Bruiser

As Brew and Brontë sit in the park reading The Odyssey, Brew promises himself that he won’t give in to Brontë’s interrogations. She asks him questions about his ability, but he ignores her.

However, as she caresses his back, he realizes he has never felt these emotions for someone else, and he gives in. He explains to her that he has always had the ability and cannot choose who to take pain from; instead, it happens as a result of caring about someone, which is why he has always tried to be alone.

Brewster’s mother died from ovarian cancer when he was young. When she was diagnosed, she left Brewster and Cody with Hoyt for fear of her cancer transferring to Brewster if it spread beyond her ovaries.

Brewster thinks of his dreams, which are to one day be famous for his ability. He wants to be paid to take the president’s pain and end up on the cover of TIME. At the same time, however, he wishes his ability would go away so he could be “normal.”

In the cafeteria, Brewster is in line for food, when a popular swimmer, Ozzy, cuts in front of him. Since meeting Brontë, Brewster has decided that he should stand up for himself more, so he makes fun of Ozzy’s shaved head—making Ozzy’s friends laugh at him. In response, Ozzy flips Brewster’s tray of food.

Angry, Brewster thinks of how he is “incapable of lifting a finger to hurt anyone” (125) and does nothing to Ozzy in retaliation. However, Tennyson comes across the cafeteria and confronts Ozzy. He takes Ozzy’s tray of food and gives it to Brewster, and challenges him to do anything about it, but Ozzy backs down. Brewster realizes that this must be what it’s like to have a friend and wonders if “it’s worth the pain [he’ll] endure because of it” (126).

Tennyson takes Brewster to the gym to work out, with the goal of helping him build muscles to stand up for himself. Brewster is exhausted by the end, calling Tennyson the trainer “from hell,” while Tennyson comments on how he does not even feel tired. Brewster thinks of how Tennyson is not tired because Brewster has taken his exhaustion onto himself.

Brewster watches Tennyson play lacrosse with Brontë. He sees that Tennyson is good, and a team leader, but not the best. As he watches, Brewster realizes that all the things that Tennyson should feel while playing—scrapes, bruises, fatigue, sweat—are instead being transferred to Brewster.

Tennyson has a great game and scores three goals as his team wins. Brewster hopes that Tennyson and Brontë don’t notice that he has taken Tennyson’s pain and exhaustion. He is happy to do it, though, thinking that it is his “right” to help Tennyson, just as Tennyson has been helping him.

However, he also thinks of Uncle Hoyt, who will be angry that his ability is being used on other people.

Cody remembers the time that he decided to jump off the roof of the house. He broke his arm, but the injury immediately transferred to Brewster, who then made Cody wear a cast along with Brewster to teach him a lesson.

Brewster has been lying to Uncle Hoyt about where he is going after school, claiming he is at math tutoring when really, he is with Brontë. Cody is afraid to go home to Uncle Hoyt alone—sometimes Hoyt is fine, while other times he is drunk and angry—so he waits in the library after school until Brewster picks him up.

One day when they come home, Uncle Hoyt is sitting on the couch in the dark. He confronts Brewster about tutoring, telling him that he doesn’t need all the extra help and that the three of them need to spend more time as a “family.”

Brewster angrily goes upstairs and Cody follows. He tells Cody that Hoyt is never going to let him go because Brewster takes away all of Hoyt’s pain and illness. Cody does not really understand what Brewster is saying, so he goes outside to sit with Hoyt.

Hoyt questions Cody about where he goes after school, and Cody inadvertently reveals that Brewster is hanging out with a girl. Hoyt surmises that Brewster has a girlfriend. He takes his lit cigarette and puts it out on his arm, but Cody watches as the mark quickly fades—then hears Brewster cry in pain from inside the house. Hoyt tells Cody that it is them that Brewster cares about and that “that girl is nothing, nothing at all” (146).

During Tennyson’s next lacrosse game, he is distracted after seeing his mother at a café with her boyfriend. However, he realizes that he is playing better than he ever has before, recovering quickly and feeling little pain.

