Brody

by Victoria H. Smith

  “How did you prove the domestic abuse?” I asked. Any injuries that occurred had to have gone away by the time she was out of treatment, her arm healed.

  Out of her pocket, she pulled some pictures. They were printed out on computer paper like they’d been uploaded. The first glimpse of a black eye had me sitting back, my sister bruised and battered. Seeing my reaction, she folded them, pushing them to the side of her coffee.

  “Aiden’s teacher knew what was going on,” she said. “I used to pick him up from school, so I was sure his whole school did. One day, she pulled me aside. She did her talking like women do. ‘You need to report him,’ she’d said. ‘You need to say something.’ At that point, I had been sneaking around with Nathan. Aiden didn’t even know he was back and I passed off the bruises with lies. I fell. I dropped something on my legs. I burned myself.”

  The bile in my throat summoned by the dread. He burned her. He hurt her and she was wrong about Aiden not knowing. Aiden knew his voice when he called that day. He knew. He was smart.

  Elena sat back. “His teacher told me to take pictures. I didn’t have to do anything with them, but at least take them so if I did decide to act, I would have them. I don’t know why I listened, but I’m glad I did.”

  I wouldn’t say it, but we shared that; that gratefulness.

  She carried so much information here, not only was she clean, but she removed Nathan. She’d rid herself from him, no doubt, permanently this time. He’d been paroled for abuse, my abuse, and wouldn’t come back from this easy.

  My anxiety of today lifted in ways I didn’t think could happen. I realized quickly it had been closure. I needed closure of him.

  “So he’s arrested?” I asked. I needed to know for sure.

  “They were preparing before I left, told me they had everything, and they’d keep me in touch. I came straight here after that. Pretty much drove all night.”

  She’d driven all night. Before she left, she said she had to make everything better, but I never held stake in those words. Elena had never given me a reason to. She’d never taken care of me and barely had provided for her son or herself.

  Her fingers gripped over her knuckles, her hands fisting. Tense, she sat there in silence, but eventually, could no longer hold back.

  “Is he okay?” she asked. She didn’t need to say who.

  My bag finally fell from my shoulder, resting in my lap. I nodded. “He is and he’s attending school here. We got him enrolled shortly after you left. He’s doing well.”

  That brought happiness out in her face again. “So you’re still with that guy? Brody?”

  And that? That brought out the happiness over me. Brody had that way. I smiled. “Yes, we’re together. He’s over at the park now with Aiden. He’s been great.”

  “Can I see him?” she asked “Aiden?”

  This question I knew lingered over today. Would she want to see him, but worse, would she try to take him? The sea of dread washed over me, but I fought it down, trying to be strong.

  I played with my fingers. “That depends. What do you intend to do after you do?”

  We both knew I had no rights to her son, but that was on paper. The connection Aiden and I had ran deep. It fused through both of us and she knew that. We also both knew her history. If I didn’t want her to have Aiden, I could make it so.

  Her hands opened up, wide on the table as she titled her head at me. “I don’t want to take him from you, Alexa.”

  “Then what do you want to do? What’s your angle, Elena? What’s your motive? You’re clean now, but so what? What about tomorrow and the next day?”

  “It will be a step by step process. The program taught me that and I understand that.”

  I still wasn’t convinced. I still didn’t trust her. How could I when she did nothing but bring chaos in her wake. I pointed my finger on the table, shoving it down. “I won’t let you come back in here and undo everything I’ve done. He just stopped crying, Elena. He just started to… To…”

  I didn’t want to say it. I didn’t want to say move on from her, because he never could. But he could heal and that’s what he was starting to do. And me? I was finally starting to get some of that, too. I was starting to heal, too.

  I sat back. “Things are starting to get better. Aiden likes living here, Elena. He likes his school. He likes his friends.”

  “And he’ll keep that,” she stressed, her face so flushed. Her hands still remained where they were on the table, but they reached, almost pleading in their way. They looked like they wanted to do more and eventually, they did.

