Coming Home - Introduction (Part 2)

Brandon Young watched. From his seat in the corner of the common room, he watched everything that went on around him. Very few people noticed him and for that he was glad. He had spent the better part of five years in this shithole, but that was all going to change soon. He had learned quickly that if he said little and watched, there was very little he couldn’t figure out. He had been watching for almost five years, and now, it was time for him to implement his plan. It was one of the only benefits of being an inconvenience for most of his life; his brother and he had been left to their own devices, to raise themselves. They did as they wished, and that was partly true for Brandon here as well.

‘Here’ was the Saskatchewan Mental Health Institute in Yorkton. Brandon had been sent here by his parents, their way of pretending he hadn’t embarrassed them, hadn’t sullied the family name. It was also their way of pretending he didn’t exist. He was only fifteen minutes from where the souse he had grown up in, but in the five years he had been here, his parents had never visited, not even once.
As far as Brandon was concerned, that was okay by him. They hadn’t done much for him before, and he didn’t need them now. He had learned pretty quickly here and in life, that if you were quiet and obeyed the rules, people tended to forget you. They also never suspected you when shit happened.

It was easy to blend into the woodwork when no one wanted or cared about you. The only one who actually cared about him was Jaden, his twin brother. Well, there was his Ellie. A small smile played over his lips as he thought about his Ellie. It had been like a gift from God when she had walked into that emergency room. He had broken his left wrist while skateboarding and it had been a couple of friends who had dropped him off at the hospital. While he waited for hours for them to contact his parents, Ellie had found him and had kept him company. Afterwards, he knew it had been love at first sight and that they were meant to be together, but when he tried to make it happen, there were too many people standing in the way.

Brandon had almost made it. He had almost succeeded in taking Ellie away with him, to start a new life together. It didn’t matter that he had only been sixteen at the time. He would have gotten access to his father’s money and they would have been able to make it together. But they had stopped him. Her parents, his parents, they had all gotten in the way. HIS way. Well, he would change that soon enough. He wouldn’t make that same mistake again. He knew Ellie had moved, had been taken from him, but he would find her again. He had already a few leads from the searches he had managed to make on the hospital computers. He knew she had moved to Ontario. He had the smarts and the resources and as soon as he was able to implement his plan, he would have all that money. It would be all his to use to find his beloved Ellie.

The door across the common room slid open and Brandon smiled as he saw his brother enter. Jaden had come, just like he had been asked to, right on schedule. His brother was so predictable, so noble. Now was the time for Brandon to implement the plan.

“Hey, Bro. How ya doin’ today?” Jaden Young asked, his face almost a mirror image of the one sitting in the chair. The only difference was Brandon’s eyes were a slightly darker shade of blue, and that was only obvious to those who knew them both.

“Good, Jay. Thanks for coming.” Jaden came once a week, without fail, trying in his own way to make up for their parents’ absence. “How’d the move go?” A month previous his parents had moved from the house he and Jay had grown up in, to a larger house in the suburbs surrounding Yorkton. The Judge had to keep up appearances, and to distance himself from his mental case son.

Jaden lowered himself into the chair beside his brother. It almost killed him to see Brandon here, but it was for his own good. After what he had done, he definitely needed help. And after five years, it almost seemed to Jaden like the old Brandon was coming back. “Good as can be expected. You know Mom and Dad, nothing is ever right.”

Brandon forced a smile. Yes, he knew the Judge and Marion Young. They had always found ways to criticize and demean both of their children, seeming to delight in pointing out flaws or chastize them in some way. “Yeah,” he said with a nod. “Why don’t we go for a walk?” Brandon suggested, rising from his chair and leading his brother to the door outside.

They continued to talk as they walked around the grounds of the hospital, enjoying the serenity of the massive oak trees and sounds of the birds. Brandon kept it light, but in reality, he was trying to get as much information from Jaden as he could. He would need it later. After a complete circuit, Brandon suggested going back in to his private room. It was time.

Although he was almost vibrating with excitement, Brandon tried to portray an outward calm. Not that his clueless brother would notice anything, Brandon thought. Most of the time, Jay just lived inside his own head, another by-product of their childhood neglect. Jaden had always been the more introspective twin, Brandon the one of action. But Jaden was the one to get in trouble, usually for something Brandon put him up to. Brandon motioned to the chair beside his bed. “Take off your coat and have a seat, Jay.” He moved around behind his brother, his hand slipping under the mattress of his bed to pull out the syringe that lay there. The syringe hadn’t cost him anything but what it contained cost him large. That was the bonus with a place like this; everything and everyone had a price. Turning quickly, Brandon jammed the syringe into his brother’s thigh.

Jaden looked up in shock, frozen at the look on his brother’s face. “What the fuck, Bran?” but there was nothing there. There was only blackness in his brother’s dark eyes.

“Sorry, Jay, but I gotta get outta here. Unfortunately for you, this is the only way.”

Jayden tried to get up, but the drug had almost had an immediate effect. He fell back into the chair, fully aware, yet unable to move a muscle. “Bran...” he murmured.

Brandon ignored his brother, taking a look at what he needed. His brother had dressed in jeans and a Calgary Flames t-shirt. It would have been easier if it had of been something non-descript but it was okay. Brandon had this planned. The drug would make Jayden unable to move and Brandon could easily change shirts. No one in the hospital would have noticed what Brandon had been wearing, and it was almost guaranteed that no one would interrupt them.

In just a few minutes, Brandon had switched shirts with his brother, and had put on a pair of jeans that almost matched. He went through his brother’s pockets, pulling out everything he found. It was essential that nothing of Jaden’s be found here. The transformation had to be seamless. His brother watched his every move, but it didn’t faze Brandon. This was the only way and Jaden was just unfortunate collateral damage. It was all coming together, just as Brandon had planned.

“Bran...” Jaden forced out. “Don’t...” was all he could manage. His breathing was shallow but steady, and try as he might, he couldn’t make his body do his bidding. It was impossible for him to move. He could only watch with dread as he realized what his brother was doing.

“Look, Jay, I’m sorry about this,” Brandon said, looking his brother in the eye. “But, dude, this is bigger than you. I need to get out of here, and find Ellie.”

The mention of Ellie’s name made Jaden widen his eyes. His brother can’t be serious. “No,” Jaden breathed. His brother was doing this for Ellie. Hadn’t he done enough?

Brandon turned. “No one understands! I thought maybe you would but you don’t, do you? I NEED her, Jay. It’s been five years and I NEED to find her. I’m sorry, but this is the only way.” He moved Jaden’s coat away from the bed and moved behind his brother once again. This time, he pulled a scalpel out from under the mattress. Placing it in his brother’s hand, Brandon stood behind him, and raised the scalpel to his brother’s neck. Jaden met Brandon’s eyes in the mirror, his face a mask of fear and panic. He knew his fate and there was nothing he could do. His brother really was as evil as everyone had said.

“Sorry, Bro,” Brandon whispered as he used Jaden’s own hand to drag the scalpel across his neck. “But I can’t have you squealing on me, now can I?”