We hang up, and I head home for some lunch. Mom and Dad are working, leaving the house empty. Or so I thought, because as soon as I open the fridge to pull out some ham, Swiss cheese, and Dijon mustard, Aaron walks in, the front door closing behind him.
“Hey,” I say, looking back at him when he walks into the kitchen.
“Make one of those for me, would you?”
I smirk and pull two plates down from the cabinet. “Yes, Princess.”
He chuckles behind me. “Ass.”
After I make our sandwiches, I drop a sliced pickle on the plate and a pile of potato chips. I sit down, and we both dig in.
“Listen, I just got back from Eugene,” he says carefully around a bite of pickle.
I stand and pour us both a glass of lemonade Mom made yesterday. “Okay.”
“I went to see your professor.”
My stomach clenches, and I whip around to face my brother. “You fucking did what?! I told you all to leave it alone! Dammit, Aaron!”
“Shut up for a second, and sit down.”
I huff and sit, taking a bite of my sandwich as I stew.
“You’re my little brother, Dennis. I’m going to protect you, whether you like it or not, so get the fuck over it. Mom and Dad were also behind this. I get it makes you uncomfortable, but your professor fucking molested you, dammit!”
“I get that, but—”
“No buts. Do you want to hear the story or not?”
I sigh and take a sip of my lemonade. “Fine.”
“So, I did some digging on other students he mentors. I kept it quiet, so don’t worry about that. When I found nothing, I confronted him. He needed to know that what he did was wrong. Dad had originally wanted to go, but since I’m in law school, I convinced him to let me go. I’m sorry we went behind your back, but you would never have let us go.”
I hate that my entire family went behind my back, but I also understand they were just trying to protect me and others. “He… never did that to another student before?”
Aaron shrugs. “Not from what I could find. And apparently… he really was attracted to you. That doesn’t make it fucking right, but yeah, he actually wanted to date you and shit. Nice if he’d just said that to you instead.”
That doesn’t make what he did much better, but at least no other students were touched like that. “H-how did you get him to confess?”
“Through legal action. I threatened him, making it loud and clear that I was going to sue. I’m not, by the way, because there’s only your word against his, but I got him nervous enough to admit his feelings for you.”
My shoulders sag, and I pop a potato chip in my mouth. “God. But still… he was my mentor, and I respected him. I didn’t want him to feel like that about me.”
“And to touch you… fucking asshole. Anyway, he’s aware we know. I wish there were more I could do, but there isn’t. Technically, you can report him to the school, but I can’t do that for you.”
I nod and look at Aaron, noticing for the first time how tense his features are. This has really stressed him out. I love him for it, despite going behind my back. “I’m going to let it go, Aaron.”
“That’s your choice, but I think it’s the wrong one.”
“I know you do, but I’ve moved on. I’m in a really good place now. I’m happy. I don’t want to go through a lawsuit. Don’t get me wrong. If you’d found out he was doing this to others, I might’ve sucked it up and tried to take his ass down.”
Aaron visibly relaxes and nods. “Okay. I get that.”
“Thanks for trying to protect me.”
“And I’d do it again.”
“But don’t. Don’t go behind my back like that again.”
