I Took Her Phone, She Took My Life

My daughter had failed her exams and was facing delayed graduation. School was about to start again, yet she was still addicted to her phone, playing until five in the morning.

In a fit of anger, I confiscated her phone.

I never expected her to suddenly explode in rage, grab a hammer, and smash it down on me.

“Give me back my phone! Give it back! Can’t you just leave me alone? You’re so annoying!”

Each word was punctuated by a blow, until I collapsed, blood splattering everywhere.

When I fainted, she tied up my hands and feet, taped my mouth shut, and sewed me into Jason Miller’s punching bag.

My limbs went numb, pain throbbed in the back of my head, while she hummed a tune and went on playing her game as if nothing had happened.

After six long hours, I finally heard Jason come home.

“Mom, I’m starving… Mom? Where are you?”

Jason came in with his backpack, just back from his tutoring class, and instinctively looked for me.

On the couch, Emily Miller was staring intently at her phone, fingers flying across the screen.

Hearing her brother’s call, she didn’t even look up, clicking her tongue impatiently.

“If you’re hungry, make instant noodles yourself! Can’t you see I’m in the middle of a team fight? Stop yelling, you’re so annoying!”

Jason pouted, dropped his backpack, and searched the small apartment. He realized I was nowhere to be found.

He boiled water skillfully and pulled out two cups of ramen.

“Sis, want me to make one for you too?”

“Mm.”

Emily gave a soft hum without raising her head.

Soon, the smell of ramen filled the air.

Only then did Emily pause her game, wolfing down the noodles while still glancing at her phone, afraid she’d miss something.

When she finished, she shoved the empty container onto the coffee table and went straight back to her room.

Jason ate slowly, then his eyes fell on the old punching bag in the corner—the one he always used to practice.

He stood, stretched his wrists and ankles, and walked over. Like greeting an old friend, he slapped the bag twice.

The sound thundered in my ears like an explosion.

My heart leapt to my throat.

No! He’s going to practice!

I tried desperately to move, to make some noise, but my body was numb and unresponsive.

Thud!

The first punch slammed into my abdomen.

Agonizing pain darkened my vision, nearly suffocating me. I instinctively tried to curl up, but I couldn’t move.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A flurry of blows rained down on my chest, ribs, and shoulders…

Each strike brought searing pain; I felt as though my organs were shattering inside me.

I tried to open my mouth to scream, to beg for mercy, but the tape sealed it shut.

Pain and suffocation blurred my consciousness.

Finally, one especially heavy blow landed on my head.

The world went black.

I passed out.

Jason, drenched in sweat, was toweling off his forehead.

Suddenly, Emily cracked her door open.

She stepped out, froze when she saw him standing by the bag.

“You’ve been training… didn’t it feel… off somehow?”

Jason stopped mid-motion and turned back.

“Off? Not at all. I actually felt great today.”

Emily stared at the punching bag, which stood perfectly still, showing nothing unusual.

Her tense shoulders relaxed, and she let out a long sigh of relief.

“Nothing, then… Guess she really stormed out of the house in anger.”

“Huh? What’d you say, sis?”

Jason didn’t catch it.

“Nothing!”

Emily shook her head, her voice once again full of irritation.

“Go wash those stinky clothes of yours, they reek!”