The Silent Fighter

Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Damon's POV

After I woke up the next morning, I sneak downstairs. I'd come home after school and say I stayed at a 'friend's house'.

Yes, you could call Keith and I dynamic duo when it came to getting into or out of trouble, since we were practically best friends. The only thing that may have caused conflict between us was bets, girls, sports, and that was all competitive conflict.

Zeke and I, on the other hand, don't get along well. At all. There really wasn't any specific reason, at least that I know of, and it was probably part of the whole oldest versus youngest conflict. He always sought a chance to embarrass me or bust me, as long as I got some kind of negative response. That's the reason why I had to make sure he didn't see me yesterday, or he would've 'tattle-taled' on me, essentially. There was no kindness between us whatsoever, not even at family functions, parties, ecetra.

I krept down the stairs, backpack over my shoulder, feeling like I was a secret spy, creeping in the field in the enemy. Dramatic? Yes, since birth. I let out a big breath when I got down the stairs without a sound. I triumphently, and not to mention, quietly, to the kitchen. I opened the pantry and grabbed two protein bars to eat before practice this morning.

All of a sudden, the lights flicked on and twirled around to see Zeke, arms crossed, sleepy eyes, and his side resting on the wall. "Why are you here, Damon? I thought you were at a friends."

"It's none of your buissness, Zeke. I'm going to practice," I grumble as I brush past him. Of course, I don't really play football anymore, since I got kicked off the team.

"You'd think that you'd be happier to see me since last I've been here. It's been almost a year, now, you know," Zeke grabs my arm turning me to face him. "Look, I'm sorry for beng such an ass when we were younger and-" I gapes harder at him as I quickly correct him.

"When we were younger, Zeke? Just when we were younger? So you were just natuarally an asshole all those years in high school, or middle school, or last time I flipping saw you? Well, that definetly explains it," I say sarcastically. "Thanks so much, big brother, for the apology, because I totally except it."

Before he can respond, I yank my arm out of his grip and walk out of the door to the car. I guess my brother would have to take one of the other cars, because I couldn't stay here any longer. I pulled out of our driveway before driving off to school for football practice.

****
Keith's POV
****

I woke up to knocking on my bedroom door.

I growled loudly before grunting a loud "Hm". The door opened revealing my older brother Zeke. I couldn't help but look at him in slight disgust.

Zeke had caused a lot of depression and stress for Damon, and I watched. Zeke would say something that would hit you to where you were completely wounded and vulnerable for him to say something else. Damon tried to get closer Zeke, as a little boy who adored his older brother should, and Zeke was so stuck in the fact that Damon was the baby who got all the attention, he ignored, or cut down Damon. Ever since, Damon has ruined himself. He's gotten himself involved in things he never should got involved in, and continues to. It's eating him from inside, out, and he just ignores my pleas to help him. It was all Zeke's fault.

"What do you want, Zeke?" I sit up and rub my hands over my face.

"Well, first off, Damon took the car. And second- you too? What the hell did I do?" Zeke raises his arms in confusion. Was he really that oblivious?

"I guess you're driving me to school, then," I grumble, ignoring his questions. I get out bed and heading to my closet to grab a tshirt and gym shorts. Then, I head to my bathroom to shower and brush my teeth.

By the time I get out, Zeke is still in my room, but he's sitting on the edge of my bed with his head in his hands. "Why do you guys hate me?" He rasps out. When he lifts his head, it reveals his tear streaked face and now stormy blue, red tinted eyes. His brown hair, which he and I shared, while Damon is a blonde, was on his forehead as if he'd had it pressed there.

"You are so oblivious, Zeke, of everything you do," I point at him, not showing the slight pity I had began to feel. "You hurt him, Zeke. You wouldn't let him in."

"What are you talking about- 'let him in'? And how am I oblivious if I haven't been here for a year and have no reason to know what's wrong with him?"

"No reason?" My voice was partly sad and livid. "No reason? He's your baby brother, Zeke, and you let him fall. He looked up to! You were practically a god to him, and what do you do? Insult him. Hurt him. Embarass him. If you were really that concerned about what went on here in Chicago, you would've called us from LA, you stupid ass."

Zeke looked on the verge of tears gain as he looked at my stone cold face. "I didn't mean to hurt him, I swear. He was just another sibling for me to pick on. Surely I didn't hurt him that badly," Zeke tried to reason, more with himself than me. I scoffed, noting the fact he rarely picked on me, especially as bad as he did Damon.

"Zeke, he tried to commit suicide." Tears threatened to spill from my own eyes as I remembered that horrible scene. I had to watch Damon fall into that suicidal state, and Zeke just let it happen. "So, yeah, you did hurt him badly."

No one knew, other than our family. Of course Zeke didn't know since he had been busy with 'high school'. The sad thing was that he rarely paid attention to Damon, unless it was to point out a sensitive spot on him and use it against him when it was convenient.

"No, he didn't, Keith," Zeke shook his head vigorously, his body shaking and coming down his cheeks like waterfalls. "You're lying to me. I would've known. I had to have been here when he did it!"

"You're right about one thing, Zeke. You were here, starting senior year at high school, with plenty of distractions," I trailed off. I sighed as I looked into his eyes, shaking my head.

"What else is there, Keith? What else is he doing?" Zeke stood up and was now looking slightly down on me as he shook me by the shoulders. I glared at him, feeling disgusted as his hands touched my shoulders. "That couldn't have been it, Keith, there's something else you're not telling me."

"You're right, Zeke, but I'm not telling you what he's doing, because it's none of your buissness," I step away from him after I grab his hands, throwing them off of me.

"Yes it is," Zeke had a sense of anger radiating off of him, but it wasn't at me. It was aimed at himself. "I lead him to this and I need to know what he's doing, Keith. He could get hurt, and I wouldn't be able to live with myslef if something happened to him."

"But you can live with the damage you've already done?" I yell, my fists clenched.

Silence. That's all that follows until I break it, "I'm walking to school. You can go screw yourself, Zeke, and you have no right to be called our brother anymore."

With that last mental punch to his gut, I turned, walking out of my room, leaving him shaking with sobs. Kind of served him right.

*****

Picture: Zeke Monroe