  Sliding across the table, Elena grabbed my hands, and when she did, I didn’t let go. I found… I didn’t want to let go.

  Her hands went tight on mine following the lack of resistance and soon, she squeezed. She squeezed so hard.

  Her eyes flickered up and a smile like mine told me we shared more than our eyes.

  “I know I have a lot to prove,” she said, and a cloudiness hovered over her brown eyes. She wiped the mist away. “But I’m willing to put in the hard work to do it. I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to be better for him. I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to be better for you.”

  My own tears lingered at the precipice, my throat locking up to clear them. I swallowed, pushing through them.

  “But how can I trust you?” I whispered. I meant to say Aiden, but when the words came out, they ended up being about myself.

  Reaching up, she pushed away a tear from underneath my eye. She hadn’t done that since I was a little thing. She hadn’t been my big sister in so long.

  Raising my hands, she kissed the back of them, shaking them in hers. “I could do a thousand things right and never fix what I’ve done. I can never fix what I let happen to you, Alexa. God knows if I could go back…”

  She sniffed, bringing our hands together. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry I didn’t protect you and though, I can’t go back, there won’t be a single day forward where you won’t have me, where I won’t try for you, Alex. I’ll try every day and that’s something I can promise you.”

  My tears dotted the table and she wiped them away again. Soon enough, the table no longer separated us. She brought me into her arms and when she did, I held her. I held her like my life depended on it and maybe a little part of me did.

  “I love you, Alex,” she said, bringing her hand down my back.

  I buried my face in her neck. I could try. I could try for her, too.

  Brody

  She’d been in there for so long and I started to worry. I stood, glancing over my shoulder from my position at the park bench. Only the casual traffic of the cafe moved in and out, but no Alex.

  Are you all right? Are you okay?

  “Brody, can you push me?”

  His voice made my grin come out before I even turned. Aiden sat in his swing, gripping the metal chains with that carefree air about him that all children had at the park. I was happy he’d somehow kept it through all the things in his life.

  “Sure, buddy,” came from me as I made my way over. I stopped in front of him, grabbing above the chain. “You sure you need my help though? You were pumping like a champ.”

  He rolled his brown eyes. “I know, but I want some air. I want you to push under.”

  The bravery of this kid caused me to step back, mocking in the fashion. “You sure you can handle that?”

  Those eyes lifted to the heavens again. Turning, he pulled his backpack around. His action figure, Joe, had his head poking out the back. He went everywhere with that guy. Though, I did notice his appearance less and less. He used to hold him nearly every moment of the day, but now he rarely left Aiden’s bag.

  I definitely call that a sign.

  Aiden slid the bag off his back.

  “I don’t want Joe to fall,” he said, setting him down to the side gracefully and after that, he got himself ready. His tiny fists held on the chains of the swing, the most determined look on this nine-yea
r-olds face.

  Getting behind him, I took up my position. “All right, but you better hold on, now. I don’t want you falling out.”

  “I’ll be okay, Brody. Just push.”

  I wouldn’t go to full height. If I did, he would go flying, but I did pull him back pretty far. When I drew forward, I squatted a bit going under. He went about half the height he could have, but I didn’t think he noticed. His laughter, his glee, filled the air and I think I accomplished the job I set out to do. He asked me to push him again, so I did a couple of times. My phone buzzed before the third, so I took a break to see the text.

  “She wants to see him,” Alex said, then two seconds later. “She said it can be when I’m ready. Should I today?” And I really didn’t know what to tell her. This was her call and she had every right to do what she felt was best for her nephew.

  “I think you should do what you feel you need to do for his sake,” I said to her, and I firmly believed that. We all had our journey and it shouldn’t be rushed. Everything would still be there when she was ready and the world would wait until she was.

  A few seconds passed then another text came in. It said, “We’re coming over,” and that sent me peace because she finally had hers.

