You Have a Twin?!

Brother Comforting Brother

Ryan's POV
We walk through the door to Fang, Nudge and my grandparent's house and the group immediately splits off into certain groups. Gazzy and Angel go to the kitchen with Iggy. Nudge and Ella drag a struggling Max to Nudge's room to give her a makeover. I smile at the sight. We all had fun. I hear a sigh and footsteps walking away. I glance over and see Nicky walking away, hands in his pockets, head hanging. My brow furrows in worry as I follow him. He opens the back door and sits on the hammock, facing the backyard. He reaches into a little wooden chest and pulls out a knife and a piece of wood that he has carved into. He sighs as he starts to carve an intricate design onto the already intricate tree he carved. I quietly walk closer and see his hand shaking. Nicky, even though he will never admit it, is a very emotional person. I lay my hand on his. He doesn't look at me, he just relaxes his hand so I can take the knife from him. I doubt anyone other than me has seen him this way. He always acts tough, it's his nature. I put the knife back into the chest then I join my twin on the hammock. "Today was great." I say happily, trying to lighten the mood. "Y-yea." Nicky stutters, head hanging so his hair is hiding his face. Something is really bothering him. He never stutters unless it's bad. "What's wrong Nicky?" I ask, putting my arm around his shoulders. "N-nothing. W-why d-do y-you a-ask?" My eyes widen, as I notice a light shake in his shoulders. I pull my twin into a tight, secure hug. He hugs me back and soon he's full on sobbing, and he is clinging to me. I rub his back and I just pray that nobody comes out here and sees Nicky like this.
After about 5 minutes of Nicky's crying, he finally sniffs and takes multiple deep breaths. "S-sorry Ryan. Now your shirt is a-all wet." My twin says, wiping his eyes. I smile sympathetically at him. "It's only fair. Your shirt was always wet from my tears when we were younger, remember." Nicky nods and he hugs himself. He's very insecure and our father always said he wasn't allowed to cry because he'd be seen as weak, and our father said, and I quote, "I'm not going to have weak brats for sons!" I wince as I feel a phantom sting. Father always said that when we cried as he was whipping us. Nicky's head snaps up at the movement and he immediately turns and grabs my arms. He must've been thinking of that time too. "Nicky, I'm fine. It was just a phantom sting." I say soothingly as I gently take my arms away. My brother blinks and looks away, "Sorry for crying." I stand and grab my twin's face, forcing him to look at me, "Nicholas Colmillo Cortez, don't you ever be sorry about crying! You have every right to let out your emotions! Nobody here is going to judge you or think you're a disappointment! Everyone here loves you Nicholas! Nobody will beat you for crying when you're hurting here! Nobody will yell at you and call you weak if you cry here! You're safe here Nicholas, you're safe here." I say sternly. Tears fall from my brother's eyes and my own tears start to fall as well. I lean into him and hug him again. He doesn't move, he just sits there. I squeeze tighter and he finally shakes his head and hugs back. I let go and see him drying his face with his shirt. "Do I look I just cried for about 7 minutes?" He asks, standing. "You're eyes are a little red and puffy." I sigh, there he goes again, trying to be tough. Nicky blinks multiple times and his eyes start to clear. "Better?" I nod. Nicky clears his throat and puts his carved tree into the chest and he shuts it. Then he comes over and pulls me close. He hugs me and lays his head on my shoulder. I do the same. "Thank you Ryan. You're always there for me when I need you the most." My twin says quietly. "Oh Nicky, that's what brothers do. You do the exact same for me." I reply, smile on my face. He pulls away, hands on my shoulders and says, "I love you Ryan, you know that right?" "Of course I know that Nicky. I love you too." I reply with a sympathetic smile. My brother returns a smile and my mind instantly sees, not our father, who everyone who knew him thinks about, but I see our mom. I see the sweet, caring, and compassionate brother and friend. Even his smile is our mom's. To tell the truth, now a days, I'm the one who looks more like our father. "Let's go Ryan." Nicky says putting an arm around my shoulders and starts to lead me to the door. I nod and we walk in together. We keep these moments to ourselves, no matter how bad, and that promise will stay until we decide otherwise.