“What the fuck did you do!” I shout, grabbing her hand and pulling her back to the alley door she just walked through.
“No, Michael, please. I can't see him like that again. I loved him once. Remember? He was supposed to be my forever instead of that prick Ricky.”
Shayna rambles as I continue to drag her to the backlot.
Halting, she drops onto her knees and begs me to spare her. “Please. I'll do anything. But please, my son doesn't deserve to be an orphan. I'm sorry I called him. I was just pissed that you guys came to my bar of all places.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I roar then slap her across the cheeks and pick her up, shaking her like a rag doll.
“I'm sorry,” she whispers, and I toss her to the side.
It’s so dark out here. No lights or even stars, but I can tell that something horrible happened.
Turning on my flashlight app on my phone, my hand won't stop shaking.
I know I should turn around and tell the guys, but seeing my brother, my twin, laying there completely broken and not moving, I feel a sense of relief.
I know I'm fucked up. But if he's no longer around, maybe I'll finally get Kiernan to myself. I won't have to continue to compete with him.
It's exhausting being the other twin. The one who got shitty grades and into fights.
Growing up a twin isn't for the faint of heart. From day one it's a competition. Who can crawl first, talk, walk.
Who will be the perfect son and sleep through the night, while the other has constant ear aches and is exhausting.
From the start I was always twin number two, fighting to be seen, heard, loved.
Brian was always the one favored. The one picked first to play dodgeball. The one all the girls had a crush on.
The teachers loved him and so did the coaches.
He had it easy as I fought tooth and nail just for his leftover scraps.
But if he's gone now, I won't have to deal with that anymore.
I can hear the sirens down the road, and I know my time is running out. Brian grunts but it's weak.
Dropping to my knees, I touch his cheek. His eyes cracked open, but they are almost completely swollen shut.
“Fuck, bro,” I whisper, and he leans into my touch.
“Help,” he croaks. He looks so pitiful. I'm doing him a favor.
Glancing over my shoulder, I shine the flashlight. Shayna is still on the ground.
She might be a problem.
“Mike,” Brian gasps. The sirens are growing louder, and I can see the lights in the distance.
“Goodbye, brother.”
Covering his nose and mouth he doesn't even have the strength to fight me. Biting my lip, I close my eyes and count to ten.
Brian twitches once, and then he's still.
“What? What the hell did you do?” Shayna screeches.
Wiping the blood off of my hands on my black slacks, I climb back onto my feet and move closer to her.