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Chapter 4

Penulis: Eva Winter
When it was time to pick colleges, I had my sights set on some outstanding out-of-state schools. However, Mom had other plans and kept me local.

She used to teach at the elementary school back home but quit to move near my college, all so my brother could go to a fancy high school.

They made me come home every weekend to clean and cook because he was boarding there.

Then, with him on a break, she had me coming back every day to cook.

On the weekends, my roommate was always buzzing with excitement, either hitting the town for some fun or catching extra sleep in our dorm. Whenever they were itching for a shopping spree, a little charm went a long way with their parents.

Me? I was juggling part-time gigs to scrape together cash for tuition and living expenses, and then I was back home playing nanny to my kid brother.

People who did not know any better thought I was the child my parents had been hoping for.

In reality, I know better—I was born Brian.

Mom, even the teacher, worried about the stigma of playing favorites with her kids, did not want to be caught giving boys the edge. So, she dubbed me Brianna.

Even before my younger brother was born, she always called me Brian. After Zane was born, she switched back to calling me by my full name.

Zane, with a name like Gene, a nod to our family's legacy.

The memory of today's prescription bill and the wince on Mom's face was still fresh in my mind.

Maybe, just maybe, my so-called 'adorable little brother' actually did me a solid at that time and helped me cut ties with that bloodsucking household for good.
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  • The Pretend Darkness   Chapter 20

    The evidence I gave to the police was solid, so after they checked it out, they cuffed the so-called spiritual healer.The cop who took my statement said the witch was in deep trouble for abusing kids and had a rap sheet that included someone dying. She was looking at 10 years or more behind bars.Zane took his last breath one night in the hospital, just a few weeks after he was admitted. The beeping machines flatlined, and that was it for him.Mom threw a fit in the hospital, but this time, she walked away with nothing but her son's body.She tracked me down just as I was wrapping up a big project at work, getting ready to hit a celebration dinner with my team."I'm telling you, you little brat, as long as I have your papers, you'll never shake me off! Your address will snap back here once you're done with school, and you better believe you'll be handing over every paycheck!" she snarled, clutching my ID.I just gave her a half-smile. "I never switched my address to the school,

  • The Pretend Darkness   Chapter 19

    "Internal bleeding, viral infection, heavy metal poisoning—the patient is in critical condition. Brace yourselves…""In a world where science reigns supreme, I can't believe there are still people who put their faith in witch, to the point where they'd hurt their own kids."I knew Mom heard the whispers; her face went ghostly white for a split second."Should I not have gone to that witch? But Zane was sick, and I just wanted him to get better...""He was covered in bruises, his blood almost drained, forced to drink that vile water until he puked blood..."I could not tell if I was talking about my brother, who was fighting for his life in that hospital bed, or about myself, from a previous life, when I could not take the torment anymore and chose to end it all."It's all because of you. If you hadn't shown me that news piece, I never would've gone to that witch, and your brother wouldn't be in this mess..." She trailed off, a memory seemingly catching in her throat.Mom's voice

  • The Pretend Darkness   Chapter 18

    "Hehe—"The room was silent for what seemed like forever until my little brother's throat suddenly let out a wheezing sound, like a broken accordion gasping for air.Mom frantically dabbed at his forehead when, out of nowhere, he coughed up blood.A spray of dark red, mixed with the gray of shredded paper and the vivid scarlet of fresh blood, splattered everywhere.His face turned a sickly pale in a heartbeat."Ambulance! Brianna, call an ambulance, now!"See, she knew exactly what could save a life. At the life-or-death moment for her baby boy, she did not hesitate to choose what would really work.So why, in my previous life, when I was the one spitting up blood from that vile water, did she just unemotionally question the witch?"The evil has been driven out, right? My son's going to be okay now, isn't he?"The ambulance came anyway, not because I had any soft spot for Zane, my brother. It was because the last piece of Mom's punishment needed to come from him.I watched as

  • The Pretend Darkness   Chapter 17

    As expected, when I got home, Mom went back to her old ways. She tied up my brother in his sleep, and this time, she did not even need my help to make sure he could not move an inch."Mom! Didn't I tell you I'm better now? Didn't the doctor tell you? I'm not sick! Let me go—"The witch we called in again narrowed her eyes, waving a stick around, drawing symbols in the air like she was casting a spell.She mumbled some incantation for what felt like forever, burned a pile of paper, and then mixed in half a bowl of animal blood."We've got no choice but to try this! The evil spirit's too strong. If we don't get rid of it, your son's life is at risk."I watched them force a bowl of that dark, blood-red potion down my brother's throat.He gagged a few times and then went still.His eyes shut tight, mouth half-open as he struggled to breathe.Suddenly, I felt like I was the one being choked, my breath caught in my throat. However, instead of discomfort, I felt a rush of exhilaration

  • The Pretend Darkness   Chapter 16

    "Doctor, I've been faking it! I'm not sick, you can see that, can't you? Tell them I'm all better, that I'm not sick!"Zane was not slow on the uptake; he knew convincing the doctor was his ticket out of the witch's clutches.Oh, dear brother, you have not lived through all the trials I have faced in my previous life—how could you possibly think this was over?"Okay, okay, calm down. Trust me, go take a break, and I'll talk to your mom."Once Zane was out of earshot, the doctor let out a weary sigh. "This kid of yours, he's in a bad way! I've seen it before—a kid kept saying he was just putting on an act, and his family bought it. Then, a few days later, he tried to end it all!"The doctor's story turned my mom's face ghostly pale.I had only given the doctor a heads-up a few days earlier that my brother kept insisting he was fine. However, deep down, I was scared for him, scared he had to do something drastic.The clinic's doctor was not about to take any chances, so he played

  • The Pretend Darkness   Chapter 15

    Ever since that so-called witch, Zane had been a shadow of himself. He stopped begging to play his video games and just sat there in his room, zoning out as he stared at his fingers.Come dinner, he did not dive for the meat anymore, just nibbled on the vegetables in his plate or whatever was within arm's reach.Mom had been watching him, getting more worried by the day.One time, catching her sighing over his slumped figure, I sidled up to her. "Mom, is he really all better? He's been acting off lately. Maybe we should get him checked out at the hospital?"For once, Mom looked drained, too tired to snap at me as she just nodded. "I've noticed it too. He won't even touch meat, and it just kills me. Let's take him to Anthony's clinic tomorrow, see what they say."As I sat in Anthony's clinic, it hit me—I was right. Even with her son, her pride and joy, sick before her eyes, my mom would not put her faith in a big hospital.Stubborn to the core, she always thought she knew best.L

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