Tim was waiting on his porch, sitting on the ground. He was scared of the events which were about to take place. Lukas would come to take him away, for the 2 of them to die together.
"Are you okay?" His brother asked him. He left the house and sat down next to Tim. While he was still in pain about his dad dying in front of him, he wanted to console his brother, be there for him.
Tim just kept looking onto the street, waiting for Lukas, or Alex, to come pick him up.
His brother noticed his silence and sighed. "You know, you shouldn't bottle up your feelings like this." He told Tim, "Talk to me, or do what I did, talk to a therapist… or any other trusted person in your life."
Tim ignored his brother for a few more moments: "I did… and I am going to fix it."
His brother just patted his shoulder and tried to smile, but it felt wrong. "You can't… Tim, you can not fix the dead."
"I am not fixing the dead… I am going to atone for what I have done." He muttered, his brother almost not being able to understand him. "I promise…"
His brother let out a weak and painful laugh before starting to cry. He turned to Tim: "I miss him…" His voice was loud and ugly, "I miss dad, he was an asshole, but I loved him nevertheless."
Tim grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. Weirdly, he did not feel sorry for what he had done, but he felt bad and guilty for the pain his brother was suffering. And he wanted to make him feel better. "It's alright…" He muttered.
"No, it's not." He cried into Tim's shoulder, "It will be, in the future maybe, but not now." Tim's brother's tears drenched the shirt Tim was wearing and smearing snot all over his shirt and shoulder. "Is it my fault?"
"No! No, it's not." Tim answered.
Then his brother looked into his eyes: "Yes it is! If I had come down to protect you, to… to stop dad, all that, it would not have happened. Dad would still be alive and breathing." His fingers pressed into Tim's flesh, scarring him, making him bleed.
Tim thought for a moment, "Maybe…" He whispered.
"Hey!" Someone called and Tim lifted his head in sync with his brother. It was Lukas who called. "Thought you weren't saying goodbye to anyone." Lukas lips were carrying a confident smile but in his eyes Tim could see pain and fear.
To Tim it seemed that Lukas was trying to appear confident and happy, trying not to scare Tim with his own fear. Tim stood up and walked towards Lukas: "There you are!"
Tim's brother was confused by Lukas' words. "What does he mean?" He asked, "You're not leaving me alone, are you?"
Tim stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. "I told you, I am going to pay for all I did. And I won't leave you forever. We will see each other again, I promise you." He told his brother, "I love you, see you soon."
With a smile covering his brother's lips he followed Lukas down the road.
They drove with a taxi to the storage unit Lukas had rented. "Wow." Tim whispered after they had entered, hand in hand, "So this is it?"
"Yes." Lukas answered and started to cry silently.
Tim pulled him into a hug and started to cry as well. "Thank you for doing this with me…"
"You know… My mother taught me how to dance, but I never got to use it." Lukas whispered shyly, "Would you…" He tried to ask him, but was too scared to finish his sentence.
"Sure…" Tim said, "I would love to dance with you."
Lukas' face lightened up a bit and the lights changed, as well as the atmosphere of the room. "Thank you." He said and held out his hand, inviting Tim to take it and dance with him as classical music started playing through the air.
Tim took Lukas' hand.