A familiar feeling (1)

I walked into William's room and got a wild shock. My hands were still on the doorknob when he saw me. He startled and jumped from his chair at the right side of his bed and hid the iPhone 12 under his pillow, I had seen it already. 

My heart started racing and my mind was unsettled. How is my baby brother with an iPhone 12, how? I thought.

A ting of jealousy surfaced, I had always dreamt of having an iPhone so I could live the "model life" and feel cool among my peers but I never had one, I disregarded the distracting thought immediately, there was a more serious issue right in front of me. He just clocked nineteen, two months ago. His friends were not rich enough to gift him a phone like that. The only job a boy his age could do to get a little change in this area was washing the neighbor's cars and he is too proud to do that.

He got up, looking nervous already, rubbing his hands on his bushy hair.

"Jessica, what's up" he tried to smile but it looked fake. He walked past me to check the door.

"Damn!!" He cussed.

I guess he forgot to lock the door, well, good for him. He kept on looking at it, while I was busy looking inside, wondering how this even happened and what more things he could be hiding.

He noticed my gaze and retreated to hide some other stuff on his bed, including a set of new designer clothes, I doubt if our parents bought those for him.  

He started looking sober before I could even gather my words together, I was ready to scold the hell out of him. His new habits since he changed schools have been so off. He first repeats SS2, he gets rude at mum and dad, leaves the house whenever he likes to hang out with his friends, then one day I found a lighter in his bag, I don't even want to predict what he used that lighter for.

He walked to my side, knelt, and started pleading, his eyes were teary already, I haven't seen him like that since he got his last injection and it's never a good sight to see.

I kept on wondering why he went this far. I finally found the words.

"Where did you get all these things from?"

He kept on looking at me. I didn't know if he felt sorry for what he did or because he got caught.

"Oh and since when"

He started wailing with his hands over his face.

"You're going to report me, aren't you?" His face started becoming stern like he was angry if I was going to. Then his resolve dropped again, I guess he remembered that I could if I wanted "Please don't, Jess" 

I didn't know if I should pacify him or give him a stern scolding because the worst thing here is that all this is familiar to me, I cringe whenever I remember, his new character brings me to remember it all the time, because I was once a thief too, and a cheat.

It ate me up every single day I saw him living his reckless ways, I'm not dead yet because I ran away from home. Two years ago, the owners of a store where I stole a gadget almost burnt me with a tyre, I had to run for my life. My parents heard the news of course but while I was gone, far away. I didn't know how to face them so I had to leave everything behind, I knew they would be more than furious. I stayed at an uncompleted building, my friend's place, well, she was a thief who saw me that day and decided to help, she saw me as 'one of her own'. I kept on with a life of stealing petty things because I didn't know how to go back to my father's house. After 6 months I almost got caught again, I knew I couldn't escape what was coming at me...


(To be continued...)

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