My Brother Abandoned Me On The Interstate For Another Girl

My brother, Cam, and I were halfway to Grandma Elsie’s house for New Year’s Eve when we had the fight. He’d barely said a word since we left Northport, the cold anger radiating off him like a personal blizzard. He left me at a rest stop off the I-95 and drove straight back. By the time I finally reached Grandma Elsie’s house in Blackwood, it was New Year’s Day. Seeing me alone, my grandmother’s face went slack with shock. “You walked all the way back? Where is your brother?” I froze. I realized I couldn’t remember why Cam and I had fought. Grandma Elsie’s face hardened. She took one look at my broken, blistered feet, and then took me to the town clinic. When the results came back, she collapsed into tears and called Cam. “You bastard! Don’t you know your sister has a brain tumor?” “How could you leave her on the highway? She walked for over twelve hours! Her feet are ruined!” Cam’s voice, cold and dismissive, was loud enough to hear. “You two are working together to manipulate me. I told you, Joss’s birthday is tonight. I’m not going back for any of your melodrama.” He hung up. Grandma Elsie’s eyes rolled back, and she fainted. In the ensuing chaos, I heard the doctor call my name. “Charlotte Elton, the surgery window is closed.” “Notify the family. You need to start making funeral arrangements.”

My breathing stalled for a few seconds. I looked at the doctor, the words echoing in my mind. I felt a ghost of a memory, a chilling sense of déjà vu, that I had heard this exact phrase before. But the memory was slippery, gone as soon as I tried to grasp it. The doctor sighed. “The tumor is pressing on a nerve. It’s normal for your memory to be poor.” “Don’t you have a brother? You need to call him. From now on, you can’t be alone.” My heart plummeted into darkness. My body felt ice cold. Grandma Elsie stirred slightly on the examination table, as if sensing my terror. I gripped her hand and asked the doctor, “Is Grandma really okay?” The doctor patted my shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry. Your grandmother is just emotionally overwhelmed. She’ll wake up soon.” “Young woman, your situation is more urgent.” I nodded numbly, watching the doctor leave. I pulled my phone from my pocket. It was dead. After charging it, a torrent of notifications flooded in. Missed calls. All from Grandma Elsie. She had called me nearly a hundred times during those twelve hours I’d walked alone. Tears sprang to my eyes. I searched through the texts. I found only one from Cam. Didn’t pick up Grandma’s calls. Let me know when you get home. I called him. The phone rang for an agonizing length of time before he picked up, his voice clipped. “What do you want?” I couldn’t stop myself from shouting, “You’ve put Grandma in the hospital! Is Jocelyn more important than her? You need to get—” Beep… Beep… Beep… He hung up before I could finish. I stared at the screen in disbelief. Another text popped up instantly. I don’t have time for your drama on New Year’s. I’ll pick you up on the sixth. My heart hammered against my ribs. I called him again. It went straight to voicemail. I kept hitting redial, my rage burning. After a few minutes, the finality set in: I had been blocked. A ball of anger was lodged in my chest, making me shake. Furious, I snatched Grandma’s phone and dialed. The phone rang. He didn’t pick up. I tried a second time. Grandma’s number was now blocked, too. “Cameron Elton, you self-centered bastard!” I screamed the words, the sound tearing from my throat. I broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. The hospital room door swung open. A nurse frowned. “This is a hospital, ma’am. Please be quiet.” I scrubbed at my face, tears mixing with snot, and pulled up Jocelyn Day’s Instagram. That night, she’d posted three times. Thanks to my sweet brother for coming back to celebrate with me. Everyone else is doing New Year’s, I get a birthday first! A diamond necklace Cam won for me at a high-end auction—only two in the world. I love it! Have you ever seen a ten-tier birthday cake? I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms. My heart felt like it was being flayed alive. Tears hit the phone, blurring the obnoxious sparkle of the diamonds. Suddenly, Cam’s angry voice flashed into my mind: “Charlie, if you can’t be more accepting, you can walk back to Grandma’s yourself!” The intense burst of emotion jolted my memory. I finally remembered the fight. Days ago, Joss had started a dramatic plea, crying that Cam had to stay in Northport for her birthday. Joss was a long-term scholarship recipient—a family mentee Cam felt overly responsible for—and her birthday fell on New Year’s Eve, which she always lamented missing due to family events. Cam was torn. Grandma Elsie was elderly, and the holidays were the only time she saw us. I had tried to be helpful, suggesting we bring Joss along. She recoiled. “That’s your family home. I’d be in the way.” “Besides, you and Grandma don’t like me… I can tell.