A Brother's Love
“Adrian, I want to be like you,” Timothy said to me as we watched the football game together. I loved my brother even though sometimes he was a pest at times. But he was only twelve years and he looked up to me. Besides, what would you expect from a twelve-year-old? He expected a lot from me though. He always told my mother that he wanted to be just like me.
“That’s great, Timothy. You will be,” I told him. I smothered his brown hair on his head with my right hand. Then I put my right arm around his neck and gave him a hug and a kiss on his forehead. “Let’s watch the game now,” I said.
“Okay,” he replied
Then the telephone rang.
“Man, I hate that telephone,” Timothy said.
“I know, little bro, but I have to answer it,” I said. And I did. It was my girlfriend, Gina. We had an argument earlier in the day and I didn’t want to speak to her because I was having a good time watching the game. The argument was over some stupid rumor, so I just wanted to let it go. But she didn’t want to. She brought it up again on the phone, so I hung up on her. She made me angry. I was with my little brother and I didn’t want to show it in front of him. He was watching me, talking on the phone, more than watching the game. I didn’t hide the angry feeling well because I slammed the phone very hard.
“What’s wrong, Adrian. Did Gina make you mad again?” he asked.
“Yeah, Timothy,” I said.
“I hate Gina,” Timothy said.
“Timothy, why? She hasn’t done anything to you,” I said.
“No, but she made you mad. I hate it when she makes you mad, brother” he replied.
“Timothy, that happens in relationships. You’ll see that when you start dating girls,” I said.
“When I grow up, I’m never going to date girls. Especially girls with the name Gina,” he said.
“Timothy, don’t worry. Gina and I will work everything out. Now let’s watch the game,” I said as I pointed to the television. I’ve never seen Timothy talk like that before. Maybe he was just growing up. Thirty minutes passed and then he asked another question.
“Adrian, how would you feel if something bad happened to Gina?” he said.
“What do you mean ‘bad’?” I asked.
“Would you be happy if she died?” he asked.
“No, I wouldn’t, Timothy, I love her. Where did you come up with a question like that? That’s a terrible question,” I said.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“That’s okay,” I said and I gave him a hug. If anything did happen to Gina, it would be a tragedy. I loved her and I didn’t want to lose her. I was going over to her house tonight and I knew we would work things out. Then I heard a car pull in. It was my mother.
“Mom’s here. Alright,” Timothy said as he jumped off the couch. Mom walked in with two grocery bags. Timothy grabbed one and helped my mother carry them to the kitchen.
“Adrian, go take out the trash. Jeremy’s coming tonight. Pick up that bowl of popcorn and take it to the kitchen,” she said. Jeremy was my mother’s boyfriend. My father and mother were divorced and we were living with her. She started dating three months ago. But I didn’t like the guy she was dating. He tried to be my father and I didn’t like that. Timothy didn’t like him either. I wished that my mother and my father were together again. I missed him.
“I’ll do it in a minute,” I said.
“Now, Adrian.”
“Alright.” I got off the couch and grabbed the bowl. I was angry and when I picked up the bowl and I dropped some popcorn on the carpet floor.
“Look what you did,” my mother said as she pointed to the mess.
“Sorry mom,” I replied. I picked up the popcorn and threw it back into the bowl. Timothy stared at us and watched the whole commotion. I threw the bowl on the table. I wanted mother to realize that I didn’t like the whole situation of Jeremy coming over because I didn’t like him, but she wasn’t willing to accept it. “I’m going out tonight,” I told her.
“No you’re not. I want everybody here when Jeremy comes over. It’s going to be like a family dinner.”
“But it’s not mom. Jeremy’s not family,” I told her and it made her angry. I wished I hadn’t said that. She went up to me and slapped me on the face.
“Don’t speak to me like that. Go to your room,” she said and pointed upstairs. I gave her a dirty look and walked to the front door. I grabbed my coat and opened the front door.
“Adrian, you’re not leaving. Go upstairs this minute,” my mother yelled.
“Adrian, don’t leave,” Timothy said as he ran to me and grabbed my arm. I looked down at him.
“It’s okay Timothy. I’m coming back. I’m just going to Gina’s to blow off some steam. I’ll be back. Mom is just upset right now.”
“I hate it when she gets like that. I hate it when she yells at you,” he said and he started crying.
“It’s going to be okay Timothy. Just go upstairs to your room and behave when Jeremy comes. I don’t want mom getting angry with you. Here’s Gina number. Call me if anything happens,” I said. I gave him a piece of paper with Gina’s number. I had to get out of the house. I hated when my mom defended Jeremy. It seemed she cared more about him than us. Timothy ran upstairs.
“Adrian, get back here,” my mother yelled again, but I didn’t listen. I walked out of the door and I went to Gina’s.