During one particular hit, he thinks that he will have a concussion. However, he gets up feeling fine, then looks into the stands where he sees Brewster doubled over in pain. He realizes that Brewster has been taking away his pain and exhaustion, and he is distracted and tentative throughout the rest of the game as a result.

After the game, he angrily goes up to Brewster, feeling “angry and robbed” (153), and tells Brewster to stay away from his games.

Later, Tennyson regrets getting angry at Brewster and repeatedly apologizes to Brontë. She insists he tell Brewster immediately, but Tennyson does not want to go to Brewster’s house and risk seeing his uncle.

Brontë and Tennyson argue about what Brewster did. Tennyson tries to get her to understand that it “feels like it’s some sort of violation” to have Brewster take his pain (156), while Brontë insists that it is not intentional, and it is only happening because Tennyson is Brewster’s first real friend.

That night, Tennyson and Brontë’s parents come home with dinner from two different restaurants. Tennyson feels uncomfortable at the idea of choosing one or the other and thinks of how strange it is for his parents to live together but not be together.

In bed, he thinks of Brewster. He told Brontë that he did not want to go over to his house because of Uncle Hoyt but realizes this is just a mask for the regret he feels over being mad at Brewster at the game.

Tennyson and his father go to play basketball, and Tennyson goes to Brewster’s house to invite him to play. Brewster initially resists, until Cody interjects that he should just “tell Uncle Hoyt you won’t like him no more” (162). This advice confuses Tennyson but convinces Brewster, and he and Cody join Tennyson and his father to play basketball.

Tennyson notices how there is “gloom” over the court, as he thinks about the fact that his mother is constantly gone with her new boyfriend. However, when Brewster arrives, the mood lifts.

They play basketball, with Tennyson’s dad excited to teach Brewster, who has no experience with the sport. Through it all, Tennyson notes how “the entire day feels abnormally good in a way [he] can’t quite describe” (164).

After Brewster defies Uncle Hoyt and goes to play basketball, Hoyt stops pestering Brewster about going out and starts treating Cody better—he reads to him at night and has not been abusive in several days. However, that Thursday, he is driving the steam roller at work when a car crashes into him, sending the driver to the hospital. Although it is not Hoyt’s fault, Cody overhears him on the phone with his boss being demoted, causing Hoyt to quit.

That night, he gets extremely drunk. Brewster goes out with Brontë, leaving Cody home alone with Hoyt. After Hoyt drinks on the porch, he struggles to get back inside because of his drunken state. Seeing how drunk and angry he is, Cody decides not to let his uncle back in. After several moments, Hoyt breaks through the door, then angrily attacks Cody.

Hoyt and Cody struggle in the living room, with Cody crashing into the table and throwing an ash tray at Hoyt—striking him in the head and drawing blood. Hoyt angrily carries Cody into the yard to their back shed which he frequently uses to teach Cody lessons when he “goes foul” because it is secluded and far from the neighbors (173).

In the shed, Hoyt slaps Cody, telling him that he and Brewster “owe” him because he took them into his care. He claims that he never wanted to care for them but that he is going to teach them to respect him.

As Hoyt starts to beat Cody, Cody realizes that Brewster must be nearby because his pain is leaving and Hoyt’s forehead cut is healing. Cody sees Brewster out the window and turns into a “rag doll” as Brewster taught him (175), allowing Hoyt to beat him as Brewster endures the pain outside.

Throughout Cody’s beating, Brewster struggles in the yard, laying in the mud, urinating himself, and doing his best not to cry out in pain.

Afterward, he goes into the shed, where Hoyt sobs on the ground. He apologizes repeatedly, but Brewster knows he will do it again.

Brewster and Cody go to their room, where Brewster lies on the bed with his shirt off. They begin the “ritual” of cleaning Brewster’s wounds, as Cody wipes away the dirt and blood and bandages the cuts.

The following morning, Hoyt never gets up from bed. Instead, Brewster makes Cody breakfast, and the two go off to school, knowing that they “won’t tell a soul” (183) for fear of going into foster care and being separated.