Neighbor Feigned Pity, Molested My Sister; Reborn, I Jailed Him

In my past life, my sister was assaulted by the mentally disabled guy next door.

My parents called the police, and the guy's grandmother cried harder than my sister ever did, claiming my sister had seduced her grandson.

Everyone treated my sister like a joke. She dropped out of school, we moved, and she never left the house again.

A month later she swallowed a whole bottle of sleeping pills, and they couldn't save her.

Three months later, the disabled guy assaulted another girl the same way.

The police found a diary in his house that recorded the name, time, place, and even the details of every girl he had assaulted.

It turned out he wasn't disabled at all.

He'd used the disability as a disguise to assault more than a dozen women.

Overwhelmed with grief, I wasn't careful and got hit by a truck, thrown through the air.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the moment the disabled guy knocked on our door.

He stood in our doorway, wearing that harmless, silly grin.

"Bella, is your sister home? I want to talk to her."

I stared hard at his face, then stretched out my short little arms and shoved him with all my strength.

"Get out! You're not welcome in my house!"

Section 1

Cornelius froze in the doorway.

That seemingly foolish face now held a flicker of shrewdness, so faint it was almost invisible.

He quickly slipped back into that dumb, pitiful look.

"Bella, do you hate me too?"

I blocked the doorway, gripping the doorknob for dear life.

In my past life, this exact expression had fooled everyone.

It made my sister let her guard down, and that was how he assaulted her.

"Yes, I hate you. Don't come back here again."

I tipped my head up and glared at him fiercely.

His eyes went red, his lips twisted, and he broke into tears.

"You all hate me, you all say I'm stupid, nobody will play with me."

Hearing the commotion, my sister came out of the kitchen and quickly pulled me back.

"What's going on here? Cornelius, come inside, don't stand out there crying in this heat."

Like he'd found someone to hide behind, Cornelius shoved me aside and threw himself against my sister.

He was a grown man now, half a head taller than my sister, and every time he'd grab her arm and nuzzle it like a little kid.

"Melody, Bella thinks I'm dumb and won't play with me. You play with me."

He'd knocked me down onto the floor, my backside aching from the fall.

But I couldn't spare a thought for the pain. I scrambled up and rushed over to yank him off her.

"Let go of my sister! You're not allowed to touch her! Get out!"

My sister let go of Cornelius's hand and pulled me to the side.

"Bella, what's gotten into you today? You always welcome Cornelius when he comes over, don't you?"

I pressed my lips together tight, tears swimming in my eyes.

"He's a bad person, I hate him, make him leave."

My sister frowned. "Bella, you can't be so rude."

Cornelius hunched his neck down, one finger stuck in his mouth like a three-year-old. The neighbors all called him a fool behind his back.

"Melody, I'm not a bad person. I like playing with you and your sister."

"Bella, I'm not stupid. My grandma says I'm just slower to react than other people."

He pulled the wet finger out of his mouth and reached to grab me, and I stepped back in disgust.

"Don't touch me!"

I screamed and dodged away, my voice so shrill it startled even me.

My sister froze, and Cornelius's hand stopped in midair.

Then he suddenly clutched his head and crouched down.

"Don't hit me, I'm not stupid, I'll be good"

That was exactly how it went in my past life. The second anyone said something harsh, he'd instantly put on a frightened act to win sympathy.

My sister quickly crouched down and gently rubbed his back.

"It's okay, no one's going to hit you."

She shot me a displeased look.

"Bella, Cornelius has a brain injury. You're going to scare him."

She helped him sit on the couch. "Sit down, let me get you a glass of water."

"No, I don't want you to leave, I'm scared."

He gripped her arm tight and rubbed it hard a couple of times, leaving several red marks on her pale skin.

But excitement flickered in his eyes, and his throat bobbed.

"Then send Bella instead"

"I'm not going!"

I lunged over and forced myself between them, kicking and hitting to shove him away.

"You stay away from my sister!"

A vicious look flashed in Cornelius's eyes, gone in an instant, replaced again by panic.

"Bella, don't hit me, I'm just scared, I want your sister."

My sister's expression shifted.

"Bella, why are you acting like this?"

"Apologize to Cornelius right now!"

"I won't!"

I stuck out my neck stubbornly.

