My Brother Never Gave Me a Home Chapter 03
By midnight, the other private room was still roaring with noise.
I slipped out alone and dragged myself back to my apartment.
My younger brother called.
Ethan’s name lit up my screen.
“So? How was it? The graduation party they threw you. You happy?”
I didn’t speak for a long time.
My adoptive father grabbed the phone.
“If you’re not happy, come home. We sent you back to be with your biological family.
So you could have a better, happier life. Not so you could suffer.”
“The stuff about your school. Your uncle already looked into it. We’re getting it done. You will go to that school. I swear it.”
I looked at the family photo on my nightstand.
The four of us together.
Then I thought about that house I wasn’t even allowed to step inside.
Aside from sweeping their graves on the anniversary of their deaths, I wasn’t permitted to touch a single thing my biological parents left behind.
The pendant they’d told Leo to save for me.
Chloe still wore it. Still clung to it. Said she wasn’t ready to let go.
My chest ached.
But it was a full ache. A warm one.
“Then I want Garlic Chicken Pasta when I get home. And Honey Garlic Shrimp. And Pork Ribs.”
A muffled sob came through the line.
“Okay. When you get home, you’ll have as much as you want. Your mom and I will cook for you for the rest of our lives.”
The call ended.
A knock came at my door.
Leo.
His eyes were rimmed red.
“I messed up today. I made you suffer for it. I’ve already arranged everything. Tomorrow, I’ll throw you an even bigger party.”
This had happened so many times over the years.
“Don’t bother. I don’t know any of those people.”
He opened his mouth.
“They’re our family. Our friends. You’ll get to know them over time. Eventually—”
I stopped packing.
“They’re your family. And Chloe’s. Not mine.”
“It’s been three years. I’ve never met them.”
The moisture in his eyes looked deeper. Heavier.
He just stared at me.
Pleading.
“Joyce. Just a little more time. Give your brother a little more time, okay?”
He always did this.
Every time I hit despair, every time the hurt swallowed me whole, he’d tell me how hard it was for him too.
But he was the one who begged me to come back.
Was it really that hard to choose?
He just couldn’t let go of more than a decade of companionship. But he couldn’t stand losing the blood tie either.
None of that was an excuse for what he put me through.
He was just playing the role of the good brother our dead parents had wanted him to be.
I was his blood sister, so he treated me well—because that was what a good brother was supposed to do.
But I wasn’t his “real” sister. Not to him. So three years passed, and proving my residency was still just too hard.
I looked at him. Calm.
“It’s late. I’m going to bed. You should go too. She gets anxious when she can’t find you.”
A dull thud hit the floor.
He wiped his eyes fast, walked to the couch, and sat down.
“She’s a grown woman. She can sleep alone. Besides, she wore herself out today. She passed out hours ago. I’m staying here with you.”
It was a one-bedroom apartment.
When he rented it, he’d never planned on staying here himself.
He shrugged off his jacket. Kicked off his shoes. Settled onto the couch.
“I’ll get a bigger place later. Tonight I’ll sleep here.”
I didn’t argue.
Because I knew.
Sooner or later, he’d leave anyway.
At two in the morning, a phone rang by the door.
The owner tried to kill it fast. Kept his voice low.
But I was already awake.
“Tell her I have a work emergency. I can’t come back.”
“She’s a grown woman. What do you mean she can’t sleep because I’m not there? Aren’t you all people? Aren’t you all there with her?”
“Enough. Deal with it yourselves.”
The call cut off.
Something inside me that had unconsciously tensed up finally unclenched.
Even though I knew I meant far less to him than Chloe did.
Right now, just this once, being chosen felt different.
At least I wouldn’t have too many regrets.
I rolled over. Sleep started to creep in.
Then I heard footsteps. A soft knock on my bedroom door.
“Joyce? You asleep? Something came up at work. I have to go.”
