I Heard Their Hearts Before Mine Stopped Chapter 08

I Heard Their Hearts Before Mine Stopped Chapter 08

Mom listened to the tide of accusations outside and covered her ears, dropping to her knees in front of the mortuary cooler and slamming her head against the cold metal door.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Blood ran down her forehead, but no one stepped forward to stop her.

A month after the floodwaters receded, our family completely fell apart.

Mom’s chronic stomach condition progressed to an acute gastric perforation.

She lay in the hospital bed, so thin she was almost unrecognizable. When a nurse brought her medication, she hurled the bottle against the wall.

“I won’t take it! This medicine cost Lena her life. I don’t deserve it!” Her sunken eyes stared at the ceiling as she muttered, “Lena, you took the medicine, didn’t you? You’re still mad at Mom, aren’t you?”

She stopped eating and curled up in bed, clutching my old sneakers and crying. The doctors said she showed severe trauma-related psychotic symptoms.

Dad sold the apartment in downtown Wrenfield that had been meant for Sadie.

He donated all the money to the Stonewater County Flood Relief Fund, then moved alone to the rocks downstream.

He built a makeshift tarp shelter by the river.

—

Every morning he took a broom and swept the mud along the riverbank.

He kept thinking he might find something of mine still buried there.

Owen got into a serious single-vehicle crash after driving under the influence.

His car went off an overpass. He barely survived, but both legs had to be amputated. He would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

He refused all visitors. Every day he sat in his wheelchair, clutching my engagement ring and staring at the rain all night.

Sadie suffered the worst.

She was expelled for tampering with another student’s application and defaming Lena. The disciplinary record followed her. Every university rejected her, and strangers recognized her on the street.

One night, during another violent storm, Sadie returned home soaked and emotionally shattered.

“Mom! Gavin! Open the door! I’m so hungry. You can’t just abandon me!”

The door creaked open. Gavin stepped out, face cold, holding a broom.

“I’m not your brother. I have no sister who caused Lena’s death.” Gavin’s voice was flat and cold.

“Gavin! It’s me, Sadie! You used to love me the most!” She reached for his pant leg.

—

Gavin swung the broom hard, hitting her shoulder and knocking her back into the cold rain.

“Get out. Do not let me see you again, or I really will kill you to avenge Lena.”

The door slammed shut in Sadie’s face. She lay in the cold muddy water, sobbing, but this time no one came out to gather her gently into their arms.