Brother, Brother

By Charlie O’Brien

Jimmy Matson finds himself spiralling into a hopeless depression following the death of his identical twin brother, Alex. The police have no leads, and it looks like his brother's murder is going to go unsolved. Unable to cope with the loss, Jimmy has begun on a self-destructive streak – drinking excessively, and locking himself in his apartment for days on end.
However, Jimmy becomes plagued with strange dreams about his brother, and soon becomes convinced that his apartment is haunted by none other than his twin brother's ghost. Unable to leave the house due to his anxiety and fears of being attacked, Jimmy starts to sift through his late brother's belongings in search for the truth. Because he has started to suspect that Alex may have actually known his killers. And they may be coming for him next.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charlie O’Brien
• Release date: Dec 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201213619

Book preview

The farther back you can look, the farther forward you can see.

-  Winston Churchill

FOR MY SISTERS

CHAPTER ONE

Jimmy, hey, you got that paperwork done yet? Braun asked, frowning as he leaned his full weight against the low cubicle wall separating my workspace from empty one next to mine.  Matson, are you listening to me?

Lord, kill me now. I cracked my neck sharply to the side, and glanced up at my manager. Braun Selmack was scrutinizing me, his thick, caterpillar eyebrows scrunched closely together. He was in his mid-forties, though he looked much older. That may have been a result of his paunchy beer belly that always stuck out a good six inches over his jeans, splaying his two bottom buttons of his royal blue work shirt in an obscene manner, and the fact that his face was deeply lined with wrinkles and crow’s nests that aged him a decade older than the birth year on his government ID.  Suffice it to say, I didn’t really like Braun; he was slightly abrasive – the man had a habit of getting under my skin, and I wasn’t alone in the sentiment. Others in the call centre where I worked avoided him when he was on the prowl, since Braun had a tendency to hover at each person’s cubicle for a while longer than was necessary. I had heard the girls gossip about him in the lunch room on numerous occasions about how Braun had supposedly looked down their shirts a few times during training sessions, and had even made a lewd suggestion during the Christmas party last year. I didn’t know if the stories was true or not, or if it was simply office gossip. Nonetheless, it was a general consensus that Braun came off as a creep.

Jimmy, are you just going to sit there, or are you going to answer me? Braun asked. I need that paperwork done, pronto.

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my mouth in check so I didn’t say something I’d regret. It had been a terrible idea to come to work today; I should’ve just taken a sick day, being that I was severely hung-over. That, and I was in a terrible mood. On a regular day, work was quite easy. I’d sit at my cubicle, waiting for incoming calls. Some days, I’d get maybe a dozen calls an hour. Other days, I’d sit there reading my paperback novel, not getting a simple call. But lately, business had thankfully been picking up. The company had recently gone through a few changes, which meant we had a shit ton of paperwork to get through, and hours of data entry to submit into our new computer program. That meant more hours, and a heftier workload. The plus side was, that I was now getting way more hours, and that obviously meant better paycheques. My savings account was definitely grateful.

Still, I had taken great measures all shift to stay out of Braun’s warpath. I had heard him berating Scott an hour ago because he kept filling out the paperwork wrong, and he wasn’t as productive as he should be. Scott deserved it, though. The kid was one lazy fucker. He was only here to pick up his paycheques and do as minimal work as he could get away with.  Mostly, he just wasted everyone else’s time by asking repeated questions to everyone around him in hopes that they would eventually give up trying to explain things to him, and just take over his work to save time.

He knew better than to ask me for ‘help’ with any tasks, because I’d shot him down last week, when he tried to con me into filling out a dozen forms for him. Scott was like Tom Sawyer, trying to get all the local kids to pay for the pleasure of painting the fence he was supposed to be in charge of painting himself. Though I’d never say it to his face, I wished that Scott would do the entire office a service, and put in his two week’s notice. He’d be better off somewhere else – working as a sandwich artist, or flipping burgers at McDonald’s or something.

I glanced up, aware that Braun was still waiting for my response. I tilted back slightly in my computer chair, and took off my headset.

I’m still working on it, Braun, I said, keeping my tone indifferent as I pressed two fingers against my temple, and rubbed in slow circles. I wish I had brought my little bottle of Tylenol with me; I could feel a headache blossoming behind my right temple. It had been a fairly busy morning. I’d had a few customers call in with issues, but I had dealt with them as swiftly as I could. Still, the phone calls had eaten up the first four hours of my shift. I’d only actually started working on Braun’s pile of paperwork about twenty minutes ago. It wasn’t that hard, it was just time-consuming. And mind-numbingly boring. I’d have taken another few phone calls, if given the option. Give me a while longer, alright? I said.

