Weeping Angel: Malvada (Book 1 of the Weeping Angel Series)

Chapter LIV

The other doctors could not explain Clarice's death, and mom couldn't explain what really happened. So, after shedding some tears, Clarice's body was sent to a different floor for a post-mortem examination, and they ruled her death by the cause of sudden heart failure. After that, her body was kept at the morgue until we arranged a funeral for Clarice.

The entire day goes by miserably, filled with loud sobs and uncontrollable tears as if a dam had broken. I stayed with my parents for a few hours, holding their hands and sharing memories of Clarice as we cried. I knew they'd fall apart, so I had to suppress my tears and be with them, ignoring mom's remarks that should've and would've torn me apart, but I know she didn't mean anything.

But when the words didn't come, the tears did. Dad's body hung limp like something huge was weighing him down, and mom looked at everything with raw emotion in her eyes as if her world suddenly lost its beauty.

After a while, mom couldn't take it anymore, so she stood up from the couch and decided to invest her time in cleaning the already clean house to take her mind off of everything. Dad didn't want to leave any of us alone, but I assured him I'd be fine, and that he should look after mom because she was on the verge of breaking down and doing something she might regret.

I wanted to be alone for some time, so I stomped up the stairs and locked myself in my room. I was sitting on my bed, staring at my wall as if it held all the answers.

The wish for Clarice to be sitting beside fills me with such rage and bitterness, I think I might explode or fall apart. I wasn't ready to grieve my sister's death yet; a big part of me hasn't accepted the fact that she's gone for good. Deep down, I believed Clarice will jump out of nowhere and surprise me, laughing at me for falling for her stupid pranks.

The official mourning hadn't even begun, which was the funeral that we still had to organize, and I was already fed up with the heaviness in my limbs. The numbness and immense pain hit me out of nowhere, doubling me over and racking my body with choking sobs until I could barely breathe. Ragged gasps escaped my mouth as I cried until there was nothing left inside my body but the emptiness that feasted on my insides like a ravenous animal.

My phone beeps a thousand messages from my friends, but I was drained of energy to even pick up my phone and type a one-word message.

Just then, mom barges into my room, her face red and puffy like she'd spent hours crying. She started blaming me again for letting Clarice fall into a coma, and that if I had done something sooner, maybe her beloved daughter would've been with us right now.

Mom wasn't in her right state of mind, and I was too emotionally exhausted to bite back, not that I wanted to in the first place. I took her hands in mine, giving them a slight squeeze and telling her that it was important we stick together as a family and not give in to Malvada, who wants us to become distant so she can take advantage of it.

Mom yanked her hands away and cradled them to her chest as if I infected her. "Why can't you do anything right? Claire didn't have to protect you!"

"It was Claire's choice! You and I are doing the same thing she did; protecting the people around us, so you can't blame me for this,"

Mom shakes her head and snarls, "You think it's my fault? All these years, I raised you two only to have one daughter die, and the other tells me I'm wrong? Maybe instead of Claire, you should've-"

"Stop," I whisper, raising my palm in front of her. "Just stop." Tears cascade down my cheeks, my vision blurry.

Mom's angry green eyes soften, filling with guilt and pain. "I'm sorry-"

"I've had enough, okay?" I hiss, and she grimaces. "I can't deal with this right now. Just because you're hurting, it doesn't give you the right to hurt others around you!"