All Chapters of Dad Swears the Cat Is My Brother: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

Harry's POV"Harry, look! It's Gary! Gary's back!"At the sound of Dad's voice, I turned and saw a kitten in his arms.On its front right paw was a brown patch of fur. It matched the birthmark on my brother Garrett Johnston's wrist perfectly.From that day on, Dad became obsessively convinced that the cat was Garrett reincarnated. He named him Gary, Garrett's nickname."Harry, your brother went through so much to come back to us. You have to be understanding and give him the best of everything, okay?"Dad stroked the kitten, his eyes brimming with affection.I was thrilled too and nodded eagerly.Back then, I naively believed Garrett had returned. Our family could finally be happy again.But just two days later, I came home from school to find that the blue desk Mom had built for me by the window was gone. In its place stood a massive, luxurious automatic litter box.I froze in the doorway with my heavy backpack still on my shoulders, completely lost.Dad was crouching on th

Chapter 2

Harry's POVGary grew up fast, and he was a smart cat. He soon realized that no matter what he did, Dad would always blame me.So, he grew completely brazen around me.That night, I was hunched over the dining table, working on my math review sheet. I was taking it seriously because the midterms were tomorrow, and the teacher said this assignment counted toward our final grade.Gary strolled over with an elegant stride and lightly leaped onto the table. He walked straight onto my paper, plopped his rear down, and brushed his fluffy tail against the tip of my pen."Gary, move a little, please. I need to finish my homework."Not daring to raise my voice, I gently tried to nudge him aside.The second my fingers touched him, Gary let out a sharp, ear-splitting shriek. Then, he suddenly lashed out with his claws, pinned my paper down, and kicked off hard with his hind legs.The math sheet I had spent two hours working on was instantly ripped in half.To make matters worse, he left

Chapter 3

Harry's POVI froze on the balcony for the entire night.By the next morning, I had developed a mild fever and felt lightheaded and unsteady on my feet.But Dad didn't care. He was too busy grooming Gary, getting him ready for an expensive coat treatment at the pet store.I had to dig out two expired cold pills, swallow them down, and head to school with my backpack.Unable to hand in my homework, I was scolded by the teacher in front of the whole class and given detention as punishment.My classmates' whispers stung my pride like needles."I heard he doesn't even have a desk.""He smells like cat pee, too. It's so gross."I kept my head down, biting my lip so hard I could taste blood.That evening, I dragged my exhausted, burning body back home.As soon as I opened the door, I heard a long-lost, cheerful laugh.Mom was back.She worked on engineering projects out of town and only came home once a month. The moment I saw her, a faint spark lit up in my dull eyes, and I rus

Chapter 4

Harry's POVI toughed out that fever on my own for three straight days. Nobody cared if I took medicine or how badly I coughed through the night.Dad's entire energy was focused on planning Gary's fourth birthday party. Not only had he rented out a pet restaurant, but he had also invited several wealthy friends who were fellow cat owners.That day happened to be the awards ceremony for our school's parent-child art competition.With hands covered in chilblains, I had drawn a picture titled "My Family".In the drawing were Mom, Dad, Garrett, and me. The four of us stood under the sun, smiling happily.I didn't draw the cat.To me, Garrett would always be the boy who held my hand and bought me cotton candy, not this cat that constantly tormented me.The drawing won first prize. The teacher said a parent needed to come to school today so we could collect the award together.Full of hope, I ran home with the award notice, eager to share the good news with Dad. Maybe seeing how I d

Chapter 5

Harry's POVMeanwhile, Dad was at the most lavish pet restaurant downtown, throwing Gary a birthday party.He placed a rhinestone crown on Gary's head and sliced into a 100-dollar salmon cake made custom for pets.Late that night, Dad posted a nine-photo post on Instagram.The caption read, "Happy birthday, Gary. I'll give you all the love in the world to make up for everything you've suffered."The comment section was filled with flattery from his wealthy friends.No one knew that his biological son was curled up in a freezing stairwell, wearing nothing but a thin school uniform as his body heat slowly faded away.It wasn't until noon the next day that my homeroom teacher called Mom's phone."Is this Harry Johnston's mother? Why isn't Harry at school today? Is he sick?"Mom was sitting in a meeting. She frowned at the news. "He's not at school? That can't be right. He walks to school on his own every morning. Hold on a moment. I'll check with his dad."Mom hung up and dialed

