Spoiled Little Brother

 

Merlin, since his birth, was a pain in his sibling’s side. Courtney and Dallas despised their younger brother since being the baby of the family meant he got special treatment in addition to the attention of their parents. The lack of structural parenting developed the young Merlin into a spoiled child, who always got what he wanted, and if he didn’t, cries to his parents often resulted in his wishes. His antics annoyed Courtney and Dallas immeasurably because even when they were the baby of the family, no matter the pleading, their parents were stricter on them than with Merlin.

Because of their brother's hatred, Courtney and Dallas developed a close sibling relationship than would be perceived, spending hours discussing Merlin’s new antics for the week. They crafted ideas to get back at him during these times, ranging from juvenile tricks to public embarrassment. No matter the planning, they were always scrapped due to the time and effort not being worth the lengthy punishment handed down by their disapproving parents. Together they yearned for the day they could take down Merlin a peg, but that thought was nothing more than a dream.

 “Family meeting!” their mother called, as the siblings sluggishly walked out of their rooms and down the stairs. When the whole family was in the living room, the mother spoke again.

“We have some fantastic news.” Despite the cheery delivery, a stone-faced reaction remained present on their children’s faces.

“Your mother and I are going to Las Vegas for the weekend, and we’ll be leaving you three home alone.” Their father continued, ignoring their children’s silence.

“Like, just Dallas, Merlin, and I?” Courtney asked, masking her excitement.

“Yes,” their mother replied shortly. “No parties or friends over, though. You two will be watching over Merlin.”

Dallas and Courtney smiled as they turned to their younger brother. His face drained of color. Despite four pairs of eyes staring at him, he made no eye contact with any of them. Instead, he opted to stair blankly towards the wall, the realization that his parents couldn’t serve as a buffer between him and his siblings anymore.

“Just don’t kill Merlin,” their dad joked. “We just ask that you watch over him and be polite to him.” Together Dallas and Courtney agreed, and the family meeting was dismissed. Dallas and Courtney ran to their rooms to plot their revenge, as Merlin slowly walked away, dread paralyzing his body. He knew he was in deep trouble.

The remainder of the week ran by quickly. The days were spent in school, that only served as filler for the day, as Dallas and Courtney ignored the education and focused on their weekend. After school, Dallas and Courtney immediately ran to their rooms to polish that day’s ideas and incorporate it into their plan. A faked itinerary concealed Their nefarious intentions that Courtney claimed they’d be doing to keep Merlin entertained. Their parents, oblivious to the blatant lie, gave the older siblings money to spend on their weekend. Cash in hand, Courtney purchased the items needed to execute the perfect revenge.

Saturday morning came early for the household. The parents, who awoke early for their flight, woke their children to say their goodbyes. Despite hearing the door lock and car start, Dallas and Courtney opted to go back to sleep, the complete opposite to their petrified younger brother. After the parents said their goodbyes, Merlin locked his door and hid under the covers. The settling of the house terrified Merlin more. The sound of the air conditioning turning on and off induced low whimpers. Exterior noises from roaming pets poured slow paranoia inside Merlin, that when filled, would harden into an unfathomed fear. He knew Dallas and Courtney were planning something, but the lack of initial response and knowledge of how/what they’d do, proved to be more paralyzing and terrifying than any media he had consumed before.  

Dallas and Courtney knew that the anticipation would be more crippling than anything they could inflict on their brother, and knowing he’d be too scared to act, for the first time in years, they slept soundly till morning.

When the sun slipped through the blind’s slits, illuminating the dark interior of Merlin’s room, did he dare to leave his room. Armed with a baseball bat, he planned to grab food and retreat to the safety of his room, intending to hold out there until their parents returned home. Creaking his door open, Merlin peered outside to see his sibling’s entries closed, and no light was emitting through the crack underneath. Acknowledging this could be a decoy, he silently slipped out of his room and crept downstairs, consistently scanning the permeator for his enemies. Seeing no one, Merlin grabbed a shopping bag and quietly loaded food, ranging from fruits to junk food. Unbenoised to the quiet Merlin, Courtney had woken up, and bad began stumbling downstairs to get ready for the day.

Too consumed by his current objective, Merlin’s guard was temporarily lowered, allowing Courtney to creep up behind him and snatch him. Merlin screamed in fear from the sudden action and began to pull away from his captor violently. Courtney put her hand over Merlin’s mouth to stifle the screaming, but her efforts were too late. Dallas, erected quickly in bed, pondering where that scream had originated. Worried, he left his room and made his way downstairs to see Courtney struggling to keep Merlin in her grasps. With both forces awake, Merlin knew all hope was lost. Grabbing his legs firmly together, Dallas and Courtney dragged him upstairs and into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

“Shhh,” Courtney whispered as Merlin continued to scream. “We just want to talk.”

Merlin screamed bloody murder, his voice starting to wear down from the extraneous activity despite the offer. Dallas, annoyed with the yelling, opened the cabinet and removed a roll of duct tape and a pair of handcuffs. Nodding at Dallas’s actions, Courtney bearhugged her little brother as Dallas duct-taped Merlin’s mouth shut and cuffed his hands to the toilet paper rack beside him. Immobilized and muted, Merlin stopped screaming as his worse nightmare became a reality, and any attempts would prove to be fruitful.

“We’re sick of your antics,” Courtney began, sitting on the edge of the tub. “And we’re getting you back for your spoiled mannerism,” Merlin grunted in response.

“You won’t be telling mom or dad either,” Dallas continued, leaning against the door. “Or we’ll release the pictures we take of you. No matter what punishment they unleash on us, the aftermath will be worse for you.”

Merlin gulped and looked at his sister, tears beginning to form in his eyes. The tears could be a pity ploy, but neither Courtney nor Dallas fell victim to his tactics and ignored the tears. For years they endured his bad behavior, and now it was time. It would be their only shot, and time was not on their side.

“Courtney, you know what to do,” Dallas said, and with a nod in agreement, he left. Courtney ran the water and allowed a razor to warm up under the water. Lathering her brother in shaving cream, slowly, she peeled away any hint of masculinity he had. Short hairs fell onto the floor as she continued shaving his legs, to his arms, to his chest, and ending with his head. Any movement caused the razor to dig into his skin, nicking him and causing minor pain that would hurt more later. All Merlin could do was stare at his sister shave away his body hair. Within minutes all of his hair was gone. Giggling at her petrified brother, Courtney lathered some glue onto his head and placed a wig on top.

Its hair fell in front of his face, which Courtney pushed away. Smiling ear to ear, she stripped Merlin, replacing his boy clothes with girls. An athletic thong was pulled into place, covered by a pair of jean shorts constricted against Merlin’s body. A teal bra clasped into place, with a white tee-shirt pulled over and a gray hoodie over that. Courtney stood Merlin up and snapped a picture of her brother.

“This is only the beginning,” she whispered. “Merlyn.”