A Brother's Keeper

Chapter Four

Tim's eyes fluttered open to the sound of birds chirping and the warmth of the sun on his face.

Lifting his head from the steering wheel, he sat up and stretched, feeling the stiffness in his neck and back from sleeping in his car. As he looked around the empty lot, he felt momentarily disoriented, but then remembered why he was there: to find Curly. He had spent most of the night searching for his little brother, but with no luck. Exhaustion had finally caught up with him, and he had pulled over to rest, determined to continue his search as soon as he woke up. Despite the fact that he knew he couldn't survive on only three hours of sleep, his determination to find Curly kept him going.

Yawning, Tim started his car and listened to the roaring sound of the engine as he tried to figure out his step.

As a wave of guilt washed over him, Tim regretted being distant from Curly these past few weeks. He couldn't help but to imagine how weak and frightened Curly must be feeling, being all alone and with no one knowing where he is.

The screams from the recorder he heard the night before kept replaying in his mind, and he couldn't stop them. Squeezing his eyes shut, he banged his head against the steering wheel, hoping to tune the sounds out but to his defeat, the screams became louder.

He slowly turned his head at the passenger seat, realizing the letter and tape recorder were placed nonchalantly on the chair. He could feel the objects taunting at him with every passing minute, his heart began to thump out of his chest as he imagined the threat of the letter as if it were alive. All he wanted to do was to throw it out, but it would be no use, the letter controlled him. It was his only motive of finding Curly.

He failed as an older brother, he thought, slamming both his hands on his face. Dreading the thoughts that came one by one, he wasn't sure if he could control them; let alone, ignore them and he knew it. However, he couldn't give up on his brother. He took a deep breath and picked up the letter and tape recorder, and hid them. Determined to find Curly and make things right.

Tim knew he should have been there for Curly when he got released from reformatory not too long ago. He knew Curly would've wanted him to, but he was too busy with the gang, his job, and all other forms of responsibility. He knew nothing could justify his absence towards his brother but he didn't want to blame himself for another second.

Groaning, Tim directed his hand over the head of the cold metal stick shift as he placed it on drive. As his mind gradually came back together, his plan was to find his sister and warn her about being alone in public or being with a small group of friends. If he couldn't be there for his brother, he was sure he'd be there for his sister.

Leaving the empty lot, Tim quickened his pase as he stepped on the gas. Not sure where he should head to first, his mind instantly landed on the mall. His sister usually hangs around by the mall and would most likely be there.

His foot didn't seem to let go of the gas petal, the low grumble from the engine grew as powerful as a lions roar. This sent vibrations to the steering wheel onto Tim's hands which gave a boost of euphoria.

Noticing upcoming traffic among the road forced Tim to slow down with a sigh. Though, he had all the time in the world at this moment, he still was determined to find Angela as quick as he can. He tends to get impatient easily and refused to deal with it. As he drove, he navigated through the congested streets, honking his horn at drivers who cut him off.

When he reached the mall, it took him a lifetime to find a parking spot and wondered what special activity was going on.

Once he got out of the car, he walked towards the entrance, scanning the crowd for any sign of his sister. He checked the food court, the movie theater, and the clothing stores, but she was nowhere to be found.