Chapter 2
That night, Jane and her husband showed up at my door with a medical report in hand.
"Priscilla, you need to pay for Madden's medical bills," Jane demanded.
I was totally confused. "What medical bills?"
Jane slammed the medical report into me.
"Madden just choked. Why were you so rough with him?" she snapped.
"You actually broke my son's ribs! Seriously, what's your problem? How could you go so hard on a little kid?" Jane kept going.
"You could've just patted his back, but no, you had to press down on his chest like that.
"I read online that young people these days just can't stand kids.
"I never imagined the monster who hates kids would be living right next door to me."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"Just choked?" I echoed, stunned.
Even now, just remembering how Madden looked that moment sent chills down my spine.
He was suffocating, his face turning blue, eyes completely bloodshot.
If I'd hesitated for even a second, he could've died right there.
But now Jane was just downplaying the whole thing, acting like it was nothing.
"He just choked a little," she scoffed.
Jane shot me a death glare, her face full of rage.
"Yeah, he just choked on some lemonade, but you went and broke his ribs like some heartless monster. Don't pretend it was an accident. You've never liked Madden, have you?" she spat.
Before I could even get a word in, Jane's husband stood menacingly in my doorway, blocking any escape.
"I already talked to Madden. You held him so tight he couldn't breathe. If you hadn't interfered, he could've just coughed up the berries himself," he snapped. "Kids don't make stuff up. So just pay what you owe."
I couldn't believe my ears. It was so absurd, I almost thought they were joking.
Before I could even react, he shoved me aside.
Then, he barged right into my apartment and sat himself down on my couch, acting like he owned the place and had no intention of leaving.
"Madden's got a broken rib. The medical bills and rehab are gonna cost 30 thousand dollars. Not a penny less," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"If you don't pay up, I'm not leaving your place," he added, making it clear he wasn't bluffing.
This was just ridiculous.
I started arguing with them right then and there.
Things were spiraling out of control.
The couple started roughing me up, shoving me back and forth.
Madden's dad cracked me across the face, splitting my lip open.
Amid the chaos, the next thing I knew, they shoved me hard toward the window.
The moment I came to my senses, I realized I'd been sent back to the day Jane handed Madden that drink.
The knocking on my door just kept getting louder.
But I didn't budge.
People like them should pay for what they'd done. Nobody was responsible for raising their kid but themselves.
I acted like I didn't hear a thing and just kept playing in my squad with my friends.
There were four of us in the squad chat.
They could all vouch that I'd been in my room with my headphones on, gaming all afternoon.
There was no way I could've heard any knocking from outside.
Time crawled by.
Before I knew it, twenty minutes had already passed since Madden swallowed those berries.
It was only then that I lazily opened up the app for my front door camera.
The live feed popped up on my screen, crystal clear.
Madden was lying motionless on the floor, completely limp from choking.
Even through the camera, I could see his face turning blue.
His hands were clenched tightly from lack of air.
His legs were stretched out stiff and straight.
Meanwhile, Jane was desperately calling 911 while struggling to drag Madden toward the elevator.
Just then, I heard the wail of an ambulance siren downstairs.
Madden was just five years old, but he was already a real handful.
He and a crew of neighborhood troublemakers were always getting up to mischief in the elevator.
They'd hit the button for the first floor, then light up every single floor just for kicks, just to drive everyone crazy.
The paramedics couldn't even get upstairs. They were stuck on the first floor.
I saw the property management post a message in the residents' group chat.
[Hey, everyone, make sure your kids aren't messing around with the elevator, okay?]
Some folks in the group started chiming in.
[Come on, what's wrong with letting kids have a little fun?]
[Seriously, kids live here too. What, they're not even allowed to touch the elevator now?]
[Stop hating on kids, seriously. What's up with people these days?]
[It's just pushing some elevator buttons, right? The elevator's for everyone. Why are you blowing this way out of proportion?]