All Chapters of Forgotten Birthday: I Asked for a Grave: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

The security guard took me inside to wash my hands, then dabbed antiseptic over the scrapes on my skin. He pulled out his phone and called my family for me, trying to reassure me while we waited."You had a fight with your family and ran off, didn't you? Your mom and dad must be worried sick." He gave me an encouraging smile. "I'll have them come pick you up and take you home, okay?"Worried sick. Those words caught my attention.As I listened to the phone ring, my heart began pounding against my ribs.There had been another time when someone in our family had run away.My little sister, Lily Bennett, had wanted a new doll, but my mom, Claire Ashturn, refused to buy it for her. Lily threw a fit and stormed out of the house.Everyone had been frantic.My dad, Michael Bennett, called the police three times in less than 24 hours. My older brother, Evan Bennett, rounded up practically every friend he had, and together they searched streets, parks, stores, and bus stops all over town

Chapter 2

"Oh, my God! What happened to you? Stay right here. I'll grab my jacket and take you to the hospital!" The security guard jumped to his feet, visibly alarmed.I panicked. I quickly pulled out some tissues and wiped the blood off the floor. Then, while the security guard turned away to grab more, I slipped out and ran.Going to the hospital would cost money. It would take time. It would mean someone had to stay with me.The last time I'd gotten sick enough to need a doctor, Mom, Dad, and Evan had argued over who would have to take care of me.They'd fought about it more than once. I couldn't put them through that again.There was an old cemetery not far from the funeral home. I wandered through the rows of headstones until I found a quiet spot beneath a tree, then lowered myself onto the grass.Everything still hurt.I'd heard the people who beat me talking earlier. They said coughing up blood meant something was seriously wrong, that I might have internal injuries. Without treat

Chapter 3

Lily went to the hospital for a scraped knee and came home in a wheelchair.Mom, Dad, and Evan took turns fussing over her for the rest of the day. Not one of them came upstairs to check on me. I wasn't even sure they noticed whether I was in my room.The next morning, I was still expected to go to school like everything was normal.I kept my head down as I walked into the classroom. My desk was a mess again. Someone had ripped my homework to pieces. My pencil case was gone, and there was chalk dust dumped into my water bottle.I didn't say anything. I cleaned everything up as best I could, then quietly took my seat in the corner.A few girls in the front row were whispering among themselves. Every so often, one of them would glance back at me before turning around with a smirk.Lily's desk was right in the middle of the front row.She was wearing a new floral dress Mom had bought her, and a crowd of classmates had gathered around her desk. Cupcake wrappers were scattered across

Chapter 4

The whole class erupted in envious gasps. I watched with the same envy as Lily threw herself into Mom's arms. We had barely made it outside the school building when I reached out and gently tugged on Mom's sleeve. "Mom, I want to go to the amusement park too..." I was dying, and I'd never been to one in my entire life. Mom frowned. "Ashley, you're already this sick. You really think going to an amusement park is a good idea? What if being outside makes you worse?" "Exactly." Evan cut me off impatiently without even looking up from his phone. "Lily hardly ever gets a day out like this. What happens if you get sick all over the place? You'll ruin the whole day for everyone." I opened my mouth. I wanted to tell them I wouldn't. I'd hold it in no matter how sick I felt. I wouldn't cause any trouble. I really, really just wanted to see the amusement park once. But Dad had already walked past me. He crouched in front of Lily to retie one of her shoelaces and spoke without looki

Chapter 5

I hovered near the ceiling, looking down at my own body on the cold metal table. A white sheet covered my face. Only one of my tightly clenched hands was visible. The morgue door swung open. A blast of cold air swept into the hallway, and Mom shivered. She hurried inside and stopped beside me. "Ashley, enough of this. What are you doing lying in here? Come on, get up. We're going home. Lily's waiting for you to have a slice of birthday cake with her." I didn't move beneath the sheet. Evan gave a short laugh beside her. "She's really getting good at scaring people." He stepped closer. "Ashley, come on. Get up. Why would you come down here just to take a nap?" He gave my shoulder a nudge. I didn't move. He tried again. This time, the sheet slipped slightly, exposing the dark discoloration along my neck. Evan's hand froze in midair.Dad hadn't said a word since walking in. He stood rigidly beside the door, his back perfectly straight and his lips pressed into a thin line.

Chapter 6

Ms. Ingram's face went pale. She grabbed the office phone and called the head of the grade.Ten minutes later, they had the security footage. There I was at the far end of the hallway, day after day after school. I was cornered, shoved around, had my backpack ripped apart, and my hair yanked as they slammed me against the wall.Evan stared at the screen, his fingers gripping the arm of his chair hard enough to leave marks.Dad didn't say a word. His lips were pressed into a bloodless line as he turned and walked out of the office.When the five students were called into the principal's office, they were still laughing and joking around. The girl in front tilted her head, chewing gum with her school jacket half unzipped."What? Ashley was asking for it. We were just messing around with her." She grinned and glanced back at her friends. "She cried over everything, like someone was actually going to come running if she complained. Guess what? Nobody ever did."Evan walked over and g

Chapter 7

Dad stood there as though all the strength had drained out of him. Slowly, he crouched down until he was at Lily's eye level. "Lily, did you know Ashley was being bullied at school?"Lily twisted the hem of her skirt as tears rolled down her cheeks. She bit her lip. It took a long time before she finally nodded."I knew," she whispered. "Ashley said she was used to it."Mom said something, but her voice caught in her throat and I couldn't make out the words.She covered her mouth and turned toward the wall, her shoulders shaking. Evan leaned against the windowsill with his head lowered, his hair falling over his eyes. His fists were clenched tight, the veins standing out on the backs of his hands."Lily," Dad asked again, "how long had this been going on?"Lily sniffled and thought for a moment. "Since she started seventh grade. She came home with a red mark on her face after her first day, and when I asked what happened, she said she'd fallen. After that… It happened a lot."

Chapter 8

However, Evan simply replied, "Get it delivered instead. I'm in the middle of a competition."He scrolled even farther up and saw that I had sent him a screenshot of my school results, but he never replied to it.Lily sat alone at the dining table, swinging her legs on the chair. Usually, by this time, Mom would have been busy warming her milk up for her, Dad would be reading her a bedtime story, and Evan would be playing Lego with her. But nobody had moved a muscle tonight.After swinging her legs for a while, she jumped off the chair and walked up to Mom, tugging at the hem of her shirt."Mom, I'm sleepy."Mom's hands froze mid-air. Then, she slowly crouched down until she was eye-level with Lily and asked in an extremely hoarse voice, "Lily, how many times have you seen Ashley being bullied by the others?"Lily's tears immediately began to fall. "I… I don't know…" she sobbed. "Ashley said she was fine…""How many times did she say that?" Mom pressed.Lily began to cry hyster

Chapter 9

Evan stepped up and held Mom up by her other arm. Just like that, Dad, Mom, and Evan stood in front of the casket in a row like a wall, preventing the funeral home staff from bringing me away.The security guard said something to the staff, and they all left the hall and went out for a smoke break instead.I floated above the casket and looked down at my body inside the glass. My eyes were shut, and my lips were still curved upward in a smile.I really was smiling.…Mom, Dad, and Evan waited outside while my body was being cremated.Mom sat on the bench with a wad of tissues in her hand that had been crumpled into shreds. Dad leaned against the wall, smoking, but he just took a few puffs of his cigarette before crushing it. Evan stood at the far end of the hallway, his back against the window, letting the golden sun rays shine on the side of his face.It was 3:00 pm by the time my cremation was complete. The staff then brought out a wooden ash box that was just about as big as

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