My Brothers Keeper - Chapter 2 - Robert DeVore

My Brothers Keeper – Chapter 2

It was 3 days after his 16th birthday when Abel saw Thomas shooting heroin for the first time. It was also the first time in his life that he cried openly.

There he was, standing in the bathroom doorway weeping like a baby.

The dim lighting bounced off his little brother, his body crumbled on the floor. His right arm stretched out on the edge of the tub.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Abel knew he had to check Thomas’ vital signs to make sure he wasn’t dead.

God, I hope he’s not dead.

Walking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him, Abel placed his hand on Thomas’ arm. His skin felt warm, which Abel took as a good sign. After placing his fingers on the inside of Thomas’ wrist, he could feel a faint pulse.

Abel let out a sigh, happy to know his brother was still alive.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” he whispered, knowing he wouldn’t get a response.

Abel immediately put the burden of his brother doing drugs on himself. After all, it’s only been 3 days since he had the conversation with Nero.

Thomas must have overheard.

Looking down at Thomas’ arm, he spotted old track marks next to the fresh wound where the needle was still piercing his skin.

Overhearing the conversation doesn’t explain the older track marks, but right now that’s not what’s important. Abel needed to get his shit together, and quick. He has to get his brother to a hospital immediately. He can figure out how long this has been going on after he makes sure Thomas is OK.

Abel decided to drive Thomas to the hospital himself. This way, neighbors wouldn’t ask questions when an ambulance showed up, and he damn sure didn’t want Wendy to find out.

The last thing anyone on that farm needed is for her to find out the son she never wanted is now an addict. It was bad enough that he already got kicked out of school for fighting. This could be the straw that broke her.

Abel didn’t want her to spin out of control and start using again, so he had to protect her from the truth.

As Abel bent down, sliding his arm under Thomas’ legs, he used his left hand to brush his brothers hair from his forhead. Somehow, he felt by making him look more presentable, he would make this situation less messy.

A long shot, but he had to try.

Thomas was heavier than he thought, and Abel struggled to get him through the front door. Walking through the house, he made his way to the black Ford F150 in the driveway.

Abel placed his brother into the back seat, laying him on his side. If he throws up on the way, he didn’t want him flat on his back to choke on his vomit.

Pulling a cigarette out and moving it between his fingers, Abel jumped into the drivers side of the truck. He put the cigarette between his lips and lights it as he backs out of the driveway.

His eyes glanced into the mirror to check on his brother, puffing his cigarette slowly.

The drive to the hospital was one of the quietest Abel has ever had. All the silence did was give him time to think. Time to replay the events from 3 days ago over and over in his head.

When Nero followed Abel into the living room, he was skeptical, wondering what Abel was going to talk to him about. He figured it was the truck he wanted to get for his 16th birthday. Nothing could have prepared him for what Abel asked.

“I want you to tell me about my father, and I want the truth”, he said, staring into Nero’s eyes. Nero took a deep breath and starting rubbing his hands up and down his thighs, visibly stressed.

A million thoughts raced through Nero’s mind. Should he tell Abel the truth? Should he honor Jax’s wish and tell Abel that his father was a monster? He wasn’t sure what to do.

In his heart, he wanted to honor Jax’s wish. But staring at Abel, grown and handling his business like a man, he couldn’t help but feel a pull on his heart strings.

Nero stood up, rubbed the stubble on his chin and paced the floor.

Abel sat on the couch, watching Nero’s every move. He had no idea what Nero would say. Judging by his reaction to the request, he knew there had to be something buried deep inside, trying to force its way out.

“Come on Nero, man to man, tell me who the fuck my father was”.

Nero could feel the anger building in Abel. He was definitely his fathers son. Calm and collected when he needed to be, but in an instant he could snap.

“Listen mano”, Nero said softly, “that isn’t a question with a simple answer. You’re going to have to give me time to…”

“BULLSHIT!” Abel shouted, jumping to his feet, standing directly in front of Nero with a fire in his eyes. “Tell me who Jax was. Not that sad story you and Wendy have been pushing on Thomas and I since we left Charming, but the truth.”

Nero looked into the kitchen, checking to see if Wendy was watching. She was, and she looked at Nero with a sadness in her eyes. Without saying a word, and gave him the nod to tell Abel the truth.

