Murderer

Chapter 33: Brendon

I sat down in front of a window that separated me from my parents. My mom was the one who picked up the phone, and I reached for mine. Her face was upset, but I was not ashamed of my actions. I waited for her to say something first, but for a few minutes we just stared at each other.

"Do you feel bad?" she finally asked quietly.

I shook my head. "No."

I watched as she covered her mouth. Dad was rubbing her shoulders now, and her eyes were teary. I didn't understand what the big deal was. It happened, it's over, and I saved Ryan.

I held up the phone, ready to ask the question that has been bothering me ever since I found out that Ryan was alive. But she wouldn't hold the phone back up, she was too busy crying. I abruptly pounded my fist against the glass as hard as I could to get her attention and it rattled her up pretty bad, but it worked.

"What's wrong with Ryan? Please. I have to know." I stared gently in her eyes, pretending that I was ready to burst into tears if I didn't find out.

She twisted the phone wire for a moment, feeling uneasy about the answer to the question. "He has extensive memory lost. He forgot everything. He doesn't even know his name. He's not going to remember you, or any of the time you guys spent together. The doctor says there's a very limited chance that he will be able to remember."

I couldn't believe it. Christopher killed his dad, he has nobody, and now he doesn't even know who he is anymore. I wanted to be by his side, but I was trapped inside this jail.

"Mom, please, tell him about me. Tell him about everything we did together, just don't tell him what I did for him, please. Don't let him remember these past few months. Please just tell him I exist and that I care about him, and I would be there by his side if I could." I could feel the warmth of my tears as they rolled down my cheeks. It destroyed me to know that my best friend wouldn't remember me.

She just shook her head gloomily. "You're being moved to a mental institution Brendon. We're not going to visit you, I'm sorry. I just can't handle it. You have problems. A lot of problems. We're adopting Ryan. We owe him that, since our son killed the only family he had."

I was so happy. Ryan would be family now. We could be brothers when I get out of the mental institution. "Mom, that's so great! We'll all be family! Just tell him about me, okay? Show him the pictures I have in my bedroom!"

Dad reached for the phone but she swatted him away and tightened her grip on the phone. He gave me a cold look, but I just ignored him. I had always been closer to mom anyways. "Brendon, you burned down the house. Don't you remember? There are no pictures of you and Ryan left. He'll never remember you, because we aren't going to tell him about you. We're sorry. It's for the better. He's going to live the normal life he deserves."

"No! Please! Please tell him I miss him! Mom, please!" I called out, but she just sadly hung up, shaking her head, using a tissue to dab the tears from her eyes.

There was no words that could correctly explain how I was feeling right now. Anger, betrayal, sadness. I began banging on the glass, screaming "he will remember me!" as my parents got up and started walking away, their backs turned towards me as if I didn't exist anymore.

Before they were fully out the door, my mother stopped to look back at me, and watched as I was dragged away to my cell. I watched her disappointingly shake her head at me. My own parents had abandoned me. I was alone. Eventually, nobody would think about me at all. Nobody would miss me. Not even Ryan.