The Monster Within

I wake up to grimy sunlight coming through the basement window, giving me just enough light to see my little brother, Caden, sleeping soundly on the mattress next to me. The bruise on his cheek from our mom's love is just starting to fade. The other gang members snores are soft except for one, probably Chris, who is sleeping off being drunk all last night. I roll over onto my stomach, the chill of Winter creeping into the warm spots of my bed and I yawn. My six pack flexes with the motion while my thick head of dark curls and waves flops over my grey eyes, blocking my view. Upstairs I can hear someone walking around and I wonder if Kendra hasn't left for work yet. I sit up and stretch a little before getting up and walking to the clothes pile on the mattress next to me and dig through the clothing until I find my black oversized hoodie. Caden's little thirteen year old body shifts under the thick comferter and I still, thinking for a moment that his eyes will open and they will be completely black, the whites engulfed in the dialated pupil. But instead he rolls over and continues to sleep soundly. That is my worst fear, Caden being a Rager like me, being dangerous.

A monster.