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“We do,” I answer, keeping on task instead of turning around and facing him. It’s easier to have him in my home if I don’t have to see him standing inside of it.
“Scared of me, Berlynn?” Once the question leaves Aris’s mouth, one I previously asked him myself, Berkley snickers behind him.
Irritation replaces my dissociation technique. I twist my body around on my ankles, narrowing my eyes at both of them and pointing my spatula. “I’m not scared, I called you, didn’t I?”
“Because I made you,” Berkley singsongs, his snickering growing louder with each word he belts out.
“Oooh, burned,” Aris proclaims, reverting back to our childhood.
Snorting, I ask, “What are we, twelve? I remember the two of you acting this exact way before you hit puberty in your teens.”
“We’re grown men, Berlynn!” Berkley shouts, anger vibrating from him.
I immediately try to backpedal because this is still an issue for my twin. He’s prone to anger outbursts if he feels slighted in any way. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Berk.”
“Come on, man,” Aris says, stepping in between us. “She was only joking. We’ve got this. Sticks and stones, Berk. Sticks and stones.”
“May break my bones but words can never hurt me,” Berkley picks up, finishing the rhyme Aris started.
Aris shifts a worried eye in my direction before stating, “Damn straight, Berkley. “We’re big and we’re bad.”
“And we’re solid,” Berkley adds. “Nobody can tear us down.”
“We’re impenetrable,” Aris continues.
“We’re undefeatable,” Berkley whispers.
“As long as we’re together,” Aris prompts.
“Our backs are protected.” When Berk states that, his eyes light up and he throws himself at Aris. “You promised, you’ll never leave me alone again.”
My heart shatters at my feet. He’s never been alone, I’ve always been here, he just never sees me as anything more than the nagging sister. I hiccup as unshed tears clog my throat.
Aris’s head swivels in my direction and he sees the heartbreak written on my face. “You’ve never been alone, Berk. Look behind you, my man. Your biggest supporter is standing there. She’s never left you. Ever.”
“I know that! She’s my sister, she’ll always be there, but you’re my best friend, Aris. And you left me. That’s not right,” Berkley laments, his tone combative as he condemns his closest ally for abandoning him. I knew losing Aris was devastating for him, I just never knew to what degree that loss was.
“He didn’t have a choice, Berkley.” I step in before the wrecking ball that is our father can destroy this any further than he already has. “I tried to tell you that Dad did some bad things, remember?”
“I remember,” Berkley murmurs.
“Aris not being around, it’s his fault. Dad’s, not Aris’s.” I make sure to point out the facts so there’s no vagueness in my overview of how things played out. “He said and did some really, really bad things after you were hurt. Things that meant theycouldn’t come around until some things were cleared up, Berk,” I explain.
“How?” he asks, and I find myself fumbling for words to help him understand—ones that aren’t too complicated.
“There were certain things I had to promise for him to stay away and not put you into a group home,” I surmise. “One of those things was that we stayed far away from the Davenports. If we didn’t, then he’d take legal action to have us torn apart. I couldn’t let that happen, Berk. You’re too special and important to me, bubba. I had to wait until I had conservatorship over you. That way, they couldn’t threaten to put you into a group home where I’d never see you again.”
“It hurt, but it was better this way. But the papers were finalized recently, which means he can’t force me to stay away from you, either of you,” Aris justifies. “But he’s still involved in some shady stuff, Berk. Which means we have to be careful and you can’t trust him if you ever see him again.”
“He’s mean,” Berkley grumbles, scuffing the toe of his shoe onto the hardwood.
“He is,” I agree. “Which means, we have to be cautious of our surroundings and stay away from him. You run and scream if you see him. Promise me, Berk.”
“I promise,” he vehemently swears—angry to the point where perspiration is falling from his forehead and pouring down over his temples. “I need to stay away from him.”
After the drama wound down, we ate our breakfast and decided to go to the dog pound. Whenever my brother begins feeling down and out of sorts, we head there and play with the animals, feed them, bathe them, and cuddle them. I wish I had the time to get him a service animal, but they cost up into the high thousands, and where we’re due to come into our inheritance soon, I’d rather have a yard and someone to help Berk care for it than for the dog to be forced to be leashed in order to stretch its legs instead of running freely.
I can’t stomach caging something so precious that’ll eventually help my brother smile and live independently again. Not that I plan on us ever living underneath separate roofs, but I’d like to be able to go somewhere and not worry about whether or not Mrs. Crockett is on the schedule for that day. From my research, there’s so much that is possible for Berkley and his rehabilitation if he weren’t tied to a location. I want that for him. I know that he always feels so alone and handicapped by what that stupid bitch did to him. Why the prosecution office hasn’t charged her with a crime has me stupefied. I know she has connections, and her father has political friendships, but even that shouldn’t protect her from answer for her crimes against Berkley.
