What We've Become

Lost

Arrow pried the zipper of his black backpack open and yanked out a half empty can of red spray paint. An ornery smirk licked its way onto his pale face as he covered his mouth and nose with his non-dominant hand. He shook up the can of paint, aiming at the brick wall and...

"What do you think you're doing?" The disapproving voice of his half-brother, Kasey, growled from the sidewalk.

Arrow jumped, swiftly shoving the paint back into his bag, playing it cool. "Oh, hey little brother!" He cooed awkwardly, his arms held open as if he were looking for a hug, or calling someone out. "How's it goin'?"

"Don't you dare," Kasey snapped, taking a fierce grip on his older brother's shirt, yanking him down to his level to glare at him in the eyes.

"Yo! I was just tryna ask ya how your day was!" Arrow shouted defensively.

"Mhum," Kasey hummed, walking to Arrow's backpack, easily pulling out the 'hidden' can of spray paint. "Graffiti? Again?"

Arrow shrugged. "Hey... It's not illegal if you don't get caught."

Kasey scoffed and rolled his green eyes. "Yeah, well, what do you do when you do get caught, Arrow? Then what do you do? You already have an eye on you because of your school record and your mom."

Arrow growled lowly, swiping the paint away from his brother and slamming the can down in his bag once again before zipping it up and slinging it over one of his shoulders. "Don't lecture me on my mother," He spat with venom.

Kasey sighed. "I'm sorry, Arrow... I just worry about you... I don't want you to go to Juvie because I love you."

Arrow sighed, slouching his posture. "Sure Kace... I love you too..."

"Now... It's getting dark, and I have to be home before. But I'm going to walk you home so that I know you got there," Kasey said, grabbing Arrow's arm.

Arrow scoffed. "You really are pathetic."

Kasey ignored his insult, grabbing his arm and dragging him down the sidewalk at a quick pace. People would glance at them and say a "hello" to Kasey, but blow off Arrow's presence all together. Everyone in the town knew that the two were brothers, even though they had no resemblance. Their father had had an affair on Kasey's mom when they got into a fight. This affair was with Arrow's mom, who ended up pregnant. In the end, Kasey's parents made up and had him, leaving Arrow's mother to care for the infant on her own. Their father was a respected businessman of the town, though, on Arrow's part, his mom was a total piece of work. She did anything and everything to get her hands on the drugs she was heavily addicted to, which led to the distrust of Arrow.

"There, home," Kasey said, pointing at the small, worn down shack house that Arrow lived in with his mom.

"This isn't home,"Arrow spat bitterly.

Kasey looked at him for a moment in silence. "I don't know what else to do, Arrow. You know what will happen if I take you home with me, and I don't want you getting arrested."

"I'd rather be in juvie than here," Arrow snarled harshly.

Kasey sighed. "She isn't even home now, see?" He pointed to the empty driveway.

Arrow glared daggers at the house. "So? I don't wanna be here!"

"What else do you expect me to do, Arrow? I gotta be home in less than ten minutes, and you can't be getting in trouble!"

"I don't want to be lectured by Mr.Perfect either!" Arrow snapped. Kasey flinched, unable to look at his brother. "Your life has always been so perfect, Kase. Mine has been nothing but living in a shithole and being beat by my mom because I won't hit her back."

Kasey sighed. "I'm sorry..."

"I guess I just don't see why I'm even here..." Arrow sighed, looking at the setting sun. "My mom hates me, my dad doesn't want me near him, and all I do is cause problems... So why do I stick around?"

"Arrow!" Kasey shouted, and Arrow didn't even look at him. "I need you! You're the only friend that I have anymore, and I love you! You're my brother..."

"I'm a bad influence," Arrow mimicked Kasey's mom. Kasey opened his mouth to say something else, but Arrow didn't let him. "You'd better go. I don't want to get you in trouble."

They stood there in silence for a moment before Kasey grabbed his brother's arm. "I love you Arrow... I'll come see you tomorrow..."

Arrow glanced at him before nodding slightly. "Okay..."

Kasey stared into his brother's eyes for a short while before he turned and bolted down the street towards his home.

Arrow watched him until he disappeared around a corner, and only then did he turn to face his house. The sun had vanished behind the horizon, and the darkness gave the house an even more depressing aesthetic. Not having much of a choice, he headed up the decrepit walkway to the broken screen door that led inside. The inside was far worse than the outside. The reek of marijuana and cigarettes slapped Arrow in the face as soon as he opened the door. The carpet was torn up in some spots and stained by who-knows-what. The furniture consisted of an old couch that was worn to practically nothing and a box TV that sat on the floor. One of the walls was caving in, due to a fist hole from one of his mom's ex boyfriends.

He shook his head, heading for the basement stairs. There were only eight steps, and they were made out of cracked cement. At the very base of them was a short hallway, three doors along the walls, two on one side, and one on the other, and one door across from the steps. He hurried to the door straight across from the stairs, and shut it behind him. It was pitch black, though, he didn't need light to know where everything was.

He dropped his backpack beside the door before locking himself inside. He silently walked to a specific spot in his room and picked up an object before jumping at a slight angle, back-flopping onto his bed. He fiddled with the rectangular object in his hand and turned it on, a bright light filling the small space. He tapped on his music app and randomly chose a song. He popped in his earbuds after plugging them into his phone, allowing the loud music to overcome his senses.

His mind drifted to a picture of him and his brother standing together at the park with their dad seven months before in the August chill. The leaves in the cottonwood trees were gold, and the aspens were bloodred. The breeze was blowing their hair all over. He had the clearest picture of his brother from the photo his father had taken of them. Kasey's brand new striped shirt with his designer jeans made him look rich. His chestnut brown hair was styled to perfection, the tips dyed a soft teal color at the time. His eyes were greener than green, shimmering with glee as he smiled bright for the picture.

Arrow, on the other hand, looked like the opposite. His hair was long and unkempt, dyed permanently black, rather than the blonde it had been when he was a child. He stood at least a foot taller than his half brother, and his skin, unlike the nice tan color of Kasey's, was so pale, it was blinding. His black jeans were old, faded, and ripped up due to overuse, and his black t-shirt had a poorly sketched out skull and crossbones on it. The only nice part of his outfit that wasn't old and worn was his leather jacket that his dad had bought for him that day. It was new and shiny in the sunlight. Chains that he'd hooked to the pockets of his jeans gleamed in the light, just as his blue-grey eyes. Despite the sunny and happy location, he was not smiling. His face was completely blank.

After the thought danced around in his mind for a while, he allowed the image to disappear, and in its place was the lyrics of the songs that came over his cheap earbuds. He was lost in an endless pool of darkness and hatred...