Braun smacked his hand down on top of my cubicle wall, planting an odd half-smile on his face that didn’t look happy or uplifting in any way. He gave me a pained expression, almost like he wanted desperately to say something else, but he was holding it in as if he were constipated or something. I stared at him for a moment longer than I should’ve, unblinking in that unnerving fashion that I knew people hated. I had large, hazel eyes that just seemed to sweep people up, like they were hypnotized. It unsettled people to look into them for too long. I used this to my advantage sometimes. Braun was no exception to this, and I sometimes purposely used it against him like a weapon, especially when he was getting on my nerves.

Well, Braun said, breaking eye contact. Get a move on, alright? I want that paperwork on my desk ASAP.

Yeah, I will.

Got any big plans for the weekend? He asked, sounding genuinely interested. Parties, or anything?

I shrugged. I was going to go out with my brother and some of our friends, but I didn’t like giving Braun too much information. He always pried. Yeah. I didn’t elaborate any further than that. That’s all Braun needed to know.

Uh  . . .He said, rubbing at the back of his neck. You wouldn’t want to put in any more hours, would you? I’ve got a few shifts I’m trying to fill on Saturday morning, and Sunday evening. What do you say?

Nope, sorry. I’ve got plans. Is that all, Braun? I asked, slipping on my headset again, on the off-chance that I may receive a phone call that could give me an excuse to set Braun’s paperwork aside. One could only hope. I got work to do.

Yeah, He said. That’s all. Just checking in.

I turned in my seat, and watched him turn on his heel and stalk back to his office, before I gave a quick glance to the large, black phone sitting on the desk in front of me. With luck, it would ring in the next ten minutes. Unfortunately, it didn’t ring. It took me another half an hour do the paperwork, and I gave it a quick once-over to make sure that it was all correctly filled out. As soon as I was satisfied that the paperwork was all in order, I brought it over to Braun’s office, and unceremoniously dumped it on his desk beside his coffee mug. He was arguing with his wife over the phone, and he gave me a quick nod.

It was my lunch break, of which I was glad. I swiped my badge on the way to the break room, and grabbed my hoody from off the hanger. It was the end of January, and though there was no snow on the ground, the air was frosty enough that I had still been able to see my breath when I exhaled on my way to work. I got an hour off for lunch; enough time to eat my skimpy lunch, and take a walk down to see my brother. That was my favourite part of the day.

Upon entering the break room, I waved a quick hello to my co-worker, April, as she sat at one of the long tables. I zipped up my navy blue hoody, snug all the way up to my chin. The Toronto Blue Jays hoody was brand new, a Hannukah gift from Mom. I looked outside, staring at the row of parked cars in the parking lot. Well, at least it wasn’t snowing. That was good. All week, we’d had a mixture of either pouring rain, or snow. I always preferred the rain. Snow was messy, turning into disgusting slush, and making the roads dangerously icy. As an islander, I hated that shit.

Phone in hand, April barely looked up as I went straight for the fridge. She was frowning, her phone buzzing repeatedly as she texted. I had a bologna sandwich, pudding cup, and granola bar waiting for me. I was saving the pudding cup for my coffee break later on that day, but I planned on eating the sandwich and granola bar right now.

Long shift? April asked, her fingers tapping at lightning speed on her Iphone. I listened to the click of her long fingernails as she texted her boyfriend, Josh, who worked a few blocks away at the Thistle Motel. I had never met him, but I had heard all about him from April, and seen his picture on my Facebook feed a half dozen times. He looked nice enough. Big tall blond kid, obsessed with soccer and Game of Thrones. He had a tattoo of Tyrion Lannister on his shoulder blade.

Yeah, you betcha, I replied. I had a couple of rude customers, but that’s pretty standard. People are idiots, I said, rolling my eyes in hopes of being rewarded with one of her charming smiles.

April glanced up, distracted. Yeah, I hear you on that. Are you going to see your brother?

Yup.

Say hey for me, will ya?

Sure thing, I said. I’ll see ya in a bit.

