I could only recall bits and pieces of what happened the day my brother disappeared.

To the police, they were fragments of glass. The only person who could see through this glass was me. Yet every time I looked into those shards of evidence I saw my dull self looking back at me. Every little detail mattered - not that I did not disagree.

William was perfect. From the beginning of the letter 'P' to the full stop right at the end, he was perfect all the way through. Some people bullshit that human beings can't be perfect when Will Black was a block of evidence in their way.

When I mean perfect, I mean that he knew everything about everything. Fortunately, William never received a mark under an A+. My brother managed to get those grades without bribing or sucking up to teachers. He was au naturale.

Another example of perfect is his social life. You would think that because he got the cliche straight A's he would be a nerd with thickly rimmed glasses and overly shy senses to communicate with people, but the only true thing about that is the glasses. William was incredibly smooth through any type of conversation, even if it started with a sentence about his day or world war II or if he enjoyed How To Kill a Mockingbird, William had the ability to give the answer they needed without the power of mind reading.

If that wasn't enough, he was great at sports. It was excruciatingly painful to watch all these opportunities for him go by. He was offered to be captain of four different teams but took one position, kindly refusing to all the others but the swimming coach that he had to focus on his studies for the moment. They all nodded their heads quickly, saying that whatever suited him best was okay with them.

Everyone worshiped Will.

I could list one fault that my brother has been accepted into. His stutter. Believe me when I say that even the girls fall under the spell of his repetition. They didn't care - he was a perfect human regardless of his way with words.

Growing up, attention was nowhere but on William's shining halo. It was all Will this, Will that and "hey, can you give me your brother's number 'cause he's so damn cute," my whole life.

I felt unbelievably shitty for saying this, but when Will suddenly disappeared - I felt a twinge of peace and relief growing inside me. It started off as a small tug in my instincts until I could no longer hide how I felt about his disappearance. My jealousy consumed me and I felt horrible about it.

And sitting there in the police station, posed like a statue in distress, going over my feelings just made me realize what a selfish human I was. I was nothing like William.

"How old was your brother?" Officer Hanes asked me, lifting his chin up so that his thin glasses slid up his nose.

Was.

I wiped the sweat off my palms onto the hem of my dress and cleared my throat so that I faced him squarely. "He turned seventeen yesterday."

Hanes looked surprised. "So he disappeared on his birthday? And New years?"

Another perfectly annoying thing about him. "Yes," I said, struggling to control a balanced tone.

"Where did you last see your brother?"

"At the bonfire in Central Park. I told you this already. Just thirty minutes before the fireworks."

"Who was with you?"

I gritted my teeth. "Friends. It was a party."

"What friends?"

"Like, my friends. Plus Will's, of course."

"Can you be specific, Miss Black?" Hanes growled impatiently, glaring at me with his tranquil-like eyes. I began to sink my darkly painted nails into my palms out of frustration. It was Julia, my partner in crime (not literally) that painted them for me. "Like...Melissa, Cara, Julia... gosh, I don't know," I trailed off. I shook my head and pushed the chair away.

"I want to leave. Can I be dismissed?"

Officer Hades didn't look up from his notes. "I'm afraid you can't. We need at least twenty more questions asked before you can leave. Without answering the questions to our satisfaction, you will be considered a suspect to your own brother's disappearance."

I felt the blood drain from my face. I didn't know why, but I felt a sudden sickness submerge over my mind like a thousand microbes multiplied into my brain and placed a barrier between my thoughts and reality.

"I just woke up on a goddamn road to find out that my brother is missing. I haven't even contacted my parents yet." I stood up and looked him straight in the eye, forcing myself not to sway as the walls of the small office began to move towards me. "I demand to leave now."

Hanes lifted his gaze from the pile of notes to look at me as if he wasn't sure if I was serious or not. "This means you will need to come later today. Your brother could be in trouble as we speak and if he disappears-"

"For more than twenty-four hours, the less chance of finding him you have, I know," I interrupted. I put a hand on my sweaty forehead and muttered something about interviewing Julia.

Without waiting for any type of dismission I stumbled out of the office, clutching the door handle on the way out. I blinked rapidly as strings of pain knotted in my stomach. I felt the nerves under my skin throb when I made my way to the exit.

Not now, I thought desperately. When I was young I used to get mild cases of nausea that developed into daily periods of blackouts. I managed to keep the pressure under control from sessions with my doctor ever since I was twelve - but this unusual panic at the pit of my stomach threatened to take over my body, dark fingers beginning to reach into my vision.

