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Chapter 7
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2024-12-25 19:54:12Related chapters
The Pretend Darkness Chapter 8
Halfway through class, when my phone buzzed with a call from home, I just knew my dear little brother had not disappointed me.My roommates looked concerned, asking if I needed company on the way home. I just shook my head with a grin and waved them off."Oh, my Zane! You're just like my Gene! What's got you down? Just a little trouble with a game? You should've told me—I would've gotten it for you. Oh, it hurts, my treasure. My heart aches for you!"Mom's cries were echoing through the house before I even stepped inside.I gulped down a few breaths, pretending I had sprinted the whole way. "Mom, how's the little guy?""You heartless thing, you finally show up, jealous of your brother's happiness! You might as well quit your job and just stay home to babysit him."I caught a glimpse of the overkill gauze job on my brother's wrist and could not help but cringe."Mom, that's way too much gauze, the wound needs room to breathe." I peeled off the layers around his wrist, and yep, it
Last Updated : 2024-12-25The Pretend Darkness Chapter 9
"Mom, if you don't want me to go, I'll just stay here and look after my little bro. But you know, that four hundred fifty bucks is an advance on my salary. If I bail now, I'll have to pay it back to the company."Mom was still on the fence, but when Zane heard about returning the money, he bolted to the table, snatched up a fruit knife, and pressed it against his wrist."Fine, fine, fine, just go and get it yourself. From now on, send eight hundred twenty-five home every month, and keep seventy-five for yourself to eat."Walking away with my ID card, I let out a deep sigh.Tears welled up the second I was out the door, and despite my best efforts, one spilled onto the ID card.I secretly changed my address to the company's.The company was started by an upperclassman, and one of my teachers hooked me up with him at the Outstanding Graduates Meet-up.He got the lowdown on my family situation and offered to help. He set me up with a salary of 1500 a month and even agreed to let me
Last Updated : 2024-12-25The Pretend Darkness Chapter 10
Once I had soothed Zane, I sneaked Mom off to the side for a chat."Mom, I've been watching him take his meds forever, and it looks like he's getting worse, not better."Mom shot me a look and rolled her eyes. "Don't play dumb with me. You just don't want to shell out for his meds! Let me remind you, if you hadn't been born first, you wouldn't be here at all! You should count yourself lucky you can spend money on your brother!"It was weird, but the old sting from her words just was not there anymore. It was like trying to cut cotton with a dull blade—no sharp pain, just a weird kind of nothing."Mom, why would I even think that? Look at this."[Skip the antidepressants, witness a miracle from a deity's descent!]"I stumbled on this a few days back. It's not that I don't want to buy his meds, I just don't want him to suffer more. Meds can be poison too, you know? What if..."Mom's face got all serious, and she kept mumbling about how that witch from town seemed to really have so
Last Updated : 2024-12-25The Pretend Darkness Chapter 11
Like clockwork, a few days later, Mom told me to send her all my cash.I remembered from my previous life that that witch had a huge appetite for money and would pull any stunt to get it.I sent Mom just shy of a grand, saying I could skip a few meals if it meant helping Zane.Mom was on it faster than my previous life, and in no time, she had the local witch at our door.She was more desperate than before. In my previous life, Zane had not had the chance to really show his 'sickness'.The witch circled his room, chanting away and tossing mud and salt everywhere.Zane could not take it and started hurling anything he could find at her.She barely dodged a lamp before she finally called it quits."Your son's got something wicked in him, and it's not just the blues," she said with a dramatic gesture toward the potted plant on the balcony. "See that? That plant's wilting because it's too close to your boy and whatever's haunting him. It's sucked dry of life, just like he will be i
Last Updated : 2024-12-25The Pretend Darkness Chapter 12
I snagged some fine hemp rope. That night, we tied Zane while he was out like a light. I even pulled the knots a bit tighter, just in case Mom got soft.There he was, my bulky brother, bound tight to his bed, trussed up like a roast for the oven.Looking at him there, snoring away without a clue, I felt a rush of payback. In my previous life, when I was the one tied up and getting whipped, he just stood at the side and laughed at me. My clothes were in tatters, barely clinging to my bruised body. The only thing shielding me was a thin blanket, but he ripped it away without a shred of mercy.He snapped pictures of my exposed shame, trading them online for virtual game gear and skins.A seething rage nearly drove me to end his life as he slept.However, I kept telling myself that he had not paid for all his wrongs yet, and I would not let him destroy my bright future."What the—who the heck tied me up? Let me out now!" Zane, finally awake, was like a wild animal in a rage, howlin
Last Updated : 2024-12-25The Pretend Darkness Chapter 13