My twin brother, Alex, worked in the same strip mall as I did – in a coffee shop conveniently placed a few stores down. The Stardust Cafe was like Starbucks, sort of. Well, I suppose it was like a similarly-titled knockoff cafe with less quality drinks, and a hell of a lot cheaper food. All in all, it was a pretty nice place. I was absolutely in love with their poppy seed muffins, something that I made sure to order every time. The staff all knew my order by heart. I liked how close it was, because I could take my lunch down to his workplace, and sit at the well-lit shop, and take advantage of their free wifi, and excellent food. Alex got an employee’s discount on the hot drinks, so that was also an added benefit, since he often used his discount to buy me coffee as well.

Alex was my identical twin. We were only seven minutes apart, him being the eldest. He often took the ‘being the eldest sibling’ thing to heart, acting as if he were a few years older, even though we had definitely shared a womb. Sometimes, his attitude bothered me because I didn’t really think being seven minutes older should make a difference in our lives. Usually though, I simply tried to ignore him when he got overly bossy.

Mom always used to shop the sales at different department stores, and online sales, so she had made it a habit buying doubles of everything since we’d been born. Little matching onesies, diaper covers, baby tights, you name it. So, up until a certain point in our lives, Alex and I would almost always leave the house wearing identical outfits. Other parents found this cute. It was, I suppose, endearing when we were younger. But once we hit middle school, our wardrobes became much more unique to our own personal style. I was the hoody and jeans brother, comfortable in long-sleeved shirts that fell to the tips of my fingertips, and cargo shorts with lots of pockets. Alex had a rainbow collection of plaid shirts, a few polo’s that made him look like a prep, though the rest of it was similar to my own style. We raided each other’s closets often, depending on our mood. I liked his plaid, but I wasn’t too keen on the polo’s. They didn’t look that great on either of us, which was something that Alex and I disagreed on.

As children, we had been so close. We had done everything together, and we’d been constantly within arm’s reach of each other. People always described us as being attached at the hip, which I think was an accurate statement. As the years went on, we were less close to a certain degree – but still in each other’s lives. In fact, we had recently moved out of our parent’s home and into our very own apartment. Neither of us could afford living on our own, but we needed our freedom. At nineteen, we had been until recently still living at home with our family. Mom, Dad (well, technically, he was our step-dad since our real father was long dead, but we just referred to him as Dad), and our older step-sister, Beth. The housing market was too expensive to ever afford a condo, and the chances of getting a rental were slim. But we’d lucked out. Our apartment was in a lower income neighbourhood, and was in an older building that needed a shit ton of repairs. But the place was ours, and I was proud of it.

I ate my bologna sandwich on the walk, scarfing it down as fast as I could. The Stardust Cafe didn’t allow outside food. Had it been any other establishment, I wouldn’t have cared if I broke the rules, and just snuck the food in. But as it was Alex’s workplace, I knew I needed to comply. His boss was really anal retentive about certain things, and would throw a serious conniption fit if he saw me eating my brown-bag lunch in the cafe. I didn’t want to jeopardize his position, because I knew how much he liked working there, but on a slightly more selfish note, I knew that I couldn’t afford the rent and bills on my own wages if I accidently got him fired. We were financially dependent on each other, mostly because the rent was so high that we didn’t really have a choice in the matter.

As soon as I stepped foot in the cafe, my eyes were drawn to the front counter. Alex stood at the cash register, ringing in a line of customers. He had his hair lying flat underneath his required hairnet, and he was wearing an apron over his regular clothes, with the cafe’s logo stitched onto the front in loopy, cursive writing, followed by a large, cartoonish blue and yellow shooting star that looked like it’d been taken directly from a stock image online. I wasn’t too fond of the logo. It looked cheap, easily bordering on tacky.

Even after nineteen years, it was sometimes disorienting to see my doppelganger standing in front of me. We were identical, down to our haircuts, and a large portion of our outfits came from the same racks at the mall. Even our moles were in the same places. People could rarely tell us apart. Even Mom got us confused on occasion. I think it was mostly our attitudes that set us apart. He was definitely the glass-half-full kind of guy, always ready with a smile, which differed greatly to my surly frown and intense anxiety. Sometimes, I wished I was more like him. But though I could plaster a smile on my face at the best of times, I wasn’t Alex. Not by a long shot.

