It had been 13 years since my brother got killed. 13 long and dreadful years. DJ got caught up and it got him killed. Yaslin missed her big opportunity to be a star. The only good that came out of DJ's death was that it landed Johnathon a full scholarship to college. I was only 2 went DJ got killed. I don't remember much about the situation, but I can tell it took a toll on everyone. It took a while for Mama to stop sleeping in his room. She took his death the hardest. Yaslin never left Brooklyn and once DJ died, she became "Mama". She ended up with a job as a music teacher at the high school. It was the closest thing to music that she could still keep with her. DJ's death didn't really affect me much. I knew I had an older brother; I knew little details about him. I knew that DJ was always getting in trouble; hardheaded, arrogant, self-centered, that I remember, but I also remember the times where he wasn't such an asshole. Maybe because I was only a toddler. Who knows? Every year on his birthday, we go to see him, and by him, I mean his grave. His tombstone this dirty gray color with the engraving of his name and dates. At the bottom, it wrote, We'll see you soon sweet boy.
Every year, Mama and Yaslin would cry while I comfort them. Johnny would just stand there with this blank stare in his eyes. Like he was almost emotionless. Every year we would talk to him, tell him about our days, what's going on, how everyone is. I never saw the point of talking to cement and grass. At one point, I thought Yaslin was talking to a bunch of ants, but I just sat there every year and watched.
I'm good at that.
Watching.
Observing.
I watched Mama almost kill herself one time, Yaslin too. I watched the way Mama would take an antidepressant or two and lay low in her room, sitting and staring at the tv all day. She would only come out to use the bathroom and eat. I watched how Johnny would just study. His head was always in a book. He never showed an emotion when it pertained to DJ. He seemed detached from the situation.
I watched everything.
The older I got, the more I continued to watch. At school, I would watch the popular kids talking about a party the weekend before, the nerds getting bullied by the jocks, the teachers gathering in the faculty lounge and discussing numerous things over their morning coffee. That seemed to be the story of my life: watching other people live their lives. My superpower per se.
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cut so deep || serenity (book 2)
Short Storyreni had never felt any emotions towards her brother's death. she was young when he died. she spent majority of her life watching the affects of his death take a toll on the rest of her family. she lived the average life of a kid from brooklyn, with...
