It’s in his blood. Joe’s father, Phil, was that type
of person.
My parents didn’t know that. They just kept
telling themselves, “He’s like me, a late
bloomer. He’ll be amazing one day.”
My mom chimed in, “That’s right, Sweetie, don’t
you ever look down on Joe. Don’t you make him
feel bad.”
“I wouldn’t”
I nodded.
I remembered last time, how my parents never
cared when my brother called me a monster,
they actually thought it was funny. They even
told me to stay away from him because my face
was making his nightmares worse.
How unfair could it get?
<
7:07
77)
This time, Joe was such a screw–up, that my parents decided that I’d better get ready to take over the family business. They knew if they left it to Joe, he’d run it into the ground.
I was nice to Joe. When our parents got on his
case, I always stepped in and defended him.
I knew that after they were gone, I’d take care
of Joe, that I’d make things right.
I’d been born into the dirt, so I was never gonna
let anyone get the better of me.
I thought things were finally gonna go my way.
Then, one day, Rhonda showed up at my house
with my brother.
