Chapter 4

The night went on.

The AC in the living room was set to a freezing sixty degrees.

This sped up my rigor mortis.

Before going to her room, Roxy walked past me.

On a petty whim, she stomped heavily on my stomach through the tablecloth.

"Clean the floor tomorrow. It’s covered in my blood. It’s disgusting."

It was a heavy stomp.

But I felt nothing.

Instead, my stiffened, cold body bruised her foot.

She muttered, "Stiff as a rock. You and your garbage attitude."

The next morning.

Sunlight filtered through the blinds, illuminating the shape under the tablecloth.

Roxy woke up feeling refreshed. When she walked out, she saw I was still in the exact same spot.

She marched over and snatched the tablecloth away.

My face had already turned a ghastly shades of blue and purple. The dried white foam on my lips had turned crusty.

Roxy froze for a second, then burst into a mocking laugh.

"Wow, Hope. You really went all out to scare me."

"Who did you do this zombie makeup for? You should have gone to film school instead."

She actually thought it was makeup.

She kicked my stiff arm with her sneaker.

"Alright, cut it out. I'm going to school. Make sure you wash my sneakers today."

She threw the tablecloth back over my face and hummed a tune as she walked out the door.

I floated out right behind her.

At school, Roxy was on top of the world.

She showed off the forged Ivy League admission letter to everyone in her class.

"Well, some people can study all they want, but the spot still belongs to me in the end," she bragged.

A few girls who always disliked her rolled their eyes.

"Stealing your own sister's spot. You’re disgusting, Roxy."

Roxy's face twisted in rage. She lunged forward and slapped the girl hard across the face.

*Smack!*

It was loud and clear.

The girl was stunned for a second, but then she lost it. She grabbed Roxy's arm, digging her long acrylic nails deep into Roxy’s flesh.

If this were yesterday, I would be rolling on the floor in a corner of the school, screaming in agony.

Because all that pain would have hit me.

But today, I was dead.

Roxy looked down at the nails sinking into her arm, and a bizarre, twisted thrill washed over her face.

She felt nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

"Is that all you got?" Roxy laughed mockingly. She grabbed the girl by her hair and slammed her head against the desk.

The sheer brutality of her attack terrified everyone in the room.

Because she feared no pain, she had no limits.

"I am invincible!" Roxy laughed like a psychopath as she beat the girl bloody.

The principal was called, and so were the parents.

Linda rushed to the school. But instead of apologizing, she screamed at the victim’s family in the office.

"Your daughter started it! My girl was just defending herself!"

"My daughter is gifted! She’s physically resilient, unlike your fragile little brat who cries over a scratch!"

The principal pointed at the security footage. "Mrs. Miller, your daughter was incredibly violent..."

"That’s because she’s brave! She’s tough!" Linda said proudly. "Unlike her useless sister, who is a spineless coward."

Mentioning me made Linda remember that she needed me to sign some paperwork at the school to finalize the admission transfer.

She pulled out her phone and called me.

*Ring... Ring... Ring...*

The phone rang, but it was just vibrating on the coffee table back in our living room.

Nobody answered.

"That little bitch. Still throwing a tantrum," Linda muttered, hanging up.

"Just wait until I get home. I’ll teach her a lesson."

Watching this from the ceiling, I found it hilarious.

While they were defending a monster, they didn't miss a single chance to insult their dead child.

They even mistook the silence of a corpse for rebellion.