After I Play Dead My Four Moms Break Novels & Stories

Her eyes were bloodshot, but her face was a void—utterly calm and hollow. Mom hurried into the morgue with the crowd trailing behind her. There lay Dad, his expression peaceful, his heart removed, no longer breathing. He had only been supposed to be "playing" dead, but now he was gone for good. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of irony at how perfectly things had turned out. Grandma Madeline couldn't handle the sight of Dad's body. She lost consciousness instantly and crumpled to the floor. Mom froze for a heartbeat, then spun around and delivered a stinging slap to Aunt Jacklyn's face. "How could you do this, Jacklyn? How could you just stand there and watch while they ripped Matthias' hea

For help. Then I watched her wait. And wait. And wait. Until the link was severed. She crumpled to the ground, sobbing silently. And then she stood, pressed her hands to her belly, and began that fatal ritual. "Turn it off," I closed my eyes, my voice raw. "Alpha, there's more—" "I SAID TURN IT OFF!" The screen went dark. The memory slammed into me. The mind-link. Shelly's call. I had been in bed with Kyra.

Mum is… dead?! The intense cold that runs down my spine has me breathless for a moment. It feels like my heart has stopped beating and I’m turning into a ghost. My hand can barely hold the phone to my ear. A wave of confusion and pain, and everything bad cripples me. “No…” I break out with hysterical laughter. “A prank, right? This is a prank.” It has to be. “I… I think mum is dead.” “You think? You know?” I'm panicking. “What are you saying?!” My voice roars like thunder, it feels suffocating.

"Sherry! Please wake up, Sherry! I promise not to be stubborn in the future. I won't insist on keeping any dogs as pets. Please don't leave me behind!" She cried until her voice was broken, and her tears would not stop falling. My hair and cheek were wet with her tears, but I could no longer reply to anything she said. My mother's knees went weak as she fell and sat on the ground. She stared at me in a daze while muttering, refusing to believe the truth in front of her. "No… This isn't possible. Sherry can't be dead. She's just putting up an act to trick me into giving in to her. She must be trying to force me into compromising!"

What if you turn out to be mine after all? Mom saw that there was still a chance for her, so she opened her mouth to try to convince him not to go. However, before she could get a word out, I screamed at the top of my lungs, "If I'm wrong, then I'll just kill myself! I'll prove I'm wrong by killing myself! Are you happy now?" The entire living room descended into a deathly silence as soon as I said that. Mom was frozen in shock as she stared at me incredulously.

My head is starting to hurt, and I can’t seem to stop it. The pictures drop from my hand, and my body drops to the floor, my knees breaking the fall. My mom is dead. She’s dead, and she died alone. Father… he knew she died, and he lied to us. He lied to all of us and made it seem like she ran away from all of this. I try to suck in air, but I can’t seem to breathe. I scramble to my feet and stumble out of the room. I need air, I need to get outside so I can breathe.

It was never her fault. "If I hadn't handled her funeral, she would've started decomposing by the time you came back! Mom has been very good to me all these years, so no matter how dissatisfied I am with you, I definitely wouldn't extend that grudge to her. That's why I immediately settled her funeral affairs instead of waiting for you! "If you suspect that I did something dirty, you're more than welcome to report me to the police. And if they find out that I really did do something, I won't even blink if they decide to execute me! You can go right ahead!"

Not when they threatened everything. Juliette laughed, sharp and mocking, clapping her hands together. "If your mother hasn't truly done anything, why would she be terrified of ghosts? Look at your dearest mother—she looks like she hasn't had a good night's sleep in three years. Stepmother dear, afraid the ghost under your bed will grab your feet at night? Is that why you’re having sleepless night?" She pointed right at my face, her eyes gleaming.

The smear she couldn't get out of the floor. That wasn't strawberry jam. Mama's eyes moved down to my wrist. The black bracelet was still there. The light was dead. There was no heartbeat, so it wasn't working anymore. Mama stared at the dead red light. A sound came out of her throat that wasn't crying and wasn't a scream. It was the sound of something breaking inside her. Her lips were shaking as she traced her fingers along my face, tears welling up in her eyes. "Someone call an ambulance. Call somebody. Call—"

"What's with your reaction? Is that not enough for you?" Tina immediately stepped forward and jabbed a finger at me, shrieking, "Who do you even think you are, Evan? You should be honored that we're even bothering to talk to you about this! If you know what's good for you, you should get the hell out of the hospital with your brokeass dad's corpse right this instant! "And if you dare run your mouth again, you can forget about staying in this city! Even if your dad's dead, you still have your mom, don't you? I wonder if the old hag can survive a few more emotional blows."