Her little boy was grown, and there was nothing she could do to stop him from finding out who Jax was.

Wendy walked through the dining room and made her way next to Nero. She put her arm around his shoulder, looked at Abel and smiled. She remembers her conversation with Jax, telling him how she didn’t want to have any secrets. She felt relief knowing that the last secret she’s kept will now be out in the open.

“Sit down Abel”, Wendy said as she sat on the black leather couch across from him. Nero sat down beside her and placed his hand on her leg, trying to comfort her.

“So, is this the part of the conversation where you lie to me again?” Abel asked, sarcasm in his tone and anger in his eyes.

“No mano, we want you to know the truth. Sit down and let’s talk”, Nero responded.

“Your father was a good friend of mine. My best friend” Nero started, hesitant to dive right into the harsher truths.

“He was a great father, a brother, a son and friend to a lot of people. He cared about you, Thomas, Wendy and Tara a lot.” Nero started to feel himself tear up, “He had a lot of room in his heart, and filled it with love for the people closest to him”.

Abel sat back, starting to relax himself a bit, seeing that Nero wasn’t giving him the same story as before.

“Jax grew up in a crazy world. His father died in a motorcycle accident, just like he did”. Nero paused, thinking really hard about his next choice of words.

“He died on his motorcycle, because he chose to, just like Jax did.” Nero muttered, almost unsure he even said it out loud.

“So, my dad committed suicide, just like my grandpa John?”, Abel asked, a small amount of intrigue in his voice.

“Yes”, Wendy replied. “John did what he thought was best at the time, for his family and for his club. People wanted him dead, and he knew that if he stayed alive, more people would get hurt in the process”, she continued.

“See mano”, Nero butted in, “your father went on a quest to find out about his father, because nobody would give him the truth. That’s what we want to do for you today, so you don’t have to go around asking questions and putting yourself in harms way”.

Abel was still not sure where they were headed, but telling him that his father killed himself just like his grandfather did was a start in a new direction. So he remained quiet and let them talk.

“Jax grew up in the biker world, and it was all he knew”, Nero said, trying to keep the words flowing. He didn’t want to chicken out and stop talking altogether.

“He worked his way up through SAMCRO, becoming Vice President, and eventually taking over as President. A lot of people respected him, and he earned his way to the seat at the head of that table” Nero told him. He stared directly at Abel with a sense of admiration overwhelming him.

Abel noticed the genuineness in Nero’s eyes, and nodded to let him know he understood.

Wendy took over, trying to give Nero a second to get his emotions in check. “Your father and I were married, but things I did in my life…” She paused.

Hesitant to continue, she put her hand on top of Nero’s as he gripped her leg, letting her know she wasn’t alone and it was OK to keep talking.

“I did a lot of bad things son, and the drugs tore us apart. Your father tried his best to help me, and love me the best he could, but I made it extremely difficult”, Wendy said, tears in her eyes and a tremble in her voice.

Abel could see the pain in her eyes, and it caused him to tear up too. He tried to suck it up and not show too much emotion because he didn’t want the conversation sidetracked.

“I have to find out everything I can. I have to go to Charming” Abel muttered, his eyes half full of tears.

Silence fell over the room, Wendy and Nero staring at each other, not knowing how to respond.

The flashback kept Abel’s attention away from the road, and as he pulled into the hospital parking lot, his truck almost took out a couple smoking on the sidewalk.

Grabbing the wheel and making a hard left, Abel waved at the man and woman, signaling that he was sorry for not watching what he was doing.

He parked as close as possible to the front doors of the hospital. Jumping out of the truck and heading to the back door, he scooped his brothers near lifeless body up. Holding Tomas in his arms like a baby, he walked him into the hospital emergency room.

“It’s going to be OK Thomas, you’re in a safe place now brother”, Abel whispered as he walked through the front doors, nodding to an orderly, signaling that he needed help.

After explaining what happened to his brother, the nurses put Thomas on a hospital bed and quickly raced him down the hallway.

Watching his brother be taken away, all that Abel could do was sit and wait, hoping for the best.

 

Find out what’s next @deviorobert