“Her inner strength shines the brightest when she’s with you.”
7
Keanu
Selena is in the bath when I return, so I set about fixing dinner. Kent saunters into the kitchen as I’m stir-frying vegetables and chicken. “How’s Selena?” he asks, moving to the sink and washing his hands.
“She’s okay.”
He dries his hands, leaning back against the counter, wearing an expression I can’t read. “What’s going on, Keanu?”
I toss the food in the wok, squeezing my eyes shut. I hate lying to my brother. Especially Kent, because he’s the one who’s been there for me the most these past two years.
Growing up, I was always closest to Keaton and Kent. It’s a triplet thing. But during my earlier teenage years, it was Keats I was tight with. Kent was partying like crazy. Drowning in pussy and booze. Dabbling in drugs. And he rejected every attempt Keats and I made to intervene, so we stopped trying. Keaton was going steady with Melissa, and I had Selena. We just bonded more. I hated there was a divide between the three of us, but things are different now.
Now, Keats is the one I feel most estranged from. He chose to go to Berkeley instead of coming with us to Harvard, surprising not only Melissa but Kent and me too. Kent has been the one supporting me as my world fell apart in the aftermath of my breakup with Selena. His advice might not have always been what I needed, but I can’t fault how hard he’s tried to pull me out of my head.
But even through all that, we’re all keeping secrets.
Keats isn’t happy. That much is blatantly obvious. But he doesn’t volunteer the reason for it, and I don’t pry. Because then, I might have to open up about my shit, and that’s not something I find easy to do.
Kent isn’t happy either. Sure, he disguises it better than Keats, but I know what I see. He’s hiding something too.
We all are.
And it makes our previously unshakeable bond feel like a fucking lie.
I hate it, but I don’t know how to fix things. Or if I should be the one to do it.
I tried to help Selena, and all that did was drive her further away.
“Earth to Keanu,” Kent says, dragging me back into the present. “You hear me?”
I lower the heat on the stove and walk to the refrigerator, reaching in and removing two beers. I’ve been trying to abstain lately, but after today, I need this. I hand a bottle to my brother, popping the cap on my beer and taking a healthy glug before I answer him. “I heard you, but all I can say is there is a lot of shit going down and Selena will be staying with us for a while.”
He pulls at his lower lip, eyeing me strangely. “What happened to her, it wasn’t just today, right? Whatever it is, it’s from her past, and you keeping her away from us, that was tied up with it too.”
I’m dumbfounded at his astute observations. Because I’ve said jackshit about Selena in the past. Kept her away from my family because of her social anxiety and because she doesn’t like to talk about what happened to her. Getting close to people comes with that risk. They want to know her story, and she’s never been comfortable repeating it. Hell, it was months before she was able to tell me the truth although I had some inkling because Mom had given me a heads-up when I first started modeling with her. Mom wanted to ensure I didn’t do anything to spook the timid girl with the long legs and big, sad eyes.
“Yes,” I admit. “It’s connected to her past, but I can’t say anything more than that because it’s not my story to tell.”
He mulls that over in his head, slowly nodding, and I wonder where my brash, blunt brother has disappeared to. This is a side of Kent I don’t see much of. “Is she in any danger?”
“Yes.” My chest tightens in painful awareness. “And I’m not taking any chances. Kev is sending a security detail over, and I have a couple guys watching her mom too.”
“Can I do anything to help?” he asks, bringing the beer bottle to his lips.
“Just be nice to her. Please. And don’t touch her.”
He scowls, and his nostrils flare. “Seriously, dude? I would never make a play for your girl.”
I shake my head. “That’s not what I meant. She’s skittish when people touch her. I didn’t realize how much we casually touch others until I had to be on my guard around her. No brushing past her. Patting her on the head or the arm or moving to hug her or kiss her cheek or anything like that.”
He drills a hole into my head, and I know he’s reading into what I’ve just said. “Got it. I’ll be on my best behavior.”
“And no parties or strange guys here. And when you bring fuck buddies home, I’d appreciate it if you’d keep it confined to your room, tone the noise down, and keep them away from Sel.” I know I’m asking a lot, but if the tables were reversed, I would do it for him.
“Sure.”
