He’s the bravest fucking person I know.
He’s choosing to walk away from everything and everyone he’s ever known—solely because his conscience wouldn’t let him play a role he didn’t believe in.
Whereas I’m the kind of guy who walks away from a stray kitten because looking after it would be too damn inconvenient.
Sean would never. Sean brought home a stray dog with severe trauma and tried to rehabilitate it despite everyone else telling him it was a lost cause.
And when the cause was finally lost, what did Sean do? He looked that fucking dog in the eye when he shot him.
Then he’d buried the animal himself.
Thatis the kind of man my brother is.
That is the kind of man I want to be one day, whenever the hell I grow up.
It’s the first time I’ve ever thought about growing up as something to aspire to.
But sometimes, time doesn’t change you.
Moments do.
And in this moment, staring down at this ratty little kitten, I feel myself changing.
I bend down and scoop the cat up with one hand. I hold him close to my body as I walk back to the mansion. He purrs contentedly the entire time. Far from being annoying, I actually find it soothing.
Despite the hour, the house is still lit up when I enter.
I head to the kitchen and pour some milk into a saucer. I’m watching the kitten drink when I feel a shadow at my back.
“Ma.”
“You bought home a stray,” she observes.
“It’s what Sean would have done.”
She walks into the kitchen, rounds in front of me, and her blue eyes find mine. She already looks like she hasn’t slept for days.
“That is the last time you’ll mention his name,” she tells me.
Her voice doesn’t shake. Not even a little.
Sometimes I wonder if Ma gets her strength from Da, or if it’s the other way around.
“Are those your orders?” I ask. “Or Da’s?”
“We are one and the same in this matter.”
“Then what were you arguing about before?” I challenge.
Her eyes turn cold. “That is none of your concern.”
Of course it isn’t. It’s never mattered how fiercely they disagree—Ma and Da always put up a united front.
I used to think it was one of their biggest strengths.
Now, I see how dangerous it is. How toxic.
“I won’t ever stop talking about my brother,” I tell her defiantly.