Suicide

My little sister, Lily, killed herself after being bullied. My parents aged overnight. The three little monsters who did it just smirked and said, “We’re minors. The law can’t touch us. What are you gonna do about it?”

I smirked right back. “I’m going to make you wish you were never born.”

It started with a phone call from Mom during class. She couldn’t speak, just these broken, choked sobs. My heart started pounding. Finally, she managed to get out, “Jake, something’s happened to Lily!”

I bolted from class, didn’t even grab my jacket, and took a cab to the bus station. “Mom, I’m coming home. Just tell me what happened!”

All she could say between gasps was, “Lily… she was beaten…”

I called Lily. No answer. I called Dad. Nothing. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped my phone. I logged onto Twitter and searched Lily’s school and her name.

A video popped up – tens of thousands of views already. I clicked it.

A small, frail girl lay curled up on the ground, shielding her head. Three girls surrounded her, taking turns stomping on her face. After half a minute, one of them said, “Let’s cut this little slut’s hair, see how hot she is then.”

She grinned, squatted down, grabbed a fistful of Lily's hair, and started hacking it off. Lily curled tighter, trying to disappear. The bullies just got more excited. “Trying to hide, huh?”

They worked together – one sat on Lily, pinning her arms down with her knees, another filmed, and the third slapped her across the face. Slap. Slap. Slap.

That’s when I saw it. The bruised, bleeding face under the mangled hair. It was Lily.

The slapper stopped, gestured to the one filming. I heard an excited voice off-screen, “My turn! My turn!”

She pulled out a marker and drew a crude turtle on Lily’s swollen cheek. Lily screamed, struggling uselessly. “Look what you did!” one of the monsters said, “Ruined her pretty little face. How’s she gonna whore around now?”

She pulled Lily up, brushed the dirt off her clothes like she was actually going to let her go. Lily just stood there, clutching her torn shirt, completely lost.

Then, the girl kicked her in the back, hard. Lily crumpled to the ground. Blood spread across the concrete. They pounced, grabbing her shirt and ripping it open. Rip.

The comments on the video exploded. Then, just as fast, the video disappeared. “This video has been removed.” The whole post vanished.

“You alright?” the cab driver asked, looking at me in the rearview mirror. “You look a little green.” We were driving through a tunnel. The window reflected my bloodshot eyes, the veins bulging in my forehead.

The front yard was crowded with gawking neighbors. I pushed my way inside. Mom and Dad sat numbly on the couch. A cop sat between them. Across from them were a well-dressed man and three other adults – the principal and the bullies’ parents. The three little monsters huddled in the corner. Two looked down at their feet. The ringleader, Brittany, sat on our fruit crate, casually picki...