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Semua Bab Let Me Sleep, or I'll Never Wake: Bab 1 - Bab 10

10 Bab

Chapter 1

"Zach Davies! How much longer are you going to continue playing dead?"My father Arnold Davies' voice echoed loudly throughout the silent exam hall. He walked up to me, his leather shoes clicking against the floor as he made his way up to me.My face was pressed hard against the cold cement floor, warm blood seeping from where my temple had hit the corner of the table."Mr. Davies, I think that Zach really seems to have passed out," one of my classmates, Charlie Hartman, whispered from the seat next to mine."Passed out? No way. He's clearly just a lazy pig!"Dad then grabbed me by the back of my collar with astonishing strength, dragging me up from the floor.My head slumped limply to the side, the back of my hand scraping against the rough floor and leaving a bloody mark there."You're always sleeping! You fall asleep in class, you fall asleep while eating, and now, you actually dare to fall asleep during the year-end exam?" Dad growled at me through gritted teeth. "You might

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Chapter 2

Dad crumpled up the blood-stained napkin before throwing it hard at my face."Let's see how long you can lie here in this position and keep up with your stupid act."He then stood back up, dusted off the dust on his hands, and turned around before storming out of the abandoned classroom.My soul floated in the air, trying to call out to him. I wanted to tell him that it wasn't red ink but my blood. I wanted to tell him that my head hurt. I wanted him to save me.But he couldn't hear me at all. He only left me with a resolute back to stare at.A series of hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway. It was Ms. Morgan. She was holding a stack of draft exam papers and approached the abandoned classroom under the pretext of distributing the papers.She glanced into the classroom window and frowned hard."Zach? Zach Davies? Can you hear me?"She knocked lightly on the door, but I didn't move a muscle on the floor. The blood that Dad had rubbed off my ear formed again from the constant b

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Chapter 3

I just stared blankly at my inner thigh, where I'd stabbed thousands of tiny holes with a pair of compasses. Some wounds had scabbed over, and some others were still oozing a yellowish fluid.I kept spritzing my wounds with a sweet-scented hand sanitizer spray to mask the faint smell of blood every day, but when Dad smelled it, he jumped to the conclusion that I was vaping behind his back."How dare you do such horrible things behind my back? Trying to act all tough like the thugs out on the street, are you? Why can't you just behave yourself for once?"He then slapped me in the face and confiscated my phone from me. And from then on, I lost even the privilege to set an alarm to wake myself up if I really passed out.The only thing I could do was continue stabbing myself again and again, harder, deeper, and many, many more times, just so that I could stay awake.However, I still didn't blame Dad for it even after my death.I knew that it must have been hard for him to raise two s

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Chapter 4

I had stayed up all night last night writing out the letter to Dad."If I can place in the top 50 on this exam, I hope that Dad will reinstall the lock on my door."But now, the paper was already soaked in my blood, the writing on it long since blurred. I was never going to see the day when Dad kept his promise to me.After lunch, Dad had to rush back to the school office to begin grading the exam papers. Afternoons were reserved for the school teachers to grade their papers intensively, and the timeframe was very short and tight.Eventually, only the sound of red ink pens scratching against the paper surface could be heard in the grading room.Dad was responsible for grading the science papers. He graded each paper quickly until he finally came to a completely blank answer sheet. The name written on the paper was squiggly and lopsided."Zach Davies."I had only managed to stay awake enough to write down my name during the paper earlier before losing consciousness altogether and

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Chapter 5

My skin was ice-cold, devoid of any warmth, and my body was also extremely stiff."Y-your skin… Why are you so cold?"Dad recoiled at once as if he'd just been electrocuted, a fleeting look of panic crossing his eyes.However, his panic was quickly suppressed by his preconceived notions."Of course. You're lying on the ground in thin clothing. Makes sense that you're freezing," he said with a cold laugh before standing back up."Your stupid pity-play won't work on me. I don't care if you freeze to death here tonight, but you're going to redo this paper even if it kills you."Ms. Morgan happened to walk past just then with a small stack of draft paper that she never finished distributing after all. When she glanced into the classroom, she suddenly dropped everything to the floor and let out a blood-curdling scream that pierced through the silent hallway.She then slapped a hand over her mouth and pointed at the puddle of congealed blood on the floor."B-Blood… Mr. Davies, Zach l

