Thirty-two #3
Easton’s face curled up in disgust, his nose scrunching and his eyes narrowing. He took a step back, his arm pushing against Eli to create more distance between him and Benji. The twins’ eyes met each other, and the hurt on Emerson’s face was enough to set her brother off.
“You’re disgusting," he growled. “I don’t like dick, but if I did it would not be the dick of the asshole who used my sister and was a creep toward my brother.”
Benji’s jaw clenched. All sense of regret inside of him vanished and was replaced with malice. He got right into his friend's face and smiled condescendingly. “That’s alright. Just know that when I felt all over your brother and fucked your sister, I was wishing it was you.”
That was all it took for Easton to swing his fist. He sent an uppercut right at Benji’s chin and it made harsh contact. His head jerked back at the impact, a loud grunt sounding from him at the sudden force.
Benji retailed by lunging at his friend and it sent them stumbling back toward Eli.
Elias jumped backward to create more distance between himself and the fighting boys as they fought in front of him.
The two thrashed at each other like wild animals fighting for food, Easton fueled by anger and Benji by resentment.
Easton sent one good punch to Benji’s nose, and when he picked his face up he revealed the blood streaming out of it.
Emerson was screaming incoherently, only adding to the tension in the room.
Macy’s amusement was slowly turning into a mix of disgust and disdain as she watched the best friends throw hands.
“Stop!” their aunt screamed at the top of her lungs. “You’re getting blood all over my floors!”
That was what she was worried about?
Benji sent one last right hook into Easton’s face before moving back. His hands covered his bruised nose while Easton stood crookedly.
“Benjamin, get the hell out of my house before I call the police,” Macy seethed.
Benji wasted no time making his exit as he did not want the complicated issues from the police. When the door slammed shut behind him, we were left in a room with tension so thick you could slice it with a knife.
Macy grabbed a towel off the counter and tossed it to Easton. He didn’t need to ask why she threw it, he already knew what she wanted. His eyes shot her a mean glare before he knelt down and began wiping up the blood on the floor.
Emerson and I stood frozen in place. Neither of us dared move out of fear of getting berated. Macy sighed heavily as she turned on her heels to go back to the cave she crawled out of. She would have walked away if it wasn’t for Eli.
Brows furrowed, breathing labored, pure rage was what I saw on Eli. “That’s it?”
Macy side-eyed him. “What?”
“You watched the entire situation happen. You heard every filthy thing that came out of Benji’s mouth and watched him and Easton fight like they were in an area, yet you couldn’t be bothered to stop it until blood got on your floors?”
“Don’t speak to me like that, Elias.”
Eli stood his ground. “I wouldn’t have to if you would act like an adult for once. You don’t give a damn about the three of us and I don’t understand why you took us in after Mom and Dad died.”
Macy stalked toward him powerfully and I watched Eli’s eyes flash with concern. She hovered over him, her presence dark and intimidating.
“Because no one else wanted you, not even your worthless father,” she spat.
Eli’s eyes darkened. “Mom would hate you for the way you treat her children.”
That must have been the lowest thing Eli could have uttered because Macy was flabbergasted. She gasped as her hand pressed against her chest. Speaking about Macy’s sister—the sibling’s mom clearly cut deep in her self-esteem.
The woman's gaze met mine intimidatingly. I felt small under her narrowed eyes despite being taller than her. Her stare wasn't on me for very long, it shifted right back to her nephew in a blink.
“Get out.”
"I’m already leaving," Eli said sassily.
"No. Permanently." Her words were like a slap in the face that gave us all whiplash. "Pack your crap and don't come back."
I watched as his lips parted in shock. His words were caught in his throat as all the boldness from before was drained out of him.
"What?” his voice was barely above a whisper.
“I have dealt with your bullshit for far too long. I am fed up!” she shouted in his face. “You’re eighteen now, find another place to come crawling back to.”
