All Chapters of When Love Comes Only After Death: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

On Thanksgiving Eve, my mother, Jill Turner, prepared a lavish feast. The whole family gathered around the table, and the atmosphere was warm and lively.As fireworks lit up the sky outside, my family raised their glasses for a round of toasts.They toasted my sister's career, my father's prosperity, my mother's good health, and my younger brother's upcoming marriage.Not a single toast was for me. In fact, no one even remembered that a member of the family was missing.Then, my mother's phone rang.I was calling in a desperate attempt to ask for help, but Mom merely glanced at the screen with an icy expression before impatiently rejecting my call. Meanwhile, I lay on the cold ground as my last shred of hope slipped away.I was dead.I had died on Thanksgiving Eve—the night my entire family had gathered at home to celebrate.…After my death, my soul returned home.After dinner, my family gathered in the living room to watch TV and discuss my younger brother Rupert Murphy's

It was late, and everyone was getting ready for bed.Our home consisted of three bedrooms and a living room. My parents shared one bedroom, Hannah stayed in the second room, and Rupert occupied the third.As for me, I slept in a tiny storage space sectioned off from the living room with a makeshift partition made from a few pieces of fabric. That cramped little space was where I spent the most awkward and miserable years of my adolescence. There was barely enough room for a small bed, and I even struggled to change my clothes at times.I'd protested the arrangement and asked for a room of my own. If that wasn't possible, I even said I could share one with Rupert.It was perfectly reasonable for two boys to share a room. His bedroom was the largest one in the house, so there was also more than enough space for two beds. But Rupert refused and claimed that I didn't deserve to share a room with him.Back then, I'd cried and demanded to know why. After all, I was my parents' son,

I drifted over to Mom, searching her face for some sign of emotion. Was she grieving? Was she in pain?But her face gave nothing away. She remained perfectly calm as she finished her grocery shopping. Then, she headed home without a word. A bitter smile tugged at my lips. I should've known better than to get my hopes up. Mom didn't love me at all. "I hate you!" I hissed. …Back home, the whole family sat together in silence. Mom, however, kept herself busy. One moment she was cleaning the floor, and the next she was washing dishes. She couldn't sit still. Suddenly, a plate slipped from her hands and shattered, its crash echoing through the otherwise silent room. Even so, she only stared at her bleeding finger, her expression vacant. At last, Dad snapped. "That's enough! Get moving. We're all going to bring his body home.""Dad, why are you being so hard on her? It wasn't her fault."Rupert spoke up in Mom's defense before going over to comfort her. "Everything happene

The day of my funeral was beautiful. The sun was out, and not a single cloud was in sight. My black-and-white photograph had been engraved into the black headstone. In it, I wore an easy smile, looking like someone who had grown up surrounded by love. Dad and Hannah stood with their heads lowered, wiping away tears. Rupert, meanwhile, was sobbing uncontrollably. He called my name over and over as though he'd lost someone dear. Relatives and friends offered their condolences. They also commented on how much they must have loved me. I watched from the sidelines, unable to believe how absurd it all was. All around them, people continued to sob, but Mom remained expressionless. After the service, Dad confronted her. "Everyone was watching! You're his mother, for God's sake! You could've at least pretended to cry. What are people going to say when they find out you didn't shed a tear?"Mom said nothing. She simply stared into the distance, her hair looking almost completely gra

In the end, Dad was left in a vegetative state. Rupert cut ties with the family and never contacted them again. Hannah was saddled with a mountain of debt, much of it in high-interest loans from online lenders. She worked herself to the bone, but no matter how hard she tried, she could hardly make a dent in what she owed.Debt collectors came after her constantly, and beatings became a regular occurrence. Time and again, she broke down in tears, begging them to leave her alone.Eventually, Hannah became too terrified to go home. She was constantly on the run and was reduced to little more than skin and bones. The last time I saw her was at my grave. Her attackers had pinned her down and beaten her until both her legs were broken.She was drenched in sweat from the pain, and blood had spattered across my headstone. In a panic, she tried to wipe the blood away with her sleeve, murmuring, "Don't be scared, Terry. I'll clean it up for you."It was the first time Hannah had ever act