Forgotten Six Feet Under

Two months after I died, it finally occurred to my parents that they'd forgotten to bring me back from their trip.

My father scowled in frustration. "She was supposed to walk back herself. Does she really need to make such a big deal out of it?"

My brother, ever smug, opened our chat and sent an emoji, along with a message.

[You'd better die out there. That way, Scarlett and I will split Grandma's inheritance.]

He received no reply.

With a frosty expression, my mother said, "Tell her if she shows up for her grandmother's birthday on time, I'll let the whole pushing-Scarlett-into-the-water thing go."

They never believed I hadn't made it out of those woods. After digging six feet into the ground, they finally found my bones deep in the forest.

Chapter 1

Unable to reach me and under pressure from my grandmother, my family finally found themselves reluctantly standing in front of a run-down rental in the city.

Flynn Patterson pinched his nose. "How can that good-for-nothing live in a place like this? Mom, Dad, I don't want to go in!"

"Alright, alright. You two can head back. Your dad and I will take it from here," my mother replied.

Scarlett Patterson clung to my mother's arm, her face a mask of concern. "Seriously, can't Whitney grow up for once? She didn't answer our calls or texts, and now you two had to come all the way here."

"I'll make her pay for this!" My mother's eyes flashed with anger as she pulled my father inside.

They trudged up four flights of stairs, panting as they finally stopped in front of apartment 401.

When my father knocked, a burly man with no shirt answered the door. "Who are you looking for?"

Seeing him instantly ignited my father's temper. "What's your relationship with my daughter, and why are you living here?"

My mother stormed past him, fuming as she shouted, "Whitney! Get out here! Have you really had the nerve to live with someone without telling us?"

Just then, a heavily pregnant woman stepped into view.

"Did you come to the wrong place? We've been living here for two months now," she said.

My mother's impatience was evident. "This is the address my daughter, Whitney, gave us. How could we be wrong?"

The middle-aged man, frustrated by my mother's refusal to listen, shoved her out of the way. "Get lost! You don't even know where your own daughter lives, and you dare call yourselves parents!"

Suddenly, the pregnant woman chimed in, "Is Whitney the previous tenant? The landlord said she owed a month's rent and couldn't be reached, so we took the place."

Hearing this, my mother's brows shot up in anger. "She moved out without a word? Well, this was a pointless trip. What an ungrateful daughter!"

Just as they were about to leave in a huff, the landlord returned.

Upon learning that they were my parents, he immediately began demanding rent. "You need to pay her back rent now. And get her stuff out of here, so it doesn't take up my space!"

My parents, skeptical, followed the landlord to the storage room where my thin...