All Chapters of Every September, They Chose My Sister: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

Under the table, my fingernails dug crescents into my palms until they bled.Mom had just spent twenty minutes arguing with Dad over seventeen extra days with Quinn.Then, with one sentence, she found a reason to send me somewhere else.My phone buzzed.It was a message from Ms. Alvarez, my advisor.[Both summer programs gave you excellent evaluations. Northbridge University is only one state over, so I think it's worth serious consideration.]I typed back:[I've decided on Redstone.]More than a thousand miles away.That should be far enough to leave the first eighteen years of being unwanted behind me.A moment later, another message came in.[Have you discussed it with your parents?]I lowered my eyes.[No. But I'm eighteen. I can take responsibility for my own decision.]Across the table, Quinn noticed me looking at my phone.She tipped her chin toward me."Gwen doesn't look very happy about staying with Grandma and Grandpa."She was right.I wasn't.At their hou

Chapter 2

No one noticed my mood change.No one noticed my red eyes.After Quinn told me I was making too much of one parent-teacher conference, everyone silently decided the subject was closed.I was supposed to know better.So they went back to eating.Quinn's plate quickly became a mountain of food.Mom and Dad competed over everything involving her."Quinn, have some of Mom's roast. Your father burned the steaks.""Quinn, don't listen to her. That roast is practically raw in the middle."Quinn.Quinn.Again and again.Sometimes they talked with their mouths full, and for half a second the sound blurred enough that I thought they'd said Gwen.I would look up.No one was looking at me.My sister hadn't always been named Quinn.She was born Sienna Carter.After our parents divorced, Mom was determined to give her the name Quinn — Mom's family name.She was willing to walk away from the settlement with nothing to get it.She and Dad had a screaming match outside the courthouse

Chapter 3

At Senior Family Day, I was the only student whose parents didn't show up.Two of my classmates had parents working several states away.Both families still managed to send someone.Mine were less than a quarter mile from the auditorium.They were helping Quinn set up her new dorm room at Ashgrove.Neither of them could spare twenty minutes for me.My turn was getting close when I suddenly saw Mom and Dad walking toward the ceremony with sour expressions.The mother of a girl I'd known since elementary school waved at me."Gwen! Your parents went to the wrong building. They were just a little late."I almost laughed.They hadn't gotten lost.They'd run into someone who knew us and realized how bad it would look if they didn't come.So they let themselves be steered over.Mom folded her arms."How long does this thing take? Quinn's waiting for me to bring her lunch."Dad looked completely detached."When they call Gwen, you walk the senior arch with her. She's yours this

Chapter 4

When fall break arrived, I stepped outside school and immediately saw Dad's car.I waited nearby.A few minutes later, Mom, Dad, and Quinn came out together.Mom carried a bag of Quinn's laundry.Dad had Quinn's pink backpack slung over one shoulder.The three of them were laughing.Then they saw me.The laughter stopped.Mom moved in front of the car door, almost defensively."You like reading. Spend fall break at the bookstore."You can't swim, so the beach isn't safe for you."I looked at the way she was blocking the door.Then at Dad, who still hadn't unlocked the car.I almost wanted to laugh.They thought I was about to ruin their happy family trip."I'm not asking to go."I need money for food. If you're leaving, what am I supposed to eat?"Mom visibly relaxed.She searched her purse, then tugged Dad's sleeve."Daniel, do you have cash? Give her some. I don't have any on me, and my phone's dead."Dad didn't move."She's yours this year. Why should I pay?"Y

Chapter 5

At New Year's, the whole extended family gathered again.Quinn ate a little, then ran outside to watch fireworks with her friends.Mom and Dad started arguing about which test-prep program Quinn should enroll in.Their voices climbed until everyone else at the table went silent.Aunt Diane nudged me."Gwen, they're about to kill each other. Go calm them down."I kept peeling shrimp without looking up."I'm not going."Grandma Ruth glared at me."Your parents are practically fighting and you can still sit there eating?"I'd tried to break up their fights more times than I could count.Before the divorce.After the divorce.Not once had it worked.Two years earlier, at our September handoff dinner, they'd started arguing before we even ordered.Quinn was running late, so it was just the three of us in the room.When the shouting got worse, I said something careful and neutral, taking neither side.Mom turned on me instantly."I'm the one supporting you this year and you

