Sibling Seperation

I never really realized how much I love my brother until he went to
boarding school. The seven years that I spent alone were intensely
lonely- there us nothing quite like sitting at a house where you live
alone watching your friends leave one by one- knowing they all have
people waiting for them at home. It's a strange sort of loneliness.
Intense and gnawing. Being pertpetually single didn't really help
either. LOL.
But now, living at home, just me and the parents, the house is so big
and empty without his insanity, his tantrums, his random and ready
laughter, and the genuine love and ingenuity with which only he can
manipulate us all.
He knows infinitely better than I do; how to get money out of dad, how
to make mom laugh even when she's on a rampage, how to make me smile a
certain exasperated smile that only he gets.
I virtually raised the kid- which, looking at his randomness and
general insanity, is rather obvious- and his presence has grown on me
to an extent that sometimes we feel symbiotic. Every time he leaves to
go back to boarding school, I feel like a very real part of me is
ripped away. Empty.
Miss you bro. My stupid gopher. :-)