trees, run on the grass, sing princess songs, or spend long hours playing Playstation, like she did with her cousins.

But the baby didn't do any of that. In the first days, she just slept. She slept, ate, and cried. Or cried while eating. She ate while sleeping. She slept while crying. Nothing else. She was very boring.

But that wasn't the only thing that unsettled her, having to share her parents was another novelty. She was used to being the center of attention. Everything revolved around her, as she was an only child.

Anything Olive wanted, she got. All the attention was on her. And now it was different. Now it was even the opposite, if the baby opened her mouth, her parents ran after her.

That was the worst part of it all. Having to see how her parents had changed since Arleth was born.

Derek was hardly ever at home. She saw him early in the morning when they had breakfast and he dropped her off at preschool, and then he would come back for dinner. Too tired and irritated to play with her or even ask her how her day was. They didn't go fishing anymore. Derek no longer brought her new toys or sweets after work. They didn't watch movies together or play video games together. They hardly spent any time together.

On top of that, Addison was always in a bad mood, with the baby in tow wherever she went. She wasn't fun or loving anymore. She no longer styled her hair like before or applied princess makeup to her eyes. She no longer let her wear her heels. They no longer went shopping together. They didn't walk in the woods together. She no longer took her to the park games. She didn't bathe her and spent hours playing with her in the tub. They no longer listened to Rapunzel's songs together, or read her stories before bed. Now she only scolded her and punished her.

Why had her parents simply stopped loving her?

~•~

That Friday night, Amelia arrived home after midnight; she didn't have to work the next day, so she had taken advantage of the opportunity to go out with Ryan. What started as a casual dinner, eating hamburgers at a restaurant when he picked her up from the hospital, became more complicated as the hours went by.

First, she bought a pack of beer, knowing she shouldn't. Was that a big deal?

In casual get-togethers with friends, people drank beer. Watching baseball or soccer games, people drank beer. Teenagers drank beer at their parties. It was practically harmless. As long as it was consumed in appropriate amounts.

But one of the problems that alcoholics have is that they don't know or can't reach that appropriate amount. They usually exceed their limit and end up in a state of deep alcoholism.

Months earlier, Amelia had met Ryan in a nightclub near the hospital and, contrary to what she had told her brother when he found out, they didn't just consume marijuana. Ryan was a kind of small time drug dealer. He sold drugs to his small circle and stayed within it.

The first time he saw Amelia, he offered her a drink at the bar. He had noticed that she looked tense and wanted to be kind, but she did not accept. She didn't want to tell him why, so he didn't insist. He just sat next to her, admiring her beauty.

She could feel his gaze on her, and it was strange. She was used to men looking at her in bars; she had always been attractive and fun, but this look was different. She couldn't figure out what he wanted from her.

At one point during the evening, Ryan discreetly passed her a small envelope with marijuana inside. Amelia was surprised at first, she didn't expect that, but when she saw the boy's smile, she accepted it.

That day, she arrived at her house, well, at Addison and Derek's house, and hid the drugs in a drawer in her room. She wasn't going to consume it at that time, she didn't need it. Yes, she had had a bad day at the hospital, one of her patients whom she had attended and operated on several occasions, had died of a heart attack.

She couldn't believe how ironic life was. Mrs. Davis, 52, suffered from a large meningioma that was pressing on her brain and spinal cord. Due to its large size, they had to resort to repeated months-long chemotherapy sessions, and once she became stable and the size of the tumor decreased, Amelia had to perform two complex surgeries to remove it. The woman came out well and practically without any side effects.

Three days after her last surgery, just before she was discharged, she had a heart attack. They did everything they could possibly do to bring her back to life, but she was gone.

How absurd was that? Months, years of struggling with a brain tumor only to end up dying from a heart attack?

Amelia was tired, angry, and sad. She had become attached to the woman and seeing her lifeless in bed, just hours before she was discharged, was horrifying. She decided not to think about it, distract her mind, and go to a bar to get through the bad time.

She didn't want to go home because Addison was too pregnant to have another thing to worry about, so she went to the bar. That was the night she met Ryan.

