All Chapters of They Chose Her, I Left the Band: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

My brother chimed in, and my sister and Daisy dissolved into giggles.Arthur rested a hand on Daisy's shoulder, his eyes shining with unmistakable affection."Text me if anything happens, okay, babe? I'll keep an eye on my phone."Then he added, "Don't be scared. I'll come keep you company later."Arthur leaned toward the screen and pretended to pinch my cheek, smiling fondly.As I watched them laughing, I asked before I could stop myself."If something really happened to me, would you regret it?"The call went so silent that it felt as if I were the only person left in the world.Then I heard all four of them snort, and they burst into helpless laughter.Daisy laughed so hard she cried. "Irene, what could possibly happen? You're so smart, I'm sure you'll handle it!"They were doubled over laughing.But my heart sank, inch by inch, until it went cold.Every burst of laughter cut deeper than the last.On the screen, they were all crowded around Daisy. The light stretched their four shad

Anthony had spent his whole life at the center of attention. No one had ever brushed him off like that. He jabbed a finger at my back and shouted, "What's with her attitude?"The stagehand who had spoken up scoffed. "What did you expect? Did any of you even ask about the cut on her hand? She was so terrified that she ran out without a jacket. Did any of you care that she might be freezing?"Only when he pointed it out did they notice my thin stage clothes beneath the jacket the officer had lent me. The skin between my thumb and forefinger had split open and was oozing blood. A drummer's hands are everything.The stagehand shot a sideways glance at Daisy, whom they'd bundled up from head to toe so she wouldn't catch a chill."Real interesting. You treat trash like treasure and your own family like dirt."Anthony was so furious that he lunged at the stagehand, but Arthur held him back.Arthur ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Enough! Knock it off! We're going back!"* * *Arth

To Arthur, the whole world went silent. There was a roar in his ears, and his mind went blank."What do you mean, Irene's gone?"Arthur gripped the phone, his voice shrill with terror."We wanted her to clean up the streamers by the door, but her room was empty. Her clothes, her sheet music... everything was gone. We checked her drawers. Her ID, all her pictures from growing up... all gone."Susan took the phone, sounding as impatient as ever. "Okay, so she's throwing a tantrum and running away again. She's a grown woman, and she's still pulling this. We're about to board. I have to go."Susan was about to hang up.Richard and Elaine were stunned. They hadn't expected their own daughter to be so cold.Elaine said in disbelief, "She's your sister."Susan was holding Daisy's hand. Her voice was flat. "My sister? Haven't you said over and over that she's too plain and that you wish you'd never had her?"Richard and Elaine looked at each other, speechless. Had they really said such cruel t

Daisy looked hurt, her eyes turning red, but Anthony and Susan weren't in the mood to comfort her.For the first time, Irene's absence left a hole none of them knew how to fill.Susan opened her mouth to ask for water out of habit, then caught herself. Irene used to buy it without a word and hand each of them a bottle.Anthony needed to charge his gear, but after tearing through his backpack, he couldn't find a power bank. Then he remembered that Irene always carried a heavy bag full of chargers and handed one to anyone who needed it.People bustled around them in the arrivals hall, talking and laughing, but the silence among them felt frozen solid.Even Daisy's usual sulking, which they'd once indulged so easily, now grated on everyone's nerves.Maybe the heat was getting to him, but Anthony realized he actually missed the little sister he'd always dismissed as plain.She never made a fuss or fought for anything. She simply handled everything quietly from the sidelines.He pictured he

As luck would have it, Owen lived in the same city as me.I hadn't posted about the trip home, but he had.So when Anthony and the others showed up at the airport to meet me, I wasn't surprised.The moment Arthur saw me, his eyes turned red.Daisy, who was always with them, was nowhere to be seen.Susan stood beside them, her expression serious. "I'm sorry," she said.I gave her a brief nod, then started to walk right past them.Arthur stood frozen, watching Owen and me walk farther and farther away.He hurried after us and grabbed my wrist. Up close, I could see that he'd lost a lot of weight.He had always been slim, but now he was so thin he barely looked like himself. All his old confidence was gone."Irene, please don't ignore me. Just let me explain, okay..."I raised a hand to stop him. "Let's find somewhere to talk. I'm not having this conversation in the middle of the airport."We found a nearby café and sat down.Before they could decide what to order, Owen had already ordere