, is dead. I buried he

ents always said was reserved for them. I did it because they wante

ow what I' ve

dness has settled in the walls that has nothing to do with the autu

inks it' s j

Grandma Stella is alrea

wind was howling outside our thin walls, and I could h

re in her joints, and

, her voice thin and cracking.

ebra, slam a cabinet

u think those pills are free? You' re a dr

r the thin blanket. Every moan from my grandmother

groaned under my feet. I saw my mother standing in th

," I whispered. "The

in two long strides. Her hand came up and smacked me hard across th

dangerous. "You' re the reason we' re in this mess.

oom. "Get in there and don' t

rmchair in the living room, staring at the blank TV screen. He heard everything. He saw e

gainst the wood, listening to my grandmother' s pained whimper

silence was still th

up the old woman. Tell her if she wants br

r. The cold in her room was di

olded peacefully on her chest. She looked smaller than I' d ever

horror

chen. My voice was a d

p from the cracked cup of co

led with fake sobs as she called for an ambulance. People from next door came over, offering condolences, pa

e all gone, t

o Stella' s room an

ng with venom. "Trash. That' s all sh

no help when Matthew was born. Not a dime. All her

the factory. She used it to help with my medical bills when I was a

a finger at me. "You' re

?" I asked, my s

ow. Dump it in the old industrial lot behind

I was hearing. My father just stood there, looking at the f

I whis

ed with rage. "W

" I said, my voic

om the stove. "You will do as I say, or

er rage before. But this was diff

ping my eyes to the

grandmother' s room, a new plan was f