Chapter 2

2

"Good for you, doing something for once".

Mom rolled her eyes and went back inside.

I tiptoed back to my room and collapsed on my tiny bed, finally able to relax.

Brenda might be from around here, but she's crazy for sushi.

Ever since she got pregnant, she's been eating like a horse, putting away a whole platter in one sitting.

Her stomach keeps getting bigger, but she's losing weight everywhere else.

I knew something was up, suspected it wasn't a baby she was carrying, but a giant tapeworm. I tried to gently suggest she get checked out.

But Brenda just flipped out.

"It just means my baby's getting all the nutrients! Are you jealous I'm having a healthy, chubby little boy? You just can't stand to see me happy!"

Mom chimed in too, yelling at me and calling me a bad omen, then demanding I give her $50 to buy Brenda more sushi.

Then, yeah, I saw the tapeworm crawling out from under her nightgown in the middle of the night.

I freaked out, screamed, and dragged her to the hospital to get de-wormed.

The doctor pulled out this tapeworm that was, like, three feet long! Plus a whole bunch of smaller worms.

Brenda lost the baby and lost any chance of having another one.

Kevin and Brenda blamed me for everything, said my big mouth turned their baby into a worm.

My parents were just as bad, saying I'd killed their grandkid.

They grabbed that disgusting tapeworm and tried to force me to swallow it.

"You killed my grandson, so you're going to eat it!"

The big worm started spawning a bunch of smaller worms that broke through my stomach and burrowed into my organs.

I was in so much pain, I begged them to take me to the hospital.

They didn't care, just locked me in my room and let those worms crawl out of my body until I died from the inside out.

I shook my head and closed my eyes again.

If they're so desperate for a son, then maybe they should all have one.