  More calm settled when I realized I would have my own tonight, my own peace after talking with my family about things and though, anxious, it wasn’t my nerves. The anticipation had me ready for the future. It had me hopeful for the future. I gazed up to go get Aiden. I wouldn’t tell him what was going on, but thought it best we head to the picnic tables or something to wait. My study of the swings left me empty, though. The swings, they were there, but he wasn’t in them. The one he’d been in swung haphazardly like he’d recently left it.

  I stepped out, eyeing the playground and found him quickly. He chased after another kid, a boy, and the little snot had Aiden’s backpack. Laughing, he ripped Aiden’s action figure out of the bag, calling Aiden names like “baby” and some other profane shit that shouldn’t be leaving kids’ mouths. Aiden was handling it like a champ, though. He didn’t cry, but his lip was pouting a little.

  My strides took me that way and I got to watch as the boy threw Aiden’s toy. It landed with a thunk on the sidewalk and I yelled, “Hey!” in his direction.

  The little kid darted off like he had fire under his feet and I shook my head. Kids could be real dicks sometimes, but Aiden, this kid was strong. He picked the toy up without missing a beat.

  I smiled and started to head that way when some talking got my attention. I could hear her voice in a crowded room. Alex walked across the street and she did so with her sister coming out of the cafe. The last time I’d seen Elena, she hadn’t looked great. She’d been injured more than just physically and that shown all over her face. Now, she both looked and seemed on the road to recovery.

  The pair stopped when they saw me before crossing and I lifted my hand, waving a bit. Aiden was about ten feet away from me and I opened my mouth to call to him, to get his attention, but something in the distance got my attention, a white car. It was a Corolla, old and beat up, and it only got my focus because of the speed. It was accelerating, getting faster and faster and soon enough, it took possession of two lanes. It made a beeline and as it got closer, I made out the driver.

  His hand raised, Nathan pointed a finger. He pointed it sure. He pointed it true, and pointed it right at me. But there was a little boy. There was a little boy only ten feet away. Aiden was too close. Nathan would have to hit him to get to me.

  I ran, the car coming closer and closer. Its bald rubber tires cut onto the side walk, cruising down it. I grabbed Aiden.

  A scream hit the air from the boy in my arms and a screech took to the wind from the vehicle I knew was too close. It was still too close.

  I rolled, Aiden in my arms and we hit. We hit something hard, something metal that knocked the wind straight out of me, and sent me clear on my back.

  I heard another scream then, my girlfriend. I’d hear her voice anywhere.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Alexa

  They told me his heart stopped that day. It ceased rhythm after he fell and I couldn’t believe it. I just heard it. I…

  Something that powerful, something that strong just didn’t stop. He didn’t stop. He couldn’t.

  They told me he died. He died, and I did, too, because we were linked.

  I’d die forever.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Brody

  I didn’t remember much from that day. I remembered the car coming, old and fucked up, and I remembered dodging it. I remembered slamming into the playground to get away from it and I also remembered that motherfucker. I remembered him crashing. I had been on the ground at the time, Aiden underneath me crying. But he wasn’t crying because he’d been hurt. He cried my name, shaking me, and then another cry sounded, too. I saw her face, her crystal tears in her eyes as she hovered over me. Behind her a white Corolla went up in flames. It had hit a tree.

  Good riddance.

  The world went dark.

  *

  My memories fleeted, my awareness. Sharp smells I never wanted to breathe in again surrounded me. I was in a hospital. My first thoughts went to my family. They’d see me here so soon after the scare with my pop, but not only that. They’d see me die here. I would die and they wouldn’t know why.

  The fight began after that. I fought to breathe, to live, and when I saw those tears again, they welcomed me out of the fray.

  Alex sat beside me, her hand on my cheek, and a mash up of everything lined those gorgeous eyes. She had fear there, worry, but also happiness. She was happy.

  “Hey, darlin,’” I breathed. Doing so stabbed at my ribcage and I was grateful for the pain. It meant, I was still here.

