Joshua

"Josh", someone says, shaking my shoulder. "Get up, man. I wanna shoot some hoops." I groan and push them away. I need to get back to her. She's in trouble.

Forget about the girl, a deep voice says, echoing in my mind. Wake up.

My eyes fly open against my will and I sit up. "Sabrina!" Her face fills my mind, mouth open in a scream. I did that. I deserted her. We were going to kill that beast and escape together but I betrayed her. I betrayed her for an empty promise.

"Sabrina? Who's that?" someone says, laughing. "A girl you were dreaming about? She hot?"

I turn, about to punch the intruder in their face. Then I stop and drop my fist. Nick. It wasn't an empty promise after all. Gasping back a sob, I throw myself at him. He takes a step back and I fly off the bed.

"You good?" He offers a hand and I take it. He pulls me up, but I just stare at his hand. He's really here. That devil made good on his promise. I'm sorry, Sabrina, I think once more before I push her out of my mind.

Nick looks at me with a raised eyebrow like I weirded him out. Seeing him is like looking in a mirror. Everyone said we looked like twins but I never saw it until now. It's been a week since I saw his face. A whole week of living without him.

But now, I can stop him from leaving.

"I'm down for some basketball," I say, pulling him into a half hug. He slaps my back, laughing.

"Good. You had me worried, looking like you saw a ghost or something."

That's because I did.

Three facts about ghosts:

No ghost has ever truly been caught, therefore we cannot confirm their existence

There is no solid physical description of a ghost

Most ghost sightings are just wishful thinking

"Nick?"

He turns, and for a second I see him like he was, dressed in his fatigues, cadet's cap on his head. I blink, and he's back in that faded t-shirt he always wore on Saturdays. "Yeah?"

I shake my head and grab the basketball off my desk. An SAT prep book hits the ground with a thud, but I don't bother picking it back up. I have a second chance with Nick. The SAT isn't worth giving this up.

"I'm going to kick your butt, that's all," I say, pushing past him with a grin.

"You wish."

***

I drop to the grass, staring up at the scuttling clouds. "I hate when you're right." Sweat drips down my face, stinging my eyes. Nick collapses beside me, his chest heaving too.

"We both know you'd have me beat in a baseball game," he says, just like he used to.

No, just like he does. This is my life now, Nick back, everything okay again. I get my older brother back, my parents get their pride and joy back, and I can finally relax. He scored a 1540 on the SAT so even if I don't there's someone for my parents to boast about.

"Maybe," I say, sitting up. "Hey, it's getting late, wanna grab some food?" Nick sits up too, fixing me with a strange look.

"We're getting dinner with mom and dad, at that Italian place I like, remember?" He stands, looking down at his sweat-stained shirt. "And I'd better shower before we go." In a few long strides, he's gone, the screen door slamming shut behind him. I just sit, waiting as the sun began to trail toward the horizon. The crickets hum off in the distance, lulling me into a trance, better than any dream I've ever had.

Just as the sky deepens to a glimmering twilight, Nick walks back out of the house. Time had passed of just nothing. No facts, no worries, just me and the fading sun.

He stands over me, dressed up in his Marine uniform. My stomach clenches as I stare at his navy blue blazer with its stupid clanking medals. Flicking light over his shoulder catches my eye. A shooting star. It flashes across the sky, a blur of light that vanishes forever.

He's about to disappear.

"Don't go," I say, jumping to my feet. "Please, just stay here another week." My mind races through the events of the next week and I realize what that monster did. It granted my wish, finding one terrible loophole and exploiting it.

Today is March 15nd, exactly three weeks before the SAT, exactly two weeks before I get the Deeperem prescription. It didn't bring my brother back. It sent me back to the week before he was deployed.

Three facts about being deployed:

Deployments often last for at least a year

During active duty, more than 52,000 soldiers have been wounded since 9/11

My brother is being sent on active duty somewhere he can't disclose, somewhere he won't return from

"Little bro, you know I can't do that." He walks over, tugging that awful cap off his head. "Orders are orders, and besides, I'll be fine." There's a solemn smile on his face, but I can't bear to look at him anymore. It's like looking at the portrait displayed at his funeral.

He puts his hand on my shoulder. "Josh? Is something wrong?"

I shrug it off and take a step away. "What will I do when you won't come back? What will Mom and Dad do?"

The crickets are all but screaming as I wait. For a second, I figure I've gone deaf, or he's gone mute as there's still no answer. He's thought of this before, I'm sure, in a tent near a battlefield, or even when he enlisted. Every time he'd come home and he'd forget there was even a chance he couldn't have made it back. Or at least we did.

When he finally speaks, his voice is hard. "You didn't ask this the last time I was deployed. Why now?" I risk a look at his face and wish I hadn't. Muscles pulse along his jaw and he stares down at me.

"Because you might not come back this time," I say, my hands shaking from the fury in his words. He's mad because I said what we're all thinking. What he's thinking, too. But this time, I know he won't come back. I know he'll be gone for good.

How do I tell him that?

Nick sighs, rubbing his temples before pulling the cap into place on his head. "Look, if you aren't going to support me, I don't want you there tonight. Go sit in your room and study for the SATs or something." He walks toward his car, then stops. "If I don't make it back like you keep saying, you'll need to be Mom and Dad's new genius."

I gulp, his words falling heavy on my shoulders. Before I can call after him, he gets in the car and drives down the road. The engine rumbles in my ears until he's long gone and only the crickets are left to sing a funeral dirge.

A/N: Hi everyone. The past months have been pretty hectic for me. COVID-19 caused my campus to shut down and I lost my grandmother to the virus as well. I'm hoping to finish ONC strong so bear with me! Thanks for reading as always!

Word Count: 1183

Cumulative Word Count: 9,183