Her New Beginning, My Final Ending Chapter 04

Her New Beginning, My Final Ending Chapter 04

Dad stared at my body in disbelief. Under the dim basement light, my skin was already mottled with decomposition and

my face had long since become almost unrecognizable

Adrian was breathing hard as he edged toward me. He reached out with a trembling hand, then froze, as though he no

longer knew how to touch me. All he could do was whisper. No This isn’t right. None of this is night”

Then he looked up at Mom, his expression dazed with shock. “Mom, didn’t you come back to check on Natalie a few days

ago? Then how is she dead?”

That’s right. She was fine when we left wasn’t she? Dad finally seemed to come back to himself too.

Ignoring the filth and decay on my body, he gathered me into his arms and cried out in a voice shaking with grief.

Natalie, open your eyes and look at Dad Dad’s back.”

“How did this happen? Why is Natalie dead?”

“Why did Natalie die? Didn’t you come back to check on her?

Dad was half sobbing by then, grabbing at Mom’s sleeve, but she only stared at my body, her lips trembling violently, her

voice thin and hollow. “I don’t know. I did come back. I thought she was just throwing a tantrum. L

Just then, the neighbor from next door, seeing that my parents had returned, came in with her hand over her nose to see what was going on. The moment she caught sight of my body, she screamed.

“Ah! Someone’s dead Natalie’s dead.”

Half an hour later the police arrived and sealed off the scene. The medical examiner lifted my body onto a stretcher and covered it with a white sheet. while my family, still too stunned to process what had happened, followed the ambulance

in a daze

Outside the morgue. Mom sat there staring blankly at the floor, her fingers rubbing together over and over without

purpose as she muttered under her breath. “How could this happen? When I came home that day wasn’t she still fine?”

“How did she die? Did she starve to death? But there was a key under the mat. wasn’t there”

Watching her fall apart like that made my eyes burn. I reached out, wanting to wipe away the tears spilling down her

face, but my hand passed straight through her again

A few hours later, the autopsy was finally over The medical examiner came out and handed the report to Dad, his face

tight with pity

The results are in. The deceased died from intracranial bleeding caused by severe trauma to the head

Mom looked up sharply, her face blank with confusion.

The medical examiner paused then added quietly. “A hemorrhage like that can be survivable if the patient gets help in

time. If the patient receives medical attention in time, there’s a good chance of survival.”

Adrian looked at him with red-rimmed eyes and asked in a hoarse voice, “Can I ask… when did she die?”

The medical examiner glanced down at the report. “Based on the condition of the body, her time of death was

approximately seven days ago.”

Seven days ago. from head trauma and a brain hemorrhage.

All the color drained from Mom’s face in an instant, leaving her white as paper.

“So Natalie was already dead not long after she went into the basement that day. She fell…”

Mom clapped a hand over her mouth, and tears came pouring down.

“Natalie told me she was bleeding. She begged me to let her out, and I didn’t.”

“I thought she was trying to cause trouble. I thought she was jealous of Claire. I thought she was doing it on purpose.”

She lowered her head and stared at her own hands, her voice shaking harder with every word.

“After I shoved her into the basement, I never paid attention to her again. I heard her calling out to me, and I ignored

her.”

“Later, when I brought food back, I was going to open the door. But the second I heard Claire was hurt, I left…”

Mom went on in a low, broken voice, her eyes fixed emptily on nothing at all, as if her entire soul had been hollowed out.

“I killed Natalie. I’m the one who killed her. She must hate me so much.”

No, Mom. I didn’t blame you. It wasn’t only your fault. I should have been more careful too.

I wanted to hold her. I wanted to tell her it wasn’t like that. But she couldn’t feel me at all.

In the next second, overcome by grief, Mom’s eyes rolled back, and she slumped out of her chair.