BROTHERS
Adam arrived first, he was first at everything.
Then came Brian, always a close second.
Identical, but different.
~~~
Helen was beautiful, the most beautiful thing Brian had ever seen, and she was his.
~~~
Brian and Helen had been together for some months, when he took her to a family party. He introduced her to his family for the first time.
She did a double take when she met Adam. So alike.
She and Adam chatted, while Brian got her a drink. All three talked. Helen only had eyes for Adam.
At the end of the evening Brian went to say good-by to his parents, when he returned to the spot where he had left Helen and Adam, they were gone. He saw them leaving the party. Brian pushed his way through the guests to the door.
~~~
Adam opened his car door for Helen. She got in.
Brian stood in the doorway a dark silhouette, watching the love of his life leave.
Again, Adam had won.
~~~
The police report said Helen had died at the moment of impact with the tree. Adam walked away without a scratch.
A part of Brian died that night with Helen.
~~~
Time heals?
~~~
The brothers walked to the rock face. They had climbed it before. A challenge, both enjoyed. Adam would of course be first to the top.
At the top they stood taking in the views.
“Adam, do you know what the date is?”
“No.”
“It was a year ago today that Helen died.”
“Come on, it’s time to move on. I have.”
“What! You killed Helen. Murdered her. You were drunk when you got behind the wheel. You walked away with only a broken nail. Helen lost her life. How can you move on?”
“Grow up Brian. You hardly knew her. She’s dead. Forget her.”“How can I forget her, she was my soulmate. My life partner. You took her away from me. Like you always do. You could have anyone you like. But no, you have to have the one person I want. It’s always about You. You get everything. Always, without fail. You are the favourite. The one everyone looks to. Always.” the last word was whispered.
“Brian, get a grip. You hardly knew her. There will be others. More fish in the sea. That sort of thing.” Adam turned back to the view. He took a few deep breaths of the clean fresh air. It was good to be alive.
“You murdered Helen. You got away with it. You ruined my life. You always take from me. From the day we were born, even before, in the womb, you got the lion’s share of the nutrients from our mother.” Brian moved closer to his brother.
“Move on, damn it. It’s time. Don’t you get it. Stop moaning, get a life.”
“Why, you’ll only take it away from me.” Brian stood just behind his brother.
He could see the edge of the cliff.
"All you ever do is moan about how bad your life is. You never do anything about it.” Adam glanced back at his brother.
“That’s about to change. I have a solution to my problem.” Brian stepped forward, as he did so, he placed both hands in the small of Adams back, and pushed.
Adam found himself treading air. He screamed. Then he fell, almost in slow motion. Trying to grab at anything to stop the fall.
He felt the fear and panic rise in his throat, he screamed again. It was cut short, as he bounced off a ledge, it was more than a broken nail this time. On he fell, his lifeless body hit the rocky ground below.
Every bone in Adams body was broken.
“There you go. You know, I feel a lot better, now. That cleared the air. Should have done it years ago. Now I’m the best, the One.” Brian smiled to himself.
Turning, he walked down the narrow path that ran down the back of the cliff. He had a thought. Pulling his phone out of the small backpack, he stopped and dialled.
“There’s been an accident, I need an ambulance, my brother fell when we were rock climbing. He needs help.” Brian sounded distressed.
He gave his location, and continued to descend. By the time he reached his brother, the ambulance men, were there. Closely followed by the police.
One of the ambulance men held him back.
“No, son. Stay here.”The police sat him in their car. They asked Brian what happened. He told them.
“Brian, took the death of his girlfriend, really badly. I tried to stop him. He just stepped out.” Brian had lied, it felt good, “It was my fault.”
“No, son. You tried to stop him. Don’t blame yourself.”
They took him home.
He had a new home. He had a new life.
His old life as Brian, was dead, at the bottom of that cliff.
He was now Adam.
~~~
Returning to work, he walked into his brother’s office, he glanced back into the main office to his old desk. It had been cleared. He was now Adam, and he supervised this office.
~~~
After the funeral, Brian as Adam, got a transfer to another office in America.
Telling his family that there were too many bad memories for him to remain in England. There he could safely become his brother, without people who knew them both realizing what had happened.
His new life was almost complete. All that remained was to find someone like Helen.
A task that seemed almost impossible, until she walked into the office.
He had to have her, she was the one. He began to woo her, slowly she became his.
Bella, a beautiful woman of Italian stock, looked good on Brian’s arm. She was graceful and stylish. He could look for hours into her deep, dark eyes. Her perfect smile lit the room, making Brian’s heart miss a beat, every time.
Now his life was complete.
Alternative Ending
The alley was dark, the masked figure stepped out in front of Brian and Bella. He signalled with the gun that they should enter the alley.
“Brian, give him your wallet.” Bella pleaded.
“Okay, here take it.” Brian flung the wallet at the mugger.
It fell short. The mugger bent down, he kept his eyes on Brian and felt for the wallet. He could not find it. He glanced down. Brian jumped him. They rolled around on the damp ground. Their eyes met. Brian recognised the mugger.
The gun went off.
The mugger pushed Brian aside. Brian lay on his back, shaking.
Bella screamed.
Blood oozed out of a wound in his upper thigh. Brian could feel his life, draining slowly out of him. It was a bad dream. Bella’s screams seemed to fade. He could still hear her, she sounded far away. She was still standing close by. His memory was playing tricks on him.
He had flashes of memories, of being like Adam, ordering people about, of taking whatever he wanted. He had become his brother. All he had ever wanted was to have a life without it being taken from him. He had turned bad. Now he was paying for it.
Bella was screaming and crying. Help came.
Too late for Brian.
~~~
Antonio, had been Bella’s boyfriend before Brian came on the scene. She had walked away from a five year relationship.
He had tried to win her back, he did everything he could think of, but still she remained with Brian. Antonio, realized that so long as Brian was around, Bella would be out of his reach.
~~~
He followed them for weeks. He watched and waited.
Antonio, bought the gun on a street corner.
The same restaurant, on the same day, at the same time. It had been too easy.
Bella was his again.