Chapter 1

It was a game of Truth or Dare. Sienna drew a card that forced her to kiss someone in the room for three full minutes.

Before I could even react, her childhood best friend stepped up and pulled her into a passionate kiss.

Even after the timer went off, they were still locked together, lost in each other. I frowned and cleared my throat to remind them.

Sienna pulled away just long enough to snap at me.

"It is just a game, Ethan! Why do you have to be such a buzzkill?"

"If you can't stand to watch, then get lost! Stop ruining the fun for everyone else."

That night, she brought him back to our house and they made a mess of things.

In the past, I would have cried and begged her not to do this to me.

But now, I was choosing to let us both go.

I had loved her for fifteen years, and I was finally exhausted.

1.

The sounds from the other room didn't stop until six in the morning.

I let out a self-deprecating laugh and dialed my grandmother's number in Seattle.

"Grandma, I've made up my mind. I'm coming to the States for grad school to be with you."

My grandmother sounded like she was about to cry with joy. "That is wonderful, honey. I'll have your uncle arrange everything right away."

"It should only take a week or two. Start packing your things. Make sure to say goodbye to your stepsister."

"Grandma..."

"What is it? Are you sad to leave Sienna?"

"No," I whispered. "I just want to get there as fast as I can."

My grandmother sighed, her voice full of pity.

"I told you to come years ago. I don't know why you put yourself through all that..."

I hung up quickly, unable to listen to any more.

The bunny wind chime by my bed swayed in the breeze, making a soft clicking sound.

The faded red string looked like it was about to snap at any moment.

Sienna had made this for me when I was eight years old to help me sleep.

We were a blended family, and she was five years older than me.

She moved in with her mother and became my sister in name only.

At first, I hated her and treated her like an enemy, thinking she was stealing my father's attention.

But she always reacted to my tantrums with a kind smile and endless patience.

When I was twelve, our parents died in a horrific car crash, leaving only the two of us.

She changed overnight, losing her childhood innocence to become my protector.

I could never forget how she worked multiple part-time jobs just to keep me in school.

I remembered her coming home with bruises after protecting me from some local thugs, yet she still smiled for me.

I once asked her if she regretted working so hard for my sake.

She just laughed and messed up my hair.

"You're my little brother, Ethan. If I don't take care of you, who will?"

I didn't know exactly when my feelings for her began to change.

I didn't dare say it, so I buried it deep inside my heart.

I tried my best to play the role of the perfect little brother.

On the day I graduated high school, I walked in to see a man holding her.

I pointed at him, my voice shaking. "Who is he? What is he doing here?"

She was startled, but the man just grinned.

"I'm Sienna's friend. Maybe even your future brother-in-law."

The emotions I had suppressed for years finally exploded.

"I don't want a brother-in-law! Sienna, I love you!"

Sienna's body went stiff, her expression shifting from shock to pure disgust.

"Ethan, we are siblings. That is honestly sickening."

"Sickening? You think I'm sickening?"

My eyes were bloodshot as I screamed at her.

"We aren't even related by blood! We are only siblings on a piece of paper!"

"Fine," Sienna shot back, her voice like ice. "If we aren't siblings, then get out of my house!"

"I have no obligation to support you!"

She looked at me like I was a total stranger, a crazy person.

"I only feel like a sister to you. I have never felt anything else."

"If you actually respect me as your sister, never say something so disgusting again!"

That day, our bond shattered.