Next Life, I’ll Find a Family That’s a Little Less Smart Chapter 04

Next Life, I’ll Find a Family That’s a Little Less Smart Chapter 04

Beatrice’s voice dropped to a whisper, but there was something bright underneath it. Giddy excitement.

Silas came over and crouched beside her.

Through the crack under the door, a strand of hair lay flat against the floor. Dull. Lifeless.

“The test subject’s hair has lost its luster.”

Beatrice was already typing notes into the tablet.

“Preliminary assessment: endocrine dysfunction from prolonged psychological distress.”

Silas adjusted his glasses.

“That’s not all. You’re seeing a complete cessation of sebaceous oil secretion from severe deprivation.”

He stood and brushed off his hands.

“Log everything. This is rare physiological data, invaluable for studying degradation patterns in low-IQ subjects.”

I watched them and felt violently nauseous.

My brother. My sister. Two monsters with 160 IQs.

A short while later, the front door opened. Dad was back, a huge shopping bag in his arms.

“Hazel, I got you that bear you wanted. Come on out and see it, okay?”

He set the enormous stuffed bear on the couch and gave it a pat on the head.

“This thing wasn’t cheap, either. Set me back more than half my bonus.”

Mom looked at the bear and sighed.

“Well, since you already spent the money. If it calms her down, it’s worth it.”

Dad cleared his throat and went to my door.

“Hazel, I’m home.”

“I got you the bear. And the best allergy medication they had. Prescription-strength.”

“Come on. Open the door.”

Nothing. Not a sound.

The smell had thickened. Putrefaction and waste, impossible to ignore now.

The air purifier in the living room started beeping frantically. Its red light pulsed nonstop.

Mom pressed a hand over her nose, her face pinched tight in disgust.

“Why is it getting worse? What the hell is she doing in there?”

She pressed close to the door and tried a softer approach.

“Baby, I know we’ve been hard on you.”

Her voice cracked.

“Do you remember the first time you said ‘Mama’? You were so tiny.”

She held her hands apart to show the size.

“I love you so much. Please stop fighting with your brother and sister, okay?”

I hovered above them all, watching this little show. Too late, and they didn’t even know it.

Love me?

Was it love when you let Silas lock me in the Blackwood warehouse?

Was it love when you swapped my inhaler for saline?

None of it touched Beatrice.

Her fingers flew across the tablet.

“Three minutes into the emotional-bond intervention. Test subject shows zero vocal response. Emotional threshold remains anomalous.”

She didn’t even look up.

“Recommend increasing stimulation intensity.”

The purifier’s alarm wailed now. Dad finally broke.

Every trace of the ‘doting father’ act vanished. Only rage was left.

“Forget the experiment. That’s my daughter in there! All of you, knock it off!”

He spun around, ripped the tablet out of Beatrice’s hands, and slammed it into the floor.

The screen shattered.

Beatrice flinched and stumbled back.

“Dad, what are you doing? All my data was on there!”

“Are you serious right now? You’re still worried about your data?”

Something had finally snapped in Dad.

He tore across the room to the entryway console and yanked open the drawer, digging through it.

“Where’s the spare key? Where is it?”

Junk flew out of the drawer and scattered across the floor.

Mom had drained of color.

“Arthur, don’t scare me. Did something actually happen to her?”

Dad’s fingers closed around a rusted key at the back of the drawer.

His hand was shaking so hard the key rattled.

He walked to the door. Took a breath. Slid the key into the lock.

A click.

The bolt slid free, loud in the silence.

I closed my eyes.

The door swung open.