He was the closest I would ever get to knowing what it is to have a brother. We were the same in many ways and different in just a few. He was more outgoing than I was. I was more on the shy side.
He was a Playboy, a Casanova, he loved having multiple relationships at one time. It was fun for him. He didn't discriminate. Married, single, boyfriend or not, he pursued them all, he didn't care. I considered it a dangerous game to play. Convincing me to participate in that lifestyle was one of his top priorities. I always declined. It wasn't for me. I guess I had a little more respect for women than he did. I had no desire to be a playboy.
There were a couple of times when a few irate men would come looking for him. Believe it or not some were former friends who discovered that my friend had betrayed their trust by sleeping with their spouse or girlfriend. Like I said previously, my friend was playing a very dangerous game. I can't tell you the amount of times me and the entire neighborhood had to save him from being killed or seriously beaten.
I wanted the friend I considered a brother to change his ways so bad. Then, one day he called me on the phone to tell me he was going to be a father. This news didn't surprise me at all. I always thought it would just be a matter of time before he got a woman pregnant. And then something he said did shock me. He committed to being a family man. I was stunned but I was also happy so I congratulated him.
The woman he got pregnant was visiting from Los Angeles. She had no intentions of raising a kid in New York City so she began asking him to move to Los Angeles. At first, he declined. He was born and raised in New York City he proclaimed. But, I guess the nagging became too much so he conceded.
Even though it saddened me that he was moving away I knew it was for the best. We were never going to lose contact with each other no matter where we lived. He explained that he was going to send his girlfriend back to Los Angeles alone so that she could find a place for them to live while he continued working here. So off she went to Los Angeles.
One night he was invited to a party and at this party there was a very attractive woman who had just recently broken up with a very abusive boyfriend who was stalking her. It was love at first site. They were inseparable. One night my friend was just about to visit his new girlfriend when he was approached by the ex-boyfriend who was accompanied by two other guys. He was threatened with severe bodily harm if he didn't end the relationship.
My friend lied and said that he would end it if they just let him leave. They did. He lied. A few weeks passed and no one had heard or seen my friend in a couple of days. His mother was worried because it wasn't like him to disappear like that. At worst, he always called she said. She convinced me and a few other friends of mine to search for him. We show up at his new girlfriend's apartment. We look up towards her window and we don't like what we see.
One of her windows is broken, like someone busted in. My friend immediately calls the cops. I decided that I couldn't wait for the cops to arrive. I needed to know what happened to my friend, my brother. I climbed the fire escape and made my way towards the broken window. I took a deep breath before looking in. Then I looked in.
I saw three bodies. One of them was my friend, my brother. I don't think I've ever yelled that loud again. This happened over 20 years ago.
I still miss my friend.