“You’re being weird!” I defended hotly.
“I’m simply requesting you have a care with my sister.”
“Uh…considering she never raises her voice above a whisper and comports herself…no, wait…you all comport yourselves around her like she’s made of fine porcelain, I already got that,” I returned.
“This is family business.”
“Conceded,” I agreed. “She’s still going to be spending the day with me. What I’m sharing with you is, I’m sensing I don’t have the tools I need to handle it, primarily because I don’t know what tools to pack in my toolbox.”
“It’s Chastity’s business,” he continued. “You have Tempie’s, Prue’s and my gratitude for offering her the opportunity to break her self-imposed exile. You’re aware she’s fragile. You’ll have a mind. That’s all I need to know, and it’s all you need to know.”
“Did something happen to her?”
He said nothing.
Oh God.
Something happened to her.
I stumbled away from him as the immense weight of this knowledge landed on me.
I didn’t even know what it was.
I just knew that beautiful girl with her riot of hair and delicate features and whispered words endured something awful.
He caught my jaw in his hand and his face was in mine again.
His hold wasn’t harsh, or cruel, just supremely attention-getting.
“Don’t,” he whispered fiercely.
I realized only then my eyes had filled with tears.
And I knew what he was saying.
I didn’t need to lose it, start crying, acting weird and letting Chastity know I knew, even if I didn’t.
With us having this convo, she probably had some sense of what was going on.
But I didn’t need to return with red eyes, a runny nose, or any visible indication Battle shared his sister’s secrets, or that I felt sorry for her.
“Okay,” I said shakily.
He waited until I got my shit together before he asked softly, “You’ll have a mind?”
I nodded even with my jaw still in his hand. “Yes. I’ll totally have a mind.”
He let me go, stepped back and said, “Thank you.”
I swallowed.
Then I shook out my hands like I could shake off what I didn’t know, I just knew it was bad.
Finally, I squared my shoulders.
And I said, “We best get going.”
He nodded.
