Big Brother

1996

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Jules, happy birthday to you!" I grinned as I took a deep breath, blowing out all my candles in one try.

"Yay!!" Cheered Addie, clapping her hands together. "Did ya make a wish?" I nodded my head up and down in big deliberate movements. Hearing a shuffle from behind me, I swiveled around in my chair. My mother was placing wrapped up presents in a trash bag.

"Alright baby," She murmured, shooting me a smile. She scurried towards Addie and I where she dropped a kiss on my forehead. "Momma's gotta go somewhere. You'll finish your birthday celebration with your brothers." Mom handed Addie the bag of presents and picked me up. "Oooh. My little girl's eight!" With a small smile, I wrapped my arms around my mother's neck and my legs around her waist. Addie put the cake in a container and we made our way over to the other home.

"Boys! Come here!" Mom called as soon as we entered the house. Beau came scampering over to us quickly, Tate showed up a little slower.

"Beau!" I squealed happily. Mom dropped me from her arms and I bent down to hug my elder brother. In the background I could hear Constance's harsh tone as she whispered something to Tate, but I was more preoccupied with playing with Beau than I was paying attention to their conversation. With a sigh, mom came back over to me.

"I might not be back until tomorrow morning. Stay here until I come get you, alright?" I nodded, glancing back at my siblings. "I love you." She kissed my forehead and hugged me close. I hugged her back, if only for a few moments, and then she was gone.

"Good riddance!" Yelled Tate, picking me up off the ground. "Time for the real fun to begin!" He carried me to the kitchen, singing all the way. I giggled uncontrollably. Addie and Beau weren't far behind, following us to the counter where Addie took out the cake. Tate sat me on the counter and went to grab plates. He returned with four plates and a knife to cut the cake.

"Tate, is Nora here?" I inquired, tugging on my brother's sleeve.

"You wanna see Nora?" He wondered. I nodded excitedly. "Well alright then. Maybe I can find her for you." The happiness I felt at this was shown with a bright smile. "Alright, up we go." Tate hoisted me off the counter and into his arms once more, carrying me to the regular table. The presents were set out and the cake was already served up. We all sat around the table. Me and Beau were both on our knees, Addie and Tate sat normally.

"Ready to open your presents?" Addie wondered after we'd sat and eaten cake for a few minutes.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. Addie and Tate both chuckled before they began to pile gifts in front of me.

--

Tate pulled the covers up to cover my body, helping me with my covers. The Teddy Bear that had been one of my presents was tucked under my arms.
"Alright Jules. Did you have a good birthday?" He asked, grabbing my new book from the bedside table.

"Uh huh!" I nodded furiously.

"Good. Ready for one last present?" Again, I nodded like crazy. "Okay. I'll come back after." Tate promised, kissing the top of my head and standing to leave.

"Wait Tate! After what?"
And then she appeared.

"Hello dear. Happy birthday!"

"Nora!"

Present Time

"I found the best hiding place. This is great shit, too. A lot of the coke coming into the US from Central America is smuggled in on lobster boats in Gloucester. I used to show my boobs to one of the lobster-man in return for a key or two before they cut it."

I looked up towards where Violet was bringing Leah. I glanced back to Tate, who smiled at me.

"It's time." He sang. I rolled my eyes.

"You have too much fun with this." Tate chuckled, shaking his hair out.

"I jus--"

The lights were turned on. It startled me, and I moved backwards so I was closer to where Violet now stood.

"So this is the coke whore." Tate mused, rocking in his seat.

"Yeah, who the hell are you?" Leah snapped.

"Get the lights." Tate said in a deadpan voice. Violet turned them off again, and we stood together, watching. The lights began flickering as Tate rocked violently in the chair, cackling like a maniac.

"What is going on? WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Exclaimed Leah, the fear clear in her voice.

It was then that I saw him. Thaddeus. Oh god. This kid terrified me when I was younger, and even now he scares me quite a bit, so I can just imagine how freaked Leah must be. Hell, fuck Leah, Violet must be peeing herself right now. Tate and Thaddeus both jumped the girl, which honestly got me going just as much as it would any other bystander.

"STOP!" Violet shrieked.

"TATE QUIT IT!" I exclaimed.

"STOP! STOP!" Violet kept screeching. Leah's screams in the background made everything that much more unnerving.

"TATE I MEAN IT! STOP!" I yelled, but my brother wasn't stopping. He kept going with his prank, and it was pissing me off.

Violet fell to the ground, backing up against the wall. My eyes fluttered between the two scenes. Leah's moans of pain and terror were taking an effect on me. My head snapped towards Violet when she began screaming. Thaddeus was reaching for her, coming too close. Then he disappeared, all was silent for a split moment.

