Chapter 10

Emily was again at home waiting for her mother. When she saw Martha opening the door, her face told Emily everything she needed to know. Both women hugged each other again, and again Emily took her mother to the main bedroom to rest.

After Martha fell asleep, Emily’s emotions took over. She was devastated, and her next actions were like a dream. She took a bath, put on her most alluring clothes and took the car to travel two hours to Paul’s city and home.

She piggybacked another resident and entered Paul’s building. A few minutes later, she was in front of his door. She knocked.

“Paul, can we talk?” Emily asked when he opened. Paul silently ushered her in. She sat on his sofa. He made a gesture for her to speak.

“Paul, I came to make love with you,” she said.

“What?” he blurted. He had not expected this.

“Please, I’m begging you. My conscience is killing me. Give me at least a chance to redress some of the damage.”

“I already told you that I don’t want pity sex!” he said.

“It wouldn’t be a pity sex!” she cried. “Well, it would be, but for me, not for you. I need you to make love with me, Paul. I can’t bear the guilt of denying you. Please, give me a pity fuck, I need it so much!”

“I’m still the ugly fat Tubby, you know!” he said.

“And I’m still a selfish bitch, brother. But I need you.” She started to take her clothes off.

Paul looked at her and started to take his clothes off, too. “This won’t change anything,” he said.

“It will, for me.”

As Mike stood outside Paul’s building, his mind was consumed with thoughts of revenge. The disowning, the humiliation, the heartache - it all boiled over and manifested in a cold, unyielding rage inside him. He had been brooding for a long time, haunted by memories of what used to be and of everything he had lost.

Suddenly he saw Emily leaving Paul’s building. “What is she doing here?” he wondered. Then he noticed the way she was dressed. “She’s dressed for sex,” he thought. At that moment everything came to him. The frustration of years of not having access to his sister and mother. His recent humiliation and banishment from the Circle. “And that little crybaby is fucking Emily!” He saw red and for a moment couldn’t move. When he reacted, she had already left in her car. Frustrated, he started to hit the dashboard with his fist.

Suddenly he saw Paul leaving the building. In that moment, all the hurt, all the anger, ignited inside him like wildfire. He couldn’t contain himself any longer. Without a second thought, he opened his door, ran to Paul and lunged at him. Taken by surprise, Paul fell to the floor. Unfazed, Mike started to kick him out there.

It was a brutal attack, fueled by years of pent-up emotions. A few bystanders tried to intervene, but Mike was too far gone. He was blinded by his own rage and couldn’t see the damage he was causing.

Finally, someone managed to pull him away and the police were called. An ambulance arrived, and Paul was rushed to the hospital while Mike was taken into custody.

As he sat in the back of the police car, watching the flashing lights and feeling the weight of his actions, Mike realized that he had really messed up. He had allowed his anger to consume him, and in the process, probably destroyed his life.

Martha’s heart dropped as she received Mike’s call from the jail. She could understand that Mike blamed Paul for his banishment of the Circle, but she never imagined it would come to this. Her mind raced with questions - what had happened? How bad was it? How bad was Paul hurt? She told Emily what had happened and both took the car to the police station. Two hours later, they were informed that Mike had been arrested for assault and battery against Paul. Martha couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The cops allowed only one of them to go downstairs to the detention cells, so Emily waited upstairs.

As she walked into the interrogation room, she saw Mike sitting there with his head hung low. His face was bruised and bloodied, probably from the people who had tried to stop him.

“Mom,” he said as he looked up at her with tears in his eyes.

“Mike,” she replied, taking a seat beside him. “What happened?”

Mike took a deep breath before explaining everything that had led up to the attack on Paul.

“I know I shouldn’t have done what I did,” he said through tears. “But I couldn’t take it anymore. The anger just consumed me.”

Martha listened intently, feeling her heart break for her son. She knew that what he did was wrong, but she also understood where all the pain and anger came from. And she knew she was also partially responsible for it. When the Circle banished him, she should have defended him. But she didn’t. “That makes two sons I failed to”, she thought.

After talking with the police and providing a statement, Martha hired a lawyer for Mike and made arrangements for him to be bailed out of jail. Emily just stayed there, in silence.

As both women made their way to the hospital, Martha couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by everything that had happened. She knew that things between her sons could never be repaired after this incident.

When both women arrived at the hospital, a nurse showed them Paul’s room.

When she saw him, she was shocked. He was heavily bandaged on his head and chest.

“Are you his family?” she heard a voice behind him. She turned to see a tall doctor.

“I’m Dr. Ochoa,” he introduced himself. “And you are...?”

“I’m his mother and she’s his sister,” Martha said. “Can you tell me...”

“He will live,” the doctor said. “Right now he’s asleep, we had to give him something to give his body time to heal. The beating he took was savage, but it didn’t compromise major organs. He was repeatedly kicked, resulting in several cracked ribs and a mild concussion. At least his attacker wore sports shoes. If he had worn steel-toe boots, it would have been different.” He pushed a few buttons on his IV machine. “Now I’ll leave you with him,” he said, and left.

