Good Riddance

In the dead of night, a family's dark secret is buried, not just beneath the earth, but within their very home. Ryan, a figure of terror and abuse, is gone, his memory replaced by a fabricated lie and a pooling stain on the kitchen floor. As dawn approaches, a mother's return looms, threatening to unravel the carefully constructed facade. Can the children maintain their grim charade, or will the truth, like blood, inevitably surface?

I'm not sure they should be doing that, but I was never one to stop bad decisions. I watched my little brothers, Benjamin and Joshua, pass a ball to each other close to our neighbors' low fence.

I slumped onto the ground and threw the shovel down beside me. The wet grass soaked through my jeans, and a shiver ran up my spine. My feet dangled in the grave we just dug. I watched my brothers pass the ball back and forth, and prepared to console them when they lost that ball to the neighbors.

My older brother, Aaron, opened our back door and dragged the tarp behind him. I jumped up from the ground and ran over to him. My arms ached from digging the grave for the past few hours. Pain shot up through my muscles as I grabbed the other end of the tarp. I saw Ryan's ratty old shoes sticking out from the tarp. I fought against the pungent taste of bile threatening to come up when I saw his blood pooling in the middle of the tarp.

Good Riddance

Cover-up Abuse Dark Secret Family Murder