PERCIE âYouâre not the worst person or the worst brother, Percie. You survived that accident for a reason. Itâs for you to find out what are those reasonsâyour purpose in life. She would be devastated, and it would break her heart too if you got the injury instead of her. Do you wanna see her in your position?
How would you feel seeing her struggling and blaming herself for what had happened to you? Do you think she can survive the way you did after being disowned by your parents? Youâre stronger than you think you are. Give yourself extra credit. Thatâs one of the reasons why you survived. You wouldnât and never give up on her. Thatâs another reason. You survived for her. I think thatâs enough for Emma.â
I couldnât begin to imagine Emma struggling to survive when she was in my situation. Would my parents disown her too? She had somewhere to go toâher old family. But Emma loved me so much. If I was the one who got the kidney problem? What if they both failed to function?
My stomach dropped. My heart was just crushed.
Emma would be willing to die for me.
I wiped the tears rolling down my face. I had not thought that far than wishing of going back to that moment. I knew Emma. No matter how positive a person she was, she would blame herself for what happened. She would be willing to give up herself to save me. She was so kindhearted and loving and would give up everything for me in a heartbeat.
I felt Haileyâs hand squeezing mine. I sniffed. I couldnât even face her. I felt weak, ashamed, and guilty at the same time.
âI burned down our house.â
She gasped.
Her eyes were enormous. I could see the horrific looked on her face.
âI told you, Lee. Iâm not a good person.â
She didnât let go of my hand like I was expecting. Instead, she tightened her grip.
I continued talking the moment she kept my hand in her grip. âI went to take Emmaâs things after the funeral, but my parents would not allow me.
Instead, they called the cops and let them drag me out of their house. I went back that night and burned down the house. I made sure that my parents were not there, though. I didnât even know why I didnât consider them dying in the fire. I think I still have humanity left deep down in me. Or maybe because they are still my parents no matter what. Or Emma would never forgive me. I was just so mad at them.â
âIâm so sorry, Percie.â She squeezed my hand. Her lips trembled.
âHer things are the only thing I have left, and they wouldnât let me have them. They are so selfish. My grandparents told me that my parents are planning on donating the clothes and keep some of Emmaâs things in the stock room, for what? They will throw them away sooner. And I canât let them do that.â
âI have a twin brother too. I lost him when we were ten. We went to the grocery store a few blocks from the house. We were just going to buy snacks and then came back. We loved gummy bears. I still remember when the man pointed a gun at the cashier and asked for cash. I froze in my tracks.
Caleb was standing beside him, paying at the cashier.â She shook to cry.
I moved closer to her, pulled her into me, and wrapped my arms around her. Finally, she let her guard down. I hushed her, ran my fingers through her hair, and kissed the top of her head.
âYou donât have to tell me, Lee. I know how hard it is to share. It hurts no matter how long ago it was. It still reminds us of the people we lost. Iâm so sorry. Iâm sorry that you have to go through that.â
âWhen he noticed Caleb was looking at him, he shot my brother instead of that man.â
A gasp escaped my lips. Jesus Christ. I couldnât even begin to imagine a ten-year-old girl watching her brother shot. I shut my eyes closed.
âHe took all the money that the cashier offered and left. The cashier survived, and my brother died. He surrendered after my brotherâs burial service.
Thatâs how Dad became a copâto catch bad guys like him.â
We stayed right there for a moment.
She had the most painful experience at a young age. Her brother was taken away from her in front of her in a horrible way, but she stayed strong.
I didnât know how she managed to survive without even seeing a shrink. I admired her even more. She was the strongest person I knew.
âOur classmates blamed me. That I was jealous of the attention he got. They called me the ugly twin. Caleb was the star of the school. He played on the baseball team, while I didnât have any talents like him. He was my hero when someone bullied me, though. After I lost him, nobody fought for me in school, and the bullying was getting worse. I stayed at home and was homeschooled until my sophomore. When dad got transferred here, that was the time I started going to school again. I was very thankful that nobody bullied me anymore. I made sure to keep my head down all the time. But the idea of being ugly and having no talent had already stuck in my head.â
I broke our hug, cupped her face, and looked straight in the eye, deep into her soul. I wanted her to know that she was the most beautiful thing I saw right now. âHey, you are far from ugly. You are beautiful, strong, talented, and smart. Your dad told me that you were honor in your class. You were great during your piano recital. Donât you ever look so low at yourself? They bullied you because they saw something in you that they never had.
They were jealous of both of you, Hailey.â I wiped the tears away from her cheeks.
Broken Bad Boy ï¤19 Can't Resist the Billionaire ï¤Chapter 70 I'm here to check on your room, not to open a room We Got Love, The Crazy Kind ï¤Chapter 60 Rest Assured I guessed we both dwelt with losses that we forgot the beauty of life, of ourselves.
âItâs not your fault that your brother died that day. At least he got his justice. The person responsible is already locked up. Donât you ever listen to the people who like to bully? He did it because they wanted attention. They thought they were tough and looked cool when they hurt people. They are probably hurt or victims too, but that doesnât give them the right to make fun of someone. That is just so wrong. Theyâre sick, Hailey. They wanted to ruin otherâs lives, and they made you believe that they were better than you were. The truth is, you are far better than them.â I kissed her forehead one last time.
I checked her out when her sobs lessened. She didnât answer me back. She just fell asleep in my arms. I placed her pillow at the back of my head and laid myself down, and let her head rest on my chest.
I closed my eyes and ran my fingers through her hair until I fell asleep.
Broken Bad Boy Can't Resist the Billionaire We Got Love, The Crazy Kind