  The tears flowed, filling her eyes, and she stood, covering my mouth with hers. I kissed her back, touching her hip though it hurt to shift.

  “It’s okay,” I told her. “It’s okay,” but she wasn’t listening, and the salty flow got caught between us. Eventually, she rested her forehead on mine, saying all kinds of things. She said, “I love you.” She said that so many times. I told her I loved her too, and when I finally got to see her face, touch her, I asked about the little guy with me during that terrible day.

  “He’s okay?” I asked. “Aiden?”

  Her tears touched my hand. She pushed them away with a nod and I was grateful for yet another painful breath.

  “Thanks to you,” she said, pushing her thumb over my cheek. “He’s here because of you.”

  I smiled, shaking my head. “That boy is here because of himself. I just helped him out.” It hurt to joke, talk, really everything, but her laugher made it worthwhile.

  Bending, she kissed me again. She pushed a little hard and I cringed a bit. Her hands had the nerve to go delicate, but I grabbed them. She moved them to my ribs then.

  “You broke two,” came from her lips, her hands moving down them. She placed one on my heart. “And it stopped. You stopped.”

  I had a feeling. I couldn’t really explain it, but I did. I put a hand on her cheek and she moved it into my palm, clasping it.

  “What about him?” I asked. I didn’t really want to say his name. She knew who I meant.

  Her face went hard, cold, and when she told me he didn’t make it, the world just seemed to come to full circle. I didn’t wish death on anyone and never would no matter how bad they were, but the world now being minus one asshole like that? It wasn’t a bad thing. Alex went into more detail after that, how her sister turned him in before coming to Texas, and how he’d followed her here after seeing the police. Both the girls figured he was coming after Elena and though that might have been true, some of that intent, that rage, definitely had been reserved for me. Not long after she finished, I looked around.

  “Is my family here?” I wanted to see them, all of them, no matter how the visit would end. I was done running. Done.

  My hand slid down her arm when she stoo
d and she gripped it right after. “They’ve been here in and out since I have. Two days.”

  Two days. I’d been out for two days. The ribbon cutting… The store opening…

  What had I put them through?

  The reality coursed through my body and seared like an angry burn. Everything I’d tried to prevent, their worry, caught up to me anyway and not only that, I made it far worse.

  Alex kissed my lips again, breathing me in, and I held her there for strength. I needed hers and mine. She backed away, holding my hand. “I’ll tell them you’re awake. They’re all here but the one in Miami.”

  “Griffin?”

  She nodded. “There was bad weather, flights delayed.”

  Shit. Not only was I stuck in here, but he and Roxie were stuck down there. Everyone must be a mess.

  Alex’s lips touched my hand before she left the room. I had maybe seconds to come up with something to say. Maybe I should start with sorry. I was sorry I kept my condition from them. I was sorry for being weak.

  The first that came in was Gram, followed by my Aunt Robin, a large hat on her head, and my greatest fear came to fruition. Their stress, their trauma.

  My aunt had a tissue to her face and my Gram’s face all tight, scared, and everyone else that came in matched. My brothers looked a wreck; Colton’s face red and even Hayden had a flush. His wife, Karen, didn’t bother hiding her tears. They flowed freely down her face as she held their oldest, my niece, Sarah, and Hayden their youngest, Crissy. The scene matched that of my pop, everyone in distress, everyone shattered, and then there was Pop. He’d been the one in the hospital bed back then, helping us all keep it together as he’d been the one ill, but here, now? Even he couldn’t escape the emotion in the room. His lips were tight, hard in a line, and Ann, kind Ann, held his hand. He squeezed hers so hard his own was pale white.

  I opened my mouth to say something. I opened my mouth to apologize, but the words never came. They didn’t because I was surrounded, a hug, a hand. They didn’t stop and when one person left another just took their place and they all said the same thing. They told me they loved me and they thanked God I was okay.