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Chapter 6

The door to the emergency room was suddenly pushed open, and the attending emergency doctor came out, removed his mask, and walked out with a grave expression on his face."Who here is the family member of Mr. Zach Davies?""I'm his father," Dad said, stepping forward at once. "When will he finally wake up, doctor? He still has two more exam papers to sit for tomorrow."The doctor was stunned and stared at Dad incredulously."Mr. Davies, we've done our best," he finally said, taking a deep breath as he spoke in a grave voice. "The patient had no vital signs when he arrived. A brain CT scan showed severe intracranial hemorrhage, and the optimal time for resuscitation was missed."We therefore declare that the patient, Zach Davies, is dead.""That's bullshit," Dad said, calmly interrupting the doctor. He didn't cry or make a scene, and his eyes didn't even reflect an ounce of emotion in them. He just calmly retrieved a small bottle of hand sanitizer spray from his bag that he alway

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Chapter 7

Dad completely lost his temper and started ransacking the place. He threw all of my clothes on the floor and tore my books apart, one by one."There must be a reason! Zach would never have stabbed himself repeatedly for no reason! He must be hiding something from me!" Dad muttered under his breath while still tearing my room apart.Finally, he found a plastic L-file folder hidden at the very bottom of a dusty cardboard box under the bed. It held a couple of pieces of torn paper.Dad shook out the pieces of paper and turned on his phone flashlight. Then, he kneeled on the floor as he pieced the paper scraps together with shaky hands.It turned out to be a hospital recommendation letter that he had personally torn apart with his own hands half a year ago.Back then, Ms. Smith had suggested taking me to the hospital for a proper checkup, but Dad still thought that I was faking everything and tore up the recommendation letter into shreds in front of the hospital.Now, he was piecing

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Chapter 8

Dad rushed up to the figure in the bed and tore the blankets off Zeke. Then, he grabbed Zeke by the hair and dragged him out of bed."What did you mean when you said that at the hospital, Zeke Davies?"Dad's eyes were bloodshot, and he had completely gone mad at this point. "You knew from a long time ago that Zach was sick, didn't you?"Zeke got such a fright that he burst into tears at once and struggled to free himself."Dad! You're hurting me! I don't know what happened! I don't know anything about it!""You're lying," Dad said, lifting his hand and slapping Zeke harshly on the face."You said that Zach could only stay awake by stabbing the compasses into his leg. Where did you see him do it? How?"Zeke was in a daze from the slap, and he held a hand to his face while cowering in a corner. But as Dad continued glaring at him ferociously, he broke down again and admitted, "I-I saw his recommendation letter from the hospital. But I was worried that you would stop loving me an

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Chapter 9

"You can have the house, but the money in the bank will belong to me. I'm also taking Zeke away."Dad stared at the divorce papers with a blank expression on his face. Then, he shook his head mechanically."You can't leave, Bianca. Zach still hasn't forgiven me yet. If you leave now, then this family will be torn apart.""This family was already torn apart the moment you locked Zach up in the abandoned classroom," Mom replied, shoving a pen into his hand. "You're a murderer. You don't deserve to be a father."Dad's hand trembled so much that he couldn't even hold the pen properly. The divorce papers also fell into the snow.Zeke hid behind Mom the whole time, not even daring to look at Dad at all. He tugged at Mom's shirt hem and urged quietly, "Let's go, Mom. It's very cold here."Dad lunged at Zeke and grabbed him by the arm, refusing to let him go."You can't leave either, Zeke. You must stay with me. Stay with me, okay? Bianca, you can't take Zeke away from me! You must give

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Chapter 10

"I'll buy you another bottle of hand sanitizer spray. I'll reinstall the lock on your bedroom door. Just open your eyes and look at me, Zach, please," Dad begged.Charlie woke up at once with a start and struggled desperately in Dad's arms."Mr. Davies! What are you doing? Let me go!"The whole class was terrified. The female students screamed and ran out of the classroom, while the male students rushed up to Dad to try and pull him away."Don't touch him! He's sleeping. You'll wake him up!"Dad was incredibly strong, and nobody could pull him off poor Charlie. It wasn't until the principal himself, Mr. Patrick Brooks, and a handful of security guards rushed in to intervene that Dad and Charlie were finally forcibly pulled apart.Charlie was so traumatized that he collapsed to the floor in tears."Mr. Davies! Wake up! That's Charlie Hartman, not your son!"Mr. Brooks pointed angrily at Dad and said, "You can't possibly continue teaching in your state anymore. You're indefinitel

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