//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: Restless Nights pt2 // Story: Strength of a Brother's Bond // by Trexorb //------------------------------// Chapter 14 “Oh come on Will. Just watch this one episode with me. ONE. You won’t lose any manliness because of it.” My brother pleaded, continuing his begging for me to watch just one episode of his new favorite show. Something like My Little Pony or something. “Not that you had much to begin with.” He muttered at the end. “Hey, I heard that!” I shouted. Drew physically flinched in his seat, eyes wide as he realized his mistake. It was an average day for us, one busy doing work and the other busy with..... nothing really. Drew was just setting up the television so he would be able to watch his favorite show, while I was across the room, busy with a stupid calculus problem that was just irritating me. “Besides, I have to finish this work and then...” I was cut off with our parents entering the living room, the sound of yelling and directing being made as they walked closer to us. They were both in their early forties, mom wearing her black secretary dress with stylish belt around her waist, and father in his suit, all formal and prep for business. And as usual, they were both busy on their own cell phones, hurrying to put on their black shoes as they rushed towards the door for the garage. “Hey dad!” Drew beckoned to our distracted father, hoping that this one chance, he can finally answer him. To have a parent finally acknowledge him. His hopes were raised as the father stopped in his tracks, moving his phone away from his face to finally answer his precious son. Something I rarely seen since.... ever. Mom just kept walking, not wanting to be included in this morning’s discussion. And that made father different from her. He actually stopped to acknowledge Drew. He may actually love- “Ughhhh, what is it, Anthony? Can’t you see daddy is busy right now?” The annoyed father patiently said, poison sneering from his word as he gritted his teeth. You could see that he was not in a good morning mood, nor was he expecting any interruptions from his workload of a schedule. “I-it’s Andrew, actually.” My brother corrected him, stuttering all the while. He hadn't expected his own father to attack him like this. Just for a simple question. “Um, I-I-I was w-w-wondering if-f-f...” “‘If-f-f-f-f...’ Spit it out already! I got a schedule to keep and I rather not be late to the nine o’clock appointment because my own son doesn't know how to speak proper english to me! Now what is it, you little brat?” Father snapped, slamming his phone on the counter and raising his fist towards the child to hurry and speak his mind. Drew stepped back in fear, tripping over his own legs and falling flat on his back. He didn’t want to feel his father’s wrath. Not after seeing what he did to me last time. Just because I disturbed him for some homework help. I think I still have a scar somewhere.... “N-n-nothing dad. Nothing at all.” Drew said in defeat, lowering his head in shame for disturbing his father. Father sighed in annoyance, muttering as he hurried towards the garage door. “Stupid child. Wasting my god damn time. Now I’m two minutes late because of the stupid brat....” With those last villainous words, he slammed the door behind him, having the once happy room to be filled with sadness and rage for the remaining party. I could only glare at the garage door as the sound of two cars starting on the other side filled the room. The nerve of them, father just yelling at Drew just because we kept him from working less than a fucking minute, and our mom leaving, not wanting to help my brother against this monster. I should have done something, but against a man like that, what could I do? Next time.... Next time, I’ll beat his ass if he dares talk to Drew like that. I’ll give him a big fucking.... The sound of a young boy crying grabbed my attention back from my own thoughts. I turned my head only to see Drew, hugging his knees while still sitting on the frigid tile floor. Tears were slowly falling down his eyes as he cried into his arms. I could hear some whimpering as well, having my heart crushed by the droplets that were splashing against the floor. I can’t just leave him like this. He’s my brother, damn it. Unlike my parents, I actually care about him. I have to help cheer him up.... Still sitting in my chair, my eyes darted around the room to think of the right words to say. Unfortunately, all I could think of was: “Hey.... you ok?” …. God damn it, I’m terrible at this.... He lifted his head slightly, my crying brother whimpered only a “mmmhmm.” Drew had most of his tears gone, but his face still showed signs of distress. I honestly didn't know what to do much, seeing the only real affection I got was from my teachers saying “Good job!” on a test. I need to help him smile again. No, I have to do better than that... Thinking of something to comfort him with, I went