Mom Came Back From the Dead to Warn Me About the Boy I Almost Chose Chapter 05

Mom Came Back From the Dead to Warn Me About the Boy I Almost Chose Chapter 05

“I choose… Elias Thorne as my big brother!” 

The auditorium went so quiet you could’ve heard a leaf 

fall outside the window. 

Toby’s mouth dropped open. “Claire, are you sure you 

didn’t mess up? Aren’t you always closest to Leo?” 

The other kids started whispering. 

“Yeah! Claire even has that matching keychain she 

bought with Leo!” 

“I’m choosing Elias,” I said, raising my voice. It still 

sounded childish, but there was no hesitation in it. 

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a delicate, 

heart–shaped silver locket. The chain still carried the 

faint scent of my mom’s perfume. “This was my 

mom’s lucky charm. Our family’s names are engraved 

inside. I want to give it to the big brother I choose.” 

I walked straight up to Elias and placed the locket. 

carefully in my open palm, holding it out to him. 

Elias froze. 

His hands trembled slightly, but he didn’t take it right 

away. 

My heart shot into my throat. “You… don’t want to be 

my brother?” 

After a brief silence, his lips curved into a soft, warm smile. “It would be my honor.” 

He accepted the locket with both hands. Instead of putting it around his neck, he slipped it into the shirt pocket closest to his heart. Then he turned to my dad and gave a perfectly sharp military salute. 

Only then did I finally breathe again. 

The kids immediately crowded around us, chattering 

all at once. 

“Claire made a great choice! Elias is the genius of our 

school!” 

“Right? He can even fix toy cars. That’s so cool!” 

Mom scoffed in my head. “And just a minute ago, those 

same kids were the loudest ones calling you a tagalong. 

Elias may not talk much, but he’s reliable. Way better 

than someone pretending to have amnesia.” 

She let out another cold laugh. “I even heard someone 

call him a nerd earlier.” 

I couldn’t help it. I burst out giggling. 

Elias glanced at me, confused. “What’s so funny?” 

I suddenly felt like teasing him. “I’m just really happy 

to have you as my big brother.” 

Right before my eyes, the tips of his ears turned bright 

red. 

Mom chuckled. “Well, look at that. He gets shy.” 

I was surprised too. Elias was usually so serious, 

always blunt to the point of being harsh. 

I remembered one time when one of Leo’s friends had 

snatched my favorite pencil case. I searched the whole school for Leo, but couldn’t find him anywhere. I was 

so anxious I almost cried. 

Then Elias showed up out of nowhere, grabbed the pencil case back, and handed it to me. 

I was about to thank him, but he just frowned and said, “Is crying going to fix anything? You should rely on yourself, not other people.” 

It hurt so much back then. No one had ever spoken to me like that. I ran off crying. 

But thinking about it now, Mom was right. Elias had a tough mouth and a soft heart. 

He had seen all along that Leo wasn’t someone I could count on. He just didn’t know how to say it in a gentler 

way. 

Looking at how flustered he was now, I couldn’t resist pushing a little further. I leaned closer to him. “Aren’t you happy to be my brother?” 

“I am,” Elias said, trying to sound composed, but his burning red ears gave him away. “But… can you not stand so close?” 

I reached out and lightly poked his hot ear. 

Elias jumped back like a startled rabbit. “I… I need to go to the restroom! Stay here and wait for me!” 

Watching him run off, stiff and awkward like he didn’t know how to move his arms and legs, my eyes lit up. 

So this is what it feels like to have a big brother. This is 

actually fun. 

Mom laughed so hard in my head she was practically shaking. “That boy is adorable!”