5
Those thugs nearly cut me to pieces.
When I woke un Iwas back in my bou00
عصم
<
When I woke up, I was back in my house,
floating in the air.
My mom was curled up with my dad, holding
a family photo.
It had my parents, Jake… and me.
Mom was wiping her eyes, sniffling. “Song’s
been gone for so long. I’m so worried about
her.”
I was stunned.
I couldn’t imagine the woman who’d been
beating me to a pulp worrying about me.
Dad put his arm around Mom, comforting her.
“Once Sarah and Mark get married, we’ll tell
Song the truth She’s a good kid she’ll
<
Mom started crying again.
“Song would have been indicted for
cooperating with the drug lord, that’s why we
did so much bad for her, and now, she died
with that burden. If she only knew that was
done out of love.”
Cooperating with the drug lord? Me?
I didn’t get it. I listened closely to what they
were saying.
Finally, I realized.
My parents‘ soft spot for Sarah came from
Sarah blackmailing us.
Because I’d blown Jake’s cover and gotten
Sorah had grounds to sue
him killed cor
claiming
<
him killed, Sarah had grounds to sue, claiming
I’d been working with the drug lord.
Since Sarah was the victim, she’d get
sympathy from the judge…
I might not go to prison, but I’d be under
surveillance for at least two years.
To keep me from losing my freedom, my
parents did whatever Sarah wanted…
Even the surrogacy thing.
That was Sarah’s demand, too.
The pieces were falling into place.
But it didn’t really matter to me…
く
I was dead.
Sarah couldn’t sue me now.
I wouldn’t be a surrogate.
As for my parents worrying about me, I was
more shocked than happy…
What terrible truth to finally know.
I watched my mother cry in my father’s arms,
out of control.
Mom probably thought she was doing
everything for my own good.
But to me, it was just abuse disguised as
love.
Г
From the moment Sarah said she was going
to blame me for Jake’s death, my parents had
never been on my side.
They chose to believe Sarah’s so–called
evidence.
They chose the comfort of the woman Jake
loved.
Maybe they loved me a little.
After all, I was their daughter.
Jake and I looked a lot alike.
My blood was their blood.
But there was no doubt they loved Jake more.
く
They loved Sarah, too, just by being with
Jake.
I didn’t want any part of this “fake” family.
I tried to leave.
But I was pulled back to Jake’s room.
I looked around at the familiar things.
A wave of warmth washed over me…
There were photos of Jake everywhere. I
reached out to touch his face, but my fingers
passed right through the glass.
After a few tries, I heard a voice.
“It’s no use. You’re dead. You can’t touch
L
I turned around, surprised, and asked, “You’re
a reaper?”
The reaper rolled his eyes. “What is it with
you people? Why does everyone who just dies
call me ‘reaper‘?”
“So, what’s your name?”
“Reaper!”
I rolled my eyes at him.
Since Jake and I used to watch paranormal
movies and read novels, I naturally said, “Take
me away.”
L
The reaper raised an eyebrow. “You sure you
wanna go? Just like that?”
“Why not? There’s nothing for me here. I’m
kind of glad it’s over. I don’t have to feel
guilty about Jake anymore. And I helped catch
the drug lord who killed him.”
The reaper sighed. “Your brother’s death
wasn’t your fault.”
I gave a sad little smile. “Yeah, his coworkers
said the same thing. But my parents don’t see
it that way.”
The reaper didn’t say anything. He didn’t take
- me.
He said, “Wait a bit. You’re about to learn the
truth. Once you know everything, we can go.”
<
Truth?
What other truth was there?
The truth was that nobody loved me.
