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All Chapters of She Chose My Brother Over Me: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

I was dead.Yet somehow, after I died, I became a wandering spirit and found myself in my younger brother's hospital room.Mom was usually the very picture of composure. She was the director of this hospital, after all. But now she was bent over Logan's bed, barely holding herself together."Logan, trust me. I'm going to make sure you get better."Doctors crowded the room. I recognized them. They were the most accomplished surgeons in the entire hospital.Logan looked pale enough to put on a convincing show, but I knew the truth. He had a few superficial scrapes. That was all."Mom," he whispered weakly, "am I going to die?"Tears spilled from her eyes. She clutched his hand as though she could keep him alive through sheer force."I've brought in the very best doctors. Don't you worry."The doctors had already seen his test results. There was nothing there that warranted such a production.News that both of the hospital director's sons had been in a traffic accident had sprea

Chapter 2

For days after the crash, every time I told Mom I was in pain, she accused me of scheming against Logan. Even when I coughed up blood, she said I was trying to hog the hospital's resources and deprive him of treatment.While a doctor was checking Logan's scrapes, Dad burst into the room."Where's that little bastard Elliot?" he demanded. "After what he did to his brother, he hasn't even come to apologize?"Ungrateful brat!"Dad was always busy running his company. He almost never took time off.On the rare occasions he did, it was for Logan. School conferences. Trips to amusement parks. And now a hospital visit for a child who had barely been injured.Being dead hadn't changed my place in the family.Alive or dead, I was invisible until someone needed an excuse to get angry on Logan's behalf.When the doctor dabbed disinfectant over Logan's wound, my brother sucked in a dramatic breath.Mom immediately pushed the doctor aside. Dad leaned over to blow gently on the tiny scrape.

Chapter 3

He let the sentence trail off, as though he were reluctant to reveal some terrible secret."Logan, tell me what you know," Mom urged. "I'm here. Elliot won't dare do anything to you.""I think he has a girlfriend. I see them together at school all the time."Mom's anger flared at once."Really? He's already sneaking around with girls at his age? Just wait until he comes home!"Dad nodded gravely."Don't you start copying him, Logan."Logan nodded like the obedient son they thought he was.I'd watched this scene unfold too many times to count. Anything Logan said became the truth the moment it left his mouth. I was never given a chance to explain. They never even seemed curious enough to ask.Finding out what was actually happening in my life would have taken time, and I wasn't worth theirs.Because of his injuries, Logan had been excused from school for several days. His grades were always near the bottom of the class, so naturally he planned to make the most of his new excus

Chapter 4

Logan held the photograph by one corner."Maybe we should tear up things like this. That way Elliot can finally get over the past and learn to live here."Mom actually looked pleased."See? You're the clever one, Logan. That's exactly what he needs. Maybe then he'll realize who his real family is."A second later, right in front of me, Logan tore the photograph in half, then into quarters, then into scraps too small to put back together.I lunged toward him, desperate to save it.My hands passed straight through the paper.Of course they did.I was dead.I'd always considered you my family, I wanted to scream. You were the ones who never treated me like a human being.I'd swallowed every humiliation this house had thrown at me. But hearing them slander Grandpa Hale, the one person who had saved me and raised me, made me shake with fury.The doorbell rang sharply, over and over.Mom and Logan were enjoying their broth. They put their spoons down.Mom wiped her mouth with de

Chapter 5

Mom stared at the record.She scrolled down and found the cause of death: ruptured internal organs, followed by the attending physician's signed confirmation.She knew perfectly well that the patient records system wasn't something a doctor could casually falsify to help a teenager stage a prank. There were approvals, signatures, and safeguards. Too many people would have had to participate.When Grandpa noticed her expression, he snatched the phone out of her hand.He read the screen.Tears spilled from his eyes."No. How can Elliot be dead?"He looked up at her."You killed him. All of you killed Elliot."It was as if he'd stripped away the last piece of protection around Mom's conscience.Her face flushed with anger. She took back the phone and started closing the door."How could I possibly kill my own son?"And what business of yours is my son, anyway?"If you come here again, I'll call the police and report you for harassment."The door slammed.Grandpa was still t

Chapter 6

Mom stood at the side of the room, looking annoyed."Are you finished with this act? We offered you money years ago to repay you for raising Elliot."You were the one who refused. Have you come back because you regret it?"Grandpa's face was wet with tears."Not everyone is as cruel as you."Someone hurt Elliot. I know someone did."Mom had no desire to argue with him in her own hospital. If this turned into a scene, she would be the one embarrassed.She was about to leave when Nurse Quinn stopped her."Dr. Waverly, these are Elliot's belongings. Would you like to take them?"A backpack, a water bottle, and a phone.I'd only gotten that phone because Logan had bought himself a newer model a few weeks earlier. His castoffs were all I was ever allowed.Mom glared at Nurse Quinn. Did the woman have no sense at all?"No. Let the hospital dispose of it."Grandpa immediately reached out and gathered my things into his arms."These belonged to Elliot. How can you throw them out

Chapter 7

"She's covered in wounds," Mrs. Sutton said, her voice trembling with anger. "She's a teenage girl, at the age where she cares how she looks. She won't even wear short sleeves in summer anymore."Mom glanced over Ruby's injuries.Then she looked away, as if she hadn't seen them at all.I knew that look.Logan used to direct all his cruelty at me. Apparently, now that I was gone, he'd found someone else."What evidence do you have that Logan did this?" Mom demanded of Mr. Palmer."Your daughter cares about her looks. My son has feelings too."She pulled Logan close."Sweetheart, tell me. Have you ever done anything like this?"Logan squeezed out a few tears and shook his head violently."No, Mom. Never."Ruby, usually so timid in class, stepped forward."You're lying."As she began to speak, I felt as though I were living through my own school days again.When I first came home from the mountains, Mom had bought me plenty of things I'd never used before.One was a fancy w

Chapter 8

By the time the recordings ended, Mom looked ready to faint.Dad apologized to Ruby and her mother. He promised compensation for what Logan had done.Then it was time for the family to deal with its own affairs.Everyone else filed out, leaving Mom, Dad, and Logan alone in the office.Mom's voice trembled."Why would you do this to your brother?"Logan, you've been lying to us this whole time."The truth was out. Logan stopped pretending."Why should he get half your love just because he decided to come home?"He liked the mountains so much. I was doing him a favor!"He was born to be poor."Mom slapped him.It was the first time in my life I'd ever seen her strike Logan."How can you say that about your brother?"You lured him into the woods. You nearly got him killed!"When he came back, I tried to give you everything you wanted so you wouldn't feel displaced."I never imagined you'd use that to become so spoiled."Dad said nothing. He simply stood there, smoking one

Chapter 9

My younger voice filled the room."I finally got to see Mom, Dad, and Logan. They all seem really nice. But I still miss Grandpa. I hope I can get used to living here soon."Another recording played."I don't think Logan likes me very much. Maybe it's because we don't know each other yet. But Mom has been good to me. She bought me a water bottle with a fingerprint lock. I've never had anything like it."Then another played."If I can get better grades, maybe Mom and Dad will like me more."And finally, my voice sounded so small that even I could barely bear listening to it."Grandpa, I miss you. The city isn't as nice as you said. Everyone here hates me."Mom crumpled to the floor, sobbing and whispering apologies over and over.They meant nothing now.I'd become numb to everything she did.I floated above her and looked out over the city lights.Thousands of homes were glowing in the night.Not one of them belonged to me.Maybe I still had a home in the mountains.Mom m

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