Martha sat by Paul’s bedside, her heart heavy with guilt and sadness. She couldn’t believe that one of his sons had caused such harm to the other.

Emily stood by the window, her eyes filled with tears as she watched the sun begin to set. “I can’t believe this,” she said, her voice trembling with emotion. “Everything because of the Circle.”

Martha looked up at her daughter and reached out to hold her hand. “We’ll get through this,” she said reassuringly.

Emily turned to face Martha, her eyes filled with confusion and hurt. “How could Mike do this?” she asked, her voice shaking.

Martha took a deep breath before answering. “He’s been carrying a lot of pain and anger for years,” she explained. “And I think it finally just consumed him.”

“I had no idea,” Emily replied, tears streaming down her face. “I should have seen the signs.”

“It’s not your fault,” Martha said gently. “None of us saw how much Mike was struggling.”

As they sat in silence for a few moments, Martha couldn’t help but think about how different things were just a few days ago. She never imagined that one of her sons would be in jail and the other in the hospital.

But as painful as it was, Martha knew that they needed to face the truth and deal with the consequences of Mike’s actions.

Also, Martha realized she didn’t know anything about Paul’s current life. She had no idea if he had friends or somebody to call, so she did the only thing she could think of: She called Dr. Grey.

Martha sat at her son’s side, her palms sweating as she waited for Dr. Grey to answer the phone.

“Hello?” a tired voice answered.

“Dr. Grey, it’s Martha,” she said nervously.

“Martha? Is everything okay?” he asked with concern in his voice.

“It’s about Paul,” she replied, struggling to hold back her tears. “He was attacked by his brother and I-”

“Oh my God,” Dr. Grey interrupted. “Is he okay?”

“He’s in the hospital,” Martha said, her voice trembling. “But physically he’ll be fine ... it’s the emotional wounds that worry me.”

“I understand,” Dr. Grey replied sympathetically. “I’ll come and see him as soon as possible.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Martha said with relief in her voice and gave him directions before hanging up.

She turned to look at Emily who had been silently watching her mother on the phone.

“What did he say?” Emily asked.

“He’s going to come and see Paul,” Martha replied, trying to sound composed.

Emily nodded and they both fell into an uneasy silence, each lost in their own thoughts and worries.

Emily decided to go home to shower and change clothes, promising to be back soon. Martha couldn’t blame her for needing some time away from the hospital and the chaos that had become their lives.

One hour later, there was a knock on the door and Martha looked up.

“Dr. Grey!” she exclaimed as she let him inside.

“How is Paul?” he asked immediately, looking at him.

“He’s still unconscious,” Martha sighed. “But the doctors say he will make a full recovery physically.”

“What happened?” Dr. Grey asked gently.

Martha explained what Mike had told her. He nodded gravely and went out to find Paul’s doctor. After some time, he was back.

“I’ve talked to Dr. Ochoa,” he said. “The drugs they gave him will keep him under until the morning,” he said kindly, placing a hand on her shoulder in support. “How are you feeling?”

“I don’t know,” Martha said. “It’s been so many things. And everything because of the accursed Circle.” Dr. Grey remained silent. It was not the time nor the place to say anything, but he noticed how Martha once again assigned blame on somebody else.

“I’ll come back tomorrow when he’s awake,” he said.

Martha nodded. She sat again on the uncomfortable chair next to Paul’s hospital bed, her eyes fixed on his still form. She planned to spend the entire night there, unable to leave her son’s side even for a moment.

As she waited for Paul to wake up, Martha’s mind kept going back to Mike and his actions. She couldn’t understand how he could do something so cruel to his own brother. She wondered if she had failed as a mother, if there was something she could have done differently to prevent this from happening.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her phone. It was the lawyer.

“Ms. Thompson, I just wanted to inform you that Mike’s arraignment is set for tomorrow morning at 9 am,” he said in a business-like tone.

“Tomorrow? But that’s so soon,” Martha replied, shocked by how fast things were moving.

“Yes, I know it might seem sudden, but due to the severity of the charges against him, they want to get started as soon as possible,” the lawyer explained.

Martha didn’t know what to do. Should she go to the court tomorrow and face Mike? Or should she stay with Paul who needed her more than ever?

“I understand. Thank you for letting me know,” Martha said before ending the call.

She looked over at Paul and knew that there was no way she could leave him alone right now. Emily would have to go in her place.

When Emily arrived back at the hospital, Martha told her about Mike’s arraignment and asked if she would be willing to go in her place.

“Of course,” Emily replied without hesitation. Martha felt a mix of relief and guilt. She was glad that Emily was willing to go and support Mike, but she still didn’t want to think about what to do if she had to choose between her sons.

Dr. Grey returned in the morning, just on time to see Emily coming back from the court. Mike had pleaded guilty and was being held until his trial. Martha cried for her older son.