Friday, August 08, 2008

Nothing says I love and I’m sorry like ink.


My brother Steven did something so totally unexpected I choked up and my little sister straight out bawled. Like my bro and mom she’s highly emotional. To fully understand the significance of the moment I have to layout some background.

For two years my brother was head over heels in love with a girl that my little sister despised. I really didn’t know the girl so I accepted her with no problem. However because they all went to the same high school my sister had more insight into her than I did. Yet it was hard to believe the conniving picture Caity painted of the girl when she came across as so innocent.

My mom sat the three kids down time after time to discuss the animosity between the girls.During these talks the girl would claim she had no problem with Caity and make it seem as if Caity’s problems with her were one sided. At first we thought maybe Caity was a bit jealous after all her and Stevie had always been best friends, always been joined at the hip, and now with this girl in his life he had no time for Caity. My brother naturally took his girlfriend's side.


Soon to be 17 yr old Caitlin has a sweet and bubbly personality and is undeniably pretty.She inherited my mother’s fair skin,porcelain complexion, dad's dark blonde hair and thick dark lashes. Like me she has amber colored eyes except with hers you can see flecks of green in them. She has a beautiful figure, petite an inch taller than me with a tiny waist and generous hips. Caity, thank god is innocent enough not to take advantage of the power she has over teenaged boys and grown men. I have seen Caity literally smile her way out of any trouble she’s gotten into without meaning to. She's also an aspiring designer and creates a lot of her own styles. I took notice of the fact that whenever Caity changed her look a few days later my brother’s girlfriend would show up rocking the same look,hairstyle, or color hair. That made me rethink my jealousy theory or rather who was actually jealous of who.

It started slowly,vile nasty rumors spread about my sister in the school.One of the rumors even had her working as a drug dealer in the local playground. The source of the rumors always seemed to be my brother’s girlfriend and her mini crew of divas. The rumors would always make their way to Caity yet we could get no one to actually admit it to my brother’s face. I guess they feared censure from the popular crowd and a beat down from my brother.

Then the big one hit a myspace page was dedicated to my sister, it was awful. When I saw it I was livid and something in me just snapped. Until that moment I had not realized what Caity was going through because she'd kept it all to herself. My mom contacted myspace and they qicky removed it but just as quick another one popped up. At first we had no idea who had created the pages and my bro was threatening to dismember whoever did it. Caity meanwhile kept insisting that it was his girl doing it. I finally believed it when a picture of Caity popped up on that page was kept on the portable hard drive of the family computer shortly after the girlfriend asked to use it. That’s when I got involved and just let my brother have it when he refused to accept the mounting evidence against his girlfriend and her mini crew. Things even got a little tense between my bro and I when I sided with Caity. The pages suddenly stopped when my mother threatened to involve the girl's mother into the equation. It seems that the girl's mom knew exactly what she had spawned and didn't buy her daughter's innocent act.

Long story short last year was pure hell for my sister. The relationship between her and Steven was strained and she was always on edge. Her grades suffered; sometimes my mom would find her crying in her room. During that time the once ultra independent kid clung to mom and me. My father was highly disappointed in him and told him so often. Finally my mom transferred Caity into a new school and her grades picked up again. The rumors still persisted but my brother began to slowly open his eyes.

Several months ago he and the girl broke up. It turned out everything Caity had told me but refused to tell my bro about the girl turned out to be true. Now he was feeling stupid he was seeing it all for himself first hand. He apologized to Caity and she accepted, she’s never been one to hold a grudge. Their relationship got right on track as if nothing ever happened. I think he finally understood the lecture my parents had given him about his role as a brother to two females and it humbled him.

He came home last Friday with a new tattoo, a Celtic cross embossed with my name and Caity’s name on it. It was his way of apologizing to us and making sure he'd never forget his role as our protector again. As soon as Caity saw the tattoo she jumped into his arms and started crying. He hugged her so tight I thought he was going to crack one of her ribs or something. When he set her back down on the floor his eyes were all teary. My mom had been watching them and now brushed a couple of tears away from her face. He had them add her and dad’s name as well when it was done he said because he realized that his treatment of Caity had affected them as well. He was sorry. Mom and Caity started crying harder. Like I said they’re the emotional ones of the family. I’m the cool one. I looked at the tat and despite the lump in my throat acted casual. “That’s really nice Stevie.” I said and turned away before he could see my eyes tearing up. Nothing says I love you and I’m sorry like ink.

Labels: family, tattoos

Posted by @ 11:15 AM
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