the night of june 2nd // sanders sides ✔

8 : fourth interrogation

"Hello, Remus."

Remus was different. Instead of coming alone, there was an officer standing directly by him with one hand on a taser and one hand on his walkie talkie.

"Hello," Remus replied with a wicked glint in his eyes.

Declan noticed his mustache and white streak in his hair first. "How are you?"

"Great."

He figured he could be a bit more harsh with this one. "When was the last time you spoke to Roman?"

Remus replied, "A few years."

"Why did you stop talking?"

"He annoyed the shit out of me. We were always getting mad at each other."

"What's your history with him?"

"We were normal siblings until elementary school started. He got a big role in every play and he was the most popular kid until high school was over. He was sporty and girls were always interested in him and he pissed me off because our parents obviously cared about him more. I've always been stuck in his shadow and it's like my parents forgot I existed. He was really shit to me, so I just did it right back, but I was the only one reprimanded."

Declan nodded. "How did you find out about his death?"

"Patton told my parents and my parents texted me."

"What were you doing during the time leading up to the murder?"

"I was recently in Los Angeles so I was flying back. I got back in the afternoon and I was jet lagged so I slept for a pretty long time. When I woke up I just stayed in bed on my phone or whatever. Then I was going to go to the convenience store down the street for some snacks but then I saw Roman leaving Logan's house. He looked mad and I know I can basically set him off by existing so I went back inside."

"Do you know why your rivalry didn't stop as you two became adults?"

"Yeah. Because even as we got older, he still got everything and I got sent to rehab, so my parents weren't happy. Then he told all his friends and his boyfriend how awful I am, which, I guess, is kinda true, but he didn't ever care to talk to me. Last year, I found out my parents invited just Roman to visit them, and they didn't tell me. They've always been strangers to me, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I was jealous."

"Ah," Declan said. "So do your jealousy and anger ever become big problems?"

Remus shrugged. "Sometimes."

"How do you deal with it?"

"Smoking? I used to drink a lot, but now I'm cutting back because I want to go out and travel more. Or I'll just sit alone somewhere and eat my feelings away."

Remus was the only one who hadn't had an emotional meltdown yet.

Noted.

"Did your relationship with Roman change when you went to juvenile detention for breaking into someone else's house and attempting to rob it?"

"Yeah, but not much. He already didn't like me but my parents were feeding him insults about me so he ended up just like them."

The detective decided to throw a super straightforward question to possibly throw Remus off. "Have you ever thought about killing your brother?"

"Yes."

The suspect's immediate answer surprised Declan. "Oh. When?"

"It's just a thought that comes up sometimes. That, along with 'what if I killed my parents?' or 'what if I killed everyone and I would be stuck alone forever just like everyone told me I would be? Would I finally be happy or would I feel more alone?'"

Declan, for the first time, was left speechless.

In the silence, Remus' focused gaze on Declan caused Declan to tense as his throat began to dry up. The silent officer next to Remus gripped his taser tighter than before.

"Have you ever inflicted physical harm on another person?" he asked as calmly as possible.

"I've punched Roman a couple times."

"A playful sibling pu-"

"No. I punched him in the face and gave him a black eye."

"Oh. Okay. Thank you. I think that'll be all for right now, Remus."

Remus raised an eyebrow, winked at the detective, and left with the officer opening the door for him.

Declan let out a breath he'd been holding for an excessively long time.