The air hissed out like a snake as I stood there watching. It was hissing hard, as if taking revenge over Justin’s murder. I felt smaller than a mouse, lower than a snake. I was disturbed and nauseated.

Mark had always joked about wanting to kill people when he was angry, and I always took it as a metaphor to vent his anger. But today, he killed Justin, with a smile, as if he was proud of killing his own brother.

I should have known better. He was beating me senselessly on a daily basis.

I was fearing for my own life, inadvertently sworn into a lifetime of silence over Justin’s death. I couldn’t do anything else but cry: out of fear, anger, despair. Justin had been the one to keep me sane in my turbulent relationship with Mark, and now, he, my protector was gone. Justin would not be around anymore to stop Mark from his crazy tirades.

What if I was his next victim?