31. Jorge
Jorge
Sill Life
“ I am in love ! Love! With rainbows and sparkly shit, okay? I wasn’t going to betray him!”
“No, you just betrayed me. Lied for over a year ! You’re the fuckdick.”
I puff out my chest even though I’m crying like a baby. “You’re the one actually getting fucked by dick!”
“Can anyone understand them?” Kelly asks randomly, but I ignore her. Phoenix and I understand each other perfectly fine.
He’s my other testicle, even if I feel like removing it.
“Everyone else got the understanding Phoenix. And what do I get? The pigheaded, stubborn bitch Phoenix!”
He turns bright red, throws his hands in the air, and yells, “Because it’s you! You! I love you, stupid asshole! You’ve been my best friend since I was seven. Hell, my only friend for a good chunk. And you lied! Why!”
“Because of this, you turd nipple! This!” I gesture at him. “Would you seriously have been okay with it? Me being Oli’s friend while he didn’t want to talk to you? No, I don’t think so.”
“I might have. You didn’t give me a chance. You kept shit away from me. How could you?” he cries now, the heat leaving him in a big puddle of 6’4 metal head, broken-hearted goo.
“I fucked up,” I cry too. “I fucked up. And I’m sorry. Just forgive me, okay? Please? I can’t take it.”
Phoenix sniffles and wipes his face. “I am trying. But you’re so damn impatient.”
“Because I’m needy. And I need my best friend,” I confess. “I was trying to protect two people. You and Oli. He wasn’t ready to talk to you, and you wouldn’t stop trying. What was I supposed to do?”
“Tell me!” he roars and spears me. Like Roman fucking Reigns. I go down with a loud thump. My head bounces off the carpet, and I howl in pain. Phoenix pins me down and presses his forehead to mine. “All that subtle shit, all the wise words, it was all because you knew. You knew .”
“I did,” I rasp, going cross-eyed, trying to look at him.
“But because of it, you helped me. You helped me see Eli. Really see him. Made me try to be better.”
“That is true,” I agree because Phoenix is caving. He can’t stay mad at me forever. “And I really did try to help with Oli, as well.”
Speaking of, he’s completely content to let his brother manhandle me. I think Kelly is giving him a cup of water. Wow.
“I…know.” Phoenix sits up, still straddling me, but he seems to be calming down. “We needed to yell at each other, I think.”
“Hasn’t happened in a while,” I agree. The last time we argued like this was because he ate the last of my Pop Rocks and denied it. We wrestled like brothers until I got him in a headlock, pinched his nipples, and he screamed it was him.
“I’m pissed at you,” he huffs.
“Rightfully so.”
“And I’m going to be pissed for a while. Probably a few more weeks.” He shrugs. “But…”
“You love me?” I bat my eyelashes.
“Yeah. I love you. Fuckin’ curry pits.”
“Hey— oomph —”
Phoenix uses my stomach to push himself off me, forcing my legs to fly in the air. Jerk.
I scramble to my feet, realizing how ridiculous that whole fight was, but I feel much better. We both rub at our wet eyes and before he can get away, I lurch forward and hug him tightly. He hugs me back, sealing the broken bits with his platonic cuddle.
“I’m sorry,” I say, conveying all my sincerity in my tone.
“I’m sorry, too.” He gives me another squeeze, and then we separate.
“Will someone explain to me what the fuck all that was?” Michael demands, and we all look at him.
Right. Michael, Devon, and Kelly have no idea.
Shit.
H ooking my pinky finger through Oli’s, I lift my chin as Michael shakes his head. He doesn’t want to believe it. “That—he—are you sure?”
I gape at my friend and guitarist. Is he serious? Is Oli sure ? “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I snap.
Oli ducks his head, eyes on the floor. Phoenix stands beside his baby brother in solidarity while Kelly sniffles and holds herself. Devon glares at the wall.
“You were on something, right? Like…someone spiked your drink?” Michael all but begs the questions. Like, there’s still a possibility Oli doesn’t know who his rapist is.
“Are you fucking serious right now, Michael?”
“I shouldn’t have said anything,” Oli says under his breath, feet already turning to leave.
Phoenix grips Oli’s shoulder and says to Michael, “Your brother is a rapist, man. Get it through your thick skull.”
“Back off him, alright?” Devon blurts, rushing to Michael and whispering something in his ear.
“I’m sorry.”
The fact Oli even feels the need to apologize is raising my hackles. “Don’t be sorry for that,” I tell him, wanting to hold and comfort him, but I know now isn’t the time. He’s possibly overstimulated as is, and the last thing we need is for Oli to have another episode.
