Game Over, My Dear Brother

Chapter 2

When I woke again, I sneaked a peek with one eye. 'Had I made it to heaven? Nope.' I floated in midair and stared down at the small, boxy courtyard below. 'Why was I still at home?'

Just then, the screech of a bicycle's brakes echoed outside. Leo and Grandma were back. I wondered if Leo had managed to cheer up Molly. They moved like a real family, and my chest squeezed with jealousy as they helped Grandma inside. 'Ugh. It served me right for getting on Leo's bad side earlier. No wonder they had gone out for treats without me.'

Eager to redeem myself, I scrambled forward to steady Grandma, only for my hands to pass right through her. 'Wait. Was I see-through?' I waved a tentative hand in front of Leo's face.

"Mae?" he called out.

'Could he see me?'

Blurting out eagerly, I said, "Leo, I stole your medicine today, but it did not work at all. It did not even get me to heaven. Oh, and I counted all your pill bottles for you. Two hundred exactly. I even washed my hands. Will you forgive me?"

I thrust my spotless palms under his nose, but Leo strode straight through me and bellowed into the house.

'Oh. So he could not see me after all. Was I like those cartoon characters with invisibility powers?'

Giggling, I huffed at the wind chime dangling from the doorframe. A crystalline ping-ping sound answered and lifted my spirits instantly. Leo had strung those medicine bottles together for me. Molly painted them a pretty pink. Whenever the breeze danced through them, they would sing their cheerful ding-dong melody. "Then you won't dread taking medicine," Leo had said.

Just then, Leo's voice sharpened. "Mae. Mae. That girl's temper is getting worse. All I did was scold her a little, and now she is hiding like a brat."

But Leo, I answered you. I shouted it loud and clear. You just could not hear me. Ugh. Always jumping to conclusions.

He stormed toward my room until Molly caught his arm. "Leo, she is growing up. She needs her space. Besides, I am not upset. You are making a mountain out of a molehill. Start cooking dinner already. Did you not buy her favorite fish?"

'Fish.' My eyes locked onto the bulging grocery bag in the bicycle. Nothing beat fish. Leo claimed it made you smarter. Mine could definitely use some fixing, because it had caused him enough trouble. After our parents left, Leo had shouldered the burden of raising me and caring for our sick grandmother. It had been so hard for him. I wanted to get smarter. I really did.

After settling Grandma inside, Leo spotted Molly walking in with the groceries. He rushed over, grabbed the bag from her, and then wordlessly laced his fingers through hers. He tugged her toward the kitchen. They moved in sync, and their hands worked effortlessly without a word. Leo was a whiz with fish. Whether he poached it, baked it, or pan-seared it, he nailed every dish.

Suddenly, he slammed the knife down. His shoulders shuddered, and his tears threatened to spill. Molly pressed against his back with her arms tight around him, and she whispered soothing nonsense into his shoulder. I slapped my hands over my eyes. 'Ugh, mushy adult stuff.' But his voice carried like the wind and slipped right into my ears.

"Molly, I am sorry. I really am. Before you, I figured I would spend my life stuck in this tiny yard, looking after Mae and Grandma until we could not go on. Maybe even ending things for all of us when it got too much. But now I am greedy. I want to build a home with you. Our own home."

'A home? Like Mom and Dad's home?'