Brother Knows Best

I woke up to a loud banging outside my apartment window. I checked the time and saw that it was four in the morning. My heart started racing when I saw the date displayed on my phone June 20^th, 2020. It had been exactly eight years since my brother’s death. For the last eight years on this day at this exact time I would wake up. I tried going back to sleep, but to no avail. I went to get a glass of water and my two dogs were standing by the door crying to be let out. I went up to my room to find some pants and put on my shoes.

When I opened the door both dogs took off running, I had to run to keep up. I heard whistling coming from around the corner where the dogs turned and got scared. I peeked around the corner and saw a man bent down petting both dogs. My heart started racing as I recognized that tune the man was whistling. My parents would sing this song to help get my brother and I to sleep. I came fully around the corner and that is when I saw my brother Jordan standing in the middle of the street smiling at me. My feet felt like jelly and my throat was dry. I ran back to my apartment and I saw my dogs run pass me and into the house. I slammed the door shut, checking all the windows making sure they were sealed tight. I ran up to my room and closed my door and went to grab a box from my closet.

“June 20^th, 2012 my graduation day. A day meant for happiness and celebration, taken over with heartbreak and sadness. He was just gone; he was the most excited for this day and he wasn’t anywhere to be found. We went out for dinner yesterday because after my graduation he had to catch a flight for business. The police came knocking at our door at four in the morning. My dad had to catch my mom before she fell on the floor. I was holding onto the stairwell for support. A car was found by the airport with a body inside. My brother Jordan’s body. The cops said he had been shot multiple times. I blacked out after that.”

That was written in my journal. Everyday since that day I kept writing down my feelings and emotions. It’s what my therapist told me to do. Every detail of how I felt how my life changed. My eyes got wide, I started flipping through the journal for my entry of the funeral.

“June 30, 2012. It has been ten long days without my brother. Today was my brother’s funeral. I did not think I would be comfortable walking up to the casket, but I did. He looked the same, he looked peaceful. I only wish I had the chance to hear him tell me how proud he was of me. He always made sure to let me know that I was a great sister and daughter. I’m not sure how I will be able to go on without him.”

There it was written in my journal. This was impossible I must be dreaming. I went to look out my window to see if that impostor was standing there. He wasn’t out there, but I heard a knock at my door. Both dogs started barking and my heart was beating so loud I could hear it. I went down the steps, I made my way to the door and looked through the peephole. There he was standing there; it was as if he knew I was there because he started smiling and then he waved. I jumped back and went into the downstairs bathroom and called my parents. I tried explaining what had happened, but they told me I had a nightmare and explained that this day was hard on everybody. I got upset and yelled at them for not believing me. They told me they would drive to my apartment if that would make me feel better.

About an hour later the doorbell rung and it was my mom and dad. I hugged them both and cried. After I calmed down my mom made tea for everyone and told me to explain what happened. I went over what happened again. My parents just looked at each other and I knew they would never believe me. My dad suggested I come back home to their house and stay there for a few days until I felt safe to go back to my apartment. I went to pack some things and lock up the house. I got in my car and followed my parents. At the stoplight I noticed something moving in the bushes, but the light turned green before I could see what it was. When I got to the house, I went to my old bedroom unpacked and decided to take a shower as I had work in another hour.

Sitting at my desk I could not concentrate on any of my assignments that I needed to get done that day. I made mistakes all day and my boss came up to me about two hours into my shift and called me into the office. I tried to explain to him that I was just having an off day, but I would get the job done. He said that today was not the day for screw-ups and that he would just send me home early and to come back in tomorrow more alert. I cleared my desk and got in my car. I started driving not really towards a destination, but I kept getting the urge to go to the park.

My brother and I would spend hours at the park painting, listening to music, playing the guitar, anything to just be out of the house. When I got there, I broke down into tears. So many memories came flooding back. I could see all of us as a family playing in the park, laughing having an enjoyable time. I got out of the car and the tears continued to stream down my face. I sat on the grass and just took it all in. After a few more moments I got myself together and figured I should head home.

Then I got this strange feeling that someone was watching me. Hesitant I turned around there was my brother Jordan, or someone pretending to be Jordan. Jordan’s dead. The cops came and told me he died, I went to his funeral, I saw his body in a casket, I watched them bury him six feet under the ground. My legs felt numb again and there was a pounding in my head. I got up and started to back away from him as he stepped closer. When I turned around there was a slope going down and I decided I should just jump down it. When I turned back around there he was. He reached out to touch me and I jumped.

I woke up in bed covered in sweat even with the air conditioner blasting. I heard the birds outside chirping and checked my phone. It was six in the morning. Did I imagine all of that happening? I tried to shake the feeling and went into the bathroom to throw some cold water on my face. As I was leaving out the bathroom, I saw my front door open. I slowly walked down the steps and went into the living room. Sitting there on the couch was Jordan. He turned around and stood up and I started screaming. He rushed over and covered my mouth. Jordan took out a piece of paper from his pocket and gave it to me with his hand still over my mouth.

I unfolded it and looked up at him and back at the paper it read: Your house is bugged, and they are watching. You cannot talk; you cannot scream or make any noise the only way for us to communicate is by writing. Your cellphone is also bugged. No, we cannot go outside, they are watching us everywhere our best chance is to just stay in the house.

He took his hand off my mouth and walked over to his bag and took out a writing pad and a pen. He explained that he was part of a secret society. He signed up in high school to get protection to help his family if any problems happened. He tried to get out of the society by blackmailing them with some secret information that he found, and they threatened to kill him and the family if he did. He went to the FBI and they helped staged the whole death. Jordan explained that the body was fake and that the cop that got sent to the door was apart of the plan. Still too unsure if this were my brother, I decided to ask him some questions only Jordan would know. He answered all the questions correctly.

I started crying not from being sad, but because I was so happy. We missed out on eight years of life with each other. I went and hugged him, and we held each other for a what felt like eternity.

I took the notebook and asked him if we should go to mom and dads house. He said that would not be a clever idea until it was safer to do so. We would have to go at night so we wouldn’t alarm our parents and draw attention to the house. We agreed later that night we would sneak out of the house and go to mom and dads.

Around ten we got in the car and headed out and noticed a car following us. We turned every corner to try and ditch them, but more cars would block us off on every street.

Eventually we were trapped with no way to escape. He took out a piece of paper and started writing. He said we were both going to make a run for it and meet up at our secret spot in the park. He counted to three and we both dashed out the car going in different directions. Guns fired at us, but they missed. About 15 minutes later I was at the rock waiting for my brother. An hour passed by and still no sign of Jordan. I was beginning to feel anxious. What if this time he really was dead?

I heard a noise coming from behind me when I turned it around it was Jordan. He got shot in the leg and was limping. I ran to him and decided that we should just call the cops and our parents. He said that was a good idea. The cops and our parents arrived at the park and we told them everything that had happened. Jordan went to the hospital to get the bullet removed and the next day he was released.

My whole family went home happy that we were all together again. This had to be the greatest day of my life. Eight years of time gone, and we could never get it back. I tried to focus on the moment now and the future. We got to hear his stories of how he had to change his identity and keep himself safe. I had my brother back and my family was at peace knowing he was safe and there was nothing to worry about anymore.