The next day after that event, another patient, only 12 years old, died on the operating table. Amelia hated it when her patients died, it always hurt, but children? It should be forbidden for a child to suffer or die without having known the wonders of life. Why was nature so unfairly cruel?

She walked back to the bar. And Ryan was sitting in the same spot as before. Just like the night before, he offered her a drink. This time, Amelia accepted without a second thought. Being drunk would be the only possible –and necessary– way to get through the situation. She ordered a shot of pure tequila. It wasn't the only one, it was just the first of three.

Ryan discreetly passed her a small bag under the bar, and she invited him to smoke it outside. They had fun, hung out, and got high. It made her forget about Mrs. Davis and the child.

As time went on, they started to get along better. They went out to eat or to the movies, frequented different types of bars, drank, and smoked, all within the "calm" and expected limits for a couple getting to know each other. Ryan had insisted several times on trying stronger substances, but Amelia refused.

She had always refused, except for tonight. After the harmless beers came the fun tequilas, and then the super mega nice vodka shots. She had lost count of how much alcohol she had consumed that day.

Ryan, in a state equally deplorable as her own, left her at her doorstep. It was a miracle that someone with that amount of alcohol in their system could drive properly.

Amelia struggled to get the key in the lock, turning it twice before entering. Everything was dark and silent. Everyone was asleep.

She hung her keys on the rack, left her coat, and tiptoed inside.

Everything was much harder than it seemed. Her head wouldn't stop spinning, and her stomach was about to explode. Maybe she should have stayed with Ryan when he insisted, but she was too angry with him to stay. She knew she had to stay away from hard liquor, and yet she didn't seem to care when he poured shot after shot into her mouth.

Stupid. They always did stupid things together.

She kept walking, with her shoes in her hand to stay quiet. She didn't want to turn on any lights in case Derek or Addison were awake and saw her in that state.

"Damn it!" she exclaimed as she stepped on a toy on the floor of the living room.

"Aunt Amy?" Olive asked in the darkness.

"Olive? What are you doing here? Go to sleep."

"I can't right now," she said, picking up the toy her aunt had stepped on and putting it in a backpack. Amelia was surprised that she did that.

"Why do you have a backpack?"

"I'm leaving home."

"What do you mean, Olive?" she said, holding onto the back of the sofa to keep from falling. Was the ground not moving or was it just her head?

"I'm leaving! My mom and dad hate me. They only care about Arleth."

"Don't talk nonsense, go to bed."

"No, I've packed everything. I'm leaving."

"Listen, silly girl, you can't go anywhere alone. You're two years old."

"I'm almost six!"

"Wow, so grown up. Go to your bed right now. I can't deal with your nonsense right now."

Olive wanted to cry; her aunt had never spoken to her in that tone. She was giving her another reason to run away after how her parents had treated her moments before when she went to her room.

"I'll leave and leave you in peace," she said, walking towards the door.

"Come here, brat. Or I'll scream, and your parents will ruin your escape plan."

Olive turned around and looked at her angrily. Since when was Amelia taking her parents' side over hers?

"And I'll tell my dad that you're drunk."

"I'm not drunk, I just have a bit of a headache."

"Then why are you speaking and walking like a drunk?"

"If you say a word, I'll bury you myself in the garden. Did you hear me? Go to your room now and go to sleep," she said in a threatening tone.

Olive nodded and ran out. She was afraid to face that demon that had possessed her aunt.

~•~

The next day, Amelia was regretful for speaking so unkindly to her niece. Her headache was still bothering her, and much of the argument had been forgotten, but she knew that something had happened with Olive. Before lunch, she went to Olive's room to make things right.

"Hey," she said, poking her head in the door.

Olive didn't want to see her. She turned away in her bed, facing the wall.

"Ols, I was wrong to you yesterday. I wanted to apologize for that."

"I won't forgive you."

"I know, I wouldn't forgive myself either," she said, approaching and sitting on the edge of the bed. She could tell Olive was crying.

"Get out of my room."