"Bella Dickerson!"

My sister's voice went cold. "If you keep this up, Mom and Dad are going to be angry when they get back tomorrow!"

Cornelius's eyes lit up.

"Your mom and dad aren't coming back tonight?"

My heart lurched, and I was about to stop my sister, but she'd already blurted out, "They went back to our hometown, they'll be back tomorrow."

The corner of Cornelius's mouth curled into a sly smile, then vanished fast.

But I saw it.

In my past life, when he charged into my sister's room, this was the same smile.

Cornelius stuck close to my sister the whole time.

She washed the fruit while he stood beside her handing her the basket.

I marched over and snatched it away, deliberately stomping on his big foot with my little one.

He kept pestering her to watch cartoons with him, so I just yanked the TV's plug out of the wall.

He asked her to pour him some warm water, so I took a bottle of frozen water from the fridge and threw it at him.

Melody's face darkened.

"Bella, why do you keep going after Cornelius on purpose today?"

"If you keep this up, go play in your room by yourself!"

Cornelius shrank behind my sister and waved his hands over and over.

"Melody, don't scold Bella. She's only five. Grandma said she's the little one, so I have to give in to her."

He played it so convincingly that my sister looked at him with even more pity.

To make up for what I'd done, my sister actually asked him to stay for dinner.

I was dead set against it.

"No. He has a home. Why should he eat here?"

Cornelius hunched his shoulders pitifully.

"I... I guess I'll just go home."

He opened the door and left.

I slammed the door shut and breathed a sigh of relief.

He was finally gone. As long as he wasn't here tonight, the tragedy from my last life wouldn't happen.

Dinner had just been set on the table when there was a knock at the door.

As my sister got up to answer it, she muttered under her breath.

"Who'd be coming at this hour?"

A sudden, sharp wave of unease surged up in me. I jumped down off the chair and ran to the door.

"Don't open it, Melody."

But the door was already open.

Cornelius stood outside, head down, looking all timid.

"Melody, my grandma isn't back yet. I'm hungry."

I planted myself in the doorway.

"You're lying!"

His grandmother was home. She was always home.

In my last life, we only found out during the interrogation.

His grandmother knew everything.

"Your grandma is home. I'll go get her."

I started to head outside.

Cornelius's expression shifted slightly, and he began to sniffle and wipe at his tears.

"I'm not lying. Grandma went to the hospital..."

"If you won't let me eat, then I'll make some instant ramen. Melody, I don't know how to boil water. Could you..."

"No! Get out of here!"

He still wanted to trick my sister into going over to his place? Dream on!

"Bella Dickerson!"

My sister's voice carried an edge of anger.

"Are you done making a scene?"

She pulled me behind her and cleared the doorway.

"Forget the ramen. Come in and eat with us."

He shuffled in meekly and sat down at the dinner table.

The whole meal was tense and heavy.

After he finished eating, he was in no hurry to leave. He sat on the couch and said he was waiting for his grandmother to come back.

But his eyes kept drifting toward the kitchen.

I knew he wasn't waiting for his grandmother.

He was waiting for an excusean excuse to stay the night.

Eight o'clock.

It was already pitch dark outside.

Sure enough.

He spoke up.

"Melody, my grandma still isn't back. Can I stay at your place tonight?"

My head roared.

The exact same excuse, word for word, as in my last life.

My sister believed it.

She let him sleep in the living room.

In the middle of the night, he slipped into my sister's room.

I practically leaped up and shoved him.

"No!"

"You can't stay in our houseyou'll hurt my sister!"

My sister froze.

"Bella, what nonsense are you spouting?"

I clung to her leg.

"Sis, I'm not making it up. He sneaks into your room in the middle of the night. He's not a good person at all!"

Cornelius's face twisted for a second, then quickly slid back into its wounded look.

"Melody, don't be angry with Bella. I won't stay. I'll go home."

He edged toward the door.

This time, my sister didn't stop him.

After the door closed, I let out a long breath of relief.

This time, I'd really stopped it.

My sister didn't say a word while she bathed me.

I knew she was truly angry.

But I didn't regret it.

As long as she was safe, she could hit me all she wanted.

Nine o'clock at night.

The ceiling light flickered once and went out.