A snap so faint that it was almost silent pierced the air and detonated in my ears."Ah! Let me go, now!"I flinched instinctively, that sound was a nightmare carved into my very marrow.My fingers dug into my flesh, the sting bringing a moment of clarity.I did not run. Instead, I stared wide-eyed, burning the image of Zane's bed-bound struggle into my memory.I was not the one lying there anymore, and I was no longer the victim.Everything had changed.The crack of the willow branch and Zane's cries filled the air. I watched, my eyes nearly bursting, as tears streamed down my face.Beside me, my mother inconsolably wept for my brother.What was she like in my previous life when I was the one under the lash?It seemed she was always there, comforting him."It's all this jerk's fault. Once we get rid of the evil haunting her, Zane, you'll start to heal."The tears I shed were for the person I had been in my previous life.The witch, after about 100 lashes, was running out
Last Updated : 2024-12-25The Pretend Darkness Chapter 14
After each day's 'exorcism,' I would make sure to feed Zane. He needed strength to endure.At first, he would spit the food at me while cursing up a storm. However, hunger got the best of him, and tied up as he was, he would nuzzle into the plate to eat.Watching him eat like an animal at a trough, I figured it was about time.A few days of beatings, and even my hefty brother was wearing thin. He was like a spooked bird, flinching at the slightest noise.When he saw us, his curses turned to begging. "Madam Witch, Mom, Sis, I admit it, I'm okay now, I'm totally fine! Please, just let me go!"The witch watched Zane's desperate plea with a smug grin, pulling a chipped bowl from her bag. "Looks like the nasty spirit is shaking in its boots. A little bloodletting and we'll kick it out for good."She whipped out some needles that looked more like mini javelins and plunged them into my brother's fingertips. Everyone knew how much finger pricks could hurt. Even Zane, toughened up from da
Last Updated : 2024-12-25The Pretend Darkness Chapter 15
Ever since that so-called witch, Zane had been a shadow of himself. He stopped begging to play his video games and just sat there in his room, zoning out as he stared at his fingers.Come dinner, he did not dive for the meat anymore, just nibbled on the vegetables in his plate or whatever was within arm's reach.Mom had been watching him, getting more worried by the day.One time, catching her sighing over his slumped figure, I sidled up to her. "Mom, is he really all better? He's been acting off lately. Maybe we should get him checked out at the hospital?"For once, Mom looked drained, too tired to snap at me as she just nodded. "I've noticed it too. He won't even touch meat, and it just kills me. Let's take him to Anthony's clinic tomorrow, see what they say."As I sat in Anthony's clinic, it hit me—I was right. Even with her son, her pride and joy, sick before her eyes, my mom would not put her faith in a big hospital.Stubborn to the core, she always thought she knew best.L
Last Updated : 2024-12-25
Latest chapter
The Pretend Darkness Chapter 20
The evidence I gave to the police was solid, so after they checked it out, they cuffed the so-called spiritual healer.The cop who took my statement said the witch was in deep trouble for abusing kids and had a rap sheet that included someone dying. She was looking at 10 years or more behind bars.Zane took his last breath one night in the hospital, just a few weeks after he was admitted. The beeping machines flatlined, and that was it for him.Mom threw a fit in the hospital, but this time, she walked away with nothing but her son's body.She tracked me down just as I was wrapping up a big project at work, getting ready to hit a celebration dinner with my team."I'm telling you, you little brat, as long as I have your papers, you'll never shake me off! Your address will snap back here once you're done with school, and you better believe you'll be handing over every paycheck!" she snarled, clutching my ID.I just gave her a half-smile. "I never switched my address to the school,
The Pretend Darkness Chapter 19
"Internal bleeding, viral infection, heavy metal poisoning—the patient is in critical condition. Brace yourselves…""In a world where science reigns supreme, I can't believe there are still people who put their faith in witch, to the point where they'd hurt their own kids."I knew Mom heard the whispers; her face went ghostly white for a split second."Should I not have gone to that witch? But Zane was sick, and I just wanted him to get better...""He was covered in bruises, his blood almost drained, forced to drink that vile water until he puked blood..."I could not tell if I was talking about my brother, who was fighting for his life in that hospital bed, or about myself, from a previous life, when I could not take the torment anymore and chose to end it all."It's all because of you. If you hadn't shown me that news piece, I never would've gone to that witch, and your brother wouldn't be in this mess..." She trailed off, a memory seemingly catching in her throat.Mom's voice
The Pretend Darkness Chapter 18
"Hehe—"The room was silent for what seemed like forever until my little brother's throat suddenly let out a wheezing sound, like a broken accordion gasping for air.Mom frantically dabbed at his forehead when, out of nowhere, he coughed up blood.A spray of dark red, mixed with the gray of shredded paper and the vivid scarlet of fresh blood, splattered everywhere.His face turned a sickly pale in a heartbeat."Ambulance! Brianna, call an ambulance, now!"See, she knew exactly what could save a life. At the life-or-death moment for her baby boy, she did not hesitate to choose what would really work.So why, in my previous life, when I was the one spitting up blood from that vile water, did she just unemotionally question the witch?"The evil has been driven out, right? My son's going to be okay now, isn't he?"The ambulance came anyway, not because I had any soft spot for Zane, my brother. It was because the last piece of Mom's punishment needed to come from him.I watched as
The Pretend Darkness Chapter 17
