Married to My Enemy

Except when I arrived, it looked like Dad had been a least a little bit right. I noticed how tired Joe looked. Haggard even.

Finally, Joe broke our carb induced silence.

“Let me guess? Dad asked you to speak to me.”

Looking even closer, I saw that he had lost some weight and his movements were a little nervous in nature.

I frowned. Dad may be right to worry this time.

“He is just worried about you, you know,” I said.

Joe made an exasperated sound and put his scone down as if it suddenly left a bad taste in his mouth.

“God, not you too,” he groaned.

“Why are you being so defensive?” I asked him. “I just want to know how my little brother is doing. Why is that wrong?”

“I do not need you to look out for me. I’m a big boy,” he replied.

“You’re never going to be too old for me to look out for you. I’m your big sister. It’s what big sisters do.”

I reached out and took a hold of his hand. “You would come to me if something was wrong, right? You can trust me with whatever.”

I was suddenly worried that I had been so wrapped up in my own life that I had been neglecting on my older sis duties. My family may have their annoying moments but I loved them with all my heart and would do anything for

them.

Joe rolled his eyes like I was being dumb, pulling his hand away. “Of course I know that.”

“Then talk to me,” I said and I remembered someone else besieging me in a similar way not too long ago.

I pushed that thought back.

“There is nothing to talk about,” Joe said and that response sounded hauntingly familiar too. “I have everything under control.”

Joe wiped his hand on a napkin, most of his scone left untouched.

His last statement didn’t sit well with me and I opened my mouth to grill him more but he beat me to the punch. He stood, towering over me. I stood as well.

“Look, I have some place I need to be. See you later, sis,” he said.

Although he leaned over to kiss my cheek, our meeting ended far from satisfactory.

I watched him leave the bakery and hated to agree with my father by my brother was definitely hiding something.

I was going to find out what.

I grabbed my book bag and headed back to campus. I still had one more class for the day before I had to pick up Noah from daycare.

As I drove, I was plotting how I would uncover what was up with my little brother.

Chapter Thirteen: Hailey

I kept hitting a road block in trying to get my brother to confide in me.

A week had passed since meeting up with Joe at the bakery. And I was no closer to finding out what he was hiding now than I was then. In fact, I felt like I had taken several steps back on that front.

He had started avoiding my calls and another one on one talk had resulted in him clamming up on me and walking off angry.