I hadn't seen my brother cry before
I hadn't seen him cry before the night he found me covered in blood on the bathroom floor
He always hid his feelings, trying to be a "man"
He didn't cry when our dog died when he was nine
He loved that dog
He didn't cry when our grandmother passed away
He loved her too
He didn't cry when he fell off of his bike and split his head open
He didn't cry when his girlfriend of six years broke up with him
He didn't cry the day he left for college
He didn't cry when I saw our dad hit him
He didn't cry when he lost the state championship for soccer
He didn't cry when he wasn't allowed to get ice cream when he was five
He didn't cry when he was hit yet again by our father
And continued to not cry every single time he was abused
He didn't cry while watching The Notebook
He didn't cry when our dad forced him to cut his hair when he was sixteen because it made him look like a "fag"
He didn't cry when our mother had to leave him at preschool for the first time when he was two
But there he was the night before
Crying when he found me
I made him cry
I broke my brother
