My little brother got it a lot worse than me (at least on the physical end of things. The mental end, she didn't stop with me until I was in my late teens), I know that! I know because I was always hiding when things happened, and I could hear it. And, I did what mommy said. I think it was easier for her to do things to him because it was less likely he would tell anyone, and because she could blame it on his 'bad behaviour' if anyone found out. I told my dad once what was happening and he didn't beleive me until he went and looked at my brother's body. Then he went downstairs and hit my mom. I felt so guilty for telling on her! And I was afraid of what she'd do because I told. I never told again. I was already old enough to understand the games she played. He wasn't. All he could do was try to run away.
In later years, when I wasn't afraid any more, I was laways standing between which ever parent and him. I felt like I owed him that much. I talked to my dad about it a couple years ago, asking why he never spoke up when I was in the hospital and we were in family therapy sessions. When I talked about that stuff my whole family looked at me like I was nuts! I felt really betrayed that no one would say anything. It turned out that because I had only told once, my dad though it never happened again. My mom is in HUGE denial about that whole period of time, and my brother didn't really remember until years later when I looked at him and saw that he was wearing the belt mom used to hit him with. I asked him, "How can you wear that?" Then he remembered, and we talked about it for hours.
My brother and I have a great relationship now , and we've talked a lot about the things that happened. We have an understanding of our past that needs few words now. I guess because we are so close in age it's a lot easier for us to relate than siblings with ten or twenty years between them. I work with my brother every day, and we have a lot of mutual friends, so I don't know what it would be like to be so seperated from him.