The Perfect-ish Brother

~5~

"It is my fault Mairo killed herself Kess, I admit it. I promised Dad to keep you and Mairo safe, and I failed" He sighs and continues.

"I admit I've not been the world's best brother but I mean it when I say I'll always protect you Kess. You're the only good thing I've got in my life and I'd die for you"

"If you had protected Mairo with such ferocity then she'd still be here" I scoff and walk to the car while hooking the necklace around my neck.

Life with Rukeme since Dad left was never easy. He became obsessed with being the man Dad never was and it drove him to the deep end of perfectionism.

But the flaw in that mindset is that no one is perfect.

Mairo, my older sister and I became social experiments to him. He began to treat us with his version of love which was outright possession.

It went on until, Mairo discovered that being 18 meant you're officially an adult.
She rebelled.....hard! I'm talking full on juvenile delinquency.

She started doing drugs and partying, inadvertently creating a cold hearted monster in Rukeme.

He chased her out of the house.

Claimed she was more than he could handle.

Truth was, he never tried to handle her. Never tried to handle any of us, he just pushed us aside when he felt we could never live up to his 'standards'.

It was this same standards that Mairo eventually killed herself for.

My father called it cowardice, but I call it 'every single day of my life'.

With Mairo gone, Rukeme cranked his overprotective nature up a notch. We moved to a new town, new school, I'm not allowed to go everywhere, talk to everyone, eat everything or wear what I want.

I'm just stuck in this titanium bubble with no room to breathe.

And what sucks most is that my family was never this dysfunctional in the beginning.

We shared a few laughs and close calls. We had nicknames and a fancy picture album with all our memories.

It felt real.

It was real.

But then, a family should be more than that.

~~~~~~~
I can feel Rukeme's intense gaze after I furiously slam the car door.

I spot that weirdo from yesterday staring at Rukeme like his life depended on it. I roll my eyes at how unsubtle he was being and brush past him in disgust.

He seems to be awakened from whatever spell's got him and he practically yells my name,

"Hey Kess, wait up!

I pause for a second on impulse then pick up my pace.

"Kess, I'm calling you"

Can't this dude take a hint?

"And I'm avoiding you!" I deadpan.

"Why do you hate me?! We literally just met!" He sounds frustrated.

Just like me.

I stop and clench my fists in order to get a grip on myself and to ignore how vulnerable he's making himself.

Any idiot can put two and two together and figure out that this dude has some approval issues, and if there's one thing life has taught me, its to make yourself totally unreadable.

I fold my arms and turn around and stare at him with a bored look. I also choose to ignore the way something flickers in his eyes for a millisecond when he looks at me.

"Hate is a strong word but its also very appropriate" I say.

"I'm sorry Kess, I overreacted......"

I completely zone out, I scale my eyes through his face.....Its rather unnerving that a teenage boy like him would go through this much trouble to keep his reputation.

Much trouble to remain...dare I say it, perfect.

I snap back to reality and find Rukeme leaning lazily at the school gate glaring daggers at the guy.

"Crap!" I cuss loudly and sprint to the assembly hall feeling a tad bit guilty for leaving the dude to face the wrath of an overprotective brother.

R.I.P curly haired guy.

Author's note

Who else has an overprotective brother?
Mine is younger and is somewhat obsessed with me.....
Vote and comment your opinion on Rukeme.

Thanks y'all!