uncomfortable for Kevin around the farm, and he didn’t know what to do, who to turn to. He knew he couldn’t tell his parents, because his dad thought the world of Wayne. It was no secret that Wayne was the harder worker and the stronger of the two. He even knew how to drive the old tractor that Kevin could never seem to get the hang of. Kevin had already tried avoiding his older brother altogether, but even that didn’t work. What would it take to stop Wayne’s madness?
Kill him , Kevin heard inside his head. The humming was back again, and this time he had to run to bathroom to stop the nose bleed that accompanied it. Looking in the mirror, he no longer saw the young, innocent eyes of a child; anger had taken away that innocence, his brother had stolen it from him. His small frame began to tremble with fear, as he entertained the idea of killing Wayne.
Not knowing any other way to deal with his situation, Kevin decided to confront Wayne once again. He waited until their free day on Sunday during their parent’s normal nap hiatus. As he made his way to his brother’s room, his heart was thumping loudly once again, and he prayed things would somehow work out in his favor.
Tapping lightly on the closed door, he said, “Wayne, it’s me. Can I come in?”
“No, you can’t! You can stay in your own room, and out of mine!”
Ignoring his brother’s words, he entered anyway. “All of this has to stop, Wayne. I’m not sure why things have gone this far, but this is way out of control. I’m sorry for hitting you with the pennies. Can’t we act like normal brother’s that actually care for each other?”
“But I don’t care about you, little brother ”. Once again Wayne’s words were covered in anger and hate, and Kevin quickly saw things going south.
“What did I do to you that was so bad, Wayne? What?”
“You were born! I never wanted a little brother, anyhow! Why don’t you just disappear? You should run away, and never return!”
CHAPTER 3
Kevin was more than a little hurt by Wayne’s admission that he wasn’t wanted. Not knowing what else to do, he turned and left the room without another word. When he got back to his own room, despair settled in, and he started entertaining Wayne’s idea of running away.
Maybe I could run off to Santa Fe and live on the streets there. The town is a good two hour’s drive south, and the other kids at school have nothing but good things to say about the area. They have a Wal-Mart, so that’s a plus. Or maybe I could move in with Tommy and his family. Would they allow me to stay with them, if I told them the truth? They’d probably just call my parents, and then everything would come out in the open. But was that really such a bad idea? What if mom and dad do find out?
Kevin quickly dismissed the idea of moving in with Tommy. He couldn’t bring anyone else in on his madness, his personal hell. He continued wrestling with the nightmare his life had become, until he finally fell asleep from exhaustion.
Hearing movement inside his room, Kevin slowly opened his eyes, rubbing the sleep from them as he did so. He saw the pillow coming towards his face just in time to turn on his side and bound out of bed. When he got to his feet, he saw his brother Wayne with that same maniacal look in his eyes, coming after him with pillow in hand.
“What are you doing, Wayne?”
Whispering, Wayne said, “I just thought I’d help make you disappear. Think about this for a minute, Kevin. If you’re dead, you won’t have to constantly be looking over your shoulder. You won’t have to worry about what I will do next. Because I can guarantee you that I won’t stop until you’re gone.”
“Do you even hear yourself? You’re talking about killing your own brother, your only sibling. Have you lost your mind?”
“I’m well aware of what I’m doing here, Kevin. Now, lie down and go peacefully.”
Seeing that his brother had finally lost it, Kevin knew he had to get