M Darusha Wehm
‘Samantha!’ Mum’s voice was loud in the small room and I knew I’d been caught again. I pulled back from Matthew and looked at his face. He was red in the cheeks and his eyes were screwed shut. I could see a single tear squeezing out. That made me smile.
‘That’s it,’ Mum said, grabbing me roughly by the arm and pulling me away from my little brother. ‘Time out for you and no TV for a week. I don’t know what’s wrong with you, young lady. How would you like it if you had an older sister who hit you all the time, hmm? Not very much, I’ll bet. Look at him, his arm’s all red. What did you do, Sam?’
She went on, yelling at me and pointing at the ugly red welts on Matthew’s arm. I knew exactly what I’d done – hit him over and over, until my fist started to hurt and I could tell that he was biting his lip to keep from crying. I knew Mum might catch me, figured I’d get in trouble, but it was worth it.
Matthew caught my eye and while Mum wasn’t watching I saw him mouth ‘Thank you.’
This time he’d promised me his comic book collection, but I would have done it for nothing. I love my little brother, and even though I don’t really like hitting him, it makes him happy. And I love making him happy.