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Cam had glared at me, his eyes full of displeasure. That day, he announced he was staying. I pleaded with him, using every good and bad argument I had. He wouldn’t budge. It took Grandma Elsie throwing a rare fit for him to reluctantly agree to drive us. But the whole way, his face was set in stone. I saw his resentment and tried carefully to lighten the mood. He snapped. “Just stop, Charlie. I promised Grandma I’d go, and I’ll go. Stop worrying that I’ll leave.” I obediently shut up. Until Joss called, sobbing that she was sick and needed him to come home to check on her. I couldn’t take it. I snatched the phone and screamed at her, “How dare you ask him to abandon Grandma for you?” The call ended. Cam violently slapped me across the face. “What has Joss ever done to you, that you can’t stand her so much?” I was stunned, my mind blank with the shock of the hit. He didn’t even look at me. He slammed the accelerator to the floor, screeching into the nearest rest stop. His voice was cold, leaving no room for argument. “There are regional buses here. Get out.” I stood there, crying, stubbornly refusing to move. I thought he was just angry, that he wouldn’t actually leave me. But when I didn’t move, he got out, marched around to the passenger side, and yanked the door open. He pulled me out onto the cold asphalt. “Call Grandma and tell her I’m not coming back. Don’t let her worry.” He let go, got back in the car, and sped away, leaving me standing alone. I stood there for a long, long time, tears streaming down my face. Then, the memory of the fight evaporated. I wiped my face and started walking. I walked all the way home. If the stress hadn’t returned me to the clinic, I might never have recalled the fight. My brain was only holding onto the good things: Cam running all over the city just to find my favorite ice cream flavor. Cam holding me tight after our parents died, swearing he’d protect me, that I’d never be hurt. I didn’t understand how we had fallen this far apart. “Charlie…” Grandma Elsie’s frail voice pulled me back. She was awake, her cloudy eyes flickering with hope. “Is your brother here? Did he come?” I lowered my gaze. “He didn’t answer his phone, Grandma. He must be busy.” Her face grew paler. After a long silence, she asked, “When did you get sick? Why didn’t you tell me?” I squeezed her hand, forcing a gentle smile. “I forgot, too. It’s okay, Grandma. I’ll be fine.” She closed her eyes, seeming to age ten years in a second. She didn’t mention Cam or my illness again that night. The next morning, she cooked us some dumplings, then packed our bags. We were going to find Cam. I didn’t want to go back to Northport. I begged her to stay. Grandma Elsie was firm. “I have to ask Cam what he’s thinking.” “And your illness. We have to treat it in Northport. The clinic here is useless!” And so, we headed back. We pushed open the door of Cam’s upscale condo. He wasn’t there. Joss was standing in front of a mirror, admiring the diamond necklace. The moment she saw us, she crossed her arms. “What, you can’t survive a single holiday without Cam? You came all this way to track him down?” I frowned. “Joss, show my grandmother some respect!” “Respect? Why? If that old woman hadn’t insisted on him driving her back, I wouldn’t have had to fake an illness to get my brother home.” Joss smirked. “Are you here for a confrontation? Too bad.” “Cam is out buying me a new purse. You’ll have to come back later.” Her possessive, queen-of-the-castle attitude made Grandma Elsie’s temper explode. She pointed a trembling finger at Joss. “This is Cam and Charlie’s home! Get out!” “You get out, old woman!” Joss’s eyes narrowed, cold and cruel. “You chose to live in that backward town. Now you come crawling back because you can’t handle the hard life?” “Cam works so hard to make money. He sends you money every year. For what?” My pupils constricted. I clenched my fists in disbelief. Grandma Elsie’s chest was heaving; her breathing was shallow. None of us expected Joss to be so utterly shameless. Seeing Grandma Elsie’s distress, I quickly helped her sit down. Then, in three strides, I was in front of Joss. I raised my hand and slapped her, hard. Slap! Joss staggered back, stunned. “This is my home! You’re just a low-income student Cam sponsored. Did calling him ‘brother’ for years make you think you’re a Elton?” I finished with a cold roar, ready to hit her again. She wasn’t going to just stand there. She grabbed my wrist, twisting it. “You bitch! Don’t think being blood means anything. He loves me more!” Joss screamed, pulling my hair. I kicked her in the hip. She grabbed the glass vase from a side table and swung it violently at my head. CRASH! “CHARLIE!” The sound of shattering glass and Grandma Elsie’s scream came at the same moment. Dazed, a warm liquid streamed down my forehead, blurring my vision. My knees buckled and I slumped onto the floor. Glass shards dug into my palm. The strange thing was, my hand didn’t hurt at all. Only my head felt like it was being pierced with steel needles. “Let go of me, old woman!” Through my hazy vision, I saw Grandma Elsie and Joss wrestling. Joss had been slapped repeatedly by Grandma Elsie. She finally snapped, pushing Grandma Elsie with all her might. THUD! A deafening impact. Grandma Elsie’s body hit the ground hard. She twitched once, then fell still. My body was numb. I wiped the blood from my eyes with my sleeve and struggled to look. A slow, crimson pool spread beneath Grandma Elsie’s white hair. A sharp shard of glass was deeply embedded in the back of her skull. It had also cut my fingers. I was breathing in panicked gasps, lost and terrified. It took a long moment before I could let out a wretched, desperate cry: “Grandma—” The condo door opened. Cam, carrying a pile of designer shopping bags, saw the scene. His smile vanished. “Grandma!” He yelled, dropping his shopping bags and stumbling to her side. He saw the glass shard in her head. His eyes contracted in shock. He grabbed my wrist, shouting at me. “What happened here? