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A deathly silence, almost as if time had suddenly stood still. All sound had vanished, giving way to an oppressive, heavy unease that weighed upon their shoulders—where only strained breathing could be heard, there, in that bedroom which was growing far too small with each passing year. It grew tighter and tighter, until it was suffocating. Not that there was much to be done about it, though.
Sitting in bed, Kel kept his gaze settled on his fingers as he fidgeted with them, anything to hold his attention. Anything to keep himself occupied—otherwise, he’d be frozen in place, afraid to even glance too far to his left for fear of... breaking something. Somehow. It was strange to see him so quiet, although. Usually, he was a boy so full of energy that he became incredibly talkative and loud, which made the ongoing situation feel all the more odd...
He winced when he pressed too hard on a fingernail, having stopped paying attention to what he was doing—so focused was he on clearing his mind and avoiding dwelling on... that. Whatever it was, anything to keep his mind busy and away from the harsh reality. Yet, the mild pain was enough to snap Kel out of his trance and make him turn his head slightly toward the person currently sharing his sheets.
Two naked, motionless figures, side by side, their lower bodies covered by a thick orange blanket patterned with basketballs.
It could have been anyone, really.
Sunny, Basil... maybe Aubrey, if he was suicidal enough... Mikhael, if he had weird tastes...
All things considered, they would have been more appropriate options, huh.
For the reality of it all was far more questionable than that. Far more dubious, far more unsettling. Like a truth that deserved to be buried and never dug up—a divine punishment for wayward sinners.
Peering through his messy bangs, Kel looked at his brother, Hero. The latter’s eyes were vacant, seemingly fixed on an invisible point on the opposite wall—covered in Captain Spaceboy posters and a few photos casually pinned up. His face was unnaturally pale, and it was almost as if his soul had slipped away, leaving nothing but an empty shell behind. After watching him silently for a few moments—not that it made much difference to their condition, the young man seemed to steel himself and took a breath.
“Um... so...” A nervous laugh cut him off in mid-sentence. “About—”
“No.” Hero’s reply was swift, jolting awake at the mere prospect of confrontation. Like he’d just been slapped across the cheek, leaving a red, painful mark. Stinging, too. “No, no, no. Nothing, it was nothing,” he went on, his voice rushing as he spoke, as if he were running out of time—and the end of the world were near, having only a few minutes left to say what still weighed on their hearts.
But, eh. Wasn't that already sort of the case?
At first, Kel didn't know what to say. After all, he could certainly understand Hero’s reaction, speaking fast to quickly brush the subject aside. Avoiding it, ignoring it, burying it. Anything but facing it head-on. Sighing softly, the athlete’s shoulders slumped, a sheepish look settled on his face as his brows drooped sadly. He looked like a kicked puppy accepting his fate—but then, he frowned.
“If it was really nothing, then—”
“Kel!” He shouted, louder than he’d intended. But it didn't matter, for he'd just wanted to make Kel shut up—and it'd worked. Then, one of Hero’s trembling hands moved to clutch a few strands of his hair, giving them a slight tug. His eyes were wide, pupils dilated, though his gaze remained fixed straight ahead. Never wavering, choosing a cowardly escape. “Can't you just...”
But the question died in his throat.
Hero didn't have the strength.
It was too hard.
A tangle of shock and shame clouded his mind.
... knowing full well he wouldn't get anywhere under these circumstances, Kel gave up. His parents often called him stubborn, but clearly, they’d never seen Hero—getting him to talk was nearly impossible once he’d latched onto an idea, no matter how shitty it might be. Then again, none of this would be happening if they hadn't... urgh, how did they even end up here, anyway? Not that he particularly wanted to think about it, all things considered...
Somewhat frustrated by this obvious lack of communication, despite the gravity of the situation, he suddenly flung back the orange blanket, only his side, to climb out and sit on the edge of the bed. In the end, staying here any longer would only make things worse...
“So, we're not talking,” Kel said. Not a question, but a statement. As he bent down to grab his gray boxers, he strained to listen, half-expecting something, anything—but nothing came. Hero remained hunkered down in silence, offering no rebuttal. That gave his brother time to clumsily pull on his underwear, though he didn't even realize he’d put them on inside out. So scatterbrained. Once he was decent, however, he stood up to gather the rest of his clothes scattered across the floor. He couldn't find one of his socks, but he didn't care. It wasn't as if it were lost for good.
After all, they shared the same room. Yeah. That wasn't going to be excruciatingly awkward at all...
When Kel turned around, he saw that Hero had turned his head slightly away, just enough to hide his face.
Ashamed.
His younger sibling said nothing, merely tugging at the collar of his basketball tank top—as if it were strangling him.
So, that was it? What had happened just minutes ago—they were just going to sweep it under the rug?
Go on acting as if this hadn't been the inevitable outcome of the stifling tension that had built up between them since Hero came back from college?
Fine, then.
Fine.
Kel wasn't going to fight any longer, for he knew he couldn't win. It was obvious, a mathematical certainty. What was the point, when fate had already been written? Still, he kept staring, clinging to a faint hope, a maybe, but to no avail. He failed to catch Hero's attention—or rather, the latter refused to grant it to him.
Deep down, he loathed the way Hero would withdraw into himself, carefully ignoring reality whenever something deeply unsettled him.
What a great son.
“You can spend the whole day here meditating for all I care,” Kel added, looking at the bed. He immediately noticed that Hero had nearly turned toward him—surely a reflex he’d conveniently stifled just in time. “It was a fucking mistake.” And with that, the words spoken with a bitterness that sounded so out of place coming from him, he strode to the door and slammed it shut behind him.
His brother wanted to bury his head in the sand? So as not to address the elephant in the room and to act as if everything were normal?
Two could play this game.