Chapter 1

The person I loved hated me.

He said I was just like my mother—nothing but trouble.

He led the charge in framing me, spreading rumors, and turning the internet against me.

I was cyberbullied by the entire internet.

My mother didn't believe me. She said I embarrassed her. She said I would've been better off dead.

And eventually, I did.

I died, and for an entire month, no one even noticed.

*****

When I came to, my mom was busy cozying up to Caleb Jennings.

She was dragging around huge bags filled with my stuff, including my clothes, and some photos of us together.

In those pictures, it was my parents and me, all of us smiling like nothing was ever wrong.

Mom dumped everything on the ground, flicked a lighter, and set it all on fire. Then she turned and gave Caleb a sweet, flattering look.

She put on her nicest voice and said, "Caleb, that brat's no longer my daughter. I've got nothing to do with her anymore. Could you please say something nice about me to your dad? I really don't want him to hate me."

The flames leapt up instantly, devouring everything.

I didn't care about any of my clothes and belongings. But watching those photos burn tore my heart to pieces.

I lunged toward the fire, desperate to stop it. But the flames didn't even flinch.

Then I remembered; I was already dead.

My throat tightened until I thought I'd throw up, but I couldn't shed a single tear.

Mom kept pleading, "Caleb, don't worry. I promise she won't ever show her face again. Can you please let me in to talk to your dad?"

She was groveling, so desperate and small. Not at all the way she ever was with me.

I tried to hit her, shake her, scream at her. "Mom, please, save those photos. They're the last of my memory."

If she ever found out I was dead, the only things she'd be able to see would be the humiliating images online.

I didn't want that to be all she remembered.

She used to love me once. Why couldn't she have believed me, just a little?

I fell to my knees, screaming her name over and over, but no one could hear a sound.

Caleb stared into the fire with an icy look, scoffing. "You disgust me, too. Why don't you throw yourself in there with her stuff? Even Roseanne doesn't dare show her face. What right do you have? You two are poison. You shouldn't even exist."

My throat locked up, like someone was squeezing it shut.

I looked up at Caleb in shock. The sun and fire were blazing, but he was so cold that it chilled me to the bone.

I started to wonder—was I really such a terrible person? Why did everyone seem to wish I were dead?

But Caleb wasn't always like this.

Back in high school, we were classmates. He was charming, handsome. I was pretty.

Everyone said we looked perfect together.

I'd stare at him, hoping he'd make the rumors come true.

He'd grin and tap my forehead. "What are you thinking? I'd never date a dummy, unless..."

And I'd jump in, "Unless I'm not a dummy anymore. Then you have to teach me."

Caleb spoiled me. He always found time to help me study every day.

He used to say, after graduation, he'd move the roses he planted into his yard.

I liked him so much. I studied like crazy, never noticing that my parents' marriage was falling apart.

By the time I realized it, they'd already gotten divorced without telling me.

I chose to stay with Mom. Dad could manage on his own, but she couldn't.

After graduation, I waited for Caleb to confess. I thought this was finally it.

Instead, Mom took me to meet her new boyfriend.

It was a cozy, private room. The lighting was soft. Mom pointed at Caleb and smiled. "Come on, Roseanne. You're the same age. Why don't you get to know each other?"

From then on, Caleb's eyes turned cold every time they landed on me. And by the time I died, he never looked at me warmly again, unless he was pretending.

Now, Caleb looked at Mom like she was garbage.

He began, "You'd better watch the internet. Roseanne's been dragged so badly that she won't even show her face. Stop clinging to the Jennings family, or else—"

Mom shook her head furiously. "No, I love your dad. Say whatever you want. Even if Roseanne dies, I'm not giving up."

My heart sank.

I understood why Mom couldn't let go.

She'd struggled for so long, and now she was so close to finally living a good life.

I was the one who ruined her chance.

I followed behind her, dazed.

When my parents divorced, Dad left the house to her.

He said, "This house is a gift for Roseanne when she marries. I never let her suffer, so don't let her suffer either."

Mom threw him out. "I take care of her just fine. I don't need you telling me how. Get lost."

After that, Dad had to sneak around just to see me. That lasted until the day I died.

"What are you doing here? Isn't my life already screwed up enough?" Mom's voice sounded.

My senses slowly returned. I followed her gaze and saw Dad, his face drenched in sweat, full of worry.

"Yvonne, I haven't heard from Roseanne in a month. I came to check on her. What's going on with those online rumors? Is she okay?" He kept looking behind her. "Where is she?"

Mom snapped, "How should I know? She's a university student. Why are you still babying her like some nanny? No wonder you never got anywhere. Move it; don't block the way."

Dad was usually soft-spoken. But even he lost his temper this time. "Yvonne, Roseanne's missing, and the internet is tearing her apart. What kind of mother are you?"

Mom finally exploded. "Give me a break. If she hadn't screwed everything up for me, I'd be living it up right now. That brat just had to fall for the Jennings' son, and now they don't trust me. She's getting exactly what she deserves."

Dad's face turned red with fury. "Don't give me that garbage. My daughter would never do something like that."

He pulled out his phone to call the police. Meanwhile, I stood right there, crying my eyes out.

I never imagined that someone still believed in me.

I never thought I'd live to see the day when everyone I loved walked away from me.