Fiery Red Lips

Cover art for the short story “Fiery Red Lips” on the Real Novels website

Chapter 1

My brother, bless his heart, is a little on the spectrum, but he wouldn’t hurt a fly.

He even rescued a woman from a burning building once. Problem was, she was buck naked.

Later, that woman accused him of groping her while he was saving her life.

She used her connections and the media to bully him so badly that he jumped off a bridge.

Afterward, she had the nerve to post online saying he got what he deserved.

This time around, I’m staring at that snake-tongued woman, and I swear she’s gonna taste what it’s like to be hated by the world.

—

“Honey, your brother won’t be home for dinner tonight.”

I looked at my mom, her face so sweet, and a wave of pain washed over me.

It was today. Today was the day my brother went to the library and saw that fire, the day he risked his neck to pull someone out.

Not only did he burn his arms, but he got accused of something disgusting.

That woman knew how to play the internet, using her family’s influence to dox my brother.

He couldn’t handle it. He was already wired a little differently, and this just pushed him over the edge.

My folks and I made videos trying to tell our side, but they kept getting flagged and taken down.

We went to the cops, but they couldn’t “find anything.”

Then, some lowlife threw paint all over him while he was out buying a book, calling him a pervert.

That night, my brother left a note and jumped.

My parents couldn’t take it. They were gone soon after.

And that witch who caused it all had the gall to post this long, gloating message online.

She told everyone to protect themselves from creeps.

She even said my brother got what was coming to him.

People were calling her a hero online.

She even started doing live streams and selling stuff, living the high life.

And me? I was just a ghost, wandering through life after losing my family.

Not this time. This time, it wasn’t going to happen.

I reached the fire, and there he was, carrying that woman out.

He grinned at me, wanting me to tell him he was great.

But my heart just sank.

I was too late.

Karen Johnson was wrapped in my brother’s jacket, already passed out.

People were starting to gather, so I grabbed my brother and took off.

He was bummed because I didn’t praise him.

Back home, Mom saw something was off, but I brushed it off.

I wasn’t about to tell her what was coming.

I just told her and Dad to stay close to home.

The drama started when they were still asleep.

I grabbed a butcher knife from the kitchen and opened the door.

Karen Johnson was there with her whole family, filming me with her phone.

“This is the place! Her brother assaulted me while I was unconscious! Disgusting! Get your son out here! I want an explanation, or you’ll regret it!”

“Don’t you dare lie like that! My brother saved you.”

Karen flopped down on the porch, yelling her head off.

“Saved me? I saw him sneaking in while the fire was small, trying to take advantage of me! I fought him off, and he knocked me out! I even have a doctor’s report!”

She threw the report at me.

Sure enough, it was from a hospital.

But she had enough clout to get them to fake it.

My parents woke up from all the noise and ran over.

Karen saw them, raised her phone, and tried to rush inside.

I waved the knife, and they backed off.

“You old geezers raise a pervert and a psycho. You’re probably just as bad. You just wait. If you don’t pay up, I’m going to expose everything and get you arrested!”

Her cronies chimed in, saying we had to pay.

“Just tell me how much you want.”

“Five million dollars. Not a penny less, or I’ll see you in court.”

I couldn’t believe her audacity.

My parents looked like they were about to faint.

They barely made a few grand a year. Where were they going to get five million dollars?

“Alright, you got it. Just give me a sec.”

I told them to go back inside, then grabbed a little box.

Karen thought she’d won already. She smirked at her posse, her eyes greedy.

“Here you go!”

Her face lit up. But instead of cash, a bunch of fake money flew into her face.

I smirked with my arms crossed against the door.

It was clearly fake money! For dead people!

“Here, you’re welcome.”

Karen and her crew lost it. They wanted to rush in, but I swung the knife.

They ran down the stairs.

“Get the hell out of here! You bother my family again, and I’ll kill you!”

I tossed the knife at their feet and slammed the door.

It was quiet for a second, then they started screaming, scratching the door.

My parents looked at me, worried.

“Sweetheart, what’s going on? Who are those people? Did your brother do something wrong?”

I told them everything, and they were livid.

“Our sweet boy saved her life, and she’s doing this to us?! What is wrong with this world?!”

I told them to relax. I’d handle things. But they should go to the countryside for a few days with my brother.

They gave in. They wanted to make sure I’d be okay, and started packing.

When I opened the door, I saw huge words spray-painted on the wall:

“SLUT” “PERVERT” “HOPE YOUR WHOLE FAMILY DIES”

Someone had also thrown paint on the door. The smell was awful.

I sucked it up and called a cab.

After they got in, I heard yelling in the distance.