He’s so strong, so fucking brave, and he deserves praise and admiration. Not fucking denial. I don’t understand what’s up with Michael; he doesn’t even like Morgan! Their relationship has been strained for years . Oli peeks at me, fear-stricken and green.
“You good?” Devon asks Michael, rubbing circles on his back.
Michael nods. “Yeah. I—fuck. Oli—,” his voice cracks, and he rubs at his face roughly. “What are you going to do, then?”
“I’m going to report him,” Oli whispers. He presses his shoulder into me, a silent plea to keep him safe and grounded.
I link our hands together. “This isn’t on you, Michael. But you deserve to know.”
Michael is silent and visibly shaking, so Kelly takes her turn to speak. Through hiccups, she approaches us. “I know you don’t know me well, but I’m here for you. By extension, you’re my family, too. Alright? And I will do whatever I can to make sure he fucking pays for hurting my family.”
“Thanks,” Oli rasps, but it’s weak. Something is wrong.
“We believe you, beautiful,” I tell him. “We all believe you. Right, Michael?”
The man in question straightens. “Of course. Morgan is a fucking creep. Always has been. I just…I never thought. Fuck.” Another face scrub. “It happened under our roof. We were there. We should’ve…”
“You couldn’t have,” Oli finally lifts his head, “I made sure no one knew. I…I didn’t make any noise.”
“Fuck,” Phoenix growls. “We need to do something. Fuck him up. Kill him.”
“Prison is not a fun place to be, Fe,” Kelly scolds him and crosses her arms. “Although…” She cocks her head in thought. “I bet a guy like that has a lot of enemies.”
“We could wear masks,” I offer.
“And gloves.” That’s Devon.
Michael grimaces. “You can’t. Especially because people saw Oli and him fighting.”
Fuck. I completely forgot about the incident at Oli’s work. “That could lead back to Oli. Can’t have that happen. Especially since we’re going to report that skidmark.”
“Look,” Michael starts, glancing around the room to each of us, “I may not like him, but I know Morgan. If he’s done this to Oli, he’s done it to others. We need to expose him. Show the truth. Maybe even record him somehow. Without hard evidence or admitting it, he’s going to walk. My dad will make sure of it.”
“How the hell will we get him to admit it?” I ask.
“Could beat him until he does,” Phoenix says and shrugs.
“I…I could get him to,” Oli whispers.
My muscles spasm. “Absolutely not.” We’re going to squash that terrible idea effective immediately. “You’re not going anywhere near that fucker unless it’s for a trial.”
“He admitted it before…at the shop.”
“No,” I growl.
“Oli might be right,” Phoenix says begrudgingly. “Don’t look at me like that, Jorge. I know. I know , alright? But if we are there…if. Help me out, Kel, you’re the evil mastermind.”
Kelly taps her chin with her fingers. “Does he go out? Like to bars ‘n shit?”
Michael nods. “Yeah. He and his coworkers go out for drinks on the weekends.”
“In theory, we could have Oli go in, get him riled, and lure him outside so the audio can actually be heard on a recording. All we need is a few sentences of him admitting to it. Might not be good enough for court, but it’ll be good enough to get the ball rolling.”
“Let’s just fucking kick his ass. We can break his legs, give him a head injury, and dump him in a ditch. The justice system is corrupt. All of the fucking government is,” Devon almost yells. “What? It’s true.”
“Okay, Mr. Anarchy,” Kelly drawls with an eye roll. “ Anyway .”
“Fuck you, Kel.”
“I’m not putting Oli in danger. I will murder every single one of you.” I point a menacing finger at my friends.
I’m about to keep firing off threats when Oli hooks his finger under my chin, forcing me to look at him. “We need him to admit it. I can do this.”
My lips purse in defiance. “No.”
“Yes,” he urges, using his touch to butter me up. Swiping that warm thumb over my chin and turning me into jelly. Cheater.
“It’s not worth it.”
“I have been weak for so long, Jorge. I’ve been shackled to my trauma without any hope. I need to do this—need to make him suffer like I have.”
“But—”
His index finger presses into my lips. “I’ll be okay.”
I want to throw my body on the floor and throw a tantrum. “So, it’s settled then. You guys game?” Phoenix asks.
“Fucking traitors, the lot of you,” I hiss.
Michael looks unwell, but he mumbles an agreement along with the other two fucking lunatics. “I’m not letting you out of my sight. Like, not even for a split second. One wrong move, one step too close, and I’ll be there.”
Oli kisses me gently, silencing me once more.