Chapter 12 #2
But that was before I met Nona, before she made me see myself as I truly was and helped me to start letting go of the negative self-image my family had pounded into my head.
Now, as I looked at my older brother, I saw we actually looked a lot alike—with the exception of his dirty, rumpled clothes and the dark circles under his eyes.
It looked like he’d been awake for days and hadn’t had a shower or a change of clothes in just as long.
A surprise visit from Shep Brenner at any time was a bad omen, but a surprise visit from him when he seemed totally wired and agitated was even worse.
Finally getting my composure back, I crossed my arms over my chest and glared. “What are you doing here? And how the hell did you get into my house?”
“You know, this is a pretty nice place, E. But your locks are shit.”
My eyes bulged as I stuttered in disbelief before rushing back to my front door and yanking it open. Sure enough, the white paint on my pretty front door was scratched to hell at the locks. “You’ve gotta be shitting me!” I snapped. “Jeez, Shep. You broke in?”
“Jesus Christ,” Shep hissed, rushing over to me and yanking the door from my grasp, slamming it so hard it wrenched my shoulder before I had a chance to let go. “Keep it down, will you? Don’t need your fuckin’ neighbors hearin’ you yell shit like that.”
“Well then how about you don’t break into my house!” I yelled in return.
He did what he always did whenever I got mad at him for being stupid. He rolled his eyes, which made my skin prickle as anger washed over me.
“Will you relax?” he muttered, moving back into the living room and flopping onto my couch.
When he lifted his feet and propped his dirty boots on my reclaimed wood coffee table, I saw red.
It might have been a flea market purchase, but I’d put a lot of time and energy into restoring it and making it beautiful.
I didn’t have a lot, but what I did have I took great pride in.
And seeing my brother’s total disregard for my stuff pissed me off.
“You’re a hard woman to track down, E. Took a long time to find you. ”
“Then you didn’t get the hint that I made it that way because I didn’t want to see you,” I snapped, storming over to my brother and knocking his feet off my table. “And don’t bother making yourself comfortable. You’re not staying.”
“Oh come on,” Shep whined, standing to follow me as I headed back toward the front door, pulling it open once again. Only that time it was for him to walk through. “Sis, please. Don’t be like that.”
Whirling around on him, I drilled my index finger into his chest as I began to rant. “Don’t be like that? Seriously? That’s what you have to say to me?”
“Eden—”
‘You treated me like shit all my life, Shep. And you think you can just walk in here like you’re just stopping in for a visit? I don’t think so.”
“I’m in trouble,” he blurted, lifting a hand and rubbing at the back of his neck.
“What?” I asked on a whisper.
“I’m in trouble, okay? I just… I just need to lie low for a bit, that’s all. Come on, E. You’re my sister. You owe me this.”
My hands clenched into fists so tight my nails dug into the heels of my palms. “I owe you? How the hell do you figure that? Please, I’m dying to know.”
Shep’s face twisted in anger, an all too familiar look, and I knew things were about to deteriorate in a very big way. “Because we’re family,” he returned. “And family helps its own.”
A sudden bark of incredulous laughter burst from deep within my chest. “You have to be kidding me!” I shouted. “You’re gonna pull the family card right now?”
“It’s the goddamn truth and you know it.”
“Yeah? Well where was that family loyalty when I was eight, and Mom was on a bender and beat the shit outta me for breaking the TV you broke? Or how about when I was eleven and you stole my lunch money so you could buy weed? Or what about that time when I was sixteen and came home all excited that Billy Evington asked me out on a date?” He at least had the good grace to wince with that one.
“The very first boy to ever ask me out. I’d had a crush on him since we moved there, and you knew that, Shep.
You knew. That was the first time I’d felt even a hint of happiness in the miserable shit show that was my life.
So tell me, where was your family loyalty when you decided to break into his parents’ fucking house in the middle of the fucking night to steal Billy’s fucking car?
Where was it then, huh? Did you really think he’d still want to go out with me when my big brother was caught trying to rob him? ”
Throwing his hands in the air, Shep clipped, “What kinda parents buy their kid a goddamn BMW for their birthday, huh? They were just askin’ for it to be jacked!”
I let out a manic giggle of bewilderment and raked both hands through my hair. “Oh my god. You’re unbelievable. You really don’t give a shit about anyone but yourself.”
Shep’s face hardened and his cheeks grew red. “So I’m takin’ it you’re not gonna help me.”
God! He was so fucking selfish.
“Look at you. Smartest guy in the room,” I bit sarcastically. “No. I won’t help you. I don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into this time, but I won’t let you drag me into your mess. I spent enough of my life being mired down in your bullshit, and I’m done. Now get out.”
My brother’s brown eyes lit with a viciousness I was unfortunately all too familiar with. “Jesus, still such a fuckin’ bitch,” he hissed. “Still thinkin’ you’re so much better than everyone. You’re just a pathetic, fat cow who’s gonna die alone, ’cause no one wants someone as ugly as you.”
I wasn’t going to cry. I wasn’t. He was being mean for the sake of it alone, and I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing my tears. That was what he wanted.
“Get. Out,” I repeated, pulling my phone from my back pocket. “You have two seconds. Then I’m calling the cops.”
Shep gnashed his teeth, and for a second I actually feared he’d take a swing. I wouldn’t have put it past him to do just that. But all he did was stomp to where I was standing by the front door, stopping long enough to bite out, “Fuck you,” before storming through.
Hopefully he’d never cast a shadow over my new life again, but something told me I wouldn’t be so lucky.