All Chapters of They Regretted Blaming Me After I Died: Chapter 11 - Chapter 13

She struck the doorframe hard enough to stumble.Still, she kept going. She made her way into the living room. The plate of pork ribs was still sitting on the dining table, cold enough that the fat had congealed into a pale, waxy crust. The sauce had darkened to the color of dried blood.Dad came rushing out of the bedroom.He saw his wife standing there, dazed and hollow-eyed, and started toward her.He took a single step. Then he stopped.His hands clutched suddenly at his chest.Color rushed into his face, deepening to a frightening purple.His eyes rolled back. A wet, choking rattle escaped his throat.He dragged in breath after breath, each one sounding thinner than the last. The veins in his forehead stood out beneath his skin.Then his body went rigid. Like a tree severed at the roots, he toppled backward.Thud!The back of his head struck the tile with a sickening crack.…The wail of an ambulance tore through the stillness of the neighborhood. Red and blue light

She clutched her hair with both hands, gripping so hard that small clumps came loose at the roots.She could not feel the pain.…They went home.The house was steeped in the damp, musty smell of decay.Life had become a swamp. It was thick, stagnant, and impossible to escape.Dad was paralyzed in bed now. Eating, drinking, relieving himself, everything happened in that same bed.Mom could not afford a caregiver. So she did it all herself.On the first day, Dad soiled himself. The stench was suffocating.Mom carried a basin of warm water into the room and turned him over.She stared at the stains spreading across the sheets. She did not complain this time.She picked up the rag and scrubbed hard. It was hard enough to leave his skin red and raw.Dad cried out in pain yet Mom did not stop.She did not even look at him. She simply kept wiping, over and over, her movements slow and mechanical, as though she were punishing herself with every stroke.“You deserve this. We all