Chapter 2

After a long time, Dad finally came to take me home.

He gestured for me to go back to my room.

My room was a small storage space with no heating. This was the only room left for me because Dylan’s treatment supplies took up the entire house.

All the money has been spent on his treatment. Only his room had the heat turned on.

I curled up on my small bed. The warmth I had felt from Lily’s touch quickly faded away.

I could hear Mom’s tearful voice from Dylan’s room.

“Dylan, be good and take your medicine. You’ll feel better once you do.

“You’re my precious baby. I’ll make sure you live, even if I have to give you my life.”

Then, I heard Dad chime in, “That’s right, Dylan. Don’t be scared. We’re here.”

I curled up on my bed, listening to my parents’ warm voices. Tears of bitterness streamed down my face.

Numbers appeared on my wristband.

[Twelve hours.]

It was counting down.

Great! Soon, Dylan would live a long, long life!

…

I did not remember when I had fallen asleep, but I had a dream where I felt warm, as if I was in my mom’s arms.

When I woke up, my entire body felt like it had been torn apart. Many new wounds had appeared, and the pus stuck to my clothes.

I struggled to sit up. Only then did I see that my parents were downstairs playing in the snow with Dylan.

They were laughing happily. In the sunlight, Dylan’s snow-white hair and eyelashes made him look like he had stepped right out of a fairy tale.

I looked down at the bleeding wounds on my own body. My chest felt ice-cold, like the snowman had reached inside and squeezed my heart with its icy hand.

I kept saying to myself, “I’m not in pain. I’m not afraid of the pain!”

I endured the intense pain as I hastily threw on my winter coat. I then staggered and ran downstairs.

When Dylan saw me, his eyes lit up. It seemed like he had completely forgotten his breakdown from the day before.

“Ches, hurry! Come build a snowman with us.”

Dad brushed the snow off his clothes. “There you are! Perfect timing! Play with Dylan for a bit. Your mom and I will go upstairs and cook. We’ll make Dylan some soup.”

Mom said to me, “Ches, take care of Dylan.”

Then, they turned and went upstairs.

Dylan excitedly pulled me along.

The moment sunlight fell on him, all the pain transferred to me. The skin on my arms began to burn and sting, but I was happy.

Suddenly, a few boys walked by. They pointed at Dylan and laughed mockingly.

“Hey, look! A white-haired freak!”

Dylan’s smile froze, and his face turned pale.

I immediately stepped in front of him to shield him.

“Get lost! Don’t you dare bully my brother!”

The boy at the front shoved me.

“Who do you think you are? Beat it!”

I fell hard onto the snowy ground. My knee hit a rock and started bleeding.

They took advantage of the chaos and surrounded Dylan. They reached out and tugged at his hair.

“Ha ha, it really is white! Freak!”

“Leave my brother alone!”

I tried to get up but fell back down.

All I could do was watch as Dylan broke down in sobs.

Just then, I heard Mom shout, “Scram! All of you, shoo!”

She rushed down and shoved the boys away. Then, she pulled Dylan into her arms and sheltered him.

The boys scattered and ran off.

She was trembling all over as she checked on Dylan.

“Dylan, are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere? Tell me.”

She then turned to look at me. “Chester!”

She stormed over to me.

“I told you to take care of Dylan! You just stood there and watched him get bullied?! What are you even good for?!”