Little Molly Hooper sat on the bed of her oldest brother, her entire face confused. She watches him as he packs, moving frantically around his room. Every once in a while, he stops to look at her, tiny and pale in his dark room. His duffle bag is almost completely packed now. He kneels in front of her.
"Molly, please…" He stops, tears welling in his eyes. Hers did the same.
"I promise I'll come back for you. I will save you from this place, I promise, I promise," He was crying now, and seven-year-old Molly couldn't help but do the same.
"The minute I'm old enough, I'll save you," He kisses her forehead and brushes her tears away.
"Please stay, why do you even have to-" He interrupts, smiling sadly.
"I just do, darling."
He hushes her before she can protest again. He hugs her tightly and promises to bring her sweets when he returns. He also makes her promise to not leave his room, not matter what she hears. She agrees without further thought of what was to come. He closes the door behind him.
Not even a minute later, the yelling started. It was worse than she had ever heard, and they yelled louder and with angrier words than usual. She didn't know there could even be worse. The front door slammed, then slammed again, when another someone ran out.
Molly laid down on her big brother's bed, shutting her eyes tight and covered her ears. Maybe if she tried hard enough, they would stop fighting. Even more yelling, then a loud bang she didn't recognize. Whatever it was, it scared her more than thunderstorms and monsters combined. The shouting was different now. More scared than angry. Molly hears something heavy being dragged, then her father calling for an ambulance, claiming that her brother did something called suicide.
Sirens soon begin to wail, and then Molly's mother came upstairs with fake tears in her eyes, telling her that her older brother is gone forever. Molly blinks, confused.
"He'll be back, he said he'll come back for me-" She began, but her mother cut her off. Her eyes had turned cold.
"That will never happen. He's dead, Molly, which means he's never going to come back. Never."
Everything was a blur until the funeral. The adults ignored her when she protested the stiff black dress, even though she said that he hated the color black. During the entire event, his old girlfriend held her hand, crying softly. Afterwards, Molly pulled her aside, telling her that her brother didn't kill himself. She just smiled sorrowfully, kissed he forehead, and explained to her why that couldn't be possible. She explained that there were adults who could look at someone and see how they had died, and said that those people didn't see any chance of what she called "foul play."
Ever since that day, Molly was determined to find out how people had died, and to do it correctly. She never wanted another little girl to spend her entire life worrying and wondering over what exactly had happened when their older brother was killed. She wanted nothing more than to become a pathologist, and be the best that she could be.