They could afford to treat me and Sarah
く
equally but he was always scared I’d take her
spotlight.
I said, “Thanks, but I won’t need your money
anymore, brother.”
“What!”
“Oh, I’m on my way home now. I’ll be there
tonight. Don’t worry about it. I’ll just stay the night and leave in the morning.”
He paused for a second, then said with a
sigh, “Claire, I was wrong, I’m sorry. Don’t be
mad at Sarah, please.
“I’ll pick you up from the station tonight, we can have a family dinner, I can make it up to you.”
<
I was about to decline, but he said before I
could, “I’ll be at the station, waiting by the
exit.”
And he hung up.
I sighed and canceled my ride from the
station.
I got to the train station at 5:30 PM.
I couldn’t see my brother at the exit.
He texted: “Running a bit late, I’ll be there.
soon.”
I just sat down on a bench.
But he never came, not even when it got dark.
く
I tried calling but he didn’t pick up.
The last train back to my town had left two
hours ago.
I had no choice but to check into a hotel.
It was dark and the street lights were dim. I
could occasionally hear footsteps behind me.
Whenever I turned, I couldn’t see anyone.
I sped up, and the footsteps quickened too. I
turned around quickly again, and saw
someone hide in the shadows.
I started running faster while dialing my
brother’s number.
く
I pretended to talk to someone on the phone,
raising my voice, “Hey, honey, I’m almost
home. Can you come down to get me?”
As soon as I said that, the footsteps behind
me sped up. I turned around sharply and saw
the shadow was rushing towards me.
I took off running without even thinking.
But there’s just no comparison between men
and women when it comes to speed, and the
sound of footsteps grew closer and closer.
In the reflection of the window, I could clearly
see the man’s hand was inches from my shirt.
Someone passed us in the distance, so I
yelled out as loud as I could, “Honey! Help
me!”
<
The man hesitated, clearly startled. He walked
quickly toward me so I could dive into his
arms.
“Honey! You’re here!”
The stranger just passed us.
When I looked up again, he was pretending to
look like an oblivious passerby.
Our eyes met, and I saw a flash of cruel
resentment in his eye.
A hand gently landed on my waist, a calm
voice in the dark, “Don’t be scared. Let’s
go.”
He held me closer as he turned us in the
く
My heart was pounding.
I just wanted to breathe a sigh of relief when I
got a chill down my spine.
Looking at his handsome face, I got a strange
feeling of unease.
In the dark, how did he just happen to be
there?
I pushed him away, gripping my phone tightly.
He looked genuinely shocked, and I pressed
the buttons to call 911.
“You don’t trust me?”
He chuckled, and my hand shook so hard my
<
I quickly reached to pick it up, but his hand
was on it first.
He looked at me and dialed the police, “Yeah,
there’s a suspicious person on 51st Street.
He hung up, then brushed a stray piece of my
hair behind my ear, “Not calling me honey
anymore?”
I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.
He smiled as if he was amused by my
discomfort. “My name is Dean.”
That night, Dean and I spent the night at the
police station.
By the time I got home, the police had already
caught the stalker.
<
They’d found a butcher knife and all sorts of
dismemberment tools on him.
I almost lost my life.
I opened the door carefully, and the smell of
food wafted through the air.
It didn’t smell like the nanny’s cooking… that
meant it had to be…
Sure enough, in the kitchen, my brother was
wearing a cartoon apron, getting Sarah her
bowl of warm cereal.
They were talking and laughing, as if they
hadn’t promised to come pick me up.
When he saw me, my brother scowled, “Why
are you so late? Did you need to be left alone
at the station to make your way back? Why
are you back today?
“What’s with the bandage on your eye? Take
it off now!”
I ignored him and grabbed a bottle of water
from the fridge, chugging it down to relieve
some of my exhaustion.
I walked past my brother without looking at
him, heading straight to my bedroom.
“Claire.”
He put his hand on my shoulder.
I turned around, and he looked awkward, like
saying these words was the biggest burden
on him.
<
“Um…Sarah was so worried yesterday, she
threw up blood before she left so we didn’t
have a chance to pick you up.
I nodded calmly, “Okay.”
His eyes opened a little wider.
I was always the one who apologized first.
From the apology letters when we were little
to having to apologize to him as a teenager.
So, whenever he offered a way out, I’d happily
jump into his arms and forgive all his
mistakes.
He was used to me crying and being all
emotional when he apologized.
<
So a simple ‘okay‘ seemed strange to him.
He even seemed…
Annoyed.
He had barely frowned when I impatiently
pressed my temples with my fingers, “I’m
tired, I need to sleep.”
He was stunned.
I ignored him and went upstairs to my
bedroom.
But all I found was chaos.
My practice tests were torn to shreds,
covered in red ink and Xs, all over the floor.
く
My study notes from three years of high
school were ripped up and soaked in red
paint.
On the empty table, someone had carved
‘BITCH‘ and ‘DIE‘ into the wood over and
over.
I picked up one of the scraps.
The insults written in red marker were
definitely Sarah’s handwriting.
“Claire…
My brother was looking at the mess, shocked.
I turned to look at Sarah calmly drinking the
last of her cereal.
<
Then, she put a fake blood packet in her
mouth and bit it, she frowned before
collapsing onto the ground.
“Brother……I’m hurting…”
I stared coldly at Sarah as my brother
tightened his brow.
“You’re causing trouble after getting home!”
He went downstairs and held Sarah in his
arms, “It’s ok, I’m taking you to the hospital, don’t worry.“;
Then he looked at me with a piercing gaze,
his eyes filled with resentment.
It was always the same.
く
Even though Sarah was the only one who’d
do something like this, as soon as she threw
up blood, he just did whatever he wanted.
In the past, I would probably have been crying
and trying to explain myself, right?
But now, I just went back to my room, picked
up the pieces, and just fell asleep on the bed
without caring
The next day, Sarah reposted a news story
about a senior in high school who lost all her
notes.
She commented:
“Losing something so important must hurt,
especially during senior year.
<
Looking at the scraps of notes I threw in the
garbage last night, I laughed.
Before I could comment, the door was kicked
open.
My brother was back. “When did you start
trying to frame people? Sarah said she never
went into your room, and the nanny wouldn’t
touch your things. Do you think I can’t see
your little set up to try to make your sister
look bad?
“If it wasn’t for you, Sarah wouldn’t have
been so anxious. She threw up blood!”
I looked over his shoulder, Sarah was tearing
up, looking as if she had been wronged.
<
