STEP BROTHER DEAREST
*
“You think you’re the center. You think you hold them together. But what happens when they realize you’re just pretending? That you’re the weakest link?”
The reflections stepped forward, hundreds of versions of me, each whispering, laughing, screaming. My rhythm faltered. I pressed my hands over my ears, but the voices didn’t stop. They were inside me.
---
Later, Madison told me she faced something else.
She stood in a room where every shadow belonged to her, but none obeyed. They writhed and twisted, strangling everything they touched. Every time she tried to shape them, they laughed. Her voice in her own tone, mocking her: *You’re just like him. You’re Elias. Every wall you raise becomes