Chapter 6

For every September handoff dinner, I'd always arrived two hours early.I put in the order for everyone's favorites.I told the kitchen about every ingredient someone wouldn't eat.I even wiped down the table and the silverware before anyone else walked in.So when Mom stepped into the private room and found an empty table, she stopped short.Dad and Quinn came in right behind her.Dad frowned."Where's Gwen? Why hasn't she ordered anything?"Half the seafood is already sold out for the night. What is she doing?"Mom set down her bag."I don't know. Her suitcase was gone when I woke up. I assumed she came here early."Quinn shrugged."Just order whatever's fastest. I'm meeting friends tonight. I don't want to sit around waiting."Mom and Dad agreed at once and waved down a server.When the food arrived, Quinn stared at it."Mom! I don't eat cilantro!"Mom picked through the shrimp and finally spotted the garnish.Other dishes had raw onion in them, which neither Quinn

Chapter 7

When I finished making my bed and climbed down, all three of my roommates were standing up."Come on. Let's go find the dining hall."I blinked."You were waiting for me?"The girl across from my bunk linked her arm through mine."We all came from different places, but this room is our little home now. You don't leave somebody behind on day one."My eyes suddenly burned.A little home.Was that what a home was? A place where nobody got left behind?One year, our September handoff dinner fell on the same day as the citywide math competition.I still got to the restaurant first.I ordered everything.I explained every food preference.I made sure the table was ready.Then I left for the competition.The moment it ended, I hurried back.All I found was a table of picked-over plates and cold leftovers.Mom gestured at the mess."Eat."Like she was putting a bowl down for a stray dog.Now, walking under the welcome banners with three girls who had known me less than a da

Chapter 8

Erin, Aunt Diane's older daughter, was two years younger than me.Her parents openly favored her younger brother, so she'd grown up invisible in her own house too.That's why, even after I stopped speaking to the relatives back home, I kept her number.When she needed help choosing classes, planning applications, or working through an assignment, I always answered.After college I stayed at Redstone for graduate school.When Erin saw the photo I posted from orientation, she messaged to congratulate me.Then she added:"Here's something funny. Uncle Daniel and Aunt Rachel don't like Quinn nearly as much anymore."That was a surprise.Quinn once took money out of the house to buy her friends dinner and Mom barely raised her voice.I'd assumed that short of murder or arson, she could do anything and stay their perfect child.Erin took my silence as permission to keep going."Two years ago, Uncle Daniel ran downstairs to grab a file. When he came back, the proposal on his deskt

Chapter 9

The year I finished my doctorate, Dad needed gallbladder surgery.Aunt Diane called from Erin's phone and told me to come home and look after him.I didn't follow."Isn't Quinn there? Have Quinn do it."Aunt Diane hedged."Quinn's traveling. She says the flights and the hotel are already booked and she can't get the money back."I still refused."Dad's only fifty-seven. He isn't old enough for anyone to owe him care, and this surgery isn't life or death. He can make his own arrangements."Hiring a caregiver doesn't cost that much."Aunt Diane muttered, "Doesn't cost that much? It's a hundred and fifty dollars a day. Unless you're paying?"I smiled."Sure. When he's old enough that it's legally my responsibility and he needs a caregiver, come find me and I'll pay for it."Right now? No."Erin told me the relatives back home were calling me cold-blooded behind my back.I didn't care."Where were any of them when I was the one being treated like an afterthought?"Quinn was

Chapter 10

The following September, it was time to switch again.Mom walked toward me looking close to tears with relief."Gwen, can I come to Redstone with you? I won't be any trouble. I have my pension."Before I could turn her down, Dad got there first."Who does that? You go out to Redstone and dig in, and what, Gwen keeps you forever?""So what if she does?"And they were arguing again.Quinn didn't step in the way she used to when she was young.She lit a cigarette and watched them, bored.Then she looked at me."Gwen, lend me some money. Dad wants a housekeeper and I can't afford one."I didn't look up."Then don't hire one. Whoever has them that year handles it."Quinn scoffed and didn't speak to me again.During Mom's year with me, she needed major back surgery.I still didn't fly home, but I hired an excellent caregiver.And there was never a moment when the hospital needed a family decision and couldn't reach anyone.The surgery went well. Her recovery was smooth.But

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