Chapter 23 (ii)

The movement at the corner of my eye brought my attention to Matt as he descended the stairs. Our eyes met and I could see he meant to say something, but his lips never parted. He appeared confused and were I a few brain cells shorter, I may have even thought there was remorse mixed in.

It was his way. Whenever confronted with the consequences of his actions, it always seemed that those very consequences caught him off guard. Matthew lived in an ideal world where he could do what he wanted, whenever he wanted and however, he wanted absent any impact on anyone outside of himself. He’d never been raised to consider anyone outside of himself in any meaningful way and never failed to be taken aback when faced with the victims and the pain they felt at his hands.

I’d done my part in raising such a monster. When we were younger, I would comfort him in his confusion and assure him it wasn’t his fault. Back then, I would do anything to make my little brother smile again—anyt