Chainsmoking your Love

A memory of a Broken life

"What was he Like? you brother?" Lincoln asked

"well... he was a lot like you in some ways, he was strong, he tried to cheer me up when he saw that I was sad, he was wild, like your younger sister Lana, But again he liked to just read comics or even picture books"

Lincoln smiled before it was replaced with a frown, "what happened? how did he die?" Lincoln asked

Becky closed her eyes and took a huge breath in and exhaling and she then looked back to the picture, "At the time, My brother was six and I was twelve... My father was a drunk who ran out on my mother after Charlie turned 4, and my mother, well she wasn't a very good person either" Becky Began "she was cruel... mostly to Charlie, I never knew why but she was"

"I'm sorry" Lincoln replied

"It's ok Lincoln, It's in the past" Becky replied before continuing her story, "Anyway, we lived in an apartment building which was a shithole in Detroit, but we managed. We tried to act like everything was normal, to us, that was normal, however, I envied other kids when I saw how nice their parents were, I wanted that life for myself and for Charlie"

Lincoln listened, with each word, he felt pity for Becky, He was crying because his family had kicked him out for a lie he told about himself, while Becky had lived a horrible life and her only brother was dead. Was Lincoln just being a brat? because he sure felt like it.

"My mom would get angry at us, she would hit us but would beat Charlie more, I tried to protect him the best I could, but she would always push me aside and beat Charlie... I remember crying and begging her to stop so she wouldn't kill him, I remember once that she threw a beer bottle at him and he a shard of the glass below his eye, I was so scared that she might have blinded him" Becky continued her story "One day, Charlie got sick, just a common cold, but he had to stay in bed... and I regret that day every single day of my life"

Lincoln looked at her hesitant and afraid to ask her what had happened, but he didn't want to, afraid that he was already pushing her, but the words left his mouth before he could stop himself. "what happened to him?" he asked

"I came home that day to see him on the floor and bleeding from his head. I called the ambulance, and they came just in time. He recovered, and C.P.S got involved and our aunt took us in along with my uncle, we stayed there for a week and both of us thought that our loves would get better... but that wasn't the end to the abuse" Becky replied "Our mom managed to come to our school and she took him right out of school's playground and took him home, the only reason she couldn't take me was that I was still in class and she had no way of taking us out, except for kidnapping us, which she did with Charlie"

"What happened next...?" Lincoln asked with concern and was hesitant

"The school called the cops and they looked at the school's security and saw my mom and found her in the apartment... but it was already too late..." Becky said

"Becky, if-"

"She had choked him for crying and not listening to her..." Becky said, her voice was now clearly breaking "I know it's not my fault... but back then, I balmed myself every day for what happened" Becky finished, some tears were coming down her face

Lincoln looked at her with some tears in his eyes and he turned to hug her, Becky accepted the hug and, "It wasn't your fault... I know that you might already know that, but I don't think it was ever your fault, and I don't think Charlie blamed you either" Lincoln told her

Becky looked at him with a soft smile and some tears still falling but she was already feeling better thanks to Lincoln, He knew how to make people happy, just like her brother.