nameless
Chapter 1
My body hit the scummy water of the canal.
My brother, Ethan, was probably still singing lullabies to Mia, our adopted sister, who was
scared of thunderstorms.
He’d glanced at my frantic text.
Then went to the kitchen to make her a
steaming mug of hot chocolate for her period
cramps.
Days later, he was elbow–deep in a body.
Days later, he was elbow–deep in a body.
A woman’s corpse, her face peeled off,
stomach full of cement.
I figured Ethan would be ecstatic to find out it
was me.
But when they handed him my police uniform, his badge glinting dully…
He lost it.
<
- 1.
After three hours of hell, the girl he’d called
“white trash” for five years finally ended up
rotting in the dirt.
The air smelled of honeysuckle and rain-
soaked earth.
My spirit couldn’t let go.
I drifted back home.
A lamp was on, casting a warm glow on
Ethan’s hand stroking Mia’s back.
L
He was humming some nursery rhyme to her.
Mia snuggled into him, acting like a little kid.
My soul brushed Ethan’s shoulder, hoping not
to shatter this fake peace.
Honeysuckle.
The perfume I picked out for his birthday.
It covered up the smell of formaldehyde.
Rain hammered the window, and his fingers kept twitching, turning his phone on and off.
<
The screen showed my last text, a crying
emoji.
My desperate SOS.
But he just stared at it.
He promised me when we were kids: “I won’t
ever let my Jenny cry. Anytime I hear you, I’ll
protect you.”
Liar.
He forgot.
Or, he hated me.
He wanted me dead.
He muttered, his voice rough.
“How pathetic. Thinks she’s a kid still.”
“Out all night, probably messing around with
some guy. Good riddance.”
He threw another jab.
“Just like that deadbeat dad of hers.”
I almost laughed.
He wanted me gone.
く
Ethan started to get up, but Mia whined.
“Ethan, my tummy hurts.”
Her eyes welled up, making Ethan’s face soften, unlike the disgusted look he gave me.
“I’ll make you some hot chocolate.”
He fumbled, but he got it done.
Then, gently massaged her stomach.
<
men, yonly assayou 1101 SLUITIauli.