As expected, when I got home, Mom went back to her old ways. She tied up my brother in his sleep, and this time, she did not even need my help to make sure he could not move an inch."Mom! Didn't I tell you I'm better now? Didn't the doctor tell you? I'm not sick! Let me go—"The witch we called in again narrowed her eyes, waving a stick around, drawing symbols in the air like she was casting a spell.She mumbled some incantation for what felt like forever, burned a pile of paper, and then mixed in half a bowl of animal blood."We've got no choice but to try this! The evil spirit's too strong. If we don't get rid of it, your son's life is at risk."I watched them force a bowl of that dark, blood-red potion down my brother's throat.He gagged a few times and then went still.His eyes shut tight, mouth half-open as he struggled to breathe.Suddenly, I felt like I was the one being choked, my breath caught in my throat. However, instead of discomfort, I felt a rush of exhilaration
The Pretend Darkness Chapter 16
"Doctor, I've been faking it! I'm not sick, you can see that, can't you? Tell them I'm all better, that I'm not sick!"Zane was not slow on the uptake; he knew convincing the doctor was his ticket out of the witch's clutches.Oh, dear brother, you have not lived through all the trials I have faced in my previous life—how could you possibly think this was over?"Okay, okay, calm down. Trust me, go take a break, and I'll talk to your mom."Once Zane was out of earshot, the doctor let out a weary sigh. "This kid of yours, he's in a bad way! I've seen it before—a kid kept saying he was just putting on an act, and his family bought it. Then, a few days later, he tried to end it all!"The doctor's story turned my mom's face ghostly pale.I had only given the doctor a heads-up a few days earlier that my brother kept insisting he was fine. However, deep down, I was scared for him, scared he had to do something drastic.The clinic's doctor was not about to take any chances, so he played
The Pretend Darkness Chapter 15
Ever since that so-called witch, Zane had been a shadow of himself. He stopped begging to play his video games and just sat there in his room, zoning out as he stared at his fingers.Come dinner, he did not dive for the meat anymore, just nibbled on the vegetables in his plate or whatever was within arm's reach.Mom had been watching him, getting more worried by the day.One time, catching her sighing over his slumped figure, I sidled up to her. "Mom, is he really all better? He's been acting off lately. Maybe we should get him checked out at the hospital?"For once, Mom looked drained, too tired to snap at me as she just nodded. "I've noticed it too. He won't even touch meat, and it just kills me. Let's take him to Anthony's clinic tomorrow, see what they say."As I sat in Anthony's clinic, it hit me—I was right. Even with her son, her pride and joy, sick before her eyes, my mom would not put her faith in a big hospital.Stubborn to the core, she always thought she knew best.L
The Pretend Darkness Chapter 14
After each day's 'exorcism,' I would make sure to feed Zane. He needed strength to endure.At first, he would spit the food at me while cursing up a storm. However, hunger got the best of him, and tied up as he was, he would nuzzle into the plate to eat.Watching him eat like an animal at a trough, I figured it was about time.A few days of beatings, and even my hefty brother was wearing thin. He was like a spooked bird, flinching at the slightest noise.When he saw us, his curses turned to begging. "Madam Witch, Mom, Sis, I admit it, I'm okay now, I'm totally fine! Please, just let me go!"The witch watched Zane's desperate plea with a smug grin, pulling a chipped bowl from her bag. "Looks like the nasty spirit is shaking in its boots. A little bloodletting and we'll kick it out for good."She whipped out some needles that looked more like mini javelins and plunged them into my brother's fingertips. Everyone knew how much finger pricks could hurt. Even Zane, toughened up from da
The Pretend Darkness Chapter 13
A snap so faint that it was almost silent pierced the air and detonated in my ears."Ah! Let me go, now!"I flinched instinctively, that sound was a nightmare carved into my very marrow.My fingers dug into my flesh, the sting bringing a moment of clarity.I did not run. Instead, I stared wide-eyed, burning the image of Zane's bed-bound struggle into my memory.I was not the one lying there anymore, and I was no longer the victim.Everything had changed.The crack of the willow branch and Zane's cries filled the air. I watched, my eyes nearly bursting, as tears streamed down my face.Beside me, my mother inconsolably wept for my brother.What was she like in my previous life when I was the one under the lash?It seemed she was always there, comforting him."It's all this jerk's fault. Once we get rid of the evil haunting her, Zane, you'll start to heal."The tears I shed were for the person I had been in my previous life.The witch, after about 100 lashes, was running out
The Pretend Darkness Chapter 12
I snagged some fine hemp rope. That night, we tied Zane while he was out like a light. I even pulled the knots a bit tighter, just in case Mom got soft.There he was, my bulky brother, bound tight to his bed, trussed up like a roast for the oven.Looking at him there, snoring away without a clue, I felt a rush of payback. In my previous life, when I was the one tied up and getting whipped, he just stood at the side and laughed at me. My clothes were in tatters, barely clinging to my bruised body. The only thing shielding me was a thin blanket, but he ripped it away without a shred of mercy.He snapped pictures of my exposed shame, trading them online for virtual game gear and skins.A seething rage nearly drove me to end his life as he slept.However, I kept telling myself that he had not paid for all his wrongs yet, and I would not let him destroy my bright future."What the—who the heck tied me up? Let me out now!" Zane, finally awake, was like a wild animal in a rage, howlin
