บท 42: THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPEN

If I thought I felt bad before, now I felt worse.

The moment I got inside, I bolted upstairs, ignoring my mom's desperate calls. She freaked out when she saw the state I was in, but I wasn’t in the mood to explain anything. I didn’t want to.

"Chester! What happened? Stop! Listen to me, please! What’s wrong?" Her voice was a mix of panic and confusion, but I couldn't bring myself to stop or turn around.

I reached my room, slammed the door shut, struggling with the loose handle that barely held it closed as my mom kept trying to push it open. Leaning against the door, I let out a shaky sigh.

"Chester, please!" she cried, the intensity in her voice rising.

"What happened to you? Don’t do this to me!" Her voice cracked, and I could hear the tears starting to form in her throat.

"Leave me alone!" I yelled, my own voice sounding foreign to me. "Please! Just this once... give me a moment!"

There was a long, painful silence.