Chapter 20. Distracted

“It’s because of the medicine, right?” Mom asked, smiling, as she brushed my hair. “It’s so effective to the point that you sleep soundly, forgetting all those… hallucinations you have.”

She’s asking a question, but at the same time, it felt like she was trying to hypnotize me with those words… Or her?

It feels like she was just convincing herself. But for what?

“Is that right, Serenity?” she asked again when I wasn’t answering, and it was just a few seconds since she uttered those words. “Tell me. You slept peacefully because the medicine calmed you down, right? And it’s not because of another reason?”

“No, Mom,” I answered immediately, trying my best to sound neutral even if my heart was thumping rapidly, as if it wanted to go outside my body. “You’re right. I slept because of the medicine. It made me forget everything.”

It was a lie, but I have a feeling that if I told her the truth, everything would be worse. Who knows what she will do next? She mig