Chapter 3

The entire bucket of bleach water spilled across the floor, and the fumes hit like a wall, filling the room in seconds. The liquid seeped into the cracks between the floorboards and wouldn't go away.

"Look at this garbage. It's choking me out. Do you even realize that?"

Cody was fed up. He grabbed Mom's mop and tried to snap it in half. But when he couldn't break it, he threw it down in frustration and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Mom stood there helplessly. "I'm doing this for you. I'm your mother. Why would I ever hurt you?"

She didn't dare yell at Cody, so she turned to me to vent instead. "Your brother doesn't appreciate what I'm doing for him. I'm trying to keep him healthy. How is that a bad thing?"

Mom's lungs were already badly damaged from the bleach. She could barely get a few words out without coughing. But she had no idea that was the reason.

That suited me just fine.

"Mom, Cody's still young. He doesn't understand how much you care. You can't just let him have his way. Kids don't know about this stuff. When he's older, he'll see that you were only looking out for him."

Mom nodded firmly and then started muttering to herself. "But what's wrong with me? I've been using bleach for so long that all the germs in my body should be gone by now. So why am I still coughing?"

"You're overthinking it, Mom. It's probably just from getting so worked up with Cody. Don't let him get to you. He's still a kid. We just have to be patient with him."

The last thing I wanted was for Mom to figure out what was really going on. To make sure she didn't get suspicious, I offered to take her to the clinic downstairs.

It was a back-alley operation. The doctor, a guy named Walt Granger, had actually been a veterinarian. One time, in a pinch, he'd used animal medication on a human patient, and by some miracle, it worked.

After that, Walt got a taste for easy money and converted his vet practice into a clinic. Treating people paid a lot better than treating animals.

Most of the people in the neighborhood were elderly, and nobody ever questioned his credentials, so he'd gotten away with it all this time. And because Walt didn't hold back with his dosages, going way heavier than any real hospital would, his treatments worked fast.

People swore by him. He had a solid reputation around the neighborhood.

But I knew the truth about that clinic. In my last life, after Cody pushed me off the building, I hadn't actually died on impact. I'd held on, praying Mom would take me to a hospital.

Instead, when she saw me lying there covered in blood but still breathing, she panicked and carried me to Walt's clinic in secret. Walt told her he could fix me. He stuck a needle in my arm, and I died right there on the spot.

After that, Mom didn't want Cody taking the blame, and Walt didn't want to take the blame either, so they struck a deal and dumped my body together. Mom told everyone I'd run off with some older man, so my body was never found.

Thinking about Walt's track record as a doctor, I smiled. Mom was going to be in great hands down the road.

True to his veterinary roots, Walt didn't skimp on the dosage. One shot, and Mom's back stopped aching, her legs stopped hurting, and her cough vanished completely. It was practically a miracle cure. Walt was a genius, as far as she was concerned.

But Mom still had questions. "Doctor, what's actually causing this? Why was I coughing like that?"

Walt had no idea. His whole approach was to jab people with a needle and hope for the best.

If it worked, great, and if it didn't, too bad. Diagnosing the cause of an illness was way beyond his pay grade. If he'd had that kind of knowledge, he would've gone into real medicine and never become a vet in the first place.

I watched Walt put on a face that was trying very hard to look thoughtful but was really just confused, and I jumped in before he could say anything.

"That's actually what I was wondering too, Dr. Granger. Do you think it could be stress-related? She's been fighting with my brother these past couple of days, and it's really gotten to her."