Editor's note: this fictional work contains scenes of completely fictional incest or fictional incest content.
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Keeping Out Those Dark Thoughts
I.
My head was throbbing as I awoke in the darkness, sitting up in my bed and squinting to clear my blurred vision. I stared at the window blinds that bent and swirled slightly from my adjusting eyes. It was still pitch black outside. And boy, was I thirsty as shit.
I hobbled out of my room and towards the bathroom, stopping by to unload a fierce torrent of piss. I knew I had hit the mark from the splashing and gurgling sounds, which pierced the gentle blanket of silence draped over the entire apartment. I swore I heard a strange noise coming from my little brother's room. I made a mental note to investigate it after I went to the kitchen. Filling a glass of water and guzzling it down, I perked my ears and heard a hushed mewling emanate from his bedroom.
I stopped in front of his door and pressed my ear up against the hollowed wood material. He was groaning a bit, and it was occasionally interrupted by his ragged breaths as he gasped lightly for some air. My knuckles paused just before knocking on his door. My face reddened at the thought of walking in on him pleasuring himself.
I started renting this place about two years ago when I moved into the city after finding a job at the local sanitation department. It wasn't exactly the most interesting or gratifying work, but it was as good of a position as I could get with my public administration degree and it also payed pretty decently as well. Harper was living with our parents until he got accepted into a college near here. While he didn't seem happy about it at first--bemoaning the fact that he had to share a roof with his older brother--he relented to Mom and Dad's wishes and began staying in my apartment's spare bedroom to save money.
Harper was a rather shy person and kept mostly to himself, spending most of his time outside of classes in his room gaming online with a few of his friends from school. His face was sort of pale and soft, as was the rest of his somewhat chubby body. Harper wore these glasses with square, thick black frames and tied his brown hair up in a long ponytail. He had this classic nerdy look, but even as his brother, I had to admit that he was undeniably cute. While I had no knowledge on makeup or the like, I wondered if he also touched up his feminine facial features at times in the morning.
I wasn't sure if he was gay or something. I've never seen him talk with women in a non-friendly way or go on any dates. Hell, I wasn't sure if I was gay or not, though I watched my fair share of both gay and straight porn.
Now, the sounds were growing a little louder and much clearer. No, I really doubt he was touching himself in there. It sounded like Harper was sobbing quietly to himself in despair. My brotherly instincts kicked in and I knocked quickly prior to opening the door. I stepped into the pitch black room, and could barely discern a shaking mass under his bed covers from the faint light of the hallway nightlight.
"Hey......Harper...are you ok?," I said gently, trying not to startle him.
I saw him wiggle and pop his head out from underneath the heavy blanket. His hair was messy and his eyes were puffy and glistening with tears. I sat next to him--the weight of my body sinking into his spongy mattress--and rubbed his back through the covers.
"What's wrong? Anything bothering you?......You know you can tell me anything, right? I'm always here if you need someone to listen."
Harper looked pretty rough. His eyes were downcast and he stared at our lengthened shadows projected onto the carpet.
"It's--it's just that...," he said, halting mid sentence and retreating back inside his wooly den.
I wasn't going to stop now. He was in a tough spot and I can feel a real breakthrough ahead of us. I was going to support my little brother and make some real emotional progress with him. We were so close back then and I felt us drift apart when we became teenagers. Falling to my side and resting my head on top of his unused pillow, I snaked out an arm and lifted the covers to expose his face once more. He was all flustered and slammed his eyes shut as he threw the blanket down once more to hide himself.
"Fine," I said, accepting his self defense mechanism, "But can you at least speak to me through it?"
I waited in silence, sensing that he was choosing his words carefully.
"I--I...I can't help but think these dark thoughts at night when I'm all alone. It just really hurts......I know my life is easy and all...but my heart just really fucking hurts and I don't know what to do about it," Harper whispered, his voice quivering.
Shit, what kind of deep stuff was bothering my brother and making him suffer this much? Had he been battling with depression? Or was he getting bullied at school? Was he struggling with his identity? I clenched my fists at whatever or whoever was hurting him, only loosening my grip so that I could cradle the back of his head and stare at him through the dense cloth. I needed to be a source of strength for him--a shoulder he could reliably lean on.
"I don't want to force you to tell me anything--and you know that I'm always here for you--still... maybe I can help you more if you explain to me what exactly is hurting you."
"I'm so alone, Lane. My body...my heart...they yearn for the touch of another. But I'm so fucking pathetic. I don't think anybody would ever want to be with me or find me attractive..."
I see. It's a love and self image type of issue. Honestly, I was at a loss for words since those were things that I didn't have much experience in. Sure, I worked out a lot and my friends and family always tell me that I'm good looking and should go hit the dating scene, but the thing was that I had never dated before either and had no idea where to start. I had never loved anyone romantically and I wasn't completely set on my sexuality.