Business was fairly steady. That was normal, seeing as how it was around noon.  I waved at Alex, as I joined the back of the line. The area had plenty of small offices in the area, a few lumber yards, two paper companies, and a couple of restaurant supply stores. The place drummed up quite a bit of business in the area, being one of only two coffee shops and the only place that sold food (unless you count the gas station a few kilometres away that sold pre-packaged sandwiches, overpriced cans of pop, and bruised apples). Food-wise, this place was so much better.

Alex always had his coffee breaks coinciding with my lunch breaks, something which he had requested upon beginning his job a year ago. At first, his boss had thought he’d been kidding about having an identical twin that worked a few doors down, and had demanded proof.  The man had finally acquiesced to Alex’s request, once I had shown up and introduced myself as Alex’s brother in person. Seeing us both in person, Mr. Hendricks had thought it was so hilarious, that he had actually taken our picture to send to his wife. We humoured him, and allowed the strange photo op. It wasn’t the first time someone had wanted to take our picture, simply for being identical. The shared break schedule worked well for the both of us. I took my hot chocolate and tray of food, and sat down in my favourite seat, as it was right beside the main window. Our table had the best view, and plenty of leg room.

I spread out today’s local newspaper, and waited for twenty minutes before Alex came rushing over, and slouched down in the seat opposite me. He removed his hair net, and swiped at his forehead, mopping at the tiny beads of sweat forming at his hairline. Alex had the same thick, auburn hair with light smattering of freckles that I did. It was like looking into a mirror. We looked like KJ Apa, after he’d dyed his hair the distinct red colour for his role in ‘Riverdale’.

How’s work? I asked, folding up the newspaper, and sliding it over to him. April says hi.

Oh, nice, Alex said, taking a sip of his smoothie. He glanced down at the sports page, studying the images. I take it she’s working today?

Yeah. Hey, are we still going out tonight? I asked. Kale asked if we wanted to go out for drinks. There’s this new bar on Eighth Ave. He wanted to check it out. Ahmed texted me this morning to remind me.

Yeah, I wanna go, Alex said, giving me a sunny smile. Wait - Is that the place that was featured in the newspaper last week? The one with all the arcade games? Oh man, that looks like fun. I haven’t played Pac-man or Skee-ball in ages. I saw they got all kinds of retro games. I’m in. What about you?

I nodded. Best of both worlds; arcade games with the chance to win a nice prize at the end of the night, and a place to grab a few beers after a mind-numbingly boring day.  "That’s the one. He sent me the link. It’s got everything, even your favourite game Asteroids."

Yeah! This sounds good. Alex sipped his smoothie, and tilted his head to the side, watching two men in coveralls and Carhart jackets walk past, coffees in hand. I saw him glance up at the sunburst wall clock. His break was nearly over. I heard it’s a nice place. Are we meeting them there?

I nodded, pushing my plate towards him. I watched as he bit into the lemon muffin, crumbs scattering on his apron, and on the table between us. He set it down, and carefully brushed the crumbs into his hand, dropping it onto the plate.

You got a date tonight? I asked, glancing over at the counter. Daisy Coulter was standing at the cash register. She was a blonde cashier with curly hair that resembled angel hair pasta tied back in a ponytail, and a year younger than us. Daisy met my gaze and gave me a shy smile. She was easy on the eyes, but I wasn’t attracted to her like Alex was. To me, she was just a friend. If anyone was going to date my brother, I’d say she was good for him. Sweet girl, friendly, and always making him laugh. I nodded at her, and turned my attention back to Alex. What about –

Hold up. I know what you’re thinking, Alex dead-panned. I’m going to nip this in the bud. No, I’m not dating Daisy. And yes, I thought about asking her out.

Don’t you like her? I asked, squinting. I thought you did. I really don’t get it – what’s not to like?

Alex shrugged. "Oh, I like her alright.  As friends."

Riiight, I said, rolling my eyes. I know you like her. More than platonically.

She has a boyfriend, or at least I think she does. Alex shrugged. I don’t think I’m really her type, anyway. Apparently, she likes tattooed guys.

Yeah? I studied his face. That’s a new development on the whole Daisy-Alex relationship. What happened?

"These past few weeks, there’s been this guy who’s been hanging out here until closing. Always ordered a chai latte, and two scones. I remember him, because he looked super sleazy. He had his spider tattoo on his neck, and always reeked of pot. He often looked high. I thought he was a drug dealer or something, but Daisy said he was a welder. Don’t know why he was hanging out at the Stardust, but I caught them kissing in the store room two nights ago. He had his hands all over her. It