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Chapter 4
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The Dead Daughter They Couldn’t Escape Chapter 7
Mom and Dad's bad luck only got worse.Dad found work hauling supplies at a construction site, but even after a full day of backbreaking labor, he barely earned enough to get by. One day, he fell from a scaffold and broke his leg. The contractor denied responsibility and covered only a small fraction of his medical bills.With both Dad and Derek needing care, Mom had no choice but to take a job as a grocery store cashier. She had once avoided anything that required real effort, but now she spent more than ten hours a day on her feet.The strain of their new life wore her down. Her posture grew more stooped, her temper became unpredictable, and she started picking fights with Dad over almost anything."This is all your fault!" Mom shouted. "You're completely useless. We never would've ended up like this if it weren't for you!"She jabbed a calloused finger in his face.Unable to stand because of his injured leg, Dad sat on the floor and shouted back, "You have some nerve blami
The Dead Daughter They Couldn’t Escape Chapter 6
Dad ground out his cigarette, his voice rough. "There's no point talking about that now. We need to sell the house and pay off the bank before things get any worse.""If we sell the house, where are we supposed to live?" Mom demanded. "What about Derek? He needs somewhere quiet to recover.""What choice do we have? Wait until the bank takes the house and puts us out on the street?"They started arguing again.I listened without feeling the slightest bit of sympathy.She thought I had ruined her life? After everything she had done to me?From the day I was born, they had treated my suffering as the price of keeping this family safe.I had lost my health, my happiness, my entire childhood, and eventually my life so they could live comfortably and give Derek every advantage.Now that I was dead and could no longer take the fall for them, they blamed me for everything falling apart.It was almost laughable.Derek's bedroom door stood slightly open. He had clearly heard them argui
The Dead Daughter They Couldn’t Escape Chapter 5
Derek stood in the doorway and heard everything.There was no fear on his face, only grief and despair.He slowly went back to his room and closed the door behind him.I followed.He pulled a small box from beneath his bed. Inside were a few things that had once belonged to me: awards I had earned in elementary school, the first birthday gift I had ever made for him, a pencil cup crafted from an old soda can, and the only photograph we had together.He had secretly kept all of it.He carefully arranged everything on his desk, then set the photograph in the center and lit a candle beside it. He sat down on the floor and stared at my picture for a long time."Gemma, I'm sorry," he whispered. "I should've done something."His voice cracked."Please come back. Just let me see you one more time."He covered his face with both hands as the tears began to fall.As I watched him, something inside me finally began to thaw.But I knew I could never come back.And this family's suffe
The Dead Daughter They Couldn’t Escape Chapter 4
Derek looked at Mom but didn't say a word. Then he turned, went back to his room, and slammed the door behind him.Dad had watched the entire argument without saying anything. He only frowned and turned up the TV volume.I hovered in the middle of the living room.The chandelier above me began to flicker. Steam still curled from the bowl of chicken soup on the table, but the soup cooled far too quickly. Within minutes, a pale layer of grease had congealed across the surface.That bowl of soup was only the beginning.The electronics were the first things to act up.The brand-new TV started changing channels on its own or suddenly cutting to static. Mom's favorite evening show always went black at the most dramatic part.She would curse and smack the side of the screen, only to catch a faint reflection of me standing behind her.Every time, she jumped in terror. When she looked back at the screen, however, I was gone."What a piece of junk. I'm getting it replaced tomorrow."Sh
The Dead Daughter They Couldn’t Escape Chapter 3
The taller girl in the photo wore her hair in two braids and grinned wide enough to show her slightly pointed canines. She had one arm wrapped tightly around the little boy beside her.It was a picture of Derek and me, the only one we had together. It must have been taken on a school field trip when I was seven or eight.I still remembered that day. Mom had only given me enough money for my own bus fare and lunch, but Derek had cried and begged to come along.I split the ham sandwich Mom had packed for me and gave him half. He wolfed it down, leaving crumbs all around his mouth.I had asked one of my classmates' dads to take a picture for us. Afterward, I saved my allowance for weeks so I could afford to have it printed.I never imagined Derek would still have it.He gently brushed his thumb over my face in the photograph. "Gemma."He said my name so quietly, his voice almost breaking."I'm sorry."His shoulders started shaking. He buried his face in his hands and cried as sof
The Dead Daughter They Couldn’t Escape Chapter 2
Derek sounded skeptical, but he couldn't quite hide his smile.Dad came out of the kitchen carrying a glass of warm milk. "Drink this, then get to bed early."The three of them looked like a perfectly happy family.There were three plates on the table and three cups.There had never been a fourth.I stood beside them, watching as they laughed and joked together."I'm right here!" I screamed with everything I had. "I'm dead! Look at me!"And yet, no sound came out.They couldn't hear or see me.-An entire day passed, and my body was still lying in that dark bedroom.No one noticed.The rest of the house stayed warm and lively. After Derek finished his exam, Mom cooked a huge dinner to celebrate.Dad had a few drinks, and his face was flushed as he clapped Derek on the shoulder. "I bet you crushed it, son."Derek grinned. "Of course I did. I take after you."Mom piled extra pot roast onto Derek's plate. "Eat up. You're getting too skinny."By then, the smell from my room
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