All Chapters of Mom’s Punching Bag: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

When I opened my eyes again, I was floating in mid-air.Another version of myself lay on the floor, cold and stiff, as a pool of dark red blood spread beneath the back of my head.I knew I was dead.Yet even now, I still felt no pain.As I drifted toward the front door, I saw Mom leading my younger sister out by the hand.My sister kept looking back over her shoulder with tears streaming down her face. Mom gave an impatient tug.“Stop looking. He’s fine. What harm can a slap do? Come on, I’ll take you out for something good to eat.”Soon, the door closed behind them.I drifted out after them.Mom took my sister to a dessert shop, the one I’d always wanted to visit.The place was crowded.Mom found a table in the corner and pushed the menu toward my sister.“Order whatever you want.”My sister kept her head down, unmoving, with a vacant gaze.Mom sighed and, in a voice much softer than it was at home, she said, “Bella, I know you’re hurting inside. But you have to unders

Chapter 2

A few seconds passed without any response.Mom waited a little longer, then continued, “Tomorrow is your birthday and your little sister’s. I’ve gone a bit too far today, but you know I didn’t mean it. I’ll leave the cake by the door, so come out and eat. Don’t be angry anymore.”The room remained silent with no response whatsoever.Seeing this, Mom sighed and bent down to place the cake box by the doorway. She then turned and went back into the kitchen. Bella stood in the hallway, staring at the door for a long time.I hovered beside her, wanting to tell her I was right here.Alas, she couldn’t see me, nor could she hear me. That night was a torture to me as I stared all night at my favorite strawberry cake by the door. Early the next morning, the main door opened and in came my father. He was carrying two gift boxes, smiling as he walked in, “Ray, Bella, Dad’s here to celebrate your birthday!”Mom came out of the kitchen, and upon seeing him, her expression fell. “Wha

Chapter 3

My heart skipped a beat, and I hurriedly drifted to stop him.Mom and Bella would be devastated if they found out I was dead!But the next moment, Mom grabbed hold of Dad. “Don’t you dare!”“Watch me!”The two of them began to struggle. Dad was stronger and shoved her aside, once again already reaching for the knob.Bella suddenly rushed forward and stood in front of the door.Her voice was hoarse and trembling, “Stop it, you two!”Our parents froze.Bella kept her head down as her shoulders shook violently, but she forced her voice to remain steady.“Ray could be asleep. Let him rest.”Mom frowned. “Why on earth would he be sleeping in broad daylight?”Bella didn’t respond, nor looked at Mom. She just stood there blocking the door.Dad looked between the two of them.In the end, he muttered through gritted teeth, “Fine. I won’t argue with you. But if anything happens to Ray, I’ll never let you off the hook!”With that, he slammed the main door and left.Mom spat in disg

Chapter 4

“Alright, Mom.”Bella suddenly spoke. Her voice was unusually calm.“This time, I’ll take the punishment myself. It has always been Ray taking the beating for me all this time.”Mom froze, seemingly unable to believe her ears that these words came from my sister’s mouth—from her obedient little daughter.Bella didn’t look up.Mom scoffed. “Oh, so you’ve decided to play the hero now? Thinking you can go against me? What, you think I’m heartless? Think I’m biased?”Bella remained silent and just stubbornly stood there.That silence totally infuriated Mom.Her face darkened as she pulled a laundry rod from the balcony and beat Bella mercilessly.“Well then, today I’ll show you what heartless really means!”Blow after blow, Bella gritted her teeth without a sound.Blood ran down her arms and dripped onto the floor. I hovered nearby, desperate to scream, to stop it, yet my hands only passed right through her. I couldn’t grasp a thing. Bella never once looked up. She stood the

Chapter 5

The door swung open.Mom stood in the doorway.Light from the living room poured in and fell across the pool of blood on the floor.I lay in the corner, with my skin having turned a purplish red and my stomach swollen. A foul stench hung in the air.Bella was slumped against my shoulder. Her school uniform was soaked through with blood. The fruit knife lay by her side.The cake box slipped from Mom’s hand and hit the floor.The box split open and strawberries rolled toward the doorframe.Taking a step back, her back bumped against the hallway wall, and she uttered, “Bella?”Her voice trembled as she called out my sister’s name.No reply.She took a step forward. Her knees buckled and she sank to the floor.Mom crawled toward Bella, reaching out to touch her blood-stained fingers.Mom immediately recoiled her hand as if struck by an electric shock.“Bella! Don’t scare me! Get up!”She grabbed Bella’s shoulders and shook violently.Bella’s head lolled with the motion and t

