My Brother the Killer

Chapter 2: Sins of the Mother

I sighed annoyed that I was still in this jail cell, but court ordered that I stay here till' my next trial, and that's not till' another month. I'm nineteen years old and I've been charged with murder, assault, destruction of private and public property, and interference with police work. And if my lawyer Matt Murdock doesn't succeed of winning my case, I'll have to serve life in prison with no bail.

I sighed scratching my head, "All of this because of family!" I then laid on my jail bed and stared at the ceiling. "First Grandmama, then it was Mama…" I thought remembering when Papa took me and Cletus to Uncle Tony's house.

*12 years ago*

When we finally arrived, I knocked on the door.

"Just open the door Cherry Pie." Papa said simply.

"Kay'!" I said opening the door, before people jumped around the room yelling, "SURPRISE!"

I was confused but I was happy. Cletus stood next to me with an unamused expression. Then Mama and Uncle Tony walked towards the door smiling.

"Happy Birthday sweetie." Mama said putting a party hat on my head.

I giggled, "Thank you Mama." I then looked at Cletus; he was starring at Uncle Tony like he hated him. I was very curious but I tried to ignore it.

*K*I*L*L*E*R*

Later at the party, I found Cletus sitting alone on the couch with Binky. I hopped onto the couch and scooted over to him.

"Why are you alone Cletus?" I asked looking at him.

"Because you left me alone." He stated bitterly.

I frowned and said, "Uh… I'm sorry Cletus… I'm really am." I reached for his hand and held it.

He yanked his hand away and slapped it away before saying, "Just leave me alone!"

"Ow!" I cried sliding off the couch, "I'mma gonna tell Mama on you!"

"No you're not!" Cletus shouted and chased me.

"Mama!" I shouted running down the hall, with Cletus chasing me. I heard Mama talking behind a closed door and I opened it, Cletus bumped into me so I fell hitting the door. The door swung open and I cried, "Mama!" I looked up and saw Mama on top of Uncle Tony.

"Cletus!? Kerill!?" Mama covering her chest.

I stood up and rubbed my head. I was confused, just what were Mama and Uncle Tony doing? Cletus grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the room. "We're going home Kerill." Cletus said in a low voice.

"But-But!" I said as he pulled me down the hall, hearing Mama and Uncle Tony yelling. Cletus quickly grabbed Binky from the couch and then took me outside.

"We're walking home Kerill, it's not that far!" Cletus stated leading me down the block. He was holding my wrist really tight.

"Cletus-You're hurting me…" I whined, but he ignored me.

I was so confused. Why was Cletus being mean? Why was Mama naked with Uncle Tony in bed? Why did Cletus take me away from my party?

*K*I*L*L*E*R*

After the long walk, we were finally home. Cletus finally let go of my hand and opened the door, instantly releasing Mama's small white mutt named, 'Rosco'. The dog started barking at us, making Cletus annoyed.

"Stupid dog." Cletus stated bitterly, and then he kicked it. Rosco yelped and ran back inside the house.

I gasped, "Cletus!"

"Just get inside Kerill!" Cletus shouted. I was taken back at his outburst, but I did what I was told. I ran inside the house.

"Why is Cletus acting so mean!?" I thought, running up the stairs, but when I ran up Rosco ran up also and bit my heel. "Ow! Rosco that was mean!" I whined running to my room. I slammed the door behind me and crawled under my bed and began to cry.

*K*I*L*L*E*R*

I woke up hearing someone preparing themselves a bath. I looked around and noticed I was on my bed, and right next to me was Cletus' bear Binky.

"I guess big brother put me here…" I mumbled looking at the time; it was 1 o'clock in the morning. I crawled out of bed, and headed out my room. I went to the bathroom which was next to my room, and saw Mama putting her tv on her little diner table. She turned on the tv, and then turned off the water. Mama then took off her purple robe and entered the tub sighing.

I stared at my Mama, she is so pretty. People say that I look just like her, but I always thought they were lying to me, because a lot of people at school don't find me pretty like my Mama, instead they call me a 'pasty skinned ginger'. A 'ginger' is apparently a person with red hair, pale skin, and freckles.

Mama turned her head and saw me, "Kerill, come to Mama."

I nodded and walked towards the tub, "Yes Mama?"

"I wanted to talk to you about what had happened earlier. When Papa and I came home, Cletus told Papa that you were tired and bored at the party, so he took you home… Are you going to tell Papa about what you guys saw in uncle Tony's room?" She asked lifting my chin with her wet hand.

