Inspirational quote: Don't give up on your dreams. Keep sleeping.

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At lunchtime on the same day, Kieran left the cafeteria to go and find Maria Grace and finally caught her near her locker looking like she wanted to kill herself, and also looking like she hadn't eaten for two days.

Kieran held something in his hands as an appreciation gift for everything in which Maria Grace had done for him lately.

It wasn't just for sticking up for him.
There were too many things that Maria Grace had done for Kieran in Kieran's life, and there was absolutely no way that Kieran was going to live without doing something to thank her back.

So giving her a present was the only way he could think of of thanking her.

What Maria Grace had done for him lately? The list was practically endless.

Was always there for him when no one else was.

Always stuck up for him when no one else did.

Kieran felt like she was the only person that he could actually trust. What with Clyde becoming a bad boy now and Vanessa breaking up with him, who was there to trust? Maria Grace.

They had been friends since they were seven, and Maria Grace hadn't changed one bit.

She didn't become fake or turn on Kieran for no reason. No. She was always the same person no matter what happened, her delightful personality shining everywhere.

Why Kieran was scared he didn't know.

Slowly he walked up to her and stopped, before wanting to turn back.

He was about to say something but stifled it when he caught Maria Grace looking at him joyfully.

"Maria Grace?" Kieran took a deep breath and sighed longingly. "Thank you for everything you've done to me lately. Honestly. Words cannot thank you enough. We've known each other for eight years now and time really does fly, I'd like to thank you for always being there for me when no one else has, and moreover , believing in me when no one else really did."

Kieran sounded like he was about to propose to her. Although he wasn't going to. They were way too young for that.

He kept babbling on and on, to him he sounded like he was speaking Gibberish but to Maria Grace, she just couldn't stop smiling and laughing.

"...I can't say I love you because that'll sound weird and you'd think I was creepy, but if I could, well, I'd say I love you, as a friend. Thanks so much for everything, Maria Grace. And here's a late birthday present as well."

It was Maria's birthday March 9th, the day before Kieran headed back to school after the funeral.

Because it was on short notice, and as Kieran forgot to buy her something earlier, his gift wrapping skills were not "on point".

He gave the gift to her where she blushed and cried tears of joy. She put her hand close to her mouth, struggling to breathe.

Kieran smirked.

"This is one of the best presents ever!" She cried. And when no one was really looking, she ran to Kieran and threw her arms around him, in a hug.

What Kieran got her wasn't original, like chocolate.
It wasn't anything she could eat either.

It was a proposal ring.
Joking.

He made her a necklace by himself with 'M A R I A - G R A C E" beautifully embroidered on it, in caps lock.

The necklace itself was cyan but Kieran somehow made the lettering gold, using real gold.

Not the inexpensive, fake ones he got online.

Maria Grace was just too precious to him to not give her a present that was worth any sentimental value.

"Thank you so so much!" She echoed, hugging Kieran again. This time she made the hug so that Kieran was turning her round and round and round until she stopped.

Kieran grinned but frowned when Maria Grace's smile fell.

"You okay?" He wanted to know.

Maria Grace nodded although Kieran didn't look too convinced. She explained to him how all of her friends backstabbed her and walked away, leaving her on her own.

Kieran felt annoyed on why unpleasant things kept on happening to perfectly good people, but told her that he couldn't really stay due to the principal wanting him to draw a design that went on the school walls.

****
School was atrocious.
All of it.

Although it beat staying at home anyways, despite the bullies, despite Clyde suddenly turning against Kieran and going off with Justin.

It beat Kieran having to watch his stepmother and stepfather argue with his siblings, and his siblings trying to escape because they hated their stepmother that much.

When Kieran rang his doorbell because he forgot his keys, his stepmother did something really malevolent to him.

She opened the door, saw him, rolled her eyes at him, and closed the door again, but Kieran stopped her halfway.

"Katherine?" He hissed.

"Oh. Hello, Kieran," she moaned, fake smiling. "Come on in, unless you want to freeze and die out there. Hopefully you do."

Kieran didn't know who he hated more, his stepmother Katherine or his stepfather Anthony. They were both conceited to him.

Kieran was about to walk upstairs until Katherine whispered something behind him.

"I wouldn't go upstairs, if I were you," she told him.

Looking half shaken, Kieran glared at her back, ignored her, and walked up the stairs.

"Why?" He pleaded, although Katherine didn't reply, just gave him another look that read 'I tried to warn you' before finally walking off into the kitchen.

Kieran headed to his room to drop off his school bag then headed over to his siblings'.

The ones that were still alive anyway. Cameron and Jessica.

That was what Kieran had thought anyway.
Little did he know Katherine's little secret....

"Cameron. Jessica. I'm home!"

Neither of them replied, leaving Kieran startled. Usually, they'd come running to him non stop in a hug, however they didn't do it this time.

"Cameron, Jessica?"

Kieran was a hundred percent tempted to see what they were doing under their duvets.

Hey, maybe they were using headphones and they couldn't hear him.

He called their names seven times.
On the eighth time, Kieran gave up, so he headed closer to their duvet.

Normally, they'd be up to something mischievous or conniving. But not today.

Why?

Because their arms were chopped right off and blood was splattered everywhere.

But was it blood though?

It could have been ketchup, or jam.

Kieran touched it, and it oozed off his hand almost away.

Okay. It wasn't jam, or ketchup.

It was real, human blood.

Case closed.

Kieran screamed, punching himself three times.

How could he not figure this out earlier?

Oh my god!
My stepmother just murdered all of my siblings!!

She was crazy alright, Kieran knew that, but killing his brother and sister, that was way too extreme.

Kieran screamed helplessly on his way down the stairs and back to the kitchen, where he caught Katherine doing something unorthodox.

"Katherine!" He bellowed. "Why did you kill Cameron and Jessica?!"

Katherine just flashed a wicked grin in Kieran's direction, not replying.
Straight away, anyway.

"Oh. So you found out."

She brought out a knife which Kieran got petrified of because Katherine had being doing some insane things in their house lately.

The other day Kieran cut her smacking someone... With a sieve.

The day after, she was playing yoga... With a screwdriver.

The day after that, she was painting Jessica's nails... Red, to remind of her of blood.

And the day after that, she was juggling objects... That had perilously been set on fire for some reason.

What normal person did that?
Except Kieran's new stepmother wasn't normal.

She was undoubtedly insane.
With a capital I.

What was she going to do this time?
Kieran had to find out.

Kieran was watching her carefully as she got out another knife in which she used to do something with.

Kieran was suspicious immediately.

Under the table, she used the knife to cut something, and Kieran presumed it was a head.

Kieran screamed helplessly again, watching her.

She brought out the head, still flashing a vexatious grin at Kieran.

She brought it out halfway, about to put it on the table.

"She has a head!" Kieran screamed. "She has a head!"

Katherine stopped grinning and looked at Kieran completely blankly, not believing her ears.

"She has a head!!!"

But then Katherine got out the thing she was using the knife to cut with fully.

The head was green.
The head was green...
The head was green?

Except it wasn't a head.

Well not really...

It was a cucumber.

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Moral of chapter: Apparently there is a law that you're supposed to hate your stepmother so... XD