CW: alcoholism and addiction, mention of sibling and child abuse
My sister is alcoholic. Or maybe it’s my brother or mother or father or uncle. Maybe it’s my cousin or grandfather or aunt or nephew or student or kid.
Maybe it’s your kid.
How do you know?
When your brother was ten you found him drinking in the crawl space underneath the stairs. You were only thirteen and you hated each other, so you didn’t know what to say. Perhaps you said nothing. Sometimes your brother beat you up. He was a wrestler, soccer player, basketball player, an all-around athlete, and the pride of your father. He put you in wrestling moves and kept you there for as long as he wanted. He trapped you in the corner of the couch sectional for hours and if you tried to get away, he tackled you. He pushed you so hard once you fell backwards into the bathtub and bruised your tailbone. It hurt to walk or sit for two weeks. Your father beat him for that. Your father beat him for many things. Sometimes you were made to watch or to listen in helplessly, to bear witness.
You were very sick as a child and it was hard to fight back. Your brother was bigger and stronger than you for as long as you remember.
Maybe this isn’t about your brother, but your mother or your sister. Your sister was a terrible…
