The Girl Nobody Came Back For Novel by Juniper Lane _ Novel





The Girl Nobody Came Back For Chapter 01

I was born with severe thalassemia.
My brother, Nolan Garrett, skipped the SATs twice—all because I needed his blood.
On the eve of his third chance at the SAT, my anemia triggered another violent episode of acute complications—deafening tinnitus and relentless vomiting.
Determined not to let anything disrupt his tests, my parents sent me away to my grandma's place in the countryside.
Mom embraced me tightly before she left, her eyes swollen from crying.
"The counselor, Mr. Braun, has made it clear: if Nolan skips the SAT again, he won't be given another chance to re-enroll for a post-grad year," she whispered.
"Alana, your brother deserves a chance at his own future, not just a life spent saving yours."
Looking tired, Dad sighed, "We'll come pick you up in three days, we promise. Sound good?"
They were asking me, but they didn't wait for an answer before turning to leave.
I watched the car drive away and vomited blood again.
My body was getting colder and colder.
Nolan suddenly sent me a text, "Lana, have you gotten to Grandma's yet? Are you feeling all right?"
As the world faded into a blur, I clenched my jaw and replied to him.
"I'm fine."
"Nolan, give it your all on the SAT. Afterward, come get me with Mom and Dad."
Mom and Dad were right.
Nolan deserved a chance at his own future.
I wouldn't hold them back anymore.
***
As Nolan's third SAT approached, my parents broke their routine.
They took an extra week off from the factory and pulled me out of school to stay at home.
Nolan was at school preparing for the SAT.
Our parents stayed home, keeping a round-the-clock watch over me.
They were infinitely gentle.
But in their gaze, one could see the unmistakable drain of a lifetime spent at the edge of collapse.
I was born with severe thalassemia.
Blood transfusions were needed every three weeks or so, and the monthly cost for iron chelation treatment came to an additional 500 dollars.
For years, Nolan, with his matching blood type, had been constantly dragged down because of my condition.
My parents, meanwhile, had already exhausted every penny they had.
Mom and Dad stayed with me for seven days.
It was not until the afternoon before the SAT that Mom finally relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. "Nolan will be home for dinner tonight," she said.
"The SAT starts tomorrow and will be over in a few hours.
"After that, Lana, Nolan and we will take you back to school together."
Dad looked haggard, his hair graying.
All these years, he often worked full shifts at the factory, from dawn until midnight, just to cover my endless medical bills.
He was just over forty, but years of hardship had left him looking like a man in his late fifties, maybe even sixties.
At this moment, he finally smiled and said decisively, "Once Nolan's done with the SAT and Lana finishes her final exams, the four of us will go on a trip, just like those rich families do!
"How about Asheville? The place Lana said she wanted to visit before!"
Mom always worried about the cost.
But after a long silence, she nodded with a smile. "Alright.
"Once the kids are done with their exams, we'll set off.
"We'll get a roomette for Lana, and we'll just take coach seats.
"Coach has great window views, anyway."
A surge of expectation flickered in Mom's eyes.
Growing cautious, she decided to pray again with all her heart.
She lit a candle, knelt, and began to murmur, her soft voice drifting faintly to me. "Nolan will turn twenty-one after the New Year.
"Please bless him through this SAT.
"And... may all things go well for Lana."

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