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?” My vision tunneled. The familiar emptiness swept over my mind, and more blood dripped from my temple. Cam’s face went white. He blinked rapidly. “Charlie, what’s wrong with you?” He let go of my wrist and reached for my head, trying to check the wound. Joss, shedding perfect tears, started her story. “Brother, Charlie’s gone crazy! I was just trying to hand her a glass of water, and she smashed the vase on her own head and attacked me!” “Grandma tried to stop us, but she slipped on the glass and fell…” Cam’s hand froze. His expression turned dark. “Charlie, is that true?” “I don’t remember…” My voice was a choked sob. I was hyperventilating from the anxiety. I couldn’t remember. I didn’t know what happened. Why is this happening? Why? “What the hell are you doing on New Year’s Day, causing trouble!” Cam’s face was a mask of fury. He roared at me. “If anything happens to Grandma, I will never forgive you!” Without waiting for my reaction, he shoved me hard. He scooped up Grandma Elsie and ran for the hospital. Joss stood over me, looking down. “See? He believes me no matter what I say.” “Charlie, I think your grandmother is already gone.” “You killed her.” I jerked my head up. A creeping dread, an awful chill, crawled up my spine. “No! I didn’t! I would never hurt Grandma…” I mumbled the words, shaking my head robotically. Joss scoffed and walked out the door. After she left, the silence in the house was deafening. My heart was a hollow void, holding onto a single thought— I did not kill Grandma Elsie. I don’t know how long I sat there. Then, a sudden flicker of memory. I scrambled off the floor. I dragged a chair under the light fixture. Standing on it, I reached up, slowly feeling around the top of the pendant light. My breath hitched. A small pinhole camera was in my hand. I had installed it two months ago. My brain tumor had been diagnosed two months ago. The doctor warned me about the severe memory loss in the later stages and suggested a surveillance camera. I’d followed his advice and then immediately forgotten about it. It had finally served its purpose. I clutched the camera and went to the hospital. In the hallway, I found Cam hunched over, sobbing uncontrollably. Joss was beside him, speaking in a low, soothing voice. “Brother, don’t cry. Grandma is gone, but you still have me…” CRASH— My mind went blank again. The familiar, terrifying void washed over me. My legs gave out. I collapsed onto the floor. Cam heard the noise. He looked up, his eyes bloodshot, blazing with pure hatred. He rose and strode over to me in three steps. He didn’t hesitate, slamming his palm across my face. “It’s all your fault! Why did you bring Grandma back? Why did you fight with Joss?” “It was just a few days of the holiday! Why are you so immature!” “Grandma is dead! Are you happy now?” My cheek was on fire. Blood welled up in the corner of my mouth. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. Why am I here? How did Grandma die? My tears started again, desperate and confused. The harder I tried to remember, the more my head ached. “You have the nerve to cry?” Cam’s voice shook with rage. He threw a velvet gift box onto my body. “I was actually thinking of you. When I bought Joss her birthday gift, I bought you one, too.” “Charlie, you truly don’t deserve my kindness.” The box hit the floor and shattered, revealing an exquisite diamond necklace. It was identical to Joss’s. As I reached for it, Cam slammed his foot down on the pendant. “You are not allowed at Grandma’s funeral!” “Charlie, from this day forward, you are no longer my sister!” I looked up, stunned, but he was already turning away. Joss gave me a cruel, chilling smile. “You deserve this.” She bent down, picked up the diamond necklace from the floor, pocketed it, and followed Cam. A sudden sharp pain shot through my palm. I looked down. A corner of the camera was crushed in my grip. The terrible truth hit me: I had forgotten my mission again. People shuffled past in the hallway, their eyes landing on me. I covered my face, weeping a desolate, hopeless cry. Why did this disease happen to me? Why did it steal my memories, leaving me without a chance to explain? A voice deep inside me whispered. You cannot wait. The funeral could wait. The truth couldn’t. To prevent another devastating memory loss, I prepared two ways. First, I pulled out my phone and emailed the surveillance footage of Joss pushing Grandma Elsie to the Northport Police Department. Then, I slowly got up and left the hospital, intending to walk to the police station. The memory lapse was faster than I expected. I didn’t go to the police station. Instead, I boarded a regional bus going back to Blackwood. I was convinced Grandma Elsie was waiting for me at the house. If I went back, I would find her. The bus rolled away from Northport. When I opened the door to the old house, it was already night. The house was empty and silent. A plate of cold dumplings sat on the dining room table. I faintly remembered Grandma Elsie saying they were for Cam. My soul felt sucked out of me. The world went black. As I fell, my phone rang—Cam’s special ringtone. The warm melody sounded frantic and sharp now. I didn’t have the power to answer.