"I wasn't plannin' to Mama… Why? Was it bad?" I asked confused.

She smiled softly and answered, "No, but Papa would get mad if he found out."

I didn't get it. What she did wasn't bad, but Papa will get mad if he found out?

"You know that Uncle Tony isn't really you're uncle, right?" Mama asked softly, taking her hand away from my chin and back into the tub.

I nodded. "He's you're friend, right Mama?" I asked.

"Yes… but Cherry Pie… There is a possibility he might be your-Oh never mind, you wouldn't really understand." She said and sighed. "Go to bed, it's late."

"Yes Mama, g'night." I said leaving the bathroom. I looked down the hall and saw Cletus standing by the door of his room, starring at me. "Cletus?" I called softly. He signaled me to come to him, but he looked too scary. I shook my head and said, "No, I'm gonna go to bed." I then turned around and ran to my room. I jumped onto my bed and held Binky tightly. "Binky… is Cletus mad at me..?" I asked the bear and laid on my bed. "I hope not…"

*K*I*L*L*E*R*

When I was laying on my bed, about to go to asleep, Mama started screaming. "Mama!?" I said holding onto Binky and quickly jumped out of bed, running out the room. I ran to the bathroom and Mama's body was under the water, and smoke was lurking around the tub. "Mama!?" I shouted running towards the tub.

"Dolores!?" Papa shouted running towards the tub, pushing me away. "Oh God!" He said pulling the tv out by the plug and pulled Mama's body out of the tub.

Mama's body was limp, and my eyes started to water. "What's wrong with Mama!?" I asked.

Papa quickly ran out of the bathroom and ran down the stairs. I walked out hearing Papa talking on the phone, "Just get me an ambulance now! My wife was electrocuted!"

I started to cry, was Mama dead? Then I felt someone grabbed my wrist, I gaped, looking up to see Cletus. His eyes looked scary. He pulled me into his room, throwing me onto the bed.

"Cletus!" I said as he shut the door.

"Mama did a bad thing Puddin' Pop and she needed to be punished…" Cletus said simply, looking at me.

"You did that to Mama?" I asked feeling tears just pour out of my eyes.

Cletus nodded, "If Papa had caught her with Uncle Tony…"

He went silent as we heard people run up the stairs, it was the paramedics. We listened as they went up and down the stairs.

After a few moments we heard Papa shout, "Cletus take care of Kerill! I'll be at the hospital, when I'm there I'll tell your Grandmama to pick you two up!"

Cletus chuckled a bit, "She ain't gonna pick up the phone Papa."

I just stared at him. He stared back at me and walked towards the bed. "If Mama was caught with Uncle Tony by Papa, there would've been trouble. They could've taken you away from me sis, so I had to do it. That's why I knocked Mama's tv in the tub."

I shook, "What about Grandmama?"

Cletus smiled at me and said, "I killed her."

Tears leaked from my eyes, "WHY!?"

"Because she hurt you." He said as his hands held my burning wet cheeks. He frowned, "I don't like you being sad or hurt… When I took you to my bed at Grandmama's house, when you fell asleep, Grandmama went to check up on you… When she found out you weren't there, she saw me. So I pushed her down the stairs. That bitch deserved it…" He then held me towards his chest and said simply, "As a big brother, I must protect you."

I started to cry into his chest, "Cletus! We're gonna get in trouble!" I pushed him and got off the bed. "You're stupid! Stupid-Stupid-Stupid! Why did you kill Mama!" I shouted crying, collapsing on the floor. "Mama!" I sobbed and my head began to hurt.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up to see Cletus crying too.

"I didn't want to hut Mama… but she left me no choice…" He said wiping his tears, "It's either we separate, or stay as a family… It's your choice Kerill."

I looked at him in silence. This situation was so confusing! Cletus did a bad thing, but he did it for me! "What do I do!? What do I do!?" I thought before, hugging him. "I won't tell anyone Cletus! I want to be a family!" I muttered.

"Then you promise that we're in this to the end?" He asked looking at me.

"Yes…" I said looking up at him.

"Do you agree that we must protect each other no matter what?" He asked softly.

"Yes." I answered.

"Promise?" He asked.

"Promise." I answered.

He then held onto me tightly. "No turning back now." Cletus stated.

"I love you brother…" I mumbled, snuggling into his chest.

"Me too sis… me too."