OBSESSIVE

but

kieran was crushed against
that notice board by his throat, sprawled out
like a carcass, empty of the cocky boy persona. he couldn't bare to
maintain eye contact with my brother,
whose eyes were dark and menacing,
striking fear into all who glimpsed.

"please..." kieran choked out, clawing
at the first clenched around his neck.

my brother was forcing
metaphorical knives down kieran's throat;
his malicious tone violent and implicit.

kieran's laboured breaths were a new
kind of music to my ears. if there were
no other witnesses i would have cackled.

"leave my brother, and his best friend,
alone." he growled, pressing his
face right up to the whimpering
mess of a sixteen-year-old. "or i'll
fuck you up."

you were curling up behind me,
skye,
hiding in the folds of my shirt,
looking distressed.

"make your brother stop!" you
cried.

i grabbed you by the shoulders,
and searched your facade for a
long, blissful moment.

darkly, i told you, "i caught
him cheating on you. i was so
angry. so i leapt onto him,
beating him and kicking him,
and he punched me on my stomach,
arms, legs, ripping at my flesh.
look-" i sheepishly rolled up my
sleeves, exhibiting the patchwork of scratches. "i had to tell my brother."
i look away, feigning sadness.

"i'm sorry i wasn't strong enough."

you had another enigmatic whimsical
teary expression, as you reached up
to stroke my cheek.

"thank you." you let out a heartbreaking
sob and buried your face into my shirt.
"thank you so much. i loved him."

maybe you'll agree with me,
that as kieran was receiving a tumultuous
torrential downpour of powerful kicks,
and i was cradling the love of my life
against my heart, that i did the right
thing, that time.

but it needn't have been violent,
all the same.

kieran was bleeding from every
possible angle,
and my brother got suspended.

"it was worth it. he started
insulting me and this family."
he snapped to my mother,
as she scolded him so fiercely
her face went red.

"what kind of example are you
setting your brother! that every time
something goes wrong, or when
someone says something you don't like,
you beat them up so severely they bleed
on the floor?!"