Alle Kapitel von Dad Swears the Cat Is My Brother: Kapitel 1 – Kapitel 10

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

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

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

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

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