When I got there, I told her what happened. She understood, because she knew the whole situation ever since it started. She’s been there for me ever since my parents had the divorce. We were together through a lot of things. We also solved the argument we had earlier. It was just some stupid rumor someone told me at school about Gina. I knew I should have trusted her more than someone else’s word of mouth. She forgave me and we talked through the whole night about us. We talked about our future. After I graduated I was leaving Abernathy and I was going live with my dad in Austin. I had to get away from the house. My mother and I were not doing so well. I asked Gina if she wanted to come with me and she said yes. Her parents and her were going through a difficult phase also. And if Timothy wanted to come with us, I’d also take him. I loved my little brother. He hated when mother and I got into arguments. He always took my side. But I ended up leaving and he ended up going upstairs. He looked up to me a lot. He always told my mother that he wanted to be like me. At times he’d ask me to play with him, and I would say no. He would then go outside by himself. My mother would tell me how much Timothy loved me. She always said how much he worshipped the ground I walked on. And I knew he did. I ended up feeling bad and then I would going outside and play with him. When he’d see me walk out of the house, he looked up at me and his face lit up. He’d run to me, hug me, and tell me that he loved me. Then we would play football or basketball together. I loved those moments.
Then Gina’s phone rang. She answered it and gave the phone to me. It was Timothy.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Adrian, please come over. Something happened to mommy. I think Jeremy did something to her. I’m scared,” he said.
“Timothy calm down. Is he still in the house?” I asked.
“Yeah. Please come Adrian. I’m scared,” he said.
“Timothy, I coming. Go upstairs and hide in your room. Lock the door. Only open it if I call your name, okay,” I said.
“Okay big brother. I’ll be waiting,” and he hung up.
“What’s wrong?” Gina asked.
“Something’s wrong at my house. I got to go,” I said and I grabbed my coat.
“I’m coming with you,” Gina said.
“No stay here. There might be trouble,” I said
“Adrian. I’m coming with you. I’ve been with you through everything and I’m going to be with you through this,” She said as she grabbed my arm. I looked at her and smiled. I kissed her on the lips. I loved her.
“Okay,” I said and we drove to my house. When we got there, the only lights that were lit were the ones in Timothy’s room and the kitchen. I grabbed a bat by the front door for protection. It was Timothy’s bat from softball. I bought it for his birthday. We walked to the front door and to my surprise, it was already wide open. I walked in with Gina behind me. I walked slowly to the kitchen. No one was there. But we saw a trail of blood from the kitchen to the living room. We followed the blood. Then we saw someone sitting on the couch, but it was too dark to see who it was.
“Mom, Jeremy, Timothy?” I asked, but no one answered. Suddenly the television turned on. The living room was lit. From the back, the body looked to be Jeremy’s.
“Jeremy?” I called to him, but he didn’t answer. Gina and I walked slowly to his body. There was blood everywhere. I grabbed him by the shoulders. And I shook him, but there was no response. “Jeremy?” I asked, but he still didn’t answer. Then his body moved and he fell on the floor. And we saw why he didn’t respond. His mouth had been taped and his throat had been slit. His legs were broken. I looked at the bat I was holding and with the lights of the television, I saw blood all over the end of the bat. Someone used it on Jeremy’s legs. I didn’t like Jeremy, but no one should ever die like this.
“Oh my God,” Gina said. She put her hand over her mouth because she wanted to vomit.
“Use the telephone in the dining room and call the police,” I said.
“I’m not walking around by myself,” she replied.
“Hold on,” I said and I walked to the kitchen. I looked under the kitchen sink and found what I was looking for. It was a gun in a small safe. My father gave it to me when I was little. He hid for me so if trouble ever occurred no one else knew where it would be except him and I. And we only knew the combination for the small safe. I grabbed the gun and I gave it to Gina.
“Use it if you see anything move. Watch out for Timothy. I think he’s in his room hiding. I don’t think Jeremy did this. Someone else is in the house,” I said.
“Okay. I’ll go call the police. Be careful honey,” Gina said and she gave me a hug.
“You too baby,” I said. I hoped that nothing would happen to her. “Go call the police. I am going to look for my mom. After you call the police, look for Timothy,” I said.
“Okay.” And then she left to the dining room. I went to my mother’s den. The door was closed. I grabbed the doorknob and it opened. No one was in den, but the bathroom light was on. I saw water on the den’s bathroom floor. I walked slowly toward the bathroom with the bat in my hand. I turned the corner to enter the bathroom. I became stunned at what I saw. My mother was on her knees with her face in the overflowed bathroom sink. She wasn’t moving.
