“Um…” He looked a little sheepish.
“You have no idea, do you?” I teased.
“Sure, I do,” he lied, tipping the bag upside-down, the contents spilling out all over the foot of my bed.
“Holy fuck, Isaac! You didn’t need to do this!”
I couldn’t help but smile. My brother was a sweetheart. He might look big and tough, and that’s what he wanted everyone to think he was, but it was bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit. He was a marshmallow and I loved him for it. The proof of just how soft he was, covered my bed. There were trashy gossip magazines, three different blocks of chocolate – and not the cheap shit either, the fancy, good ones – tissues, more pain killers, a pair of fluffy pink bed socks, and a hot water bottle with the cutest koala cover you’d ever seen.
“You bought me gummy bears?” I asked, my voice hitching in my throat as I picked up the packet.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Isaac looked embarrassed. I had no idea why. He had nothing to be embarrassed about. He was the world’s best brother. “Ah, yeah. I remembered you used to like them, but if you don’t…”
“No! I do. I do! I just can’t remember the last time I had them. This is incredible, Isaac. Seriously. Thank you.”
“Well, if anything it made you smile so that’s a win.”
“Definitely a win. You’re going to make some lucky girl a great husband one day.”
“Ah, let’s not get carried away.”
“So, you going to help me eat all this?” I asked, not really wanting him to leave right now. Having him around was awesome.
“Maybe later. First though, you’re going to nap.”
I opened my mouth to protest, not because I didn’t want a nap but more because of the principle. I didn’t like being told what to do and I wasn’t a toddler. No one was going to tell me it was nap time.
“Don’t even think about arguing. Get some rest. When you wake up, if you’re up for it we’ll watch a movie and order pizza.”
Arsehole was bribing me. Like actually bribing me. Well, two could play at that game. “My choice?”
Isaac rolled his eyes and grimaced. He knew exactly what I was going to do to him and I didn’t feel at all sorry about it. “Yeah, fine. Your choice.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah. Okay. Shit! That was easier than I was expecting.”
Scooping up his haul of goodies, he stuffed it back in the bag before checking if I wanted the hot water bottle filled up. Wanting to make him feel useful, at least that was the excuse I was choosing to believe, I agreed, and he scurried away to fill it up. By the time he returned, I’d wriggled back down and settled amongst the blankets. Even though I didn’t want to be told to rest, I was desperate for sleep. After picking up my drink and draining what was left, I closed my eyes.
“Here you go.” Isaac handed me the koala hot water bottle and fixed the curtains, killing the last of the light that was streaming in.
“Thanks.”
Bending down, he kissed me softly on my forehead before murmuring, “I’ll just be in the other room if you need me.”
“Mmmkay,” I replied sleepily already feeling myself getting dragged under.
With a soft click of the door, Isaac left me to sleep. As I lay there, I still couldn’t believe this was my life. I’d been doing nothing. Minding my own business. I was sitting in my old, crappy car that was a temperamental piece of shit and I’d been robbed and beaten at knifepoint before being left for dead in an alleyway. And as much as I hated to admit it, Isaac was right. I’d never go back to the girl I was before. I couldn’t. There was no way someone, anyone, could go through something like that and walk away unscathed and without deep, painful, and permanent scars.
