Brothers

You don't say anything. You accept the abuse he deals out to you. In a way, you feel that you deserve the punishment. Your father wasn't an alcoholic before Kenny was abducted, and everyone knows whose fault that was.

You are beaten severely by the old man, punched and smacked and kicked. Welts, bruises, and cuts cover your body as a result.

When it is done, he leaves you crying on the floor. You lay there until morning, not moving least the pain increase. Not making a sound out of fear that he would come back and continue the abuse. He doesn't come back that night.

As the months go by your father continues to unleash his pent up frustrations on you. Perhaps as a result of this your depression deepens. Your life is miserable.

On a daily basis you make an ass of yourself in school, cracking jokes and mocking authority figures openly and often. It gets you into allot of trouble, but it releases some of your anger and sorrow. Sometimes negative emotions can be redirected, filtered out through your system through means outside of rage, anger, and depression. The negative emotions are still there, but are not as intense.

Another thing you've found out about numbing the pain inside you is that your fathers beer supply can help. A beer or two, when drank fast enough, can make you feel all funny inside. But you have to be discreet with the disposal of the beer cans. One night your father found a can in your room, and you received a beating like no other.

It has been four years since the incident and you are walking home from school with Kenny. Some older kids start picking on him because he does not talk. You tell them to leave him alone, but one of them grabs you from behind while the other punches Kenny in the gut over and over, demanding that he speak.

You struggle against the older kid holding you back, but your efforts are in vain. His grip on you is too strong. You watch in absolute frustration and rage as he continues to take the abuse.