Somehow I found myself half walking, half jogging out of the entrance of the police station. I tripped over the long steps and speed walked down the pavement. I needed water.

There was a local grocery store just a block down the street. I was slightly cautious of myself holding onto random people to stay upright. I seemed to be stumbling over my own laces as I nervously threaded my way between gangs of people. I had to stop every few minutes to make sure that I wasn't about to faceplant into the hot ground. I felt relief swivel through my chest once I saw the grocery store sign in sight.

Finally, I arrived at the doors of the supermarket. I entered, feeling the reassuring rush of air greet my streaming eyes and sweaty palms. I scanned the area and locked my gaze on the stack of water bottles at the other side of the room.

I looked around. I could swear that the place was buzzing with people when I first entered and saw the water. But now, the whole place was empty with no trace of human life in the supermarket - including no cashier.

I shook my head and couldn't care less at that moment. I started towards the beverages before I caught a head bobbing behind the rack of canned food.

Momentarily distracted, I went to investigate the movement, my curiosity winning the battle of thirst. Stealthily, I peeked over the ridge of the row of food.

Nothing.

I swallowed a bullet. I must've been closer to fainting than I thought. I lifted my elbows to rub my eyes when it came in contact with the line of sweet corn replicas. It knocked over the entire row, the cacophony of tins falling onto the floor splitting the eerie silence. The loud noise disturbed my throbbing head. I slowly kneeled down, attempting to calm my breathing.

"Clumsy as always."

I jumped and jerked my head towards the source of noise.

There, leaning on the rack of untouched cans with folded arms, was Will. He cocked his head at my surprised expression and smiled.

I felt bile rise from my throat. "H-how? Will-?" I shook my head wildly at him. "I'm imagining you, aren't I? My fucking blood pressure."

My presumably lost brother crouched to my height and picked up a can with his delicate fingers. He repositioned his glasses higher up his nose and looked closely at the food. "You better call mom to get you. You don't look so good," he told me without looking at my widened eyes. Where was his usually comforting stutter?

"Are you real?" I whispered sullenly, not sure what answer I was looking for. My brother stood up and placed the can of corn back in its place.

Then he looked at me. I've never seen him like this. So serious, but so light-hearted - unreadable. But again, this was Will. If he wanted you to know how he felt, it would be clear to you. If he didn't, then you felt cold. Like you were the only one there.

"Do you want me to be?"

I bit my lip. He doesn't know, does he? Of course, he did. I repeatedly made it obvious that there were numerous times that I never wanted him to seize to exist. It was so unfair of me. William was always there for me, whether I was stranded with a creepy date, stuck with homework or letting him taking the blame for my mistakes.

I heaved myself to my feet shakily and ignored his question, afraid of the answer coming out of my mouth. "Go away. Please."

"So you don't," William forcefully put the words out there, but he was smiling. I felt the blood in my body subside. I didn't know this Will. The real Will would help me sit up, grab me the bottle and take me home.

I turned around from his rigid posture and made my way to the water bottles. "Just leave me alone. I know I'm just materializing you."

I heard his feet shuffle behind me. "You can't even tell if this supermarket is real."

I put my hands to my ears and quickened my pace. I ripped the freezer slider open and grabbed a bottle. I squeezed the bottle cap open and raised it to my lips. Cool, fresh water slid down my throat, relieving some of the exhaustion off my shoulders.

"I've been thinking about something for a while," Will remarked from behind me. I didn't bother looking at him. Instead, I raised the bottle over my head and tipped it downwards so that the water streamed down my hair and onto my clothes.

"There's this saying, 'actions speak louder than words.' Fair enough, right?" Will's voice taunts me, pretending to think for a second until saying, "but then why is the pen mightier than the sword?"

I stop the water from pouring onto my hot skin and clench it between my fingers.

"My words, Sarah." My unreal brother leaned in and whispered into my ear. "They are everything you are afraid of."

Something inside me smaller. I spun around, shoving the open bottle at his face. The second the water came in contact with his body, my brother was gone.

Just like that. No poof, no sparkles, just gone.

I panted, staring at the space Will stood  at a couple of seconds ago. I heard a flood of noises reaching my ears and looked right and left. There were customers everywhere, gawking and pointing at me in hushed voices. A middle-aged woman patted my shoulder and moved her lips, but I couldn't concentrate on her words.

I turned around and ran.