Lahat ng Kabanata ng My Death Drove Mom Insane: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 8

I lay on the cot in the school nurse's office, begging Mom to save me.She ignored every word. Instead, she bent over my younger brother, Caleb Bennett, cleaning the shallow scrape on his wrist while tears ran down her face."Caleb, if that animal ever bullies you again, you come straight to me. I'll deal with him myself."Her voice was vicious, as though I were the one she wanted dead. But that wasn't what had happened. I was the one who had been beaten.Mom, just turn around. Look at me.My stomach was swollen hard beneath my shirt, bruises covered my body, and every breath hurt. I was dying.I reached toward her. "Mom..."She never turned. My arm finally dropped.And suddenly I was no longer looking at the room from the cot. I was standing beside her, my body lying behind me.Mom didn't notice. She kept cleaning Caleb's wrist with incredible care, as though she were handling something priceless. Every so often he sucked in a breath and let his eyes fill with tears, and Mom

Maybe I wanted her to notice so badly that the school finally called."Mrs. Bennett, are both boys all right? That fight today was serious. I don't want either of them suffering complications, especially Noah. That boy was badly injured—"Mom's eyes narrowed. Then she laughed coldly."Principal Harris, did Noah put you up to this?"What could possibly be wrong with him? That little animal bullies his brother, then runs off crying to adults."Her breathing grew heavy with anger."You tell him if he's so brave, he can stay gone forever."I almost laughed. For once, Mom had gotten exactly what she wanted. I really wasn't coming home.Principal Harris was silent for a long moment. Then he asked, uneasily, "Noah isn't at home?""Isn't he with you? Why else would you be calling?" Mom sounded annoyed. "Don't play games with me. This is family business. Noah lies constantly. Don't let him fool you."She genuinely believed I had hidden at the principal's house and asked him to defend

Mom's hair had fallen loose around her face. She looked completely unhinged.The boys who had bullied me shrank against their parents and pointed at Caleb. Tyler Grant broke first."It was Caleb. He took us there. Why don't you ask him? He was the one who—"Caleb roared before he could finish. He charged into them and started swinging, and from where I stood, I saw him lean close enough to whisper."If you want to go to prison, keep talking."They were still kids. The threat worked.Caleb's face flipped in an instant and he started crying. "How can you accuse me?"That was my brother! Why would I want him dead?"He absolutely would. But his performance was perfect.Mom rushed to protect him, checking him over in a panic. "Caleb, I know you're angry, but your brother is gone. I can't lose you too."You be good. Let Mom and Dad handle revenge."She stood in front of him like a shield.Police separated everyone and began taking statements. Caleb had bullied people for years, b

Caleb's plan was clever. If one person took the blame, he could walk away.Police brought in a forensic psychiatrist. Investigators gathered around Mom and asked her how she had hit me.She curled into herself and cried. "I was wrong."I shouldn't have hit Noah."Forgive Mom, Noah."The psychiatrist observed her for a long time. His conclusion was that Mom had genuinely lost her mind, and that what she was saying was very likely the truth.Caleb rushed forward at exactly the right moment. He spread his arms in front of Mom and lifted his chin."You're wrong!"Mom didn't kill Noah!"Tears clung to his lashes and his voice shook. It was the performance of someone trying desperately to protect his mother, which, of course, made the investigators look at him more closely. Caleb had been in the nurse's office that day too.They started questioning him. At first he answered calmly, then the questions became sharper, and eventually he broke down sobbing and covered his face. Behind