You whisper secrets in my ear

I was about 10 when I realized my mother loved my brother more than she loved me. Maybe love isn't the right word, but it's the best I can think of. I remember her coming into my room, saying she wanted to talk to me about something. Apparently my brother had gone to her and said that I had come up to him and sneered that "mom and dad love me more than they love you!", and this greatly upset him. What the hell? Not only did I not say that to him, he had said it to me. But here was my mother, telling me that I shouldn't say those things to him because it's not true. I told her that I hadn't said it to him, and she didn't believe me. Pardon?

The older I get the more evident it is. The other night my mother and I got into an argument about my brother, and his living habits. He had been living at home until last fall, when he got a job that's an hour and a half away from here. He and a couple friends moved to be closer to their worksite, which only made sense. He let Bellan have his bedroom, and we merrily went on our way. Or so we thought!

According to my brother, this is his home, and the house he's renting is just a place to stay when he has to work. Excuse me? Did I miss something when the U-Haul showed up and he piled in all of his crap, plus most of the rec room furniture?

So, not only is here most of the time, but since he graciously gave up his bedroom he has to sleep on the futon in the rec room. And he sleeps until 3 in the afternoon, so nobody can go down there. But according to my mother, we have to be nice about it because he's used to working nights. He doesn't have to pay rent, and then my mother turns around to me and makes comments about "when you weren't home, I bought ________ all the time!". You know what lady? The next time you complain about buying an $8 jug of Cheez Whiz, why don't you hit up your son for some change instead of whining about how Bellan and I are such a burden? We do pay rent, after all. Not to mention make dinner, do all of the dishes, and keep the house clean.

No matter how I try to point out the fact that my brother has always gotten a free ride from my mother, she never sees it. I can't wait for Bellan or I to get a job so we can get out of here. We're getting to the point where it's moving anyway, Bellan can transfer to another Wal-Mart and try for a part time library job, and I'll do contract work through agencies.

Anyone have a job for me?