My Brother Said I Was Family But He Never Gave Me a Home Chapter 10
His body went slack as I spoke. I tore up the letter
in his hand.
“Christopher, I never wanted to be part of the Scott
family. You begged me to come back. You
promised me a home.”
He dropped to his knees in front of me, tears
streaming.
Before he could speak, Robert came running out
of the house. He had heard the part about the
arranged marriage. He charged over and kicked
Christopher hard in the shoulder.
Christopher flew back several feet.
“You animal. I felt sorry for you. I gave you my daughter, and you repay me by planning to marry
her off like some business transaction?”
“She’s my daughter. You don’t get to destroy her. Who do you think you are?”
“Get out. Now. Don’t let me see you again.”
Robert was shaking with rage. He grabbed my hand and my mom’s and pulled us back toward the house.
Christopher held his chest, scrambling and
crawling to block my way. Blood was at the corner
of his mouth.
For the first time, he truly understood how badly
he had messed up.
He had wanted to keep his sister, to have two
people to love.
He had thought neglecting Emily would somehow
help Sophia.
He hadn’t seen that his idea of fairness was
destroying the sister who mattered most.
“Emily, I was wrong. I was just trying to keep
Sophia calm. I never meant any of that. I know your
hate her. I’ll send her away. She won’t come back.
She won’t take your place anymore.”
“Come home with me. We’re brother and sister.
Mom and Dad wanted us to take care of each
other. You can’t abandon me.”
“I’ll change, I promise. Just give me one more
chance.”
“The gold locket. It was always yours. You never
even got to wear it.”
He looked at me with desperate eyes.
The same desperate eyes he had three years ago. when he begged me to come home.
I believed him then, and it got me three years of drifting and loneliness.
So no. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake.
I squeezed my parents’ hands.
“I don’t have a brother. I have one sibling, and his
name is Michael.”
“Three years ago, that was true. Three years from
now, it will still be true,”
“I don’t remember what you’re talking about. I just
know I won’t fall into the same hole twice.”
“Mr. Scott, you should be happy. What you wanted most but couldn’t bring yourself to do, someone else did for you.”
“As for the locket, give it to someone who needs
it.”
Then I pulled my family inside and closed the
door.
Through the door, I heard him crying.
Soft at first. Then, mixed with the sound of his fists hitting the wall, angry shouting.
Eventually the neighbors complained and building
security made him leave.
Finally. The ending it deserved.
The next few days, Christopher didn’t bother us.
I started at the Kingsbridge Institute of Technology, the research program I had dreamed
- of.
The work was demanding. I didn’t have the freedom of a regular college student, wandering around campus on my days off.
I got one day a month to rest.
On those days, my parents would cook all my
favorite foods and drive down with Michael.
Time moved fast. The next time I saw Michael, his
SATS were over.
He looked taller. More mature.
He looked around my school. “Wow. You live more like a prisoner than I did during senior year.”
Linda hit his head. “Stop talking nonsense. Prison?
Your sister is a future national asset. You can’t
compare yourself to her.”
“If you were even half as responsible and half as accomplished as she is, I’d thank my lucky stars.”
“Enjoy your freedom now. When your scores come in, you better make us smile.”
He shrugged, stole a piece of barbecue rib, and
ran off.
My parents shook their heads and kept feeding
- me.
Just as Linda put the last garlic butter shrimp in
my mouth, I saw him through the window.
Christopher.
