They All Voted for My Death Then I Came Back Reborn Chapter 07

They All Voted for My Death Then I Came Back Reborn Chapter 07

By Claire’s third day back, the Whitmore household was already falling apart.

She refused to sleep in my bed.

The scent was too strong.

The sheets were too pink.

The lamp was too bright.

Laura turned the light off, but Claire immediately curled into herself and began shaking in the dark.

Richard lost patience and switched on the living room lights.

“Then what do you want?”

Claire folded herself into the corner, each breath coming faster than the last.

“Don’t yell. My ears hurt.”

Tears spilled down Laura’s cheeks.

“Claire, I brought you home because I wanted you to be happy, not so you could keep making yourself

miserable.”

Claire looked up.

“I’m not doing this to myself. I’m hurting.”

Laura’s sob caught in her throat.

It was as if she had never heard those words before.

At dinner, she served steamed crab legs and cilantro-lime steak.

“You loved these when you were little.”

The moment Claire smelled them, she gagged. Her face turned white.

“I don’t eat any of that. I told you over and over that the smell was too strong.”

Richard’s fork stopped halfway to his mouth.

“But when you were little…”

Claire cut him off.

“When I was little, you said children weren’t allowed to be picky. When I threw up, you said I was being

dramatic.”

Mason sat beside them, the veins standing out on the back of his hand.

He picked up a glass of water and tried to hand it to her.

When Claire saw him move closer, she recoiled.

The glass slipped from his hand and hit the floor.

She clutched her head, her voice suddenly sharp with panic.

“Don’t push me. Don’t make me go buy the candles.”

The entire room went still.

The color slowly drained from Laura’s face.

“What candles?”

Claire’s lips trembled.

“On my eighth birthday. You two were fighting because the cake didn’t have candles and you said it looked ugly without them.”

“I told you there were too many cars outside. I said I was scared. Dad said I had to stop acting so strange. Mom said if I came back without the candles, I shouldn’t come back at all.”

My dad’s hand froze.

For a moment, the rain from that night seemed to fill the room again.

Claire wrapped both arms around her knees.

“The streetlights were too bright. The horns were too loud. I stood beside the road with my hands over my ears. Someone shouted at me to move, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying.”

Her breaths shortened until she could barely draw in air.

Laura lunged forward to hold her, but Claire shoved her away.

“Don’t touch me. You grabbed me the same way that night. I fell. Then the headlights came toward me.”

The last trace of color vanished from Mason’s face.

All these years, he had believed Claire ran into the street to save him.

Claire looked at him through bloodshot eyes.

“I wasn’t trying to save you. I was trying to get away from the noise. You fell in front of me, so I pushed you

aside. I wanted to live too.”

Mason swallowed hard. His tears fell onto the table.

Richard suddenly ran into the home office and returned with an old box

Inside was a yellowed medical assessment.

[Signs consistent with autism spectrum disorder Sensory processing sensitivities Stable environment required. Avoid loud noise, harsh light, and unexpected physical contact ]

One edge of the paper had been torn and later repaired with tape

Laura swayed when she saw it

Years ago, she had locked it away

She had told relatives that Claire was simply shy

In the parallel universe, I sat beside the window watching the connection, sweat slowly gathering in my

palms

Lisa did not ask me any questions.

She only placed a cup of warm water within reach

On the screen, Claire raised her head

Mom You remembered me as the perfect little girl. Then you forced Anna to become the obedient, undemanding daughter you wanted But both of us were hurting.