"You're good for nothing."
That's what Mom said again today.
Sin stared into the darkness, phone face-down on the bed. Her words echoed in his skull like a cracked bell that wouldn't stop ringing.
Good for nothing.
"Same thing, every single time," he muttered under his breath, jaw tight. "If you couldn't afford me... why did you even have me?"
No one heard him. No one ever did.
Ting.
A notification light blinked once — a cold flash in the dark room. Sin turned his head slowly.
Linux 4D Pro — Now Available.
His eyes burned. Not from the light.
"I have to fight for everything," he whispered, staring at the screen. "While Didi gets whatever she wants without even asking."
The light faded. Darkness swallowed the room again.
He remembered the morning.
They were at the shopping complex — Mom walking ahead, Sin trailing behind, working up the nerve.
"Mom... the Linux 4D Pro just launched. It's way more powerful than mine. Can we—"
"I bought you a phone last year." She didn't even slow down.
"That was the 3D Pro. This one's different, it's—"
"So what?"
"Mine's getting slow. Please, Mom. Just this once."
She stopped walking. Turned around.
"Sin." Her voice dropped. "What did you say when I bought you that phone? 'I won't ask for anything after this.' Remember?"
He looked away.
"My health isn't good. If you keep doing this to me—" her voice cracked slightly— "I'll wear out faster. Is that what you want?"
Sin's eyes hardened. "Then buy it for Didi. I won't carry your bags anymore."
He dropped the shopping bag right there on the floor and walked away.
Behind him, Mom stood alone with two bags now.
"He's gotten so out of hand," she murmured to no one. "Boss won't pay on time, my health is falling apart, and then there's him..."
She picked up his bag and walked home alone.
That night, Mom and Reena ate dinner together.
Sin sat in the dark, door slightly open.
"Just leave him, Mom," Reena said between bites. "One day without food won't kill him."
"You don't understand, Reena. He won't go to college, he won't do anything. My boss is already making things difficult and now this. What am I supposed to do?"
Reena's voice dropped lower — but not low enough.
"Honestly? He irritates me."
Sin heard every word.
Slowly, something in his chest went quiet.
He also remembered the day at college.
Reena's friend had spotted him sitting alone in the corner of the canteen — as always.
"Reena, isn't that your brother? Look how lonely he is. Poor guy doesn't have any friends."
Reena had glanced at him. Just once. Cold eyes.
"Come on, let's go somewhere else."
She grabbed her friend's hand and walked away without a second look.
That was the last day Sin went to college.
When Mom found out, she hit him. Hard. More than once.
And something shifted inside him after that — a quiet, permanent fear. The kind that doesn't leave. Going outside meant being seen. Being seen meant being judged. Being judged meant—
He stopped thinking about it.
It was easier to stay in the room. Keep the curtains closed. Let the world forget he existed.
By midnight, everyone was asleep.
Sin hadn't moved.
His eyes were dry now — he'd stopped crying an hour ago. Or maybe two. He wasn't sure.
Then his stomach growled.
He pressed a hand against it, almost embarrassed, even though no one was watching. Slowly, he got up. Bare feet on cold tiles. He padded toward the kitchen, each step deliberate, quiet — like an intruder in his own home.
The refrigerator door opened with a soft click.
Cold light spilled out and fell across his face.
Eighteen years old. Hair slightly white at the temples — stress, maybe, or just the way he was born. Dark circles carved deep under his eyes. And on his left cheek — the faint, reddish outline of a handprint that hadn't fully faded.
He stared at the food without really seeing it.
"What are you doing?"
He spun around.
Mom stood in the hallway, arms crossed, watching him with tired eyes.
"I— I..." The words wouldn't come. His throat closed.
He moved to leave. She caught his wrist.
"Sin. Listen." Her voice was softer now, almost gentle. "I don't have the money right now. But there's a sale in two or three months. I'll get it for you then, okay? Cheaper. I promise. Just... come eat something."
He pulled his hand free.
"I want it now."
"You're being unreasonable—"
"I don't care."
"You're making me angry."
"I didn't ask you to get angry." His voice cracked. "Reena gets everything she wants without even asking. But me—" His eyes filled. He looked away. "Why would you even need someone like me. A waste. That's all I am."
The slap came fast.
Sin's head turned with the impact. He stood still for a moment, cheek burning, something dark and electric surging up his spine.
"Don't hit me."
His hand found the handle of a knife on the counter. He didn't think. He just threw it — hard — into the darkness across the room.
Silence.
Then—
"Mom."
Reena's scream split the air.
Mom lunged for the light switch.
The kitchen flooded with light.
Sin's eyes went wide.
The knife had found Reena — who had come downstairs without a sound, without warning. She crumpled to the floor, Mom already rushing toward her, voice breaking into something raw and animal.
Sin's feet turned to stone.
His hands were shaking.
I didn't mean to.
I never—
I never meant for this.