The Rise Of A Broken Man

The shouting started again.

Devon froze halfway down the narrow hall, one hand still on his doorframe. The voices downstairs carried easily through the old house heated. Sean and Father. It always came back to them.

He eased the door shut behind him, careful not to let the latch click. If Ethan Curtis was angry, the whole house held its breath, and that happened a lot because Sean was always getting into trouble every now and then.

Devon moved on silent feet down the hallway, the boards creaking just enough to remind him he didn’t belong here, not really. He passed Diana’s door and paused. A soft light spilled from beneath it, and a small part of him hoped she was asleep. She shouldn’t have to hear this again. She was too young to grow up in a house this dyfunctional.

“You're not all that grown yourself, Devon. You're just fifteen.” his brain said to him.

“Yeah well, Diana is just twelve.” he muttered back.

“You’re insane, Sean! How could you?” Ethan’s voice cracked through the quiet like a whip.

“I didn't do it on purpose, Dad.” he heard Sean shout back.

Only God knows what he has done now, Devon thought with a wince. He was nearly to the stairs when he heard the whisper behind him.

“Dev?”

He turned to see Diana standing in her doorway, drowning in an oversized T-shirt, her eyes wide, her blond hair tangled from sleep. She looked small, too small for the problem that came with living in this house. One moment, there was peace, and the next, there was chaos.

The only grace here was Mrs. Curtis, Mother. She was the only good thing that came out of staying here, and Diana too, Devon reminded himself.

“What’s happening?” she whispered.

Devon lifted a hand to his lips, a quiet plea for silence. The last thing they needed was for Ethan to realize anyone else was awake.

Besides, it was best to leave them alone when they were like this. He had only came out of his room because he was curious to see what was going on.

He took a slow step toward her. “Go back to bed, Dee,” he murmured, voice barely above a breath.

“But…”

“Please, just go back to your room.” he said, but as soon as the words left his mouth, they both heard the sound of something crashing to the floor and shattering and they heard Mrs. Curtis scream.

“You're going to kill him, Ethan.” Mother said.

At that, Devon forget he had just asked Diana back to her room. He started down the stairs and Diana followed closely behind him.

Devon took the stairs two at a time, his heart hammering hard against his chest.

The living room lights were on, so he could see where everyone was standing.

Sean stood near the fireplace, face pale, and his hands was smeared with something dark; maybe oil or dirt, Devon couldn’t tell.

Ethan was standing over him, red-faced, shouting words that barely made sense anymore. Mrs. Curtis stood between them, her robe half-tied, and her eyes wide with fear.

“You’re going to kill him, Ethan!” she cried, clutching at his arm, trying to push him back.

Sean flinched and stumbled against the coffee table, sending a lamp crashing to the floor. The noise echoed through the house like gunfire.

“What’s going on?” Devon asked before he could stop himself.

All three heads turned toward him, then he bit his tongue, already nervous and blaming himself for opening his mouth.

Ethan’s chest heaved as he tried to control himself. “Go back upstairs, Devon. This doesn’t concern you.”

Sean raked a shaky hand through his hair. “Dad, I didn’t mean to. It… it was an accident. She came out of nowhere!”

“She?” Devon whispered as he stood there, still trying to piece together what had happened.

Ethan turned toward Sean again, his voice low, but Devon could hear the sharpness of it. “You drove my car, after I told you not to, drunk if I might add. You ran a red light, and then you hit someone, Sean!”

He hit someone? And then he was here at home? That meant that he had bailed. Did he even check to see how the person was doing? Did he call for help? All the question ran through his head, wondering what was going on.

Sean shook his head, panicked. “I didn’t see her. I swear, I didn’t see her.”

“Oh, God…” Mrs. Curtis whispered, sinking into the nearest chair, her hand pressed over her mouth.

Devon stared at Sean, then at the front door. “Did you call the police?”

Sean’s eyes darted to his father’s. Ethan’s jaw flexed, and Devon suddenly knew the answer before he heard it.

“No one’s calling anyone,” Ethan said tightly. “Not yet.”

“Dad,” Sean whispered, his voice cracking. “They’ll find me. Someone saw me.”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “Did they?” he asked.

Sean hesitated before answering. “I… I think so.” he said.

A knock sounded at the door, it wasn't loud, but it was just enough to turn every head towards it.

Mrs. Curtis gasped softly. Diana, who had crept halfway down the stairs, caught Devon’s sleeve, her fingers trembling.

“Stay here,” Ethan muttered, but to no one in particular. He straightened his shirt, smoothed his hair, and walked toward the door.

Devon felt the air thicken around them, the kind of quiet that came before something broke.

When Ethan opened the door, two police officers stood outside. The porch light caught the silver badge on the nearest one’s chest.

“Good evening, Mr. Curtis,” the older officer said.

From what Devon could hear, he heard that the officer’s voice was clipped, and that sounded dangerous.

“Sorry to bother you this late. We’re investigating a hit-and-run reported about thirty minutes ago near Old Mill Road. A witness mentioned seeing a vehicle matching your car’s description leaving the scene.”

Ethan forced a tight smile. “That’s… that’s terrible. I hope whoever was hurt is all right.”

The officer shook his head. “I’m afraid the victim didn’t make it.”

Mrs. Curtis let out a sound; small and broken, and the officer’s gaze flicked to her before returning to Ethan. “Would you mind if we take a look at the car, sir?”

Knowing the car was parked outside and he couldn't hide it, Ethan nodded. “Of course. Anything to help.”

Sean had gone completely still, pale as the wall behind him. Devon’s heart was pounding so hard it hurt.

One of the officers turned and went about checking out the car, then he came back some moments later and gave the other officer a look, and then a nod.

“Sir,” the officer said carefully, turning back toward the doorway. “We’ll need to speak to whoever was driving this vehicle tonight.”

Ethan’s jaw clenched. He didn’t look at Sean, he looked at Devon. “Devon, son. You have to go with them now. You shouldn't have gotten behind the wheel.”

Devon blinked, confused. “What?”

Ethan stepped closer, lowering his voice so only Devon could hear. “You have to go instead of your brother. He’s eighteen, they’ll try him as an adult. You’re a minor. Go, repay this family for taking you in all these years.”

Devon froze. He couldn’t move, or breathe. His gaze darted to Mrs. Curtis, who stared at her husband in horror but she said nothing. Diana was crying now, silent tears streaking her cheeks.

Sean wasn't pale anymore, his lips curved into something that almost looked like a smile, and just like that, Ethan’s hand was on Devon’s shoulder, steering him toward the door.

“This is the boy you’re looking for,” he said to the officers. “Devon. He borrowed the car tonight.”

Devon opened his mouth to speak, to shout that it wasn’t true but his throat closed around the words. The sound that came out was barely a whisper.

“I didn’t…” he managed to say.

“Son,” the officer said gently, stepping forward, “we’ll need you to come with us.”

The cold night air hit him like a slap when they stepped outside.

Devon looked back through the open doorway one last time at Mrs. Curtis, shaking her head, whispering something he couldn’t hear; at Sean, standing tall beside his father now; at Diana, clutching the banister, her small face twisted in shock.

Then the door closed, and his world went into chaos.