Chapter 6

Dad’s hands gripped the doorframe.“Ray… Bella…”He lay face down on the floor with his head banging against the floorboards.Another police officer walked over and grabbed his arm.“Sir, please control yourself. Do not interfere with the scene.”Dad shook the officer off.He stood up and turned toward my mother, lunging at her.He raised his arm and slapped Mom across the face.A sharp crack echoed through the living room.Her head lolled to one side and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.“You killed them! You wicked woman!”Dad clamped both hands around her throat and shoved her hard against the back of the sofa.Her hands clawed at his arms, struggling.The officer rushed over and pinned Dad down on the coffee table.“Let go! If you continue, we will use force!”Handcuffs were snapped onto Dad’s wrists.He fought against them while his eyes locked on Mom.“You give me back my son! Give me back my daughter!”Mom coughed as she clutched her neck.“Bella ki

Chapter 7

Inside the interrogation room at the police station, a metal chair was bolted to the concrete floor.Mom sat restrained in it with handcuffs locked to the armrests. Across from her, two police officers were seated behind the desk.A surveillance camera blinked red. The officers laid out a stack of photos on the desk.The first photograph showed the swollen back of my head, while the second photograph showed the bloodstained corner of the cabinet.The third showed the laundry rod on the balcony, and the fourth was Bella’s arm, covered in bruises. “Ms. Eleanor Henderson,” one officer said. “Preliminary forensic findings indicate that Raiden Stone died from intracranial bleeding caused by a traumatic head injury.”The police officer tapped the first photograph.“Between five and six o’clock in the evening, the day before yesterday, where were you? What were you doing?”Mom stared at the photograph of me.“I was at home. Bella dropped ranks in school and I made her go on her

Chapter 8

My sister and I stood against the wall of the interrogation room.Bella kept her head lowered.She watched Mom unravel before our eyes, yet she didn’t step forward.We simply held hands.Dad was led into the mediation room next door.A police officer entered and handed him a document. “The autopsy reports are out. Raiden Stone has indeed died from an intracranial bleeding. Annabella Stone died from excessive blood loss.”Dad’s hands tightened around the papers, causing the pages to crumple beneath his grip.“Officer. Will she be sentenced to death?”The police officer pulled out a chair and sat down.“She’ll be charged with manslaughter and abuse. The final sentence will depend on the court’s ruling. Since you were her spouse, whether you choose to provide a statement of forgiveness will affect the sentencing.”Dad rose to his feet. “I won’t provide a statement of forgiveness. I want her dead.”The door opened.Two officers escorted Mom down the hallway.Dad rushed out

Chapter 9

Three months later.The visitation room of the detention center was divided in half by a thick sheet of glass.Dad was sitting in a chair.On the other side of the glass, an iron door swung open.A guard led Mom into the room.She was wearing a blue prison uniform. Her hair had been cut short, exposing streaks of gray at the roots.Her cheeks were sunken, her lips chapped.Slowly, she sat down in a chair and picked up the intercom.Dad did the same.“The verdict is in.”His voice was flat.“Manslaughter and abuse. Sentences to be served concurrently. Life imprisonment.”Mom’s hand holding the receiver trembled as she looked at Dad.“You didn’t write me a statement of forgiveness.”“No, I did not.”Mom pressed her head against the glass.“Howard. Every night I dream of Bella. She would be standing by the bed, covered in blood. She asked me why I had hit her brother.”Dad remained silent.Mom pounded on the glass suddenly.“Tell me. What did I do wrong? I work from daw

Chapter 10

Winter had arrived.Snow settled gently across the cemetery, blanketing the rows of gravestones in white.Dad was wearing a black padded winter jacket.He bent down and placed two bouquets of snowdrops in front of the gravestones.My name was inscribed on the left, and Bella’s on the right.In the photographs, both of us were smiling.Dad took a plastic box out of his pocket, and inside it were two slices of strawberry cake.He lifted the lid and placed the cake next to the bouquets.“Ray. Bella. It’s your birthday.”He retrieved a lighter from his pocket, lit several white candles, and placed them down one by one.“That woman has gone mad in there.”Dad looked at the gravestones.“The people at the detention center said she talked to the walls every day, claiming to be explaining math homework to Bella. If she got one wrong, she smashed her head against the wall. She ended up covered in blood.”A cold wind blew past.The fumes from the candles drifted away.“She’s alway

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