Emerson was shaking her head in disbelief as Easton watched in silence. A wave of uneasiness washed over me. Never had I ever been in such a harsh situation, so I had no idea how to react. I wanted to be by Eli’s side, but I was afraid of making things worse.
“You can’t just kick him out,” Emerson stated, her voice wavering as she did.
Macy was still glaring at Elias as she responded to Emerson. "What does it matter? He always wants to be anywhere but here anyway."
"He’s family," Easton's voice came distant and shaky, but it was still there.
"Y’know what? Maybe I should kick all three of you out since you all of a sudden want to defend him." Her eyes found the twins and bore into them with fire.
They went quiet after that.
Mierda, even I felt scared by her. This was a woman who could do nothing to me and had no authority over me, yet I wanted to cower away in her presence. I felt out of place standing where I was, open and exposed.
I had never experienced such a negative relationship with a family member. I mean, I had a distant relationship with my stepdad. My mother remarried to Alan when I was six and Gabriela was five, and he did not turn out to be the most attentive stepdad in the world.
Then he and my mother had our two younger brothers a few years later. Alan never did anything to purposely make Gabriela and I feel out of place, but he certainly did not put much effort. We were not his real kids, and he never fixed that awkward start that we had.
Alan was not a bad person. He would never dare to talk to any of my siblings the way Eli's aunt spoke to him. He was a decent guy, he just never made much of an effort. Gabriela felt more rejected by Alan than I did. She took it personally despite how much I tried to get it into her head that she shouldn’t.
None of that helped me to even begin to relate to how Eli had to be feeling because the situations were completely different. All I could do was offer my unconditional support to him.
Somehow, I ended up by his side. I leaned and whispered, "You know you can stay with me."
But my baby wasn't listening to me. His body was barely touching mine, but I could feel the subtle shaking that he was trying so hard to suppress.
"Do you honestly believe I killed my mom?" his tone was raspy as he spoke. “That’s what all this is, isn’t it?”
The woman's expression was stone cold. "I’m putting you out because you don’t know how to act."
"Seriously?" Eli asked in a hushed tone.
I lightly pulled on his arm. "Let's just go, Eli."
But he was not budging, and he was not looking at Macy anymore. Instead, his eyes were focused on the twins. They stood uncomfortably in the middle of the room like statues. Emerson’s lip quivered as she was about to cry while Easton looked dumbfounded.
But they both refused eye contact with their younger brother.
Elias was so clearly waiting on it, he stared them down for what felt like forever.
His siblings never met his gaze, and I could see that realization hit him when his eyes fell to the ground.
It was also when he snapped out of the fog he was in.
My heart twisted and Emerson and Easton’s lack of words. Couldn’t they see that was all he wanted? Eli just wanted his siblings to defend him, and they were too cowardly to do it.
He turned to me with his focus still on the floor. "Can you wait outside while I get some things?"
"Yes. You don’t want help?"
"No," he answered quickly.
I hesitated but eventually nodded. Eli went into the bedroom and I was left with the rest of his family.
My shoulder nudged Macy’s purposely as I made my exit.
I was hoping to piss her off, but it only made her lips curl into a smirk of satisfaction.
I swung open the front door and was about to walk out, but I felt the urge to say something.
I looked over my shoulder and made eye contact with Macy. "You get joy out of making a child feel miserable for his whole life because you can't get over your own issues. You are a pathetic bitch who deserves nothing in life.”
It felt wrong speaking to an adult like that, but she was an exception to the 'never disrespect your elders' rule. Her eyes narrowed at my words, but she did not retaliate.
Then I turned to his siblings. "And you two need to do better."
With that, I shut the door behind me with my head held high.
Now I had to wait for Eli to finish packing his things so I could take him away and never bring him back to this hellhole.
I did not notice the trembling in my legs until I was out the door.
I leaned against it, shutting my eyes as I took a deep breath to calm myself.
If I was this worked up, I could only imagine how worse off Eli was.