Work Text:
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Miles tuck didn't kill his brother.
That was impossible
His brother couldn't die
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He wasn't crazy
He was protecting them
His wife, Their Parents
He was Protecting them all
From whatever Jessie had become
Miles didn't kill his brother
But he did drown him
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It was the right thing to do
That's what Rose had told him after he confessed
She knew he wasn't crazy
She saw how Jesse never changed
Unlike his parents
Ma and Pa didn't hear the rumors that spread all over the town
They didn't notice how Jessie still looked seventeen at twenty nine
Ma and Pa didn't see him fall from that tree
Miles did
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He had stayed the night with Jesse at their Parents cabin
He had claimed he wanted to “catch up” with Jesse
And Miles waited till nightfall
Waited till he was sure Ma and Pa were asleep
Waited to ask Jessie to go fishing with him out on the lake
He knew Jessie wouldn't question why Miles wanted to go fishing in the middle of the night
He’d tell him that they were fishing for Trout or something...
So they would put the boat out unto the water
And Jessie wouldn't notice the rocks or the rope under Miles's seat
Nor would he notice the slowness of the boat
Not until after Miles hit him over the head with the boating oar
Tied him up,
Weighted him down with the Stones.
And threw him out the boat
It was easy
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No, it wasn't
Ma and Pa cried when he went missing
They thought he was dead
Miles wished that were true
He tried to believe it
He couldn't
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Sometimes Miles almost forgot
Forgot Jesse was at the bottom of the lake
forgot that he’s the reason Jesse’s there in the first place
But he never forgot the look of betrayal plastered across Jessie’s face as he sunk to the bottom
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And
Jessie will never forget the look on his brother's face when he spots him climbing through the trees late at night, barefoot and Soaking wet
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“And that's the story of Jesse Tuck”
Winnie sits on the rickety porch of an abandoned cabin next to a boy who claims to be a hundred and four
“How long were you
At the bottom of that lake?”
“Not sure by the time I had crawled out he and Rose had settled down and started a family. I couldn't find Ma and Pa anywhere “
The sound of summer cicadas fill the air
“That's awful”
“I know”
Mosquitos begin to nip at Jessie's bare feet and Winnie’s exposed ankles
“Miles having kids”
She fails to bite back her laughter
He smiles satisfied at having lightened the mood
Still they sit in silence for a bit longer
“Are you still upset with him?”
“Maybe.”