“See you in a few hours, boys. Don’t kill each other.”
“Thanks for grounding me too, bro,” I joked, bumping my shoulder into his as I passed by, pushing the mower back into shed beside the house. It was no wonder Mom brought him here. She knew I only had a tablet and my phone as entertainment. And it was a long walk for him if he wanted to try to ditch me.
“Hey! It’s not my fault!”
I lifted a brow at him as he followed me into the house. “Don’t throw punches if you can’t do it without getting caught. Kick ‘em in the nuts instead.”
He barked out a laugh, closing the door behind him. I could feel his eyes tracing the lines of my back. I was just grateful he didn’t comment on the light bruising that still highlighted my skin.
“I’m hungry. What you got to eat around here?”
“Uh…we’ll have to go shopping.” That was one of the many things that had been on my list of stuff to do. Eventually. Unfortunately, I’d put it off for so long that I was now down to a couple pieces of bread, which I’m sure was moldy, and some milk.
“Let me take a quick shower so that I don’t scare you away with my stench.”
That earned me an eye roll from Dannie as he plopped down on the couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table in front of him.
Ezekiel
Somehow, Dannie had talked me into walking down the small shopping strip on the bridge. Growing up, it had been one of the best places to hang out––most likely still was. I just hadn’t been there since before my abduction. Primarily because I didn’t care to be around people much anymore. But since my brother wanted to come, that’s where we ended up.
The shops were lined up, one after another, on one side of the road, while the opposite side was filled with parking spaces that overlooked the river that flowed through the middle of town. Even I could admit that it was beautiful.
During the summer, it was filled with not only our local townspeople, but tourists. And in the winter, while the snow was falling, it was a postcard worthy scene. Today, however, there were only a handful of older shoppers mulling about in an attempt to relax, while most of the teenagers were still in school.
Beside me, Dannie rambled on and on about this comic store that he wanted to go to. I wasn’t even aware that he was into that kind of stuff, but I figured I’d tag along anyway. As long as it got me out of my head, I was up for just about anything.
“I like Marvel movies,” I muttered, trying to connect with him on some level.
Dannie looked at me like I was crazy. “Movies are nothing like actual comics. Are you sure we share the same blood?” Obviously, he couldn’t see how much we resembled one another these days.
I shook my head, a true smile playing at the corners of my mouth. “Lead the way, dear brother.” I hadn’t realized until just that minute how much I needed time with my crazy, younger brother.
Unlike me, Dannie always saw the world through a different set of eyes. When he wasn’t glued to his phone, that is. Before I’d been taken, we’d all been close. Especially Dannie and me. He looked up to me like a hero, often asking for my advice on life. Sadly, after my rescue, our relationship had been more strained. That was until last year when he was able to corner me. He ended up calling me out on some bullshit I was trying to throw around to make everyone feel better about me when all I had wanted to do was hide away.
Out of the three of us, I was the lost soul. Still, Theo and Dannie refused to give up on me, pulling me up when I didn’t know I needed it. Over time, Theo took on the role of a father-figure, as opposed to my brother, pulling my head out of my ass when necessary.
“You okay? You got lost there for a second.” Dannie stopped, studying me carefully.
I nodded, having forgotten how observant he was, often seeing more than he needed. “Yeah, sorry. Just remembering when we were kids.”
“I know we each lead different lives and things have been difficult to sort through,” Dannie began, his tone turning serious.
When had he grown up to be so dang smart?
“I just want you to know that you can talk to me. We all need someone to talk to occasionally. And I promise I won’t tell Mom anything you say.”
“Thanks, kiddo.” I moved to rub his head but he dodged out from under my hand before I could make contact. “Same goes for you, too.”
“You don’t even want to know half the drama I deal with at school.” He sighed just like any other teenager. “Like, did you know that the color lipstick a girl wears has to match their shoes or something? Seriously, who cares!”
I burst into laughter. “No, I didn’t know that.” Not that I ever really paid the girls all that much attention when I was in high school. Hell, I pay even less attention now that I’m an adult.
“Come on, goofball.”
“Hey,” he hurried to catch up, as I was several paces ahead of him. “That kid I stood up for came out as gay last week. Mom doesn’t know that though.” He sighed. “I just feel really badly for him.”
“Nothing wrong with standing up for someone who can’t stand up for themselves. And you know Mom wouldn’t care that you stood up for someone like that. She’d be proud.”
