I and my brother had been polar opposites. I made sure not to do anything stupid and to just get through school and life. I got decent A’s and B’s and participated. But I kept mostly to myself and stayed quiet. However, my brother Vincent wasn’t any better.
Think of a standard loser, who is also an asshole to people, multiply that by 10, and you got Vincent. Vincent has never tried in school. In 6th grade, he started skipping school. In 8th grade, he started to steal things to sell during recess. In 10th grade, he started a smoking addiction and got hooked on heroin. During all of that, he treated me badly, made fun of my interests, and physically bullied me, leaving me with bruises. My parents tried to excuse it, saying he was probably being secretly bullied and he wasn’t telling anyone. Bullshit, even if it was the case that didn’t give me the right to jokingly go tell me to kill myself and break down my self-esteem.
Not only that, but he has also stolen from me & my parents several times, he stole some money from my dad to buy drugs, he sold a necklace my mom’s dead friend left for her, and he stole a pair of shoes I had bought.
Eventually, my parents came to my senses and told my brother he needed to leave, and he did. He simply left, just like that.
We fast forward a few years later and Christmas Eve and I decide to invite my family to a Christmas dinner just to celebrate the holiday. But out of the blue, my parents asked me a question.
They asked if I could send an invite to Vincent. I was shocked and confused. I asked them how and why would I invite him. Then, they dropped the bombshell on me. They had confessed that they had kept in touch with Vincent ever since he left. I blew up on them, telling them how pissed I was that they decided to still remain intact to someone who spent most of their time on earth as a piece of shit and an addict who showed no hope in the future. This ended up getting some backlash from other family members, they claimed that I shouldn’t be so hard on my parents and to stop acting like a prick because of stupid childhood fights. Eventually, the hurtful messages became too much and I caved in. Which meant I ended up inviting Vincent to my dinner, just to save the drama.
When Vincent came, I was taken it back by what he looked like now. He didn’t have bags under his eyes, he didn’t curse, he acted like a gentleman, and he acted as if he changed. It wasn’t long before we met face to face. I had to put on a mask of satisfaction at how much he’s grown over the years, but behind it all, I felt bitter and annoyed. None of this made any sense, how could a man who seemingly had no chance of changing his lifestyle in the future can just magically become a better person plain and simple?
I guess Vincent noticed this and asked “Are you surprised by my new image Oliver?” to which I replied, “Yeah I mean, damn you changed a lot over just 4 years!”
At the dinner table, I shared out everyone’s food, mashed potatoes, ribs, and some salad to add alongside it. Along with some extra desserts. Everyone was amazed by what I managed to cook up, even Vincent. He even commented ‘My my Oliver! This is spectacular!”. “Oh, thanks, I said surprised.
“Wow,” I thought, “Maybe Vincent really did change, maybe he got his shit together and managed to change for the better. Maybe we can finally-“ My thought was immediately cut off by the sudden groan as Vincent clutched his chest, he collapsed from his chair and fell to the ground. My mother screamed Vincent’s name as his body went limp. Everyone started screaming and yelling, gasps and glares of horror spreading from one relative to another. Meanwhile, I just stood in my chair, sweat slowly shaking down my body as my body trembled and my eyes were fixated in horror.
How could I forget about drugging Vincent’s plate this whole time? I didn’t know the drugs I had bought would straight up kill him…