#5

Thomas kills himself. He was raped at the mental institution along with many others, but tested negative for HIV. Because of the "unsafe conditions", Dominick is able to get his brother out of Hatch and released to live at an assisted living center for a week until he can get a spot at a more permanent hospital for his kind of treatment. Due to the low security at the temporary facility, Thomas is able to break out. He goes to the river where Dominick, Leo, and Ralph Drinkwater used to work, takes off his shoes and socks, and jumps off of a tall cliff into the water. His body is found later, and Ray goes down to identify it. Dominick is faced with really strange emotions, from sadness, to feeling like an entire half of him is missing, to relief and happiness. Doctor Patel is trying to convince him that its okay to finally let go, to rid himself of the huge responsibility he put upon himself. Before Thomas' death, he always wondered if part of the mental illness had soaked into him too. The fact that their one cell split apart and became two people TERRIFIED Dominick. He always wanted to differenciate himself from Thomas, be better than the "retard brother". Now that Thomas is dead, Dominick can cope with his own feelings and stop carrying around those of his twin. The other part of being the only son left is Ray's confession and guilt. He knows that how he treated the boys was wrong, and now carries the remorse of trying to "toughen them up". Dominick and Ray become close, especially after Dominick finds out that Ray has been planting tulips on Angela's grave for ten years.