All Chapters of The Girl Who Took My Brother: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

Andrew dangled a strawberry lollipop in front of me, coaxing, "Come on, Daniel. I'll bring you two more when I get back."I stared at the candy, my heart heavy.In my previous life, that was all it had taken to win me over.That day, he'd worn a crisp white shirt and looked unusually sharp. I'd asked him out of curiosity, "Andrew, why are you dressed up so nicely? Are you going to meet your girlfriend?"He'd blushed, covered my mouth, and told me to shut up.Then, he unwrapped a lollipop and handed it to me, asking me to cover for him with our parents.I'd happily agreed and settled in to watch cartoons in the living room, lollipop in hand.…When our parents called that evening to ask where Andrew was, I repeated exactly what he'd told me to say."Andrew's tutoring someone."That was all it took.He didn't come home for the next ten years.I never ate another lollipop during those ten years. In fact, I was reminded of what I'd done whenever I saw one.I'd always stare and

I rushed to the front door and locked it. There were two locks, and I had to stand on tiptoe just to reach the upper bolt.Andrew stood in the living room, his face frighteningly pale. "Daniel, don't push me."I spread my arms in front of the door. "You can't go. Please, Andrew."He looked at me, his lips trembling. "I'm just asking to be selfish for once. Can't you let me go?"I shook my head. "Then, I'll go with you. We can ask Uncle Matthew to come with us tomorrow. If you want to see the ocean, I'll save up and take you there someday."Andrew suddenly started laughing, tears streaming down his face."You're only ten. What money could you possibly save?""I have my birthday money saved up.""That's only a few hundred dollars.""That's still enough to buy lots of things."His expression softened a little. I had a feeling that he would've stayed if it were just the two of us here.Unfortunately, Olivia's messages kept coming one after another."Andrew, why aren't you out y

The police cars sped toward Old Eastbridge.I sat in the back seat with my mother beside me. She pressed gauze against my injured arm, her hands trembling. "Daniel, does it hurt?"I shook my head. Of course, it hurt. However, I couldn't afford to worry about that now. Andrew was still held captive in that warehouse.In my previous life, it had taken my parents ten years to find him. This time, I had to find him. Luckily, the truck had been gone for less than an hour. Old Eastbridge grew more desolate the farther we drove. Weeds lined the roads, and dusk was settling in. The air smelled of rotting fish and motor oil. I felt sick.The cold storage warehouse's metal gate was half open, and the white refrigerated truck was parked inside. Lo and behold, its right taillight was cracked.Ashton ordered us to stay outside. "Nobody goes near the warehouse."I grabbed the truck door and refused to let go. "I have to save Andrew."My mother tried to stop me, but Matthew crouched down and

That night, Andrew was terrified of falling asleep. Whenever he closed his eyes, he would whisper that he was cold.So, my mother turned off the air conditioning and pulled the blankets over him.Unfortunately, it didn't help as he kept trembling. He said he could still hear the machines in the cold storage warehouse, that he could still hear the sharp snip of the scissors.He could still hear Finn saying, "That white shirt stands out too much. Cut his hair."When my mother heard that, she held Andrew and cried so hard she couldn't speak. My father stood by the window, his shoulders trembling.I sat at the foot of the bed, hugging my knees. Memories from my previous life came rushing back in my mind's eye.I remembered missing-person posters featuring Andrew's face covering every telephone pole. I could still recall how the rain blurred his photograph until the image was barely recognizable.My mother would approach every long-distance bus and ask, "Have you seen this boy?"M

Years later, Andrew left Ashbourne to attend college.He never used that account again, and he never wore that white shirt again, either.In the beginning, he couldn't bring himself to ride a bus by himself. His experience was so traumatizing that he would take another route whenever he saw a refrigerated truck, and the smell of fish would make him shake like a leaf.He'd freeze whenever he passed a shop with blue plastic strip curtains in the doorway, his face turning pale.My mother nearly couldn't resist telling him, "It's all in the past now."My father stopped her. "It's fine if it's not in the past for him. We'll take it one day at a time."And that was exactly what our family learned to do. My father stopped hounding him about his grades, and my mother started knocking before entering Andrew's room.They started asking him how he was feeling."Did you have a rough day? Want to talk about it? It's okay if you don't."Matthew still worked at the bus station.The old stat