Cole

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“Which one is it?” I asked, looking out the window at a row of houses.

The neighborhood was a little different than the ones we usually staked out. It was lit brightly with tall, glowing streetlights. The sidewalk was perfect, not one crack or break in the cement.

Every yard was cut pristine, with straight edges and neatly manicured bushes. Big, fancy houses all lined the street like they were hand picked for a Better Homes and Gardens cover.

“That one on the left.” Dane shifted in his seat and leaned against the window, resting his temple on the glass. “Pretty, right?”

Twisting my head over my shoulder, I squinted my eyes. “What the hell are we doing in a place like this?”

“It's time to dream big, Cole. Bigger is always better, right?” Drumming his thumb against the steering wheel, he glared out into the darkness.

“This isn't dreaming, Dane, this is something else, something worse. You and I both know that.” My palms became sweaty as I sat nervous and uncomfortable from being in a place we certainly didn't belong.

We normally went into the west side, an area that people avoided, a place where you made sure to lock your doors and windows before you went to sleep at night.

If you didn't, there was a good chance my brother would probably end up in your house while you had your head resting on the pillow, completely unaware that he was rifling through your shit.

I had never actually gone with him inside before. In the past when he took me out all we did was watch the houses. We would sit outside a place he picked and just note who came and went, when they were home and when they weren't.

Dane never actually came right out and told me what he was doing, but he didn't have to.

Deep down I already knew, I knew what he did after he dropped me off, and I knew what he did when he went back out. And I never said a thing to anyone about it, I couldn't, it just didn't feel right. There was a level of loyalty between us that went without words.

Blood was supposed to be thicker than water.

He was my brother, I wanted to make him proud, I wanted him to like me. It wasn't that long ago I even thought that I wanted to be just like him.

I wasn't him. I wasn't even close to ever being him. That reality hit hard, it hit hard and fast and took my world by storm.

“Fuck man, we're just looking. Don't be a bitch.”

Punching his arm, I snapped. “Don't be an asshole.” Turning my head back to the house, I saw a light flick on in one of the rooms.

A shadow passed by the wall, it was thin and small. The transient figure moved from one side to the other, the dark mass fleeting between bursts in the curtains.

“You don't recognize this one?” he asked, placing a finger against his lips as he smiled.

Flicking my eyes to his, the light off the lamp glistened in his pupils. His eyes looked like they were on fire, like the devil himself had reached out and touched my brother so he could peer into the world of the living.

I knew instantly whose home it was, and I wanted no part of it.

“No. I told you no.”

“Come on, Cole, we're not doing anything. We're just looking, that's it, just like we always do. Aren't you curious about her?”

Her slender face pressed against the glass, hands coming up on either side of her head to try and see through the glare.

Ducking down, I hide beneath the trim of the door. Dane chuckled beside me, laughing like he used to when we were younger and would play ding dong ditch on our neighbors.

But something was different. He didn't look like my brother anymore, he didn't look like that young kid who used to find fun in jumping ramps on his dirt bike or building engines just for the hell of it.

He had aged years in a matter of seconds. His skin was dull and had thin crinkles that creased his forehead. The fun playful smile had turned sinister and cold, lost in a time when innocence was abundant and the world was our playground.

All of that was gone. None of it existed anymore. Time had altered him—the night had changed him.

“Let's go, Dane, it's time to go.”

“Shh, little bro, she can't see us.” Peeking his head up over the dashboard, he stared up at the house. “I honestly thought you already knew where she lived.”

“Well, I didn't.” Sighing, I slipped deeper under the front seat. “Can we just go now?”

Biting his thumb, he watched her through the window. “What is she thirteen, fourteen? A little young for you, don't you think?”

“I don't know and it doesn't fucking matter. Let's go.”

“She has a sister you know, maybe we can—”

“Dane!” I barked, whipping my head in his direction. “I said let's go, I'm done, no more of this shit.”

His cheeks hollowed as he clenched his teeth. “Well I'm not done. You can stay here like a fucking bitch or you can come with me. I said we're just looking, so fuck off.”

He was out of the car and darting across the black shadows on the lawn before I could say another word.

Fuck! Fuck!

Dragging a hand through my hair, I punched the door and climbed out. Following the same path he took, I spotted Dane crouched in the darkness, a silhouette of his face lit up by the light from the window.

Dropping to my knees beside him, he spoke softly without looking at me. “Have a change of heart?”

“Just looking, right?” Dane nodded in silence. “I hope you're not screwing with me.”

I felt his eyes as they shot daggers in my direction. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Forget it.” Mumbling, I watched the girl as she skipped down the hall and into the room right beside where we were perched.

I felt horrible and disgusting as my brother and I sat in the quiet of night and spied on this girl. She had no clue we were there, completely unaware of the eyes outside her window.

The light came on in her room, exposing broken blinds and pink curtains. Her voice rang out, angrily yelling at someone else. . . Her sister.

“Vanessa! Did you take my brush!?”

“No!” the voice grew in volume as her older sister stalked down the same hallway and into the room. “Why would I do that? I have my own?”

“It was here earlier today and now it's not. So you tell me where it went.”

“Hanna, I didn't take your stupid brush.”

Glancing at my brother, his eyes glazed over like a black pool. Breathing out, a cloud of gray rolled from his lips as the sickest smile I had ever seen crawled over his face.

“Okay, let's go, enough of this.” Scooting out of the dim light, I let the night blanket my body. But he didn't move, he remained still and quiet like a lion in the tall grass. “Dane, I said lets go.” Grabbing his shoulder, I shook him hard. “I've seen enough, I want to get out of here.”

Grumbling, he pushed back, slipping free of the trance he was in. “Fine, but this ain't done. I haven't even started yet.” Crawling away, he kept his eyes straight ahead.

We didn't say another word to each other until we were back in the car. Dane stretched over, unlocking his glove box. “I got you something.” Rifling around inside, he pulled his hand out and dropped a bright purple brush on my lap.

And for the first time ever. . . I was afraid of my brother.

There was no more life, no more free spirit. Everything about him had darkened.

I didn't see any of this coming.

She never had a chance.

Because I never said a damn thing.