My sister flipped the switch, but nothing happened.

"Power's out?"

But looking over at the other buildings in the complex, they were all lit up.

"Maybe a breaker tripped. Never mind, let's just sleep. I'll get an electrician to look at it in the morning."

My sister led me to bed, tucked the blanket over me, and closed the door.

I lay there, but unease stirred inside me.

Why would a breaker suddenly trip?

Just as I was thinking it, there came another knock at the door.

I bolted out of bed and ran out barefoot.

Melody had already reached the door.

From outside came Cornelius's plea for help, his voice thick with tears.

"Melody, the power's out at home, and my grandma isn't here. I'm so scared."

"Melody, please open the door and let me in, okay?"

"Don't open it!"

Melody hesitated.

Just then her phone rang. It was Cornelius's grandmother.

"Melody, I'm having some health trouble and have to stay at the hospital overnight for observation. Cornelius says the power's out at home and he's scared to be alone. Could I trouble you to look after him for the night?"

I shouted at once, "Don't say yesshe's lying to you!"

Melody frowned at me. "Bella, you've been acting up all day. I don't want to waste words with you."

She said yes to Genevieve, opened the door briskly, and Cornelius squeezed in right away.

When he saw me all bristling like a hedgehog, he deliberately hunched his shoulders and hid behind Melody.

He said softly, "Melody, I can just sleep on the couch."

"No way! He's staying in my room. I'm sleeping with you!"

Melody paused, but didn't object. She carried my pillow and blanket into her room and made up a fresh bed for Cornelius.

I quietly slipped the key out of the door, and after closing it, I quickly locked it from the outside.

Melody's face darkened instantly.

"Bella, what are you doing?"

I pulled her back into her room, shut the door, locked it, and lowered my voice.

"Melody, he's going to hurt you."

Melody's face was already grim.

"Bella, why are you saying things like that about Cornelius?"

My nose stung, and I looked up at her.

"Sis, I saw pictures of you on his phone."

Melody froze.

"What pictures?"

"Lots of them. Some of your face, some of your whole body."

"And some of here."

I pointed to her chest and her backside.

Melody's expression changed.

"When did you see them?"

"Yesterday. His phone was open to the photo album, and the screen wasn't locked."

"Bella, could you have seen it wrong?"

I shook my head hard.

"No, I saw it clearly. I asked him, and he said he bumped the camera by accident and took them by mistake."

"But that's not what it looked like. Those photos were even clearer than the ones you take of me."

In my past life, he really did have plenty of photos of Melody on his phone.

So saying this wasn't unfair to him.

Melody's expression grew heavy.

"Bella, maybe it really is a coincidence."

"Then what about him touching you on purpose?"

"Sis, he brushed up against you several times today, and he even put his arm around your waist. Several times the way he looked at you wasn't like a slow personit was like a grown man."

Melody's hand trembled.

Her eyes went through the door, toward my room.

She didn't say anything, but her hands clenched without her meaning to.

I knew it. She was starting to believe me.

She turned the lock, making sure it was fastened.

She lifted me onto the bed and stroked my head.

"Bella, go to sleep. I'm right here, don't be scared."

I closed my eyes, but I couldn't sleep soundly.

Half asleep, I heard banging on the door and jerked awake.

"Sis, Cornelius is out there."

Melody sat up and covered my mouth.

After listening a moment, I could tell it was Cornelius shouting from inside my room.

"Melody, I need to pee, but the door won't open."

"I can't hold it anymore!"

Melody's foot moved.

I grabbed hold of her tightly.

"Melody, don't go. He's lying to you."

Melody hesitated, but in the end she didn't move.

But the banging didn't stop, and Cornelius's shouting grew louder and louder.

"Melody, please, open the door. I really can't hold it anymore."

"My tummy hurts so much, Melody. I want my grandma!"

Melody's body shook faintly; her mind and her body were locked in a fierce struggle.

She wanted to go, but she was afraid what I'd said was true.

I clung to her, refusing to let her move.

"Melody, don't believe him. He'll do something bad to you."

Melody went rigid and stopped moving entirely.

Cornelius's crying suddenly stopped.

Then he threw open the window and shouted outside.

"Melody's asleep and won't open the door. I need to peeGrandma, Cornelius can't hold it anymore!"

