Two Of A Kind

1.My brother's keeper

Riders pov~

I was in my room with the door shut for lord knows how many times this week. I listened. Like I always did. I listened through the wall. I knew exactly what was happening. My mother was angry at my dad. She was furious at what he'd done. All of the heartache he'd put her through. He didn't accept her anymore because she couldn't bring back what we had in the past.

Whatever my mother did, no matter how good my mother tried to be for him, it was never enough. Never enough to satisfy the anger coursing through his veins. Never enough to keep him from pitying her. From hating her. From hating me. I was sure he hated himself just as much. But my father wasn't always this way. He was a provider, a protector. He was happy.

A few years ago, we were all happy. My dad had just made partner at his law firm and we were thriving. My mom never worked. Not because she didn't want to. But because he didn't want her to.

"Honey, I hate being here all day. Not doing anything valuable with my time." She'd say. "I'm not getting any younger you know."

My dad had this image in his head. This perfect family portrait that he painted. That he was still painting. The housewife, the hardworking dad, and the perfect kids.

"I know sweetheart, but it's a man's job to provide for his family, and a wife's job to take care of things in the house."

Yes, I had a brother. Had a brother. A brother who stayed by my side and protected me like no one else could ever do now. He was there for me. There for all of us. There for my father the most. After graduating high school he was supposed to help my dad at his firm, probably even take my fathers place when he retired. Or died. Whichever would've happened first. My brother's name was Eanraig. It meant ruler of the house. My dad believed wholeheartedly that my brother would be ruler of many things. But the house was the first. So that meant whatever happened to my dad, Eanraig would take over. Whether my parents' knew it or not, My brother and I knew why my dad wanted us women to accept being taken care of. He needed us. He needed us to help keep his ego alive. He needed us to give him purpose. To depend on him. Because if we didn't need him, who would?

Now that Eanraig was gone. Now that he was dead. My dad was never the same. We don't speak about my brother's death much. We honestly don't speak about it at all. It upsets my father. It upsets him because deep down he knows that this picture perfect family he wanted, that he needed, was the reason he didn't have a son anymore . Why I didn't have a brother anymore. My mother and I tried to suggest that he see a therapist or talk to any one for that matter, but he thought that we wanted him to forget. Forget about his pain, his suffering, and what he lost. My brother. But his legacy.

My brother died the night my dad made partner at his firm. We decided to throw him a party for his success. I always loved a good party, but I never actually got to plan one, so I wanted to be the first to help. I wanted to do the decorating, I wanted to prepare the food, I wanted to make the invitations, I wanted to make the seating arrangements. I wanted to be in control.
My father sensed my urgency to establish dominion. And he was most certainly not happy about it.

" What do you think you're doing?" He growled staring at the chart in my hand.
I had never seen my father this way before. The fire in his eyes. The veins waiting to explode from his neck. The tight grip he had on my wrist.
"I was just-"
" you were just nothing, your brother will plan this event and you will have nothing to do with it understand?"
I was too afraid to object or agree, so I just stood there looking in his eyes, trying to figure out what was so wrong of me for trying to do something nice for him.
" I said, do you understand?" He said it slower, less louder this time. With more authority. He wanted me to know that my job was to enjoy the party. Not to run it.