Chapter 11 I quickly texted back : Aren't you supposed to be preparing for the SAT ? What happiness and future are you chasing right now ? ) Caleb responded almost immediately : ICollege isn't the only path . Plenty of college grads can't even find jobs and end up washing dishes or working at fast fond joints . Why bother ? Income doesn't necessarily correlate with education level . Look at Steve Jobs and Bill Gates both college dropouts !! [ Besides , even if I fail , it's no big deal . I've still got you , right ? I'll have my car and house and be successful that way . Sts , please keep this a secret . Don't tell Mom I'm skipping the test . ] Reading his messages , I had to laugh at his audacity . Ile really never stopped planning to leech off me ! So I timed it perfectly , returning home on the day of the exam . As soon as I arrived , I asked my mother , " Is Caleb back yet ? " " Are you stupid or something ? " Darlene looked disgusted . " My son is taking his exam right now . He's been staying at a hotel with his classmates these past few days to focus on studying . My boy works so hard - he's definitely getting into a top university ! " As always , she beamed with pride at the mention of Caleb . I deliberately hesitated : " Mom , something seems off about Caleb . He sent me this weird message the other day . The more I think about it , the stranger it feels , so I took time off to rush back . " While speaking , I pulled up our conversation to show her . At first , she looked irritated , but after reading the messages , her face drained of color . Without hesitation , she rushed out , and searched everywhere near home and school with me . Finally , when we passed a movie theater , she spotted Caleb from a distance , holding an ice cream cone and walking hand - in - hand with his boyfriend . They were laughing and sharing the ice cream , taking turns with sweet , loving bites . Watching this , I instinctively checked my mother's expression - dark and ominous , like a brewing storm . Before I could say anything , she charged forward like a madwoman , grabbing the boy and punching , scratching , and screaming : " You shameless little slut ! How dare you seduce my son ! I'll kill you ! I'll KILL you ! " Years of her husband's indifference , his cheating , and even his humiliating death had pushed Darlene to the edge . Seeing her precious son - her last remaining hope - in love with a man meant the dream of watching him marry and have children was shattered . She shrieked hysterically , raking bloody scratches across the boy's face and yanking out clumps of his hair . Blood streamed down his cheeks as she seemed determined to destroy this " home - wrecker " even if it meant her own destruction . Seeing his boyfriend so brutally attacked , Caleb intervened , trying to pull his mother's clawing hands away . But the more he defended his boyfriend , the more Darlene unraveled . In the struggle , Caleb shoved her hard and delivered a cruel ultimatum : " Mom , I love him . That's just a fact whether you like it or not . If you can't accept it , I'll just have to pretend an orphan ! " His harsh words made me gasp . I never imagined he could be so brutal - even the gathering onlookers were shocked . I looked over at Darlene , who , unsurprisingly , was livid . She collapsed to the ground , clutching her chest and gasping for air as her face turned a sickly bluish - white . But Caleb was too busy tending to his boyfriend's wounds to notice . Nem ! 15.99 Chapter 11 I pulled out my phone and tried to call an ambulance . But oops ! My " shaky hands wouldn't cooperate - Feculdn't even wru glancing between my mother and my phone until I saw her eyes clows as she lost consciousness . Only then did 1 grai Caleh and railal But it was too late . Darlene died of a heart attack . After her funeral , I slapped Caleb hard across the face . " I told you I would support you whether you loved a boy or a girl you " But you shouldn't have thrown away your future , and you want to be an orphan , go ahead - chase your love story ! " itely shouldn't have pushed Mom to her death . From now on , I don't have a brother aff With those final words , I left the place I'd called home for eighteen years . Fortunately , Caleb and I never had any real sibling bond , and he didn So he had no idea where I'd changed my college application He would never find me again .