January 8 2020
ICU, PRIVATE ROOM — 10:48 PM
The machines hummed low beside the bed where Tony, AJ's brother, still slept off post-op sedation. His vitals steady. Peaceful. For now.
Across the room, AJ sat in a hard plastic chair, curled slightly forward, elbows on her knees, her gaze unfocused.
Dave stood by the window, arms crossed, staring out at the lights of the city.
Neither had spoken in minutes.
Then:
Dave - I was fifteen when I met Ron.
AJ turned to look at him, quiet.
Dave - He wasn't like that back then
Dave continued.
Dave - He was smart. Thoughtful. He read poetry, AJ. Carried Neruda in his back pocket and acted like it was a weapon.
She gave a weak smile.
AJ - You always had a thing for dramatic people.
Dave smirked faintly, then sobered.
Dave -He was like a brother to me. Maybe more. Even when he was in that's really bad foster home, we protected each other. Fought for scraps together. He used to say—'you and me, or nobody.
AJ watched his face shift with the memory — and the grief.
Dave - But after high school, I left. I got clean. I started working security gigs. Met you. He... didn't. The streets didn't let go of him.
She leaned back.
AJ - You never told me.
He nodded.
Dave - Because when I saw him again, years later, he wasn't Ron anymore. He was... paranoid. Angry. He said the world owed him something.
He paused. Then added quietly:
Dave - And when I realized what he tried to do to you... I knew he wasn't coming back from that. That wasn't the kid I knew. That was something darker. Something broken.
AJ swallowed. Her fingers tightened around the edge of her coat.
Dave - I didn't want you to carry that part
Dave said, eyes still distant.
Dave -The guilt. The past. What I did.
AJ- You didn't just protect me
she said
AJ - You buried a part of yourself to do it.
He looked at her now. Really looked.
Dave - I'd do it again
he whispered.
She nodded, tears gathering behind her eyes but refusing to fall.
Then she reached for his hand. Held it tightly.
Aj - You didn't lose a brother
she said.
AJ - You survived one
And for the first time, the air between them wasn't just full of pain.
It was full of forgiveness.
