My brother and I were in a car accident together. My heart was ruptured, and I needed immediate surgery. But my mother, the hospital's Chief of Staff, ordered every available surgeon to my brother’s room. He had a few scratches. I was bleeding out. I begged her to save me. She didn't even look at me. "Stop trying to be the center of attention, Ethan! Do you realize your brother almost broke a bone?" In the end, I died in a corner of the ER, unnoticed and alone. But when she finally found out I was gone, the mother who hated me the most lost her mind. 1 In the final three minutes of my life, my spirit drifted to my mother's side. She was sitting by my brother's bedside, hands clasped in prayer, her face a mask of pure worry. "Caleb, baby, please don't scare Mom. Wake up, okay?" My father paced the room, his face red with rage. "If that useless animal Ethan had just protected him, Caleb wouldn't be hurt! I’m going to beat him within an inch of his life when I see him!" I stood there, invisible, a bitter taste rising in my throat. Dad, you don't need to beat me anymore. I'm already dead. I died from your indifference. A team of doctors circled Caleb’s bed. Once they confirmed he only had minor bruising and no fractures, an older physician finally dared to bring me up. "Dr. Sterling," he asked my mother cautiously, "Should we check on Ethan? His injuries looked... severe." The concern on my mother's face instantly hardened into disgust. "What is he acting for now? Is he playing dead? Does he not realize what he did to his brother?" I stared at her. My heart, which had already stopped beating, felt a phantom pang of agony. I am your son too. Did you really never care about me at all? Suddenly, Mom pulled out her phone and dialed my number. A nurse, standing over my cooling body in the ER, picked up. I didn't hear the concern I had foolishly hoped for. I heard the same old insults. "Ethan, when the hell are you going to get your ass down here and apologize to your brother?" My heart finally went cold. I had no expectations left. When the paramedics wheeled me in, I had grabbed her scrubs, begging her to save me. She just brushed me off. "Pick a better time to be jealous, Ethan. Your brother almost broke a bone!" Then she walked away, taking the entire trauma team with her to treat Caleb’s scrapes. The nurse couldn't take it anymore. "Dr. Sterling, Ethan... he's really gone. He's crashing." My mother laughed, a cold, sharp sound. "How much did that little sociopath pay you to say that? I didn't know he had it in him." Just then, Caleb—who had been pretending to be unconscious—fluttered his eyes open. He put on a weak, trembling voice. "Mom? Dad? Is Ethan okay?" Mom looked at Caleb, her precious angel, and her expression softened before turning back to the phone with renewed venom. "Ethan, why can't you be like your brother? He’s hurt because of you, and he’s still asking about you. If you aren't here in three minutes to apologize, don't bother coming home!" She hung up, her chest heaving with anger. My dad scoffed. "Why even call him? hasn't he hurt Caleb enough?" Caleb hid a smirk, lowering his head to look guilty. "Mom, Dad, don't be mad. Ethan is just still upset about me taking his spot at Harvard. It's my fault." I wanted to laugh. Even after I was dead, Caleb was still driving a wedge between us. But my parents would never see it. In their eyes, Caleb was the golden child. They would never suspect that the accident happened because their precious son pushed the steering wheel into oncoming traffic. 2 Predictably, Mom’s face darkened. "Sending a selfish brat like him to Harvard would be a waste. God knows what he'd learn over there." Caleb sighed. "Don't be mad at him, Mom. He must have his reasons." Mom’s eyes went soft. "You're just too kind, Caleb. That's why he bullies you." Caleb was a master at this. He knew exactly what to say to make them hate me. I knew that even if I stood before them and listed every evil thing he’d ever done, they would just slap me and call me a liar. Just then, my sister, Sarah, burst into the room. She had flown in from out of state the second she heard the news. Like Mom and Dad, she only had eyes for Caleb. After fussing over him and confirming he was fine, she glared at the empty space where she assumed I should be. "I told you Ethan is bad luck. Ever since Caleb was born, Ethan has been trying to ruin him." Caleb grabbed her hand. "Don't be mad, sis. Even if Ethan steered the car into traffic, I'm sure he didn't mean to." The room exploded. Dad slammed the table. "What? He steered into traffic?" Mom gritted her teeth. "That animal. I am done with him." Sarah looked like she wanted to tear me apart with her bare hands. Caleb’s heart rate monitor spiked