I'll Protect You

Prologue

Oliver's six. His brown hair is flying everywhere, getting into his green eyes that seem to sparkle with childlike innocence. Henry is pushing him on the swing, he's almost identical to his brother, but with darker eyes that seem to be like the murky green depths of a swamp, and lighter hair, almost the colour of straw. People would mistake them for twins if they weren't born ten years apart.

Henry's friends are sitting on the play equipment, twirling knives or holding cigarettes. Richard has blonde hair, so light it's almost silver, and he has blue eyes, always searching for something to do. He is always moving, jiggling his legs or walking in circles. Right now he's twirling his knife, forwards, then backward, then forwards again, and so on. David has brown hair, that sticks together in clumps, as he barely brushes or washes it. Oliver thinks it looks like feathers. David also has brown eyes, so dark they're almost black. The last one in the group is Jack. Jack had dyed his hair green, dark green. Oliver can't remember what Jack's natural hair colour is. He's not old enough. Jack's eyes are blue, but darker, like the darkest depths of the ocean. Sometimes he swims, and races against Richard. They're both faster than Oliver, but he knows that he's better at running anyway.

Oliver squeals as he goes sideways on the swing. Henry steps away to leave Oliver swinging and goes to sit with his friends. Oliver knows he should be afraid. He knows that Henry's group is scary. But they're not bullies, and they don't hurt him. And they don't make Oliver feel scared, they make him feel safe. Henry and his group protect him from his mum and dad. They yell and scream a lot, his parents. And they drink from these glass bottles that sometimes smash on the floor. So yeah, Oliver knows he's safer with Henry's group, and yeah, Oliver knows that they do bad things too. Sometimes Henry and his group drink from the glass bottles too, but they don't yell at him, they look sad. Sometimes Henry cries and holds him so tight that Oliver feels uncomfortable, but he lets his brother do it, as Henry lets him hug him when Oliver hurts himself or feels sad.

Once the swing stops, Oliver hops off and goes to sit next to his brother. The group of friends all look at him with smiles, and David ruffles his hair. Henry takes Oliver's hand and looks at him with a serious face, which Oliver copies.

"We want you to join our group, Pup. Is that okay?" Henry asks and Oliver nods wildly. Pup was a nickname he had earned when he was five. He followed the group around wherever they went, like a puppy. He always came back, no matter what had happened before. He placed immense trust in the group of older kids, which led him into agreeing to join their little group more closely.

"It's going to hurt a bit, but then we'll be blood brothers," Jack explains, grabbing the knife from Richard and passing it to Henry. "We'll be connected for life," he continues as Henry wipes the knife clean with a cloth.

"We'll prick your fingers, and then ours, and then connect us together," Henry explains, gently pricking his smallest finger. Blood wells up and Oliver watches, entranced. He almost misses Henry pricking the pointer on Oliver's hand, and pressing their fingers together.

"Why don't I prick my pinky?" Oliver asks as Henry pulls their fingers apart.

"It's the hierarchy," Henry explains as he moves to prick Oliver's middle finger and Jack's pinky. He presses them together and then repeats the process with Richard and David. David on Oliver's ring finger and Richard on his pinky.

"What's a hierarchy?" Oliver asks as he wraps bandaids around his fingers.

"It means I'm in charge, then it continues along your fingers," Henry says distractedly as he lights a cigarette and takes a drag. Oliver smiles as he imagines his brother in charge. Ordering others around. Maybe he'll be in charge of the world one day, and Oliver could sit on a golden throne with him. Then Oliver frowns as he remembers that the others have him on their last finger.

"Does that mean I'm last? The least important?" Oliver asks, gently grabbing Richard's hand to examine it. Jack chuckles and Henry ruffles his hair.

"Just means we'll protect you," is all he says before letting Oliver rest his head on his shoulder and yawn. Oliver feels protected.

——

On Oliver's ninth birthday he wakes up to arguing. Henry sits next to him on the bed, a frown pulling at his face. Through the door, Oliver can see Mum's bright red hair. She's very pretty but Henry calls her a 'gold-digger'. When Oliver asks why Henry ruffles his hair and walks off. Dad is very fat, and always wears gold jewellery, but Oliver has never seen Mum dig any of it up.

Once Henry notices Oliver's awake he smiles. He pulls a small box from under the bed and Oliver thanks him in a whisper as he receives it. Once the lid is off, Oliver almost screams in triumph. Inside was the book Oliver had been eyeing in the bookstore. He knew not to ask Mum or Dad as they would just yell at him, but he asked Henry, and now he had it. The book was about a boy and his dog that travel through Australia together, and Oliver had been in love as soon as he saw it.

Oliver tackles Henry in a hug as he hears the slam of a car door. Mum and Dad always leave early, to go to work. Henry hugs Oliver as he hits the bed with a thunk. Then, Henry leads them both into the kitchen for a small scoop of ice cream and a round of happy birthday. Jack, Richard and David come soon after, and they sing the song again and eat some more ice cream and some burnt and messily decorated cupcakes that the boys had brought. Oliver also got a colouring book and some new pencils, along with a yo-yo. He hugged all three boys before begging them to teach him how to use the yo-yo effectively. Then, they play tag and hide and seek. After the fourth round of Oliver winning he went back to bed, worn out from the busy day. Henry watching over him as he falls asleep, carding his fingers through Oliver's hair.

When Oliver wakes up it's dark. He yawns and feels his stomach give a lurch, wanting food. Oliver slides of his bed and pads towards the kitchen, flicking on a light to see the room clearer. A sob breaks out of his throat as he sees the scene in front of him. Mum and Dad are dead, blood pooling around them, coming from gashes on their arms and legs. Their organs are left as a bloody mess next to them, the blood creating a perfect pool for them to sit in.

Oliver's feet drag him to the phone, where he hurriedly calls the police.

"Police, Ambulance or Fire Brigade," the lady says. She sounds bored and overworked.

"Mum and Dad are dead," Oliver wails, "I can't find my brother. Please help me." The lady hushes him and tells him she's notified the police. Oliver has tears streaming down his face now, not really hearing what the lady says.

"Where do you live?" She asks her voice kind now. Oliver prattles of his address. He waits for more caring words but none come. He looks at the phone and sees the lights all off. The cord is laying on the ground, cut clean in half. A hand covers Oliver's mouth and he's tries to scream, tries to get out. Then Henry's face is there, knife in one hand, the other covering Oliver's face. Oliver almost sobs, because this is his wonderful brother, who loves him and cares for him and how could he do this?

"Hey, Pup it's okay." Henry whispers, curling around Oliver. He sits down, dragging Oliver with him as they sit together on the floor, the blood not even a metre away. Henry drops the knife, using his now free hand to press Oliver closer. Then he loops the arm around to gently squeeze Oliver's nose, cutting off all air going into his body. That's when Oliver starts struggling, moving and trying to twist away until he finally stills as his world goes black. He's conscious long enough to feel Henry kiss his forehead.