I am the Skeleton in the Closet

Manipulation

Just as I had predicted, Alex decided to start living with the parents again shortly after the air conditioner incident. Of course none of this sat well with them and daily I would see a post about how Dawn had ruined his life somehow. Daily I would receive a passive aggressive text from Dawn bringing up things that we hadn't fought about in years. It got to the point where I just wanted him out of the house and I didn't care how it happened. Clearly something needed to be done about him and I knew it was something Dawn would never admit past emotional abuse and Steven would never do. So I started thinking of ways to shock him into being an adult, ultimately, I needed him to get kicked out of the house. Be it on his own volition, or by force I didn't care. I just needed him to stop messing up my otherwise happy life. I tried sitting down and talking with him and all he had were excuses. So I tried sitting down and talking with Dawn  to again, nothing but excuses. After several talks with her I eventually found out that they were paying for all of his living expenses. They were paying for his car, his trailer, his food, his clothing, I had no idea what Alex spent his money on but it wasn't himself. At least if it was it was nowhere near the amount Steven was paying for. It became apparent to me that no matter how much Alex might say he wanted out of their house, he didn't. I mean with as sweet of a deal as that was I couldn't blame him, but for some reason I was the only one that could see how manipulative he was becoming about it. At first yeah, he needed a helpful nudge to get him going, but after this many years? Well you'd think that they would have tried tough love. Eventually I gave up trying to clue the parents in. I gave up trying to keep the peace and I gave up trying to maintain the egg shelled trail I had been cutting my feet on for him. The gloves came off and I flexed my manipulative genes as I concocted a plan to get him kicked out of their house and out of my sight. 

The first step was to get on Dawn's side. To do that I needed to play the good bad guy. So I befriended Dawn. I needed her to believe me when I told her things so I fashioned a relationship that made that possible. I would text her when I didn't need something just to build a relationship. I would come by and drop off some veggies I had grown in my garden every so often without her asking. In short, I just made her feel wanted by me, once I had that locked down I initiated phase two. Exasperating the issue. We all knew Alex was a problem, Dawn made it no secret to me that he had been causing issues from day one of moving back in. So I agreed with her, well I agreed with her anyway but I let it be known. Then I started instigating with her. I knew she liked drama, as much as she might have claimed otherwise it was an exciting break from her otherwise dull suburban life. Every time I would see a post about Dawn from Alex I would screenshot it and send it to Dawn. I knew that it would both get Dawn all hot and bothered, and make her think I was on her side about everything. I did my best not to drag Steven into it though. He would have ignored it or called my bluff, plus I still held a sort of respect for him so I didn't want to cause him too much grief. Soon enough I became the one Dawn would turn to about any and every problem she had with Alex. To her I was the inside man, someone she could manipulate into thinking or doing anything for her, exactly what I hoped she would see me as.

Step three, was to get the idea in Alex's head that the parents were against him. Which, I mean they were, and he knew that, so I just confirmed his suspicions in the best ways I could. I needed to subliminally message to him that I was the better kid, that I knew it and they knew it. So I only posted positive things about my relationship with the parents. I would draw out any of my major accomplishments and then keep going for more. The first thing I had to change was my job. So I picked up an internship and started working at a 3D printing company. My role was predominately selling printers, but I played it off as a minor task of mine. The major ones were CAD design and IT work. Which wasn't a lie, I did do both of those. I had to make my life look like a dream boat and after a month or so I accomplished my task. Any time I'd see Alex he always had this annoyed look plastered to his face. He'd converse with Austin readily, but he was hesitant to say anything to me. He was catching on to my ruse, but that was ok. Afterall, I was above it. I was the good child. The one they'd brag about even having Alex two feet away.