• It was a Monday night; I remember it like it was yesterday.
    My little Brother sitting between my knees that are raise to my chest, his back to me.
    We were hiding out from our parents during their third fight of the night, mom had thrown two cups and a chair already, and dad had decked her twice.
    I gently stroked his hair, and felt his breathing…Shallow, as he had just stopped crying.
    He ran his hand along the length of my thigh, distracting himself from the screaming.

    “You love me right?” I asked, talking lowly into his ear.
    “Of course, you’re my Brother…” He patted my thigh lightly. “It’s a given isn’t it?”
    “Well no, just because I’m your Brother doesn’t mean you have to love me.” I mused, ruffling his hair, and then fixing it.
    “That may be, but I do anyways, if you weren’t my Brother, you’d be my closest friend and I’d love you like family either way.” He was speaking more seriously then I had asked the question.
    “Would you, help me no matter what?”
    “Well yeah, again you’re my Brother I’d do anything for you.” He answered, turning his head slightly to see me from the corner of his eye.
    “Would you, die for me?”
    “I’d gladly give my life for yours.” He answered again, a dead serious look upon his face.
    “So you’d take a bullet for me?”
    He winced as another item crashed against a wall, and more screams ensued.
    “I just said that didn’t, I?”
    I reached under the pillow behind my back and pull out a small hand gun I had gotten off a guy at school, I was going to fix this.
    “What about taking a bullet from me?”
    I fumbled with the slide, not knowing actually how to work it, aside from the trigger.
    “What are you doing!?” His voice panicked as I charged the chamber with a round and placed the barrel lightly against the back of his head.
    “Just answer…” Trying to keep my voice calm and soft.
    He paused for a full moment, grasping what I offered to him.
    “Yes.” He whispered tilting his head back farther into the barrel.


    “…Thank you.”
    That was the last time I saw my Brother.