Chapter Fourteen

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it. ―Harper Lee

Oakland, California 2006

Damon never forgot the night he lost his brother. Recently, Jesse had become more and more quiet, staring off into space for minutes at a time, almost unresponsive. Even the jokes that always worked to cheer him up were met with silence. He stared through his twin with hollow eyes.

One night, missing their late-night talks, Damon got up for a drink of water with thoughts of sneaking into Jesse’s room. A couple times, he tried tapping lightly on Jesse’s bedroom door, but his brother must have been asleep.

From the kitchen, he heard footsteps in the hallway and peered down into the darkness. Dumbass blocked the hallway, as his hands struggled with something. “Get your ass back to bed.”

Something told Damon not to retreat. Something, or someone was behind Dumbass, struggling to get past, blocked by the big man’s girth. Of course, deep down, he knew who it was, but his mind tried desperately to blur the image.

“Damon!”

His brother’s plaintive cry sprung him into action. Without thinking, he raced through the dark hallway toward Dumbass.

The blow to his head came out of nowhere, striking him on his left ear, sending him into the wall. Damon got to his feet and staggered onward, only to be pushed to the floor again, landing on his face. Rising up, he watched Dumbass shove Jesse into his bedroom, then go in after him.

Before the door closed, Jesse suddenly appeared in the gap, wedging his shoulders through the jamb, struggling like an animal to get out.

It was at this moment that Damon saw an image that would haunt him for the rest of his life—his brother’s delicate face etched in terror just before he was pulled back into the room. Damon rose to his feet and lunged for the door, but it slammed shut and locked as he arrived.

He pounded on the door, screaming until he collapsed, fists raw, his nose bleeding from the fall. He stayed there at the base of the door all night, listening to the awful grunts, bed squeaks, and whimpers of his twin.