“Mom?” I asked, but she didn’t answer. I grabbed her shoulders and shook her, but she made no response. “Mom?” I asked again, but there still wasn’t any answer. I placed the bloody bat on the floor and I put my arms around my mother’s waist. I lifted her face out of the sink. I sat her by the wall of the bathroom. Her eyes and mouth were wide open. Her face was blue. She didn’t die of drowning she died of strangulation. I could see the rope marks around her neck. I cried for my mother and I hugged her. I kissed her on the forehead. I wanted to get the bastard that did this to her. Then I heard a thump from upstairs.
“No! Oh my God, Timothy!” The voice said. It was Gina’s voice. Timothy and Gina were in trouble. The killer was upstairs. I tried grabbing the bat, but it wasn’t on the floor where I left it. Maybe I misplaced it. I didn’t have time to look for it. I had to go upstairs. I walked through the dining room and I looked at the table with a telephone. The gun was by the phone and it was the one I gave Gina earlier. Gina didn’t having any protection so I had to hurry. I grabbed the gun and ran upstairs. I slowly walked to Timothy’s room. I heard movement in there. I hoped to God that the killer wasn’t doing anything to Gina. I’m going kill that bastard. I opened Timothy’s bedroom door and I saw Timothy sitting on his bed. He ran to me and gave me a hug.
“You came. I knew you would big brother. I knew you wouldn’t let me down,” he said.
“Is everything alright, Timothy?” I thought I heard Gina’s voice up here?” I asked.
“No she’s not here. Where’s mommy?” he asked.
“She’s dead, Timothy.” I said as I looked down.
“Mommy’s dead,” he said then he started crying. Then I looked up and observed his bedroom. I haven’t been in his bedroom for a month. I saw pictures of him and me on the walls. He also had drawings of him and me, and on the bottom of each drawing, it said ‘I love my big brother. I want to be like him.’ And he had my shirt that I was missing for two weeks. It was lying on his bed.
“I thought you didn’t know where that shirt was?” I asked.
“I found it today. I was going to give it to you, but you left,” he said as he continued to cry. Then I saw something hanging on his dresser mirror. I walked toward it and got a closer look. It was a picture of me with but my face was cut out. He replaced it with his face from another picture. It was strange to see a picture of his face on my body. Timothy wasn’t his usual self. The room was a place of obsession.
“Why did you do that?” I asked.
“Because I love you, bro and I want to be like you,” he replied. Then I heard knocking in his closet. The closet door flew opened and Gina and the softball bat fell out. Gina was crying, her mouth was taped, and her hands and feet tied up. Her face and arms had bruises on them. Her shirt was torn and bloody. Timothy then ran to where she was lying. He grabbed her by the hair and lifted her head. He pulled out a knife he had in his back pocket. He placed the knife at her throat
“Timothy, what are you doing?” I asked. He never acted this strange before.
“I want to kill her, Adrian. She makes you mad all of the time and I hate it when she does that. You don’t need her,” he said. Then everything hit me. I didn’t want to believe it at first, but then I knew that Timothy killed Jeremy and my mother.
“What did you do to Jeremy?” I asked him.
“I got rid of him brother. You didn’t like him and he made you angry. I hate it when they make you angry. I love you big brother,” he said.
“Why mom? You didn’t have to do that to her,” I said.
“It was hard for me to get rid of mom, but I thought about the way she yelled at you all of the time. I hated when she did that to you brother,” he said.
“Please, Timothy let Gina go. I love you brother. Please let her go,” I pleaded with him.
“No. If I get rid of her, it will be just you and me, big brother. Wouldn’t you like that?” he asked. I didn’t know what to say. I had to say something so he wouldn’t do anything to Gina. I looked at Gina and I saw tears fall from her face. I lifted the gun and pointed it to Timothy. I didn’t want to. But I had to save Gina’s life.
“Please let her go,” I said and I started crying.
“No. This is for the both of us,” he said and then he slit her throat and I shot at him. He fell to the floor and dropped the knife. I ran to Gina and I took off the tape.
She was bleeding severely and I couldn’t stop it.
“Don’t die on me Gina, baby. Please don’t,” I said. Then she looked up at me and collapsed. She was dead. “No,” I yelled. I lifted her body and I hugged her. I then caressed her long dark hair and kissed on the forehead. I couldn’t believe what happened. As I was about to walk out, I turned around to look at Timothy. His eyes were still opened and he was staring at me. He was also bleeding severely. He raised his arms toward me.
“I love you big brother. I just wanted… I just wanted to be like you,” he said.
“I love you too little brother,” I replied. And I did, no matter what he had done. But at that moment, I wished the worst for him. His arms fell and his eyes closed. He stopped breathing. “Timothy?” I asked, but he didn’t answer. He was dead. I lost my family and my girlfriend all because of a brother’s love.