Less than two minutes later, someone came pounding on the front door.

Melody went to open the door. It was Nanette, our downstairs neighbor.

The moment Melody opened the door, Nanette laid into her.

"Melody, what's Cornelius doing wailing his head off at your place in the middle of the night? Can't anyone get any sleep?"

"If you can't look after him properly, don't let him stay over. Are you trying to smother the poor kid to death?"

In my past life, this Nanette went around telling everyone that my sister had seduced Cornelius, that my sister was a pervert who couldn't even leave a simpleton alone.

Melody flushed a little and quickly apologized.

"I'm sorry, Nanette. I fell asleep. I'll go let him out right now."

After she shut the door, Melody grabbed the key and opened my bedroom door.

Cornelius stood in the doorway, tears streaking his face.

When he saw Melody, he lunged over and threw his arms around her waist, pressing his face hard into the crook of her shoulder.

"Melody, are you going to leave me? You scared me half to death."

On reflex, Melody shoved him away, her face bright red.

"Didn't you need the bathroom? Go on, then."

Cornelius froze for a second, a sinister flicker in his eyes, but he quickly put his meek expression back on.

He shuffled off to the bathroom.

Melody waited for him to come out, then told him to go back to his room to sleep.

He cried and refused.

"Melody, it's so dark in the room. Can I sleep in the living room?"

"I want to be closer to you and Bella. I'm scared to sleep."

I shouted right away, "No way! If you want to sleep, go to my room. If you don't, get back to your own place!"

Cornelius's tears fell in an instant as he looked pitifully at Melody.

Melody didn't agree, but she didn't deny what I'd said either.

Cornelius went back to his room looking wronged. As he shut the door, I saw his eyes sweep back and forth over Melody.

Like always, we locked his door from the outside, and Melody and I went back to our room.

Melody bolted our door, but her body still wouldn't relax.

"Bella, if you hear any more noise, you are not to come out."

I gave a small hum of agreement.

Three times. I'd stopped him three times.

This time, it should be fine.

I let my guard down a little, and my eyelids slowly grew heavy.

In a haze, I suddenly heard footsteps in the living room.

Closer and closer, until they stopped at our door.

I jerked awake and grabbed Melody's hand.

Melody hadn't slept at all, and she tensed up when she heard the noise too.

Outside the door, Cornelius asked softly, "Melody, are you asleep?"

My sister and I held our breath, not daring to make a sound.

The doorknob turned slightly.

"Melody, it's too dark, I'm scared. I want to sleep with you."

"I'll just sleep on the floor. Please."

Goosebumps rose all over my body.

He pressed down hard on the doorknob.

"Melody, if you don't say anything, I'll take it as a yes. I'm coming in."

That line didn't sound anything like a simpleton.

Melody realized then that something was wrong too.

Fighting down the trembling all through her body, she spoke up. "Cornelius, if you're scared, go home. I'm going to sleep."

I was so glad I'd warned my sister.

In the past life, Melody would surely have gone soft.

She'd have opened the door and comforted him.

And in the end, she'd have fallen into the trap he'd so carefully laid.

The noise outside the door stopped for a moment, and then came a very faint, cold laugh.

After that came the sound of the door being slammed hard.

"Melody, open the door. You let me stay, so you have to take responsibility for me."

Melody held me tightly, her voice shaking hard.

"You're an adult, you can take care of yourself. If you don't want to stay, you can leave."

"I'm not leaving. I want to sleep with my sister. Melody Dickerson, if you don't open the door, I'll go outside and scream that you're abusing me!"

He rammed the door twice more, and the door frame shook violently.

Melody climbed out of bed, shaking, and pushed the dressing table over to block the door.

She kept me tucked tightly behind her.

"Bella, in a bit, if he breaks the door down, take the chance to run out and go get Mr. Cruz downstairs."

I shook my head hard. "I'm not leaving. I'm staying with you."

Melody's tears spilled over.

"Bella, I'm so sorry..."

I covered her mouth. "Don't say that. Don't be scared. Call the police."

Melody looked at the door, where the noise had gone still, and hesitated.

"Call the police? What if he really isn't? Wouldn't that be bad..."

Before she could finish, the door was slammed open.