Standing outside my house, I waved to Tyler as he drove away. After putting the key in the front door, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I turned the knob and poked my head inside, apprehensive at the lack of light in the living room.

“Mom? Dad?” I called out, gulping back the nervousness before saying, “Mya?”

The eerie vibe was so tense that it made me want to turn around, but the sound of Cinnamon’s muffled barking swayed me to enter the house. What had been my haven since birth was now a home of the unknown, and I didn’t like it. Not one bit.

“Mom?” I whispered this time, stretching my arm out to reach the light switch. The second the living room was lit, the door slammed shut.

“You’re late,” a familiar voice roared. I turned to see my father a few feet away, his shoulders slouched with his head tilted to the side. His eyes dilated as his jaw hung low.

“D-Dad?”

A heap of air on the back of my neck caused me to jump and turn around, now seeing my mother with the same demeanor as my father.

“You keep making mistakes,” she yelled at me. “Why can’t you be more like Mya?”

“Mom, why are you saying this? Where is Mya? Tell me where she is.”

In a rapid motion, my mother’s hand struck my face. Before I could even react, she leaped on top of me and held a strong grip around my throat, the back of my head slamming against the floor.

“Mom, stop,” I managed to breathe out while struggling to remove her nails from my neck. My plea fell on deaf ears as she continued to choke me. “Get off.”

“Richard, hold her legs and bind them together,” she said to my dad. I was powerless to defend myself. Mya’s spell had completely taken over the minds of my parents.

My lower body became tighter, and my vision began to fade. “Mya, I’m sorry.”

“Release her,” a familiar voice commanded.

I stood up and gasped for air immediately after the hold was loosened. My parents backed away and gave sight of Mya sitting at the top of the stairs. Her arms were folded together, leaning forward with a malevolent grin.

“You’re so pathetic. It’s nice seeing how weak you are when Mom and Dad aren’t around to worship you.”

“M-Mya, I know what’s going on. There’s a demon in this house that’s controlling you. I know it sounds crazy, but—”

“Nothing is controlling me. Not like you control everyone around you and make everything all about yourself.”

I walked halfway up the stairs before shouting, “Mya, you have to stop. This isn’t about me or you. Look at what you’ve done to Mom and Dad.”

“So what? They’re mine now. All of the attention, love, and protection they gave to you, they’ll now give to me and only me. I’m going to make you suffer for forcing Quest to break up with me. You thought that was okay to do while you have a famous boyfriend by your side? It’s my time to get everything I want.”

“Couldn’t you tell Quest wasn’t into you like that?” I questioned, now inches away from her. “And our parents have always given you everything you wanted. If you wanna fight and argue about which one of us is more spoiled, then fine. Just free Mom and Dad from your spell. Please.”

She cackled, standing up to confront me. “Oh, you haven’t seen spoiled yet. Not until you look at yourself from another person’s perspective. You have everything someone our age could ask for, and yet, you remain this bland, ungrateful person who takes advantage of everyone. So now, I’ll take everything you have because you don’t deserve it.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I stared into her honey brown eyes in distress. Everything was coming together. Her desire could only be one thing.

“You want my life… Mya, you don’t need to be this fabrication of me that you’ve created in your head to be happy. I know you believe that deep down. A demon has taken over your mind. It manipulates people into using their aspirations for evil. It looks like—”

“A werewolf shrouded in darkness?” she cut me off with a smirk. “Oh, I already know. Did you think you were special? That you were some chosen warrior or God’s gift to mankind so you’re the only one able to see them?”

“No, that’s not it at all. I—“

With a hard shove to my chest, my body went tumbling backwards down the stairs. The pain coursing through my back, arms, and legs after reaching the bottom was excruciating, but I was thankful my neck didn’t break from the fall.

Despite Mya’s actions, my anger could never reach the point of harming her. My mind was more focused on her desire, which gave her the ability to see the Shadows and Shade Crawlers. That power could put her in serious danger, and I needed to put an end to it. Now.

“I can see them just like you can,” she continued as I pushed through the pain to stand on my feet. “Because I am you, only better. I’m going to be a daughter who Mom and Dad can be proud of, not some talentless dependent who they have to fight over every week.”

“You have no idea what you’re getting into,” I yelled back. “You think it’s easy feeling someone else’s misery and helping them overcome it? I watched people die ‘cause I couldn’t save them in time. I feel that guilt every night before bed. It stays in your heart and eats away at your soul.”

We glared at one another as I finished getting my point across. “You have a future, Mya. You have a plan. You don’t know how hard it is being a senior in high school and not knowing what to do once it’s all over. To be me is to be someone who’s lost, someone who has to live with the burden of sensing despair wherever she goes. I refuse to stand back and allow my own sister to suffer the same way I do.”

“And to be me is to be the unhappy and neglected daughter,” she hissed. The wicked vibe in the house instantly increased. “But maybe that’s okay as long as my Shadow is with me.”

As if she had called for its presence, an evil essence began to form behind Mya. My heart pounded in my chest from the shrouded figure that placed its gloomy claw on her shoulder. It then took a fiendish form that made me charge at it in rage, only to have my momentum terminated by a sudden impact to my stomach.

“You just don’t get it, do you?” Mya laughed out as I fell to my knees, trying desperately to catch my breath. “This family is all about me now.”

I looked up and saw my father, who hovered over me after delivering the painful blow. My attention then turned back to Mya.

“I’m sorry for not being a better sister.”

“No, you’re not. Lying won’t get you out of this situation.”

“I’m telling the truth.” I struggled to stand. “I’m sorry for not supporting you. I should’ve stepped up after Noel died and looked after you more, but I kept putting you last when I should’ve placed you first. I went into your room yesterday and saw the picture hanging on the wall. You’re so talented, and I hate myself for not being someone you could share your creativity with.”

Her eyes dropped to the floor. I prayed that I was getting through to her.

“Are you being honest right now?”

“Yes, Mya. All you ever wanted was for me and everyone else to acknowledge you, right? Well, you got it, sis. Things will change from now on. I love you, and it’s about time I show you how much I do.”

Her lips quivered. “This is all so wrong. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I don’t want this anymore.”

The Shadow released an ear-splitting screech. It acted irate due to losing its mental grip on Mya. She had broken free from its manipulation, meaning I could purge it and keep her memories intact.

“Mya, don’t worry. Let big sis handle this.”

A white glow manifested in my palm, the light forming into energy that released in the direction of the Shadow. The demon cried out until it dissolved into nothingness.

I grabbed onto Mya and held her close. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. I promise I’ll protect you. Forever. Whenever you need me.”

“It’s all I ever wanted. I’m sorry for all this.”

“It’s okay. We’ll get through it together.”

The hardest part was over. All that was left to do was inform Mya of what happens next.

“Mya, when a person’s influenced by a demon like you way you were, I usually use my light to make them forget everything that happened. But, you broke the demon’s spell on your own, so I think I can trust you to never want to be me ever again. You have to swear on everything that you'll never tell anyone about any of this, though. Ever. Especially Mom and Dad. Understand?”

She sucked her teeth. “I’m not the tattletale in this family. You don’t have to worry.”

I gave her a lopsided smile. For the first time in a long time, we were close. Happy. It was a feeling I never wanted to lose again.