In A Blur Of Serenity

Isaac did not love his brother. Marcus - for that was his brothers name - was a violent alcoholic, ten years older than Isaac, who fortunately had little memory of him. Isaac could not remember the time Marcus threatened his own mother with the sharp end of a broken bottle, or the time he had tried to suffocate the family cat. Isaac did remember unjoined fragments of memories though: Marcus bringing a hooker home; Marcus stealing money from his mothers purse; Marcus staggering home drunk. No pleasant thoughts were assosciated with Marcus in Isaac's mind. Therefore he was tempted to ignore the ringing of the phone, knowing the caller was Marcus, fresh out of rehab.

Eventually Isaac gave in and picked up the phone, immediately asking "What?" in a low, annoyed tone.

"Isaac? Jesus, man, I haven't heard your voice for so long. Or mum's."

Isaac slowly began to feel rage building up. How dare he act like everything was all right between them, or mention their mother and he had abused her for so long. "Cut to the chase, Marcus. What do you want?"

Marcus faltered for a moment. He eventually recollected himself and responded in a lower voice, "I'm sorry, bro. For everything. I've changed now, I want to be a family again. Just you and mum and Sylvie..."

It was Isaac's turn to falter now. Surely he would have found out by now...? Apparently the police department hadn't read the file properly. Either way, Isaac soon pulled himself together and gripped the phone a little tighter, hearing his desperate older brother breathing heavily through the earpiece. Eventually Isaac declared: "Sylvie's dead, Marcus."

There was a pause. Marcus didn't respond and Isaac hesitated again, wondering if his delivery was a bit too harsh. Eventually Marcus let out a long exhale and what sounded lie a wet sob before choking out "S-Sylvia's dead?"

'So he didn't know then,' Isaac remarked mentally. 'At least our mother didn't have to break the news, she's damaged enough.' Their mother had moved to Spain months prior to Sylvie's rape and murder and while she never called Isaac, they kept their correspondence up via frequent letters.

"When? How?" Marcus continued to ask, his voice descending into a pathetic babble and deteriorating into muttered nonsense and a final weak whimper. What on earth was Marcus doing crying? His cold indifference was seemingly lost to this new apathetic personality.

"She was forced and then shot dead in London on the way back from a party. It was in October, about a fortnight ago." Isaac tried to stay calm as he related the story but soon heard his own voice begin to waver and crack. As Marcus began to cry whole-heartedly, Isaac too began to sob, the two letting our emotions wash over themselves. After the floods subsided, Marcus quietly suggested they meet and told Isaac where he lived: a small Scottish village called Balmyrno. Isaac accepted, too distraught to argue or refuse, and memorized the town. The name wasn't familiar to him and he was confident it was pretty far from the rehab centre, but didn't press further. He had never left England, and rarely left Essex, so was almost eager to leave; the problem was it entailed meeting Marcus and he still didn't believe he had changed so much.