Bare Yourself (Consumed)

“Bryan’s my brother,” she says softly. My arms around her jerk. “My twin brother actually.”

Her forehead drops to my sternum and her shoulders sag like the weight of the world rests on them. I bend and scoop her up into my arms, walk back into the house, and gently deposit her on the sofa. I walk to the kitchen, grab the bottle of whiskey and a glass from the cabinet, and take them back to the living room. She gulps down the first glass I give her in two swallows, her eyes watering and she coughs from the harsh whiskey. She holds out the glass, so I make her another. Taking another small sip, she sets it down on the coffee table.

I want to pull her in my arms, but when she draws her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them, I give her some space. For now at least.

She stares across the room and starts talking.

“When our dad died while we were in college, Bryan took it harder than any of us. He and my dad were really close. Even after we moved away and went off to college together, they had a bond stronger than even the hardest metal. When Dad died, Bryan started drinking and hanging out with the bad crowd I told you about. The drugs soon followed. He always denied it, but Minnie and I knew. Eventually, it got so bad that there was no way he could hide it. He lost his job because he stopped showing up, the school kicked him out for the same reason. When he cheated on Minnie, she rightfully broke up with him. The breakup made him worse. Minnie blames herself for part of his destruction, no matter how many times I say it’s not her fault.”

She stops and picks up her glass, downing the rest of it. Wordlessly, she holds it up for me to refill. I almost sit on my hands to keep from reaching for her. It’s hard sitting here and not holding her, but I sense if I touch her, it’ll break whatever spell is holding her together at this point.

Her voice is hoarse when she continues.

“Minnie and I tried so hard to be there for him, to help him, but he pushed us both away. He turned mean and bitter, saying hurtful things to us. He only came around when he needed money, I assume to buy drugs. At first I gave in, because I was in denial and thought he just needed it because he didn’t have a job, but then I realized what he was doing with the money.” She sniffs and wipes her nose with the sleeve of her shirt. “I was out shopping one day downtown when I heard someone screaming. I went to go see what was going on, when I turned the corner and saw my brother and a couple of his friends beating the shit out of some guy.” She looks over at me and the devastation in her eyes destroys me. “He was just lying there, Tegan, helpless. He was curled up in a fetal position with his arms around his head. I heard him begging them to stop, but they wouldn’t. His friends laughed while they and Bryan kept kicking him.”

When her voice cracks, I can’t fucking take it anymore. I slide over, pick her up, and set her sideways on my lap. Her head falls against my shoulder as her cries become worse.

“Shh,” I whisper in her ear, attempting to comfort her, but I know nothing I say will make the visions in her head go away.

Once her crying settles down to soft whimpers, she sits up to grab her drink. I hold her in place and get it for her.

“There were a couple times he broke into our mom’s house and ransacked the place, and after she died, he did the same to mine. He’d come to me begging for money. I always gave in, because he was my brother, and I loved him.

“One day, a few months ago, he left me a voice mail, begging me to forgive him for everything he’d done. He said he wanted to get better and asked me to come get him. I was in class when he called, so I didn’t get the message until a couple hours later. The whole drive over there, I was so hopeful. I wanted my brother back so bad. But when I got there, I found him with a needle stuck in his arm, passed out. I thought he was dead at first, and a part of me died as well. When I felt for a pulse it was strong, and so was his breathing. I was just about ready to call an ambulance when one of his friends walked out of a room. He leered at me and it freaked me out. When I went to leave, he caught me and pinned me to the wall. I scream and screamed, hoping it would wake Bryan up, but he was so out of it, he didn’t even move.”

My vision clouds and I see red. My jaw aches from clenching my teeth so hard, and I have to restrain myself from squeezing Willow when my muscles tighten.

I close my eyes, and force the words out between gritted teeth. “Please tell me that motherfucker didn’t rape you.”

Her hands settle on either side of my face. I try so fucking hard to wipe away the pure rage from my eyes when I open them, but I doubt I manage it.

She shakes her head slowly. “No. I managed to get away. He got my skirt up and touched me over my panties. He was so fucked-up on drugs that he was sluggish, and I managed to knee him in the balls.”

I grunt, and relief fills me, but I still have to fight to stay in control. The bastard still scared her. And her fucker of a brother left her there practically alone, knowing the type of friends he has.

“Good girl.”

She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. Her voice is stronger when she starts again.

“Anyway, after that, I stopped taking his calls. I’d never answer the door when he came by and eventually he stopped trying. I never told him what happened, because I’m not sure if it would faze him or not. I think that hurt worse than actually having the guy’s hands on me. Once Mom died, I had no one left of importance in Austin, except for a few casual friends.

“One day, several days after the funeral, which he didn’t bother to attend, there was a knock at the door. When I opened it, there stood Bryan, eyes red and glassy, high as a fucking kite. He barged his way in and went into our parents’ room and started destroying it. I knew exactly what he was looking for. My dad collected watches and some were quite valuable. One in particular was our grandfather’s and it was worth five grand on a bad day. On a good day, and if the right person wanted it, the value was upward of ten grand. Dad promised Bryan his collection when he died—after he died, none of us really thought about the watches, as we were so bereft with grief. That’s why Bryan didn’t have them yet. What he didn’t know was that Dad put the watches in a safety deposit box. He freaked when he couldn’t find them and demanded I tell him where they were. When I refused, he pinned me to the wall with his hand around my neck.”

She stops just long enough to finish off her whiskey, her hands shaky as she holds it to her lips.

“I was so scared. I’ve never seen such hatred in his eyes. I really thought he might choke me to death, but I couldn’t let him have them, because I knew he would just pawn them. Dad would have been devastated and so disappointed. I struggled against him, but his hand grew tighter. Just before I passed out, he punched the wall, leaving a huge hole, and let me go. I was left on the floor gasping for breath. I gave a week’s notice at work and called Minnie to tell her I was moving here. I couldn’t stay there anymore. I couldn’t take watching my brother slowly kill himself. And I was scared he would come back for the watches and finish what he started.”

Once she’s done, she sags against my chest. I run a tense hand up and down her back, attempting to soothe her, even as my own body radiates blinding rage. Her own fucking brother almost let her be raped and damn near strangled her to death. I want to meet this fucker and rip out his fucking heart, just as easily as he’s ripped out Willow’s.

“He’s here, isn’t he? He’s in Atlanta?” I ask.

“Yes,” she answers, her lips trembling. “He went to Minnie and Logan’s the other day while I was at work. Thank goodness Minnie and Luna were gone and it was only Logan there. I can’t…” She shakes her head. “I can’t let anything happen to them.”

I tilt her head and kiss the top. “Where are the watches now?”

“In my suitcase at Minnie’s.”

“You need to call Nathan and tell him you’re taking tomorrow off. We’re going over there and getting your shit. You’re staying here.”

She pulls back and looks at me in surprise. “I can’t stay here,” she protests.

“Like hell you can’t,” I growl in response to her ridiculous statement.

“Tegan, we barely know each other. Even if it is temporary, that’s a big move.”

I cup her face and bring it closer to mine, so she has no doubt how serious I am. “I may not know everything about you, but I know enough to want you here so I can protect you. I care about you, Willow. More than you probably know. You say you don’t want anything to happen to Minnie and her family. Well, I don’t want anything to happen to you. Besides, having you here will draw the danger away from them.”

Her brows pull down as she thinks over what I’ve said. I give her the time she needs to analyze everything, but it doesn’t matter what her conclusion is, because I’m not going to give her a choice. It’ll just be easier if she agrees.

After a minute, she sighs and nods. “Okay. I’ll stay here until all this is over. But,” she says pointedly, “only until this is over.”