“There he is! The pervert! Let’s beat him up. He’s disgusting!”

Karen jumped out, blocking the car. She had a carton of eggs and started smashing them on my brother’s head.

I ran over and pushed her away.

“Ouch, she’s hitting me! Everyone, come look! This pervert’s family, he touched me when I was unconscious. All I want is an apology and some money, and they’re attacking me!”

Karen started playing the victim on the ground.

My brother grabbed my arm, hiding behind me.

He didn’t understand why he was getting yelled at for saving someone.

His teachers taught him that helping people was good.

My brother was drifting into his own world. I patted his head, telling him it wasn’t his fault.

Just then, people started coming back from grocery shopping. Karen’s theatrics drew a crowd.

Her friends were there, fake-crying and saying they were calling 911.

People in the crowd started to question things.

“The Tans’ oldest son is a little different, but he’s a good kid. I had low blood sugar once, and he carried me to the hospital. He doesn’t seem like that kind of guy.”

Others agreed.

My family was known for being kind, never causing trouble.

People started to doubt Karen.

“You can’t judge a book by its cover. Do I have to repeat all the awful things he did? I have the hospital report right here!”

I stepped up and slapped her hard. She screamed.

“Since you said I hit you, I might as well make it true.”

Her friends pulled me away.

Then, the cops showed up.

Someone had called them, afraid things would get out of hand.

We all ended up at the police station.

Karen smirked at me.

“Just wait. Your family will pay for this.”

The police captain walked over and poured Karen a glass of water.

My parents knew they were dealing with someone powerful.

“Mrs. Johnson, Mr. Johnson will be here soon.”

I squeezed their hands, telling them it would be okay.

We waited for this “Mr. Johnson” to show.

After a while, a chubby, balding man hurried in.

“Honey, what took you so long? Look at my face. This woman hit me! Punish her!”

Karen latched onto him, playing the damsel.

John Johnson didn’t want to get involved, but it had gone too far.

He didn’t like Karen, but he had to play the part.

“You’re the one, huh? Apologize to my wife! Pay her for the emotional distress. And your psycho son needs to kneel and beg for forgiveness! She hasn’t slept in days. You’re going to pay!”

He pointed, ranting.

“Mr. Johnson, don’t get ahead of yourself.”

I leaned in and whispered something in his ear. He froze.

John and I went into a private office. No one knew what we talked about.

But John’s expression changed.

When he came out, Karen clung to him, glaring at me.

“Honey, make this woman apologize…”

Before she could finish, he slapped her.

“You’re causing trouble! Embarrassing me! Get out of here.”

Karen was stunned, but she didn’t say anything.

Outside the station, my parents asked what I said to him.

Just a little secret of his.

In my past life, I watched my family die.

I quit my job, changed my appearance, and became the Johnsons’ maid.

I gained Karen’s trust.

She was a loud, gossipy woman. She told me everything.

Including that John couldn’t have kids.

Then, I saw John with a young woman and a little boy.

John could have kids, but Karen couldn’t.

John hadn’t divorced her because of her family.

Karen’s brother was a big shot executive.

He was afraid of her brother and enjoyed cheating on her.

Karen was too dumb to realize it.

But what he didn’t know was that Karen was a bastard.

Her brother didn’t like her, just pretended for appearances.

At the police station, I told John about his secret son and explained the pros and cons.

I figured Karen would try to hurt his kid.

Of course, I didn’t tell him she was illegitimate either.

Before I could kill Karen in my past life, I got hit by a car.

I grinned to myself.

The show was just beginning.

Our life went back to normal, but my brother’s autism got worse.

My parents took him to the doctor every day.

But I knew this wasn’t over.

Karen wouldn’t let it go.

Sure enough, a video appeared online.

It showed my brother reading in the library. Someone said something to him, and he yelled and pushed them away.

The video wasn’t the problem, it was the caption.

“Hi, I’m Karen Johnson. I didn’t want to say this, but I can’t take it anymore. I’ve been hurt. The man in this video has a mental illness, as you can see. He snuck into my house during a fire and tried to assault me. I fought him off and he hurt me. I’m suffering physically and emotionally.”

“Please help me. His family is powerful, and I’m afraid. Share this and expose this creep.”

She also posted a fake doctor’s report.

Only a few people saw it at first, but then an influencer shared her post.

I knew her. She was Karen’s cousin.

Karen used to talk about her, looking down on her for being a showboat.

More and more people shared it, and people were outraged.

They were calling for my brother to be doxxed.

My parents were crying.

“What did we do to deserve this?!”

I told them to stay inside.

My brother was in his room, reading.

He didn’t use his phone, but he always went to the library every week.