Chapter 2

The ride home was a masterclass in passive aggression.

Last time, I had called an expensive Uber, terrified of her catching a chill, of any discomfort worsening her condition. I had practically carried her to the car.

This time, I led her out of the hospital and straight to the city bus stop. The November air was sharp and bit at our skin.

"Chloe, it's freezing out here," Brenda whined, pulling her thin sweater tighter. "A taxi would be much quicker. My health..."

"You're right, Mom," I said with a bright smile. A yellow cab was just pulling up to the curb. I flagged it down.

Brenda sighed in relief and shuffled into the back seat. I slid in beside her. The ride was tense, with her shooting me confused, angry glances. When we arrived at our shabby little house, the driver announced the fare.

"$18.50."

I turned to my mother, my smile never wavering.

"Don't worry about it, Mom," I said, my voice loud enough for the driver to hear clearly. "This can come out of the money you're saving for Kevin's future. I don't want any of it."

Brenda' s face went from pale to a blotchy, furious red. She fumbled in her purse, her hands shaking with rage, and slapped a twenty-dollar bill into the driver's hand without a word.

The moment we were inside the house, the golden child himself emerged from his bedroom cave.

Kevin, my sixteen-year-old brother, was a walking monument to entitlement. A high school dropout whose only ambition was to become a SoundCloud rapper, he was tall and doughy from a diet of junk food and a life devoid of physical activity.

"Mom!" he wailed, rushing to her and throwing his arms around her. It was a practiced, dramatic display. "They told me you were sick! I can't live without you!"

Brenda melted, stroking his greasy hair. "Oh, my sweet boy. Mommy's okay. And don't you worry, everything I have, this house, my savings... it will all be yours. I'm making sure of it."

She shot a venomous look at me over his shoulder. I just stared back, my expression blank.

Later, I was in the kitchen getting a glass of water when I heard Kevin's voice from his room. The door was ajar. He was on a Discord call with his friends, his voice no longer filled with fake grief but with giddy excitement.

"Yeah, dude, she's toast," he bragged. "The doctor said it's bad. But check it, she said I'm getting the house and all her cash. Soon as she kicks it, I'm buying us all the new legendary skins. And I'm gonna turn the living room into a sick recording studio."

I closed my eyes. The cold, hard confirmation settled in my gut like a stone. Nothing had changed. They were exactly the monsters I remembered.