"Mommy." Leah croaked. And with that more chaos ensued. I made a split decision and flipped on the lights. Violet jumped up, her face stuck in pose of terror.

Leah rolled on the floor, still screaming. She had a bloody gash on her face. Tate rocked calmly in his seat as if this didn't just happen. I glared at him. Leah ran from the room and Violet chased after her. I stayed silent as Tate stood and went to Violet, a smirk on his face.

"Don't think she'll be bothering you anymore."

"What was that?!" Violet shrieked. I turned so Violet could see me. I made sure to look extra scared and extremely confused.

"What're you talking about? She hit me in the balls and got away! She must have run into a wall or something!"

"No, I saw something!" Violet shouted.

"Violet, you're talking crazy! This is cool. We showed that bitch!" Violet shook her head.

"Get out. I never want to see you again!" Tate surged forward but Violet pushed him back. Then, with a fleeting look at me, she ran upstairs.

"I THOUGHT YOU WEREN'T AFRAID OF ANYTHING!" He yelled after her. He looked at me, anger in his eyes. "Jules--"

"I'll talk to you later Tate." I murmured, chasing after Violet.

--

I caught up with Violet as quickly as I could, narrowly making it into her bedroom before she slammed the door shut.

"Violet! Hold on!" I exclaimed, keeping close to the door.

"No! Get out of here Jules!" She yelled. I could tell she was scared, even if she wanted to pretend she wasn't.

"Violet, I had no idea Tate was gonna do something so creepy! I swear! I just about peed myself down there!"
Violet's eyes scanned over my face, almost like she was checking to see if I was lying. She seemed to believe me. Taking a deep breath, she sat on the floor. I joined her.

"No offense, but you're brother is so weird." She murmured. I laughed a little.

"Yeah. He is. But, you know. He's my brother. I'm kinda stuck with him."

"How did he even do that?" Violet wondered. I shrugged.

"No idea. But Vi, don't stay mad at him for too long, okay? He's not a bad person. He was just trying to help. Even if it was really freaky." I added at the end. Violet nodded.

"Yeah, whatever."

For a few more minutes, we sat in her room, commenting not only on the extreme unease we felt after my brother's little performance, but also on normal things. School, life, everything. It was nice. I'd been missing having a real girl friend ever since I died. I mean, I had Tate, but he was with penis, so try as he might, he just couldn't master the ways of a female companion. And Addie was great, but she was my sister, so it wasn't really the same. Having Violet here, even if she didn't quite understand everything that was going on to the full extent.

--

"How was Violet when you left her?" Tate sat in the basement, looking down at his feet.

"Scared. But don't worry. I talked you up a bit." I assured my brother, walking over to where he sat on top of an old meat freezer and hopping on next to him.

"Thanks kiddo." My older brother looked over at me, showing me a small smile. I returned the gesture, leaning into his side.

"Yeah, yeah. That's what I'm here for. I live for making my big bro happy." My tone began to get more and more dramatic to the point of mockery.

"Oh, I see. That's the game you wanna play, huh?" Tate said, his tone playful. He then began to tickle me. I laughed and squealed, making every attempt to twist away my attacker. We kept a playful fight going for a couple of minutes before our fun was rudely interrupted.

"God, you guys are annoying." The annoyed and disinterested tone of Chad was one that I was never too sorry to miss.

Instead of answering, I stuck out my tongue.
"You're just jealous because you don't get to join our game." I stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh is that so? I'm jealous of a sad little girl trapped inside herself and her psychotic prick of a brother?"

"You leave her out of this, fucking faggot." Tate snapped, easily becoming angry.

"Hey! Tate! Nuh uh." I bit my lip, shaking my head. Call me crazy, but I'd never been one for the use of derogatory terms.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now Jules?! He just--" I cut him off by placing a hand on my hip and swaying to one side. Grumbling, Tate stopped mid argument before disappearing.

"My brother is very sorry for his word usage. Also, I accept your non-voiced apology for insulting both my brother and myself."

"Oh please, what I said wasn't an insult, and you and I both know it. It was the truth." Chad commented. I shook my head, chewing my bottom lip once more.

"Let's get one thing straight. I am not a little girl trapped inside a big girl body. Okay? I'm not."

"You're a six year old vying for your big brother's love and attention inside the body of a teen girl. You don't even have your own mind. You do what you think will make your brother happy." I glared at Chad.

"You can think whatever the hell you want. But I am my own person. I am not a little girl. Okay?"

If I did anything at all, I wanted to prove to this man that I was a normal (as normal as possible, seeing as I'm dead) teenage girl with a mind of her own.
Don't ask why I was so intent on proving Chad wrong.
But man, was I determined.