GPS to Home, or to My Death?

Just like that, Brent stopped making a scene for the next few days following Thanksgiving.

Our parents were happy. Whenever my name came up in conversation, they'd usually say something like, "If we'd known Brent would return to normal the moment Gary left, we would've sent him away sooner."

Aubrey was the only person in the entire family who still worried about me. She frequently texted me, asking if I'd eaten, slept, or if I was having fun.

"I" always replied coldly, rarely exceeding three words. But Aubrey assumed that I was simply having too much fun to text, so she didn't think too much of it.

This continued right up to a few days before Christmas, when Brent threw out everything that belonged to me and turned my room into one for a dog.

When Aubrey got home from work, she walked in just in time to see workers dismantling my bed and mounting dog toys onto the walls. Her face darkened.

"Who told you to do this?" she asked, her voice icy.

The workers jumped at her voice.

"I did," Brent said from behind her. "Gary isn't coming back anyway, so there's no point in keeping this room empty."

Aubrey turned, obvious displeasure flashing across her face. "I already told you I'm bringing Gary home after Christmas. How could you decide unilaterally to turn his room into—"

"Decide unilaterally?" Brent's voice rose sharply. "What? Is this not my house? I'm not even allowed to renovate a room now?"

Aubrey fought to keep her temper in check. "You should've at least told me beforehand. There aren't any other spare rooms left. Where do you expect Gary to stay?"

"Gary, Gary, Gary! He's all you ever care about!" Brent roared, his chest heaving violently as his emotions spiraled out of control. "I'm your biological brother! Do I even matter to you?"

"What's going on now?"

Hearing the commotion, our parents rushed out. The moment they sensed the tension between Brent and Aubrey, they broke out in a cold sweat.

"I've already told you I don't like him!" Brent screamed hysterically. "Why do you guys always have to bring him up in front of me? Are you only going to be satisfied after you drive me to my death? I'll go kill myself right now! That'll make you happy, won't it?"

Mom's face turned white with fear. She quickly grabbed Brent's hand and barked furiously at Aubrey. "What did you say to him now?"

Aubrey looked both exhausted and frustrated.

"He turned Gary's room into a dog room," she explained, her voice slightly hoarse. "I only said—"

"Can you stop causing trouble?" Mom cut her off with a furious shout. "How many times has Gary texted you that he's not coming back? What part of that do you not understand? And now you're upsetting Brent so badly over a room? What kind of sister are you?"

Aubrey froze. Slowly, she pressed her lips into a tight line and didn't say anything.

When Brent heard my name, it was like someone had flipped a switch. He yanked his hand free from Mom's grip and charged toward the wall.

"I don't want to live anymore! Let me die! She'll finally be happy when I die!"

The momentum sent Mom sprawling to the floor. Fortunately, Dad reacted quickly enough and managed to grab hold of Brent.

The house descended into absolute chaos. The workers stood there awkwardly, clutching their tools, unsure whether to continue working or to leave.

Meanwhile, Brent kept screaming about wanting to die so he could finally be free from all of this.

Suddenly, Mom scrambled to her feet and lunged at Aubrey. Raising her hand, she delivered two hard slaps across her face.

Aubrey's head snapped to the side, and her cheek instantly swelled bright red. Clutching her face, she stared in utter disbelief at our usually gentle mother, whose eyes were bloodshot with rage.

"I'm warning you, Aubrey Cochran," Mom roared. "If you dare mention Gary in this house again, I'll sever all ties with you!"

"We've been good to Gary all these years. He's the one who said he doesn't want to come home. It's not that we don't want him! If something happens to Brent because of you and Gary, I won't forgive either of you, even after I'm dead!"

Those words were unbearably cruel. Aubrey's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her eyes slowly turned red. Only after a long silence did she finally speak up, her voice carrying a hint of bitter mockery.

"Fine. I'll never mention Gary Cochran in this house again."

With that, she turned around, walked into her bedroom, and slammed the door shut behind her.

Mom and Dad were too busy comforting Brent to notice Aubrey's emotional state. Worried about her, I drifted into her room, just in time to see her pull out her phone to send me a message.

"Gary, I'll come pick you up tomorrow."

Her eyes were so red they looked like they were bleeding. Until now, I'd never seen her look so deeply wronged.

The reply she received was cold and heartless.

"No need. I'm not going back. I have a new sister now."

She instantly panicked.

"Where's the watch I gave you? You promised you'd always wear it!"

As long as the watch was turned on, she could use the GPS location to track me. But my reply only made her grip her phone tightly.

"I threw it away. It's useless now, so why keep it?"