up to Drew and held him close. I held him tight in my arms to tell him it’s ok. To tell him that I’m still here, that I’ll still be here to protect him and that I won’t be leaving him. Not like those our parents. I held him close, not wanting to let go of my own brother. He didn't need to be yelled at for such a stupid reason. He’s just a kid, a lonely kid that has no one to pay attention to...... not even me. I squeezed Drew tighter in my arms as we both sat on the floor. I should.... No. I need to be a better brother. I’m just like my parents, too damn busy to take care of him. No, I will never be like them damn it! I won’t leave a child alone to a monster, not like what mom just did. I won’t attack my own flesh and blood like father. And I swear I won’t leave Drew all alone, not like his ‘friends’. I will love and cherish him. He’s... he’s the only real family I have with me. And I’m all he really has left as well...I will protect him I’m his brother damn it! And I will do what I can to protect him... to protect my own little brother. I...I will be his Guardian. I held Drew in my arms as we both sat there on the floor. Whispering into his ears, I tried to tell him that it was all ok, while he kept on sniffling in my arms. I wanted my brother to be happy, not like this. As I continued to comfort him, I looked around the room from my lower perspective, only to see something that made me scared. Something that was important.... The sound of mechanical motors were heard from behind, having my heart race, realizing what will occur soon. If I’m gonna be Drew’s guardian now, I need to start acting like one. Meaning to hurry and get him the hell out now, before he has to face another rage attack. “Drew... go to your room...” “Why?” Drew sniffed as he lifted his head curiously, wiping his eyes “Because... if you don’t, you’ll be in more pain. Now please, listen to your big brother and go before-” “WHERE THE HELL IS MY PHONE?!?!” Shit... Too late... Drew and I both shot up to a stand at the sound of the shouting. Slamming the door wide open, our now red-faced father stormed into the room, his eyes darting all around the house for his precious device. “I know my phone is somewhere in this room! I must’ve left it when YOU distracted me from work! Stupid little brat!” He yelled as he pointed at Drew. Drew flinched, suddenly hiding behind me for protection. Our father continued searching until he found his desired technology, grabbing it and returning back to his car. Come on now, defend him damn it. “Hey! It wasn’t Drew’s fault, you know! So stop blaming him!” The man froze in his tracks with his back facing towards us. Silence swept the room as I could suddenly realize what I did. I could hear the my father’s breathing grow slower and angrier. “What... did you say?” Our father slowly turned, his eyes stabbing dagger into my flesh as he did so. I felt Drew’s hands grip with more force as he glared our way. “I...I said it wasn’t Drew’s fault! S-so stop b-blaming him!” Am I losing confidence already? Oh god.... What am I doing? “Are you saying that I’m wrong? ME?! Your own father... wrong?” He stepped closer, his eyes never losing focus as he spoke. I cringed as I remembered a crucial information. You never, EVER, tell father he’s wrong. “Are you saying,” He continued, placing his phone into his pocket as not to damage it. His fingers curled up slowly, but tight as his face seemed to turn an even brighter shade of red. “That I.... made a mistake? That it wasn’t this little BRATS fault I now missed my nine o’clock meeting with the CEO!!” “Drew.... get to your room... now...” I quietly said to the scared child behind me. “But Will...” “Go. Now, Drew.” I could sense Drew’s hesitation at first, but he finally obeyed and let go. I could hear his little footsteps go towards his room, meaning that he was going to be safe for a little bit. “Hey! Where do you think your going, you little shit!!” Our tempered father shouted after the running boy..... Wait, what the fuck did he call Drew? “He’s just going to his room. Nothing wrong with that, right?” “Of course there is! He’s leaving without his punishment! DREW GET BACK HERE NOW!!” “He doesn’t have to listen to you!” “Like hell he does! I am his father and he will obey me!” “Since when do you act like a father at all!” “THE FUCK DID YOU SAY TO ME?!?” “I’M SORRY LET ME REPEAT SO IT CAN GET THROUGH THAT THICK HEAD OF YOURS! I SAID ‘SINCE WHEN DO YOU ACT LIKE A FATHER AT ALL?!?’ YOU’RE NEVER HERE FOR US, YOU NEVER SHOW THAT YOU CARE, YOU’RE ALWAYS YELLING AT US! YOU-” “YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE FATHER FOR YOU SHIT HEADS! WHO FEEDS YOU? I DO! WHO GIVES YOU A HOME? I DO!! WHO GAVE YOU LIFE?!? I DID!!! I DID EVERYTHING FOR YOU BOTH AND THIS IS THE THANKS I GET?” The monster lifted his fist high in the air, having me able to see the past bruises on his knuckles. And then..... “YOU UNGRATEFUL FUCKING BRAT!!!” *WHACK* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Present Time Inside a large green tent, a troubled dragon was having difficulties going into a deep sleep. His body was sweating profoundly as he kept tossing and turning in his bed, muttering to himself about protection and a horrid monster. Sheets and pillows were all on the floor, the dragon moving himself as he felt more and more pain in his own mind. His player, Ava, just sat next to the sweating drake, rocking himself back and forth in his own imaginary chair. The god-in-training stared off into space as he was deep with his own thinking. “William.... Why do you even risk so much for this brother of yours?” He asked the slumbering dragon, with his focus towards the opening of the tent. He sighed in frustration, pinching the bridge between his eyes. “Cause this love, while precious, will get yourself killed. And I rather not have a dead piece on me already.” The concerned deity got up from his rocking chair, which poofed from existence, then stretched out his wings and arms, and sighed again. He was watching and training Komodo for about a week now, each with only little improvement. At first it was going well, during the day Komodo would eat gems, repair some of the burnt homes, and build the wall, while being ridiculed and blamed for the destruction of the town. He could handle the ridicule with Ava being there, always telling him the optimistic side of it with “Oh, at least you’re famous now!” or “I bet they called you a female dog only because of that thin figure you have!” The night, though, was all focused on training him in the ‘daydream’, teaching him more and more about the history, techniques, and his limits. It was all a good plan at first.... till the ‘nightmares’ came. “I should have known... I should have remembered.... Stupid side effect.... We were pushing it too much and now this is happening. I should’ve stopped when it started but he wanted to get stronger... Just for his little brother...” Ava groaned as he exited out the tent for fresh air. The thing he forgot was that even though the ‘daydream’ is an excellent place to learn and communicate while living in a dream, the side effects were suppressed memories that people would have to relive and feeling every single senses that took place in those memories. Komodo was now feeling the same pain, over and over again, from the overuse of the imagination land. The god-in-training could only do so much for his piece, now being limited to help. He couldn’t go back into Komodo’s mind for awhile now, it would only accelerate the nightmare’s effect. There was no known cure for ‘nightmares’. Nothing that that the trainee god knew. He could only try and control the drake during the day as he was for the past three days. In the night, he could only wait it out... The ‘nightmare’ caused Komodo to be more aggressive towards the townsfolk during the day, sometimes snapping back at them from their insults or even threatening to eat them. One time, he was so close to biting off the mayor’s hoof when she just asked him to rebuild a section of the wall to extend it. If it wasn’t for Ava stopping him at the last minute, the mayor would’ve been walking on one less hoof. Nonetheless, he still took out his anger by blowing up the wall that needed extending...... and then some. “*Sigh* There has to be something... something that can help him instead of just waiting....” The vest wearing god said to himself as he scanned the area. All he could see were closed homes, dark windows, and burning lanterns in the streets. He scratched his head in thought as he tried to come up with a plan..... …... …... …... “Well. I got nothing.....” ….. “Shit...” Sighing in frustration, the god-in-training looked up towards the moonlight night, with nothing but the stars and the shining sphere that filled it. Both of his empty eyes stared directly into the moon, doing the one thing that he hated. One of the reasons for why he even aimed to be a god was to escape it... but now, he had to do it, to get help for his piece... for his friend. So... The god closed his voided eyes, went down on his knees..... Then he begged... He begged to the princess of the night for help. To help with his friend’s sickness, that it doesn’t pain him anymore. Not for more power as a god. Not for an impossible cure. Just something to help ease the pain... Be there for him.... He needs you “GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...” The troubled screamed escaped from the tent just as Ava heard an answer. The god-in-training sighed heavily, then made his way back to the tent. He froze just at the entrance, his hands gliding over the flap for the door. Be there for him eh? The player looked back towards the sky, having a small smile be seen only by the moon herself. “Heh... if you say so, princess....” With that, the player went back to his piece... No, his friend, to help ease the burden of the nightmares. "But I’m sure I’m the one that needs him....”