Chapter 6

Harry's POVOutside the hospital's ICU, the sharp stench of disinfectant was sickening.Dad had only come because Mom practically dragged him there. He complained the entire way, even flying into a rage because he hadn't had time to feed Gary his hairball control paste before leaving."Aaron Johnston, have you lost your mind? Harry is your son!" Mom shrieked, her eyes bloodshot."Gary is my only son!" Dad shouted back without backing down. "Harry is just an ungrateful leech!""Quiet down! This is the ICU!"The ER director pushed open the door, exhausted. Holding a thick stack of medical charts, he glared at my parents with cold anger."Are you Harry Johnston's parents?"The doctor barely contained his fury. "When the boy arrived, his body temperature was down to 89.6 degrees! He has severe frostbite all over his body, especially his legs. The tissue has already blackened with necrosis. Even if we save him, there's a high chance he'll need an amputation!"On top of that, he has

Chapter 7

Harry's POVThere was no bed on the balcony at all, only a few tattered cardboard boxes pieced together into a tiny makeshift platform. Over it lay a thin, worn-out mattress pad that had turned stiff from endless washes.This was the room I had lived in for over half a year.Mom's hands began to tremble uncontrollably. She remembered the thousands of dollars she sent home every month for living expenses.She recalled Dad's Instagram posts filled with 100-dollar cat food, custom cat villas, and lavish pet birthday parties.Yet her own flesh and blood had slept on cardboard boxes in the freezing winter, putting on cheap chilblain cream."What have I… done…"Mom stumbled, practically crawling out the front door as she scrambled back to the hospital. She wanted to kneel by my bed the second I woke up and beg for my forgiveness. She was going to throw that cat away, buy me the biggest desk, and get me the softest bed.But fate never left room for belated remorse.When Mom arrived

Chapter 8

Harry's POVI tugged at the corners of my mouth, wanting to pull off a gentle smile, but my facial muscles were already stiff."I wanted so badly to make you happy. But I was too stupid. No matter what I did, I couldn't get it right."Dad burst into an agonizing wail, desperately grabbing for my hand. "No! You did great! It's my fault!"I pulled my hand away from his reach.As I stared up at the harsh fluorescent lights on the ceiling, my vision slowly went hazy."Dad, I did what you told me. I won't ever fight with Gary again."I closed my eyes as the final tear of my life slid down from the corner of my eye."In the next life… I never want to be your son again."Beside the bed, the green waving line on the vital signs monitor gradually flattened into a single line.A long, cold alarm echoed through the room.I had finally, completely left this suffocating family behind. And what remained for them would be an everlasting, incurable abyss of torment.…My funeral was a qui

Chapter 9

Third-Person POVWithin a month of Harry's death, his family had completely fallen apart.Lara Pearson stopped going to work altogether. Instead, she locked herself in the study all day to numb her nerves with alcohol.Aaron Johnston spent his days sitting on the freezing cardboard boxes on the balcony, clutching Harry's old school uniform. He stayed there from morning until night.Whenever the two crossed paths, it spiraled into the most venomous arguments.Like two snakes tearing into each other, they desperately pinned the blame for killing their son on one another, trying to lighten their own meaningless guilt."I had the divorce papers drawn up."That day, Lara walked out of the study looking utterly haggard. She threw several sheets of paper onto the coffee table and looked at Aaron with a cold gaze."Aaron Johnston, I never want to see you again. You're a complete lunatic. You're a murderer! If you hadn't thrown Harry out, he wouldn't have died! Aren't you afraid Harry w

Chapter 10

Third-Person POVAt the hospital, the doctor regretfully announced that Aaron's right cornea was severely damaged, leaving him permanently blind in that eye.On top of that, because the cat's claws carried a heavy amount of bacteria, the wound became infected, leaving horrific scars across half of his face.When Lara brought the news to Aaron as he lay in the hospital bed, he didn't cry, nor did he throw a fit.He simply stared blankly at the gloomy sky outside the window with his remaining eye. Then, his lips twitched into a smile that looked far worse than crying."This is for the best… I deserve to be blind… I should have gone blind long ago. I couldn't even recognize my own son. What use are these eyes to me?"Standing by the bed and looking at Aaron's disfigured face, Lara felt nothing but a profound emptiness.She went home, stuffed the half-dead cat into a burlap sack, and tossed it into a trash incineration station furthest from their house.The cat died, but their retr

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