Blake
Fifteen years ago
It’s not that I think my brothers are the smartest people on the planet.
That would be a pretty dumb thing to believe.
No, and it’s also not that I have some sort of strange, unbelievable faith in my siblings to do the right thing or always try their bests. No, that’s not it at all. That’s not why I spend so much time with Keith and Pierce.
It’s not why I fight for them and it’s not why I protect them.
I do these things because I love them.
I do them because Keith and Pierce are my family and I would do anything for them.
Most brothers feel this way, most brothers think they’d do anything to protect their siblings from harm or damage, but few actually have the chance to show them.
Me?
I have that choice right now, today, and I have about two minutes to make it. When I glance over at Keith and Pierce, I know I can’t let them take the fall for this one. It doesn’t matter what they did or didn’t do. It doesn’t matter that they’ve been getting into more and more trouble or that my mother thinks we’re all a bunch of screw-ups. It doesn’t matter that they’ve been up to mischief.
No, what matters is that I need to protect them and do the right thing. I need to tell the police that it was entirely my fault, that I’m the one who did the dirty deeds. Prison will be fine. What’s the most they could lock me up for? A day or two? I’m not scared of that.
The real problem is something else entirely.
The real problem is that I don’t know what they did, why the police have come, or how they’ve gotten caught.
All I know is that my little brothers have their entire lives ahead of them. All they need is a chance.
Oh, I know what my mother would like for us to do. She’s been beating us our entire lives and she’s made it clear that to her, we’re just people she can use for cheap labor. If my brothers have been up to no good, there’s a chance my mother is the one who put them up to it.
She’d love nothing more than to see us all end up like her: struggling to put food on the table, petal juice addicts, junkies. She’d like nothing more than for us to turn to the lives of crime she’s offered to help us start.
But we’re better than that.
We’re so much better than that.
At least, this is what I believe when the police arrive and I take a step forward.
“Keith Ryder?” One of the men calls out. “Pierce Ryder?”
I take a step forward. “Blake Ryder,” I say my name aloud. “What can I do for you?”
“We need to talk to your brothers, sir,” one of the officers says. “Please step aside.”
With a deep breath, I realize this isn’t going to be the end of it. Whatever Pierce and Keith have done this time, it’s big enough to involve the police. It’s big enough to mean court and possible jail time, and it’s big enough for me to realize that I have to do this for them.
I have to take their places.
It’s part of being a big brother, really. When one of your siblings needs you, you step up and help them. When one of them is in trouble, you’ll go to the ends of the Earth just so they don’t have to suffer.
I take a deep breath. “I’m the one you want,” I say, and the police officer gives me a good, hard look.
“Are you sure, son?” He asks me quietly. He glances over my shoulder to my brothers, and I know what he’s thinking. I know he’s wondering if I’m doing this just for them, and I am.
“It was me,” I promise, and the man leads me away. When I look back at Pierce and Keith, I’m surprised to see them with looks of relief – not worry or concern – on their faces. The looks confuse me until we arrive at the prison and the officers lead me to a cage.
“I thought you were going to interrogate me,” I say, confused. Then I shake my head, as if to clear it. Why are they putting me in a cage? We might be on Orchid, but even Orchidians have rules and policies that go into place. How else would we protect our citizens?
How else would we make sure everyone gets a fair chance to defend themselves?
When someone is arrested, they’re supposed to be given a chance to find out what they’re in charge for. Getting thrown into a little box that’s barely big enough to stand in? This wasn’t part of the deal.
“Get in the cage, son,” the officer says sadly. “It’ll go a lot easier for everyone if you just do as you’re told.”
“But why?” I turn around. “Isn’t this just about some prank? About painting a hovercar or stealing some petal juice?”
“I’m afraid it’s much more serious than that, son.”
My stomach sinks as I realize I’ve been betrayed. Of course Keith and Pierce looked relieved: I was their fall guy. My mother learned long ago I wasn’t going to go for her crap, and despite the way she’s bred me to be violent, I’ve managed to resist it for this long.
My brothers haven’t.
I’ve been under the impression that I’ve been helping them – saving them, even – but that’s entirely wrong, isn’t it?
Apparently, my brothers have done something awful: really awful.
And apparently, I’ve agreed to take the blame for it.
I’m fifteen: I’m too young to be spending my life in a cage, especially one as small as the metal tin can I’m staring at with disgust.
“Tell me,” I say to the man, but I keep my eyes focused on the cage. This cage is going to be where my life falls apart, I realize. It’s where my life is going to crumble, where I’m going to realize I am entirely alone in this world. It’s where I realize I have no one who will look after me, where I have nothing that will protect me from the darkness that surrounds us.
The man puts a hand on my shoulder and stands beside me for a long minute. The gesture is kind, and it makes me miss my own father. Dad left so long ago that I can’t even remember what his face looks like, and isn’t that sad?
For all I know, this kind officer could be the dad I’ve been missing.
I know he’s not, but he could be.
“Just say it,” I whisper quietly, unable to take it a minute longer. Whatever they’ve done, I’m sure it can be fixed. It has to be able to be fixed.
“There’s been a murder,” the man says slowly, and I realize that I’m in way over my head.
And I understand suddenly that I’ve lost it all: more than I ever thought possible.
I’m never going to be the same ever again.