Reborn Short Stories & Ruthless Biological Family Novels

I find myself standing at the same intersection again after I die in a car accident. I assume that I've been given a second chance at life. However, when I notice the number "4" on my arm, I realize that things aren't as simple as they seem. I die for the first time when Dad is rushing me to go home. I'm swallowed by the shadow of a truck amid the screeching sounds of a brake. In the next second, my phone rings again. Dad's familiar voice echoes from the receiver, "When are you coming back to do the chores, Luke? I'm old and weak, while Miles is too young. Do you think that we can do the chores?" My mind goes blank just as the truck barrels toward me again. I instinctively roll forward and barely avoid getting run over by the wheels of the truck, feeling relieved that I have escaped death this time. However, after I return home, Dad kicks me out of the house because I get into an argument with my brother, Miles Dover. Unfortunately, I bump into a killer in the stairwell. My blood splatters all across the scene. When I jolt awake once more, I see the familiar truck again. The number on my arm has gone down from "4" to "3". A chill runs down my spine. It turns out that I haven't been given a second chance at life. Instead, I'm stuck in a cycle! If I'm unable to break out of the cycle, I'll never wake up again once the number on my arm reaches zero.

Zoe Jensen's parents kick her out because she doesn't want to share them with Alice Reed. She ends up homeless on the streets. She ultimately dies of starvation. When she's reborn, she finds herself standing before Alice. The latter is crying and begging her. Zoe is delighted by this. Alice can have her parents if she wants them—Zoe doesn't want to lose her life because of them again!

On the day Grandma dies, my parents, who have both remarried, argue nonstop over where I should go. In my past life, I feel sorry for my overworked mom, Melissa Tanner, so I volunteer to stay with her. The lottery ticket I help her pick even wins her a ten-million-dollar jackpot. But once she strikes it rich, she showers my stepdad, Tristan Walker, and my younger siblings with mansions and luxury cars, yet refuses to buy me even a few hundred dollars' worth of painkillers. In the end, I'm diagnosed with a brain tumor and die in agonizing pain in my bed. This time around, Mom frowns and lets out sigh after sigh. "Your dad's married to a rich woman now. Go with him and live a good life. I've got too many kids at home. There's just no room for you." My dad, Derek Bennett, twirls his car keys, his tone indifferent. "That's not fair. The more kids, the merrier. Besides, there are a lot of rules at my place, and those twins from Rebecca's previous marriage are a real handful. Felix is used to running wild. If he comes with me, those twins will make his life miserable." As they keep passing the buck back and forth, I feel nothing. When they impatiently ask me who I'm going with, I silently pick up my bag and walk over to Dad. Dad's face darkens instantly. Mom, on the other hand, lets out a long sigh of relief, unable to suppress the gleeful smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. What she doesn't know is that without me there to stop Tristan, he will toss the lottery ticket into the washing machine, reducing it to a pile of useless scraps. Now that I have a second chance, all I want is to live a little more comfortably before I die.