All Chapters of He Won't Live Long, so I Must Vanish: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Caleb's POVIt was raining outside the hospital. I opened my umbrella, but a gust of wind hit me head-on and turned its old metal ribs inside out.I stood at the bottom of the steps and tried to bend the ribs back into place. One of them cut my finger, but the canopy was still crooked. Rain ran off the edge and down my collar.A black umbrella passed by me. Hazel Grant held it in one hand and carried a cake box in the other.Wanda Locke followed behind her, holding a large bouquet of sunflowers.They both saw me and the broken umbrella in my hand, but they walked straight up the steps without stopping.Casey Sullivan was waiting at the top of the steps in his hospital gown."Casey, why are you downstairs?""I saw your car from the window. I wanted to see you sooner."Wanda hurried over and wiped the rain from his forehead. Hazel tilted the umbrella toward him, leaving half of her own shoulder soaking wet.Last week, when my fever reached 102.2°F, I called Hazel. She said she

Caleb's POVEarly the next morning, Grandma called me on video. She told me the town's sports center needed a boxing coach. The director was the son of one of her old friends.As soon as he heard I had gotten into college on an athletic scholarship for boxing, he wanted to hire me."They said they needed to see if you could still box. Caleb, if you pass, take the job. If you don't, we'll find something else for you."I gripped my phone and stayed silent for a long time.I hadn't boxed in six years. After my acceptance letter was torn up, I had shoved my gloves into the back of a closet. I couldn't even bring myself to watch a boxing match. I was afraid I would remember what it felt like to stand in the ring.Grandma laughed on the other end. "When you were a kid, you would spend the whole afternoon hitting the punching bag in my yard. Have you still got that same drive?""Yes."After hanging up, I dug out my old boxing gloves. The leather had stiffened, and the straps were fray

Third-Person POVBy the time Hazel called that number for the third time, her mom, Marika White, had already served the soup.The phone rang until the call went into voicemail. She placed it facedown on the table and smiled."Caleb is stuck in traffic. Go ahead and eat. He'll be here soon."Hazel's dad, Ronald Grant, glanced at Casey, who was sitting beside her. He didn't touch his cutlery."You said you were bringing your boyfriend home. Is this what you meant? You brought his younger brother instead?"Casey held his bowl of soup. His face was pale, and he spoke softly. "Mr. and Mrs. Grant, please don't get the wrong idea. Caleb agreed to this. He said that since my health is poor, Hazel could date me for a while and help me fulfill one of my wishes."Marika put down her spoon. "Did Caleb really agree to that? Then where is he? Shouldn't he be here to tell us himself?"Hazel clenched her hands under the table. That morning, she had asked Caleb to come and explain, but he had p

Third-Person POVHazel clutched the ring all the way home. When she walked in, Darlene was peeling an apple for Casey.Hazel rushed straight into Caleb's room and opened his closet. Half of it was empty. His usual coats and sweaters were gone.An old gym bag had once been tucked into the back of the closet. Now only a dusty outline remained.She had seen those old boxing gloves once, back when they had just started dating. Caleb had taken them out of the bag to show her. The leather was so worn that it had turned pale. He had told her he couldn't bear to throw them away.She opened the second desk drawer. The hospital wristbands, pill cases, and old movie tickets were all still there. So was Casey's journal filled with his bucket list. But the acceptance letter tucked inside was gone. The page it had been on lay open in front of her."Go to a sports university and learn boxing."The little smiley face beside that line was hard to look at.Gia came in behind her. When she sa

Third-Person POVOn Monday morning, Hazel went to the police station with Darlene.After hearing their story, the officer checked the records, then looked up at them."You're saying Caleb packed his things and left on his own. He took his ID with him, and he went to report that his debit card got lost himself?"Darlene nodded. The officer closed the file."An adult who leaves voluntarily isn't considered missing. You said he logged into his WhatsApp yesterday afternoon, so he's clearly safe. If there's trouble in your family, you should go home and think about why this happened."After they left the police station, Darlene stood on the steps and cursed Caleb the whole way down. She called him ungrateful and said he thought he was too good for his family.Hazel listened without saying a single word.She knew that Caleb had logged into WhatsApp yesterday afternoon. He had left the group chat, and every message she had sent him earlier had a blue tick, indicating he had read them.