ELEVEN #2
My eyes narrowed at his use of language. My brother never used to swear. Dropping my arms, I took a step forward. I’d had enough of the small talk; my brother was being evasive on purpose, and something was wrong. “Adam, I want you to come and stay with me. With us. At the Rooks' house.”
Adam let out a harsh, disbelieving laugh. “Stay with mom’s sister? Are you nuts?”
“She’s a totally different person! She’s nothing like her sister; they were completely estranged—”
“Why the hell would I go back to living under an adult's roof with their stupid rules,” he interrupted, his voice rising as he picked up a wrench, turning it aggressively in his hands, “when I can finally live by my own for a change?”
“I think you’ll find that our parents' rules and the rules of others are totally different,” I explained, taking in his aggressive-looking stance. Everything about him screamed danger, and it scared me a little.
“I don’t care, Amy. I do things my way now.”
Like father, like son?
“They’re not like that. In fact, they’re not bossy at all. They’re easy-going people,” I pleaded, taking a step closer, trying to catch his eye.
“They don’t make demands. They’re really nice, Adam, and we’d be together. That’s what’s important. If I could, I’d come and live with you now.”
His face darkened. “I sleep in a room over the garage, Amelie. You don’t want to live with me.”
“So, you come and live with me. Vanessa and Cameron really want you to.”
“I’m nobody's pity party, not anymore.” Adam placed the wrench on the sideboard.
“You wouldn’t be treated as a pity party, Adam,” I rasped, feeling desperate. I was suddenly oblivious to the noise of the hammering that was going on around us. At that moment, it was just us.
Fisting his hands, he shook his head with a smirk. “I’ve met them a few times, Amy. They’re stuck-up, privileged idiots.”
“That’s not true!”
He then started to claw at his messy hair with his hand, pacing before me, clearly agitated.
“You shouldn’t have come here, Amelie.” The use of my full name felt like a slap, deliberately drawing a line between us.
He turned his back to me, now withdrawing a spanner which had been tucked into his overalls.
He threw it into a toolbox with a loud clack and twisted back with an exasperated expression.
“You’ve wasted your time. It’s good to see you, but I need my own space. ”
“And you can have it there!” I yelled, the tears finally threatening to spill. “They have a pool house. It’s totally independent. You’d have your own bedroom, your own kitchen, a bathroom... the view is amazing. Please, Adam. At least say you’ll think about it.”
He gripped the edge of the workbench, his shoulders tense. “I don’t think so.”
“But I miss you,” I whispered, the anger draining out of me, leaving only the raw truth. “Sophie misses you, too.”
“Thorn? Are you on a break or something?” a loud booming voice said from the other side of the garage. We both turned our heads. A tall man with a beer belly stood there with an unimpressed look on his face.
“Just finishing up Al.” My brother then turned to me. “You need to go. You’re going to get me the sack.”
“Can I at least have your number so we can arrange to meet up? Talk about the future? Sophie needs you too.”
That took the wind out of his sails. His shoulders dropped. “How is she? Sophie,” he asked quietly.
I let out a bitter, watery laugh. “I thought you said you checked in on us.”
Adam rubbed his hand down his face, looking exhausted. “I have been. Just... not this past week. I’ve been working double shifts, saving for a deposit.” He looked up, his expression fiercely protective. “A place where you and Sophie can live with me. Permanently.”
My breath caught. “Really?”
“Really,” he smiled, the warmth breaking through the grease on his face.
“You know that’s what I want too, right?”
“Do you? Your new place is very fancy,” he raised an eyebrow, and I was thankful that his face had softened; the mention of Sophie was probably the reason for that.
“How do you know that when you haven’t even visited?” My tone was tetchy on purpose.
“You’re wrong. I said I was there that first night. I watched the house from the top of the wall. I bought a cheap car off Al and fixed it up. Kathy gave me your address. I’ve parked outside a few times. As I said, I kept tabs on you.”
A chill hit my stomach. “That’s a bit creepy, Adam. You could have just rung the bell.”
“I didn’t want to cramp your style with your new family.”
“You’re my family, Adam.”
“Well, part of it. Have you seen them? Mom and dad?” My insides clenched so tightly it was almost painful. I suppose they had to come up at some point.
“No. Have you?”
His face twisted, instantly shifting focus. “I saw him,” he whispered, glancing at his boss, who was collecting some tools in the far corner. “On the local news. Dad’s case goes to court in a few weeks.”
“Did the police question you again about the house?”