"Hey, don't talk to me like that. I'm here to apologize, Olive. I was wrong yesterday. I had a bad day, argued with my boyfriend, and... took it out on the wrong person. I'm sorry."

Olive remained silent, not looking at her.

"I'm glad you didn't run away... what would I have done without you?"

"Nothing. I would've left you alone."

"I don't want you to leave me alone. I like it when you bother me. I like stepping on your toys scattered around the room or hearing you sing Rapunzel's songs at the top of your lungs. I like it when you make mud pies and pretend they're delicious. Or when you climb trees so fast... honestly, sometimes I don't know if you're human or a little monkey... Listen, I know how you feel, Olive. It's... it's such a shit."

She turned to look at her, with snot hanging from her nose.

"You can't say shit."

"Shh, don't be like Derek now," she said as she took a tissue from her nightstand and wiped her niece's face. "Listen, I have four siblings, I know what it's like to be in your place."

"No, you don't. You're the youngest."

"Yes, that's true. But I know what it's like to have siblings. I know what it's like to have sisters. I have four of those because your mom is another sister."

Olive looked at her, not understanding where she was going with all that.

"Your parents don't love your sister more than you. Nor do they hate you... it's just that she needs them more right now. She can't do anything on her own. If you're hungry, what do you do? You go and grab something from the refrigerator and eat it. She has to cry until Addison breastfeeds her. Or if you need to pee, what do you do? You go to the bathroom and that's it. She has to go in her diaper and wait for someone to notice and change her. Isn't it disgusting to have a dirty diaper on?" she said, making a disgusted face.

Olive let out a little laugh and nodded.

"She can't do the simplest things by herself. She's only two months old, she has a long way to go before she can be like you. She needs you, did you know that?"

"How?"

"She needs you to teach her how to play. To teach her how to build Lego castles or how to race rubber ducks in the bathtub. She also needs you to teach her to sing Disney songs, she doesn't know any. How will she learn to do all that if you leave the house?"

"I don't know."

"You have a big responsibility as the older sister. You have to teach her everything you know, so you can have fun together. I promise you, the baby stage will pass quickly. Before you know it, she'll be walking and wanting to follow you."

"But what about Mom and Dad?"

"Your parents are tired, Olive... that's all. People do stupid things when they're tired, treat others badly, and make bad decisions... but they love you with all their hearts. They couldn't bear to live in a world without you. You're their little girl... they've loved you since you were the size of a grain of rice."

"Really?"

"Oh yes... I still remember your mom talking to you in her belly. You liked to move at night, especially when she called you Ollie and your dad got mad about it... maybe you don't know this, but you were going to be named Bella."

"Bella?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," she laughed, "but your mom insisted so much that your dad finally gave in at the last moment, and they named you Olive. She always knew that was your name. And she could only have known that because of the tremendous love she had for you."

"But it doesn't seem like she loves me anymore."

"She does love you. She just sleeps very little and is tired. When you were a baby, you were the same or worse. You were super restless and a crybaby. Seriously, sometimes I wanted to throw you out the window. We lived in an apartment on the eighth floor and it was tempting..."

"Hey!"

"But I didn't. If I did, you wouldn't be here. You owe me your life, huh."

"Not at all."

"Of course you do," she said, tickling her belly.

"AAHH STOP!" she screamed amidst laughter.

"Promise you'll never leave and I'll stop," intensifying the tickling.

"I PROMISE!"

Amelia let go of her and looked at her affectionately. How could that sweetness doubt that she was loved more than anything?

"Well, I hope so, huh."

"Aunt Amy..."

"Yes?" she said as she tucked a hair behind her ear.

"Why were you drunk?"

"Because sometimes I make bad decisions when I'm tired. I'm sorry for that, I wish I hadn't spoken to you in the way I did."

"It's okay, I forgive you."

"I promise I'll never do it again. Never."

"Okay..."

"Can I ask you to keep this between us? Let it be our secret..."

"Okay."

"Neither your father nor your mother will know, okay?"

"Okay."

"Thank you, Olive."

"You're welcome."

"I love you, brat."

"I love you too, aunt Amy."