slightly—he was afraid he’d overplayed his hand. "Mom, Dad, Sarah, please don't be mad at him. Maybe I remembered it wrong. He's my brother; he wouldn't do that." Sarah poked his forehead tenderly. "You are too innocent for this world. You don't know how dark people's hearts can be." "I must have saved a country in my past life to have a son like you," Mom said, stroking his hair. "We're done with that bad seed. Let's just focus on getting you better." The golden sunset filtered through the blinds, illuminating the happy family of four. I watched them, an overwhelming bitterness rising in my spirit. I didn't belong here. I wasn't family. I was a stray dog they kicked when they were bored. I wanted to leave, but my soul was tethered to my mother. I couldn't speak. I could only watch as they continued to humiliate my memory. 3 A few days later, Caleb was discharged. The whole family treated him like he was made of glass. Mom packed his bag. Dad pulled the car right up to the entrance. Sarah put his shoes on for him. On the ride home, Mom complained, "Ethan really is garbage. His brother gets discharged, and he doesn't even show up? Wait until we get home." Dad glanced at her. "I told you. Keeping him around is a liability. Something bad was bound to happen." "Wait until we get home." Those words triggered a flood of memories. Mom always favored Caleb. When Caleb was born, I accidentally knocked over a glass of water, causing Mom to slip. She went into labor early. Caleb spent weeks in the NICU. Dad slapped me so hard he perforated my eardrum. "You jinx! You almost killed your brother before he was even born!" Mom lay in the hospital bed, looking at me with pure disappointment. In elementary school, Caleb and I fought over a toy car. It was a cheap toy Dad had bought as an afterthought when getting Caleb a limited-edition set. But it was my treasure. Caleb had boxes of toys, but he wanted mine. He grabbed it, then screamed and burst into fake tears. Mom rushed in, hugging him. "Ethan! Your brother suffered so much as a baby, and you're bullying him?" "I didn't—" "Mom, don't be mad," Caleb sobbed. "I shouldn't have caused trouble." Dad came home and whipped me with a belt. "A cold-blooded kid like you should have been left at the orphanage." I cried and begged, but the more I cried, the harder he hit. Mom and Sarah watched from the couch, cold and indifferent. From that day on, I learned not to fight. I learned not to explain. I learned to be invisible. Until now. Until they left me to die on a cold metal table. 4 Back at the house, Caleb sprawled on the sofa. He mentioned he was hungry, and Sarah immediately ran to the kitchen. Dad pulled out the latest gaming console. "A gift for surviving, son." Mom cleaned his room top to bottom, filling it with plants. "Fresh air will help you recover." My ghost floated in the corner of this familiar house. It felt colder than the morgue. The doorbell rang. It was my girlfriend, Bella. "Mr. and Mrs. Sterling," she said, stepping inside. "I heard Caleb was discharged today. I brought some supplements." Caleb tossed the controller aside, acting shy. "Bella, you didn't have to. I'm fully recovered." Bella smiled at him. The icy goddess I knew transformed into a sweet girl next door for my brother. "Where's Ethan?" she asked suddenly. If she hadn't mentioned me, the family would have forgotten I existed. Mom’s face fell. "Don't mention that ingrate. I scolded him, and now he's playing runaway. Fine by me. If he likes being outside so much, he can die out there for all I care." Bella nodded quickly. "It's probably better. You don't need him disturbing Caleb's rest." Sarah walked out with a tray of fruit. "So, Bella, when are you dumping Ethan? You need to hurry up, or someone else is going to snatch my brother up." Bella looked down, blushing. "I was actually planning to tell Caleb today." A wave of acid washed over me. I laughed bitterly, turning away. I was used to betrayal. After dinner, Mom seemed restless. She went to her bedroom and started scrolling through her phone. I drifted closer. She was looking for my contact. She called me. Again and again. No answer. Finally, she smashed her phone on the bed. "Ignoring my calls now? You think anyone actually cares about you?" I wanted to scream: I'm dead, Mom! Dead people don't answer phones! She snatched up the landline and called the hospital nurse again. "What kind of game is Ethan playing? Tell him if he doesn't get his ass home and apologize, he's cut off!" There was a silence on the other end. "Dr. Sterling... Ethan died a week ago. His heart ruptured in the accident. You... you called all the surgeons to Caleb's room. There was no one left to operate on him."
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