I didn’t bother waiting for the other two women; I pivoted on my heels and marched out of the room, my concern for Jacob’s career even greater than it had been prior to this interview.
****
Jacob
“When’s the last time you spoke with Luke?”
I flinched at the question. I knew Dr. Kearns was going to hone in on my last statement about my brother.
“Two months ago.”
“And how did that go?”
“We got into a fight.”
Dr. Kearns raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“He didn’t want to see me after his match.”
“You went to one of his fights?”
“Grace surprised me with tickets to his match. She’d seen the recordings I saved of his fights. She thought I was just a fan.”
“You never told her that Luke was actually your brother, beforehand?”
I shook my head.
“Why?”
Of course he would want to know why. Any sane person would. “We hadn’t spoken in years. He goes by a different last name. I didn’t know she bought VIP tickets to get his autograph afterwards. I didn’t think it would come up.”
“So the younger brother you loved, one of theonlypeople on this planet you admitted to loving since you were a young boy, the one you protected by taking his beatings when your mother forced you to fight, you didn’t think it would be necessary to tell Grace he’s your brother? Why?”
I knew the answers to his questions but I hesitated because they would lead to more questions. After a week and a half of these sessions, I’d learned Dr. Kearns’ style. He asked leading questions, and just when I thought I knew where we were headed, and I could head him off at the pass, he’d latch onto something seemingly minuscule that would open up something huge. My relationship, or lack thereof, with my brother was that something big.
“I’m not—” I broke off and stared off to the corner of the room.
“Why not, Jacob?”
“I’m not his brother … not in any meaningful sense of the word, all right?” My voice raised instinctively because I still hated being pushed into territory I’d tried to forget about for years.
“Define that for me.”
I knew what he was requesting. What did I mean bymeaningful sense.
“I’m older than Luke by two years. I’m supposed to be the big brother, the protector. But I spent most of my damn childhood beating the hell out of him for the most minuscule infractions.”
“At the behest of your mother.”
I rolled my eyes. “That doesn’t matter.”
“It doesn’t?”
I shook my head. “I should’ve known better.”
“And your mother shouldn’t have?”
Of fucking course she should’ve!my brain yelled.
