Chapter 3

3

Before I could lose consciousness, the sirens wailed.

I was strapped onto a gurney and hauled into an ambulance.

When I woke up, the smell of antiseptic filled the air.

Gavin was sitting by the bed, the dark circles under his eyes looking like bruises.

He looked at me with a heavy, complicated gaze.

"You're awake," he whispered, forcing a smile. "What do you want to eat? I'll go get it."

I didn't answer.

I didn't understand why he was suddenly acting like a devoted brother.

Wasn't my death supposed to be a good thing for them?

Why did he look like he was haunted by a ghost?

"I'll get those dumplings from the shop near the high school. The ones you always liked…"

His words started coming faster when I didn't respond.

Those dumplings were greasy and terrible.

I only bought them because he used to be a picky eater who refused to come home.

He never knew that.

Just like he never valued a single thing I did for him.

If he had, he wouldn't have stood by Piper so easily.

"Please talk to me, Sis…"

By the end, his voice was trembling, his back hunched in a plea.

I wanted to laugh.

During his teenage years, Gavin was a nightmare.

He fought, skipped school, and hung out at internet cafes.

Our parents were ready to give up and ship him off to military school.

I was the one who fought for him.

I had been out of school for months because of my health, but I couldn't let my brother be discarded.

We were at each other's throats back then.

Until the night he lost control of his car and almost went over a bridge.

I nearly died saving him that night.

After two weeks in a coma, he sat by my bed crying, promising to change.

And he did.

The day he got his college acceptance, he burst into my room and hugged me tight.

"Elara, I did it! I'd be nothing without you. I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you!"

The stars in his eyes back then were the brightest things I'd ever seen.

But then college happened.

He got distracted and failed eight classes in his first semester.

He wouldn't pick up my calls.

I flew through the night and waited outside his dorm for ten hours just to see him.

But all it took was Piper.

She found him on a rainy night, gave him a piece of candy, and told him to keep going.

Suddenly, he was a straight-A student again.

He held onto that memory of her for three years.

The moment Barrett brought her home, Gavin didn't hesitate to give her the title of "Sister."

Looking back, his attitude during his rebellious years wasn't much better than it is now.

But I was out of time to wait for a happy ending.

During my hospital stay, I tried to end it twice more.

Every time, Gavin would appear out of nowhere to stop me.

He finally realized I wasn't doing this for Barrett's attention.

I truly, deeply wanted to be dead.

His attitude shifted, becoming almost submissive.

On the drive home, he even tried to give me advice.

"I know you took Piper's place for twenty years, but she's kind. She'll forgive you."

"You just need to apologize properly, and you can still have a place in this family."

It was hilarious.

I was the one who was switched at birth, yet I was responsible for everyone else's suffering.

Even though she had taken everything from me the moment she arrived.

I kept my eyes on the window.

Then Gavin mentioned Barrett Sterling.

That finally got a reaction out of me.

He bit his lip, his eyes flashing with a mix of jealousy and guilt.

I didn't care about his internal struggle.

I only cared about how to die.

Barrett loved Piper Sinclair with a madness that bordered on obsession.

Could I use that obsession to make him the weapon that kills me?