All Chapters of Between Dawn and Dusk: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

My sister's name was Lena. Mine was Ethan.Mom liked to say she should've named us Dawn and Dusk, because calling one of us was enough to bring the other running.She wasn't wrong. For as long as I could remember, if Lena so much as coughed, I'd be out of bed and handing her a glass of water before she even asked. That reflex was carved into my bones. It was faster than a knee-jerk.That year, I was fifteen and Lena was nineteen. She'd started school a year late, and she was seven months away from the entrance exams that would decide the rest of her life."Ethan, where's my physics practice test?" She stomped around the apartment in a faded hoodie, her hair yanked into a sloppy ponytail, face still unwashed, yelling loud enough for the whole building to hear.I wandered out of the kitchen with a piece of toast hanging from my mouth and nudged the bottom of the couch with my foot. "Under there. You said you'd work on it today, so I put it where you'd find it."She crouched, fished

On my third day in the hospital, Dad spread all our bank statements across the bedside table and went through them page by page, pinning each one down with his finger. Checking. Savings. An old CD I didn't even know we had. He went slowly, like he was counting out half his life."Is it enough?" I asked."It's enough." His voice was rough as sandpaper."Don't lie to me."He looked up, his eyes bloodshot. "Kids shouldn't worry about grown-up problems.""I'm not a kid anymore," I said. "What about Lena?""She doesn't know." Mom came in with a bowl of oatmeal and answered way too fast. "I told her you went to stay at Grandma's place out in the country. Fresh air, a chance to rest up.""Grandma died three years ago."They both froze."Lena's not that easy to fool." I pushed the bowl away. "She's sharp as a tack.""We'll fool her for as long as we can." Mom pushed the bowl back. "She has seven months until her exams. Seven months will fly by.""And me?" I asked. "What happens to

I died on a rainy night.Lena had a late study session at school that evening and wouldn't be home until ten. Mom and Dad were both home. Dad was in the living room replacing a burned-out light bulb. Mom was in the kitchen making me chicken soup. I couldn't keep anything down by then, but she made it every day anyway and said it was good for me.I lay in bed listening to the rain hammering the window. It was so loud it sounded like someone crying.Breathing got harder and harder, like a hand was squeezing my throat. I wanted to call out, but no sound came. I wanted to press the call button by my bed, but I couldn't lift my arm.So I just lay there, staring at the cracks in the ceiling. They seemed to move, as if they'd come alive, stretching slowly and branching out like a tree.The tree kept growing until it covered the whole ceiling. Lena was standing underneath it in her old hoodie, her hair in a ponytail, waving at me."Ethan," she said, "come on. We're going to be late."

The day of Lena's entrance exams was hot and sticky, like a sauna.I hovered outside our building and watched Dad take her to the test center. He drove his electric scooter, and she sat on the back, clutching her bag of pencils and paperwork, her face pale.She hadn't slept well the night before, and the dark circles under her eyes were heavy. Mom had made her a boiled egg, but she didn't eat it. She said she wasn't hungry."Eat a little," Mom urged. "You'll need your energy for the test.""I don't want to," she said. "Where's Ethan? Is he coming home today?""Yes, yes," Mom said. "He'll be home this afternoon.""Really?" Her eyes lit up for a second."Really." Mom nodded. "He promised you, so he'll be here."I stood there listening, and it hurt. I had promised her, and I couldn't come back.The test center wasn't far, just ten minutes away. Dad dropped her at the entrance. She took a few steps, then turned around."Dad," she said, "something feels off.""What feels off?" Da

Lena didn't say a word for three days.She shut herself in her room and didn't eat or drink. Mom would carry in a bowl of soup and carry it back out untouched and cold.On the fourth day, she came out dressed like it was a school day, backpack on her shoulders. But school was already out. The exams were over, and everyone was waiting for their scores."Where are you going?" Dad asked."Out for a walk," she said.She left, and I followed. She went to my high school and stood outside the gate, watching students come and go. Guys were playing basketball. Girls were grabbing iced coffees. Couples were holding hands, hiding from the security guard.She stood there like a statue.Then she walked inside and went to my classroom. The door wasn't locked. She pushed it open and found my desk. By the window, third row, with an E carved into the top.She sat down and traced the letter with her fingers for a long time."Ethan," she said, "when you sat here, what were you thinking about?"