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There was a long pause before Neil responded.
But he was a good brother.
He always came to pick me up.
* * *
I looked at the clock on the dashboard. “Fuck, it’s one a.m. already?”
Neil shot me a glare and told me to buckle in. Perry gave me a dirty look from the back seat. Jesus, it was just a party. They acted like I had shit in the street or something.
“Yeah, it’s fucking late and Mom is already worried. This isn’t helping, Liam. I just don’t understand…” He paused, thinking better of whatever it was he wanted to say. He was always considerate, unlike me.
My chest was hot with fury. I knew what he wanted to say. “You don’t understand what?” I pressed.
Neil gritted his teeth and looked at me like I was the root cause of all our family's problems. Why Dad left. Why Mom’s mental state shattered. Why he had to take responsibility for Perry and me.
“I don’t understand why you’re so fucking selfish. You’re seventeen and I have to take care you like you’re a goddamn child. Perry is younger and he’s more of an adult than you!” Neil shouted at me, the vein in his forehead protruding.
I knew I was all those things. I knew I was a fuck up.
Perry tapped Neil’s shoulder and murmured quietly, “Please don’t yell. Liam’s just sad… He’ll try harder tomorrow, won’t you, Liam?”
My chest sank. “Yeah, I will. I’m sorry.”
Neil glanced over at me and then heaved a long, weary sigh. “It’s okay. I’m sorry for shouting.”
I didn’t know what I’d do without my brothers. They were all I had—all I needed.
Mom texted me. I read the message quickly.
Mom:
Your brother is coming to get you.
Be kind to him. He loves you.
Great, even Mom knew I was out getting drunk and Neil was coming to the rescue.
Neil raised a brow as he turned onto the mountain pass. The shortcut was steep and narrow in places.
I didn’t want him to know Mom had messaged me. We were all so worried about her mental state already. That’s why I just smiled, held up my phone, and showed him a photo I snapped at the party.
“It’s just a stupid picture of the party.”
Neil only looked for a second.
It was only a second.
Only…
When I woke up, I was in the hospital room alone.
No one was holding my hand. No one was waiting for my eyes to open.
Perry? Neil?
A nurse walked in and took my vitals. She said that my mother refused to see me, that my older brother was dead and my younger brother was in critical condition. And finally, that I would be discharged in a few days.
