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PERCIE
“You’re not the worst person or the worst brother, Percie. You survived that accident for a reason. It’s
for you to find out what are those reasons—your 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? You’re stronger than you think
you are. Give yourself extra credit. That’s one of the reasons why you survived. You wouldn’t and never
give up on her. That’s another reason. You survived for her. I think that’s enough for Emma.”
I couldn’t begin to imagine Emma struggling to survive when she was in my situation. Would my
parents disown her too? She had somewhere to go to—her 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 Hailey’s hand squeezing mine. I sniffed. I couldn’t even face her. I felt weak, ashamed, and guilty
at the same time.
“I burned down our house.”
She gasped.
Her eyes were enormous. I could see the horrific looked on her face.
“I told you, Lee. I’m not a good person.”
She didn’t 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. “I went to take Emma’s 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 didn’t even know why I didn’t 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.”
“I’m so sorry, Percie.” She squeezed my hand. Her lips trembled.
“Her things are the only thing I have left, and they wouldn’t 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 Emma’s
things in the stock room, for what? They will throw them away sooner. And I can’t let them do that.”
“I 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.” 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.
“You don’t 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. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry that you have to go through that.”
“When he noticed Caleb was looking at him, he shot my brother instead of that man.”
A gasp escaped my lips. Jesus Christ. I couldn’t even begin to imagine a ten-year-old girl watching her
brother shot. I shut my eyes closed.
“He took all the money that the cashier offered and left. The cashier survived, and my brother died. He
surrendered after my brother’s burial service. That’s how Dad became a cop—to catch bad guys like
him.”
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 didn’t know how she managed to survive without even seeing a shrink. I admired her even more. She
was the strongest person I knew.
“Our 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 didn’t 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.”
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. “Hey, 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. Don’t 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.” I wiped the tears
away from her cheeks.
I guessed we both dwelt with losses that we forgot the beauty of life, of ourselves.
“It’s not your fault that your brother died that day. At least he got his justice. The person responsible is
already locked up. Don’t 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 Material © of NôvelDrama.Org.
or victims too, but that doesn’t give them the right to make fun of someone. That is just so wrong.
They’re sick, Hailey. They wanted to ruin other’s lives, and they made you believe that they were better
than you were. The truth is, you are far better than them.” I kissed her forehead one last time.
I checked her out when her sobs lessened. She didn’t 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.