She nodded and held the door to her unit open so he could enter. Chris walked in, put the bottles down on an occasional table, and held out his arms.
“Bring it home.”
Emily fell into his embrace, sure she was about to burst into tears, but none came. She’d tried several times to make them flow, even going so far as to sit on her bed and forcing herself to picture Trent and Veronica in the throes of a naked clutch. No matter how hard she envisioned Trent pounding Veronica into delirium, his nude ass clenching and unclenching, she just couldn’t seem to produce a single tear. Instead, numbness assaulted her once again and she lay motionless against her brother’s chest as he stroked her back.
“It’s going to be all right.” He held her at arm’s length and looked into her eyes. “I promise. Now tell me exactly what happened.”
Emily led him over to the loveseat and they sat. She shared the story of seeing Trent and Veronica outside the sports bar and her subsequent conversation with Trent.
Chris’s fair skin erupted in red splotches, just as it did when he was a little boy having a temper tantrum. “Asshole.”
“I’m inclined to agree.”
“Thank God for that. I was worried you might still be making excuses for him.”
Ouch. “He made enough for himself. He said he went crazy after the job loss, that he felt emasculated.Ronniemade him feel manly again.”
“Right. What he really means is he saw an opportunity and took it. He didn’t care if he hurt your feelings, Em. He flaunted his girlfriend down the street from your condo. The man has hugecajones, I’ll give him that much.”
“You’re right. I just wish I could make him understand the hell he’s put me through. I feel like someone’s locked me in a dark room with all my childhood monsters and no flashlight.”
“Trent knows exactly what he’s done, believe me. If there’s one thing that man isn’t short on, it’s self-awareness.”
“He always thought you hated him, that you didn’t think he was good enough for me.”
“He’s right. I do hate him and he’s nowhere near being good enough for you.”
“Don’t be mean.”
“I’m not. I don’t dislike the man because he lost his job. I dislike him because he’s a jerk and he fucked around on my sister.” Chris put an arm around her. “Em, I love you. You’re family and I think you’re an incredible catch, but you have this one little character flaw.”
“So this is my fault?”
“Of course not, but Trent took advantage of your good nature and you were too nice to put a stop to it. Ask anyone. They’ll agree he’s a total narcissist.”
“When did you become a psychologist?” Emily stood and paced the living room. “You’re a goddamn poet.”
“True, but I’m currently sleeping with a psychologist.”
“Too much information.”
“No, really. Listen to me. I’ve told Priya all about you and Trent, specifically about some of the stunts he’s pulled.”
“Is Priya your new girlfriend?”
“I guess you could say so.”
“Great. So you basically told this woman all about my personal problems.”
“Don’t worry. She’s a professional. If it makes you feel better, I never mentioned names and I referred to you as a ‘friend.’ I never said you were my sister. Besides, the bedroom is like the confessional.”
“Thank you, Father Christopher.”
“Look, I’m not going to sit here and rattle off everything Trent has done because you already know all the ways he’s hurt you. But just in case your sense of nostalgia urges you to forgive and forget, let me remind you of a couple of things.”
She had the impression her brother would tell them to her whether she asked him for the information or not. She dropped onto the ottoman opposite him. “Hit me.”
“He isolated you from family and friends. He picked on you. He denied his actions, time and again, and never took responsibility for his mistakes. Remember what he said about thesous-chefin the peanut incident?”
