The Girl Who Saved Me

1.

The day I turned eighteen, I climbed to the roof of my apartment building.

But someone else was already there, perched on the edge, and a stream of comments floated in the air above her head.

[What’s this? Another jumper? Did the supporting character call for backup?]

[She’s so dramatic. The heroine’s family gave her a home for ten years, and now she’s acting like this just because they asked for a little heart donation.]

[Hey, the new jumper is walking over. What’s she gonna do?]

I lunged forward, wrapping my arms around the girl’s waist and pulling her back from the ledge. We tumbled to the rooftop floor in a heap.

"Mind if I go first?" I asked. "I’m in a bigger rush."

2.

"Let go of me! Just let me die!"

The wind whipped strands of her hair across her face, and fat, hot tears splattered onto my cheek.

"I just found out today," she sobbed, her voice cracking. "To my family, I’m nothing more than a living organ bank for my sister."

Her name was Sophia, and her face was a mess of tears and despair.

"The only reason I exist is to be sacrificed for her. Don't try to talk me out of it. I'll destroy this body before I let them get what they want!"

"I'm not going to talk you out of it," I said flatly.

She stared at me, stunned into silence.

"I just saw you taking up the best spot," I continued, "and you weren't jumping. So I pulled you down." I shrugged. "If you need more time to work yourself up to it, let me go first. I’m on a deadline."

Sophia’s mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. The comments above her head, however, were scrolling frantically.

[Seriously? Now there’s a line for jumping off a roof?]

[This new girl seems a little unhinged. Hope she doesn’t mess with Sophia’s head. We need her to stay healthy for our heroine.]

[Knew it. Sophia is all talk. Who is she trying to scare with all this crying?]

Sophia’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Why are you so desperate to die?"

I sat on the edge of the roof, dangling my legs over the side with a carelessness I didn’t feel.

"Because my parents told me to."

3.

I was born a monster.

I don’t feel emotions. I only know how to mimic them, copying the anger, greed, and sadness I see in others. Because of this, everyone in my life has always despised me. Even my own parents. More than once, they’ve said it to my face.

"I regret the day you were born. Why don't you just die?"

They were right. I was a monster who deserved to die.

But I still wanted to try. I practiced smiling and crying in the mirror for hours, trying to learn how to blend in, how to be normal.

It never worked.

Like the time I went to a comedy. I was the only one in the theater roaring with laughter. Everyone else was dabbing their eyes with tissues, staring at me like I was insane. I didn't get it. It was a comedy. Weren't you supposed to laugh?

Or at a wedding, when the bride's father gave her away. The guests were all cheering and whistling, but I was standing there with a long face, on the verge of tears. My mother saw me, dr...