Nora's POV 
Few Years Ago
"Come on, Nora. Nancy. Nash." Mum shouted as she walked out of the house.
I giggled, rushing out to meet her and dragging a reluctant three-year-old Nash out with me. "Let's go, boy." I said, impatience gripping my vocal cords.
"I don't want to go." He cried, struggling to break free.
I rolled my eyes, tired of forcing him to leave the house anytime we had somewhere to be. I thought all kids his age would be willing to jump and roll around in nature. Why would he be different?
I sighed, wondering how I got the gift of an annoying brother, even as I looked at him with a pleasant smile on my face. As much as I was annoyed with him, I couldn't be mad at him. He was too cute for that.
"Let's go." I implored him again. "We will have fun. Picnics are always fun."
"Cartoons are better." He argued.
I sighed, exasperation clouding how adorable I thought he was. Realizing I wasn't going to get anywhere by arguing with him and trying to convince him, I picked him up and hoisted him over my shoulder. He cried, his voice loud enough to blare my eardrums but I didn't let him down. He banged me on the back, thrashing to get down but I pretended not to notice. His small fists weren't enough to hurt me anyway. He should give up if he knew what was best for him.
Mum chuckled as she saw us approaching the car. "The little man is proving stubborn again, right?"
He turned his head to face her. "I'm not little."
"No, you are not." She agreed with repeated chuckles, unable to help herself. "Come here, my big man."
I dropped him with relief and watched as he hopped to mum's side, reporting me to her. She listened, nodding and smiling as she promised to deal with me. I chuckled, knowing that she wasn't going to do anything that he wanted when she was the one who had told me to get my siblings out.
One down. One more to go.
"Tell Nancy she has two minutes to be out. I don't want us to miss the best spot." Mum said.
I sighed and walked back inside to get Nancy. If getting Nash out was trouble, getting Nancy would be chaos. My five-year-old sister was a fashion superstar. I had no idea how a child of her age could be so fashion conscious. If mum bought her a dress that wasn't flashy, she wouldn't accept it. If she didn't like her reflection in the mirror, she would throw a tantrum.
I hoped for our sakes that she was pleased with whatever she had spent the past one hour putting on her body.
I gently knocked on her bedroom door, knowing that she would chew me out if I barged in. 
"Are you done, Nancy?" I asked as I poked my head in.
"Almost," she said without looking at me. "Done." She said after a few more seconds of glancing in the mirror.
I breathed in relief, grateful that I wouldn't have to deal with another dose of drama. My energy had started to wane and I needed to conserve it. For the first time since I turned fourteen, I had new friends who wanted to hang out with me and I couldn't wait to have fun.
We all piled into the car and left for the picnic garden. I screamed with delight as I saw my new friends and ran to embrace them.
"You made it." One of the girls said, smiling at me. "I thought you weren't coming."
"My siblings almost made us late." I said in my defense.
"Let's go. There is something here we have to check." A boy said, his eyes twinkling with excitement. He danced on his feet, eager to leave for the treasure he wanted to find.
Just as I was about to give my consent and go with them, mum called out to me.
"Nora," 
I sighed at the sound of my name, my heart breaking into shards. I knew that they weren't going to wait for me. And I couldn't ignore my mum.
"Please, wait for me." I begged even though I doubted that they were going to listen.
The first girl who had welcomed me waved me off with a shy smile, giving me a tiny ray of hope that they were likely to wait for me.
"Wait here with your siblings." Mum said as I joined them at the spot we had spread our mat. "I will be right back. I just want to catch up with my friend." She added when she noticed the crestfallen expression on my face.
"Mummy, I want to go." Nash cried.
She bent down and picked him up. "Watch over Nancy. I will be back."
I scowled as I watched mum walk away with Nash. I turned my attention toward my new friends and saw them moving away. I wanted to call out to them but realized that I didn't even know their names.
I scanned the grounds for mum, scowling when I saw her walking away and laughing with her friend. I didn't think she was going to be back soon.
I would be damned if I let the day waste without having fun. I wasn't about to spend the whole day babysitting Nancy when the fun I wanted was just there in my reach.
"Nancy, do you want to have fun?" I asked, hoping that she would agree to follow me. That way, I could watch over her and also not miss out on the fun.
She snorted without sparing me a glance. "And ruin this pretty dress I spent hours deciding on?" She said, flicking off invisible speck of dust on her dress as if to drive home her point.
I snorted, annoyed by her unnecessary obsession over how she looked.
"You can go to meet your friends, Nora, if you want to go." She said, glancing at their retreating figures.
"Really?" I asked with excitement bubbling in me.
She nodded, flicking me a wave to get myself lost from her sight.
I caught myself and cleared my throat. "Mum says I should watch you."
"I'm a big girl, sister. I can watch over myself."
I scoffed. "You are five."
"Old enough to know when you think of me as a nuisance."
I blushed, feeling guilty that she was right. "No, I don't "
She snorted, not believing me. "Leave, sister. I will be fine. If mum gets back and asks of you, I will tell her you left to pee."
My friends were about to get out of sight and I wasn't about to let this opportunity of having fun slip out of my hands.
"Thank you." I said to Nancy. "I won't be long." I promised and ran after my friends, shouting at them to wait for me.
I had fun but regretted the decision I made after getting back thirty minutes later and Nancy was nowhere to be found.
I could barely utter a word as mum yelled and searched all around for Nancy. Tears clogged my throat, and I hated that I had sacrificed Nancy for fun. Dusk fell and we still couldn't find her.
Mum yelled at me, asking why I left her child alone. I cried harder, hoping she would see I didn't mean to let Nancy get lost.
Not long after, I woke up and couldn't see anyone at home. My dad, mum and Nash were nowhere to be found. I realized at that moment that I had been abandoned once again.