“No. They cared more about the hit-and-run. I heard the girl’s still in the hospital.”
I swallowed. “Yes, in a coma.”
“Fuck,” Adam hissed, dragging a hand roughly down his face.
“Thorn, get back to work!” Al yelled.
“Look, I have to go.” Adam slid his phone from his dirty jeans. “What’s your number?”
Shooting the man who must have been Adam’s boss a dirty look, I retrieved my phone from my back pocket and found my number. I’d saved it in a notes app.
My brother dialled, my phone buzzed, and he hung up. “Now you have mine. I’ll be in touch.”
“Please think about the Rook’s offer,” I pleaded. “Just check the place out. If you hate it, say no.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Can I meet you later? When you get off work?”
“I have plans, but I’ll call you.” So, my brother had plans that were more important than seeing his family. That pissed me off.
“Who with? Laura perhaps?”
Adam slid his phone away with a confused look, “How do you…” he then glanced in the direction his colleague Mike had gone. “Tandy has a big mouth.”
“Is she your girlfriend?”
“No. Look, get your arse out of here before you get me canned,” Adam added with a cheeky grin.
And there he was, the brother I remembered.
We hugged, and I didn’t care if the oil on his chest transferred to my clothes. Being wrapped in my brother's arms felt like home.
I turned away to hide the pain in my eyes. Leaving him in that garage tore me apart, but I was powerless. At the doorway, I spotted Vanessa at the edge of the yard and waved her back. Adam was stubborn; he needed space to process.
“Sis,” Adam called out.
I turned.
“You scrub up well.”
And that’s how I left things. I walked to the car, climbed into the back seat, and broke. My heart shattered.
Would we ever be together as a family again?
* * * * *
When we got back to the house, the silence inside was suffocating. I skipped dinner entirely; the thought of sitting across from Kieran, watching him ignore me while I pushed food around my plate, made my stomach churn.
Safely locked in my room, I wrote about my visit with Adam in my journal and then called Sophie.
The second I heard her soft, sweet voice, the knot in my chest loosened.
I told her about seeing Adam and how he sent us both his love, but I deliberately bit my tongue about his new job and his plans for a house.
I couldn’t risk feeding her false hope. Midway through, the line crackled as Sophie eagerly handed the phone to her foster mother, Ria.
Ria was warm but sharp, peppering me with questions before offering an update on Sophie’s health. They had changed her medication, and it had helped with her condition. Then came the bombshell: "You’re welcome to visit her here whenever you like."
I nearly leapt off the mattress, a sudden, electric rush of joy erasing hours of misery.
I scrambled across the bed, frantically searching for a pen to scribble down the address.
When I saw Sophie, it was always in the presence of Kathy at the Rook’s place.
It would be nice to see where she was living. Kathy said Adam had visited.
The catch came a second later—Ria explained that any visits would need to be cleared beforehand and that I wasn’t to turn up out of the blue. I got that.
By the time I lowered the phone and looked out the window, the weather had turned vicious. Heavy rain lashed against the glass, and the violent, erratic whipping of the trees warned of a storm.
I hated storms. I’d once turned the TV up in our house to drown out the noise.
My father had been sleeping off the booze from the night before, and he’d stomped into the room, grabbed me by the arms and dragged me to the screen.
He then held my head against the speaker and turned the volume up full.
I’d temporarily lost hearing in my right ear, and even now, it wasn’t like it used to be.
I yanked the curtains shut and checked the time on my phone. Midnight, the hours had completely vanished while I tried to lose myself in schoolwork, attempting to push Adam from my mind. The rest of the house was now dead silent.
Vanessa and Maisey brought up a plate of sandwiches earlier, but after three small bites, my throat had closed up. I hadn’t needed it; my body was well-trained in surviving on nothing.
Clearing the plate off the bed, I plugged my phone into the charger. Just as the cable clicked, the screen flashed with an incoming text from an unknown number. My breath caught. I knew instantly it was from Adam.
UNKNOWN: I’ll come and see the house, but I’m not promising anything.
My heart slammed against my ribs. Joy and sheer terror tangled in my chest as I clutched the phone against my body.
Tapping the screen, I entered his name against the number and rapidly fired back a reply.
Right then, a deafening crack of thunder rattled the windows. I flinched, staring warily at the shaking curtains, every muscle in my body suddenly rigid.
After Adam sent back a final thumbs-up emoji, I typed a quick reply, explaining that I’d be in touch once I’d spoken to the Rooks.