Page 107 of Relapse

Damian ushered to the bowl on the table that held about three sets of keys. “Take your pick.”

I tried to hide my excitement as I walked toward the table. Peering into the bowl felt like staring into a treasure trove of keys, all waiting to be claimed by me. My fingers brushed the set of my brother’s beloved Mercedes-Benz, and Damian looked at me, his expression caught somewhere between curiosity and alarm.

“First off,” Damian said with a rub of his forehead, “please, don’t crash my Benz. The insurance is already out of this world expensive.”

“Who said that’s the one I wanted?” I asked defensively.

Damian glared and repeated. “Don’t crash it.”

I sighed and placed the keys in my pocket. My brother knew me too well, and I would never admit it to anyone but myself.

“Second,” Damian started this with a smile, “Why are you trying to impress her?”

“Who?”

I was surprised to see Damian rise from his position at the table, cross the space between us, and pull me forward. He smiled as he rubbed my head roughly with his fist, an action he hadn’t done in years. I was thrown into my past quicker than I could remember it. The liveliness that we had shared together in our younger years had been lost with the change in our father, and the growing expectations that Damian had to fulfill.

“Delane,” Damian said, grinning. He released me from his grasp with a playful shove. “Come on, don’t play dumb.”

I reached up to cradle my head. “Ow,” was all I could manage. “Did you really just give me a noogie?”

Damian laughed. It wasn’t a little chuckle—it was a heartfelt, full-blown laugh. The sound rang through my ears like a bell, stunning me into silence. Damian grasped my shoulder affectionately, and squeezed.

“I guess I did,” he said, after regaining his composure, still smiling. “I’m sorry,” he added, but I sensed that he wasn’t sorry at all.

“I love you, Noah,” Damian added warmly, taking me once again by surprise.

What had brought this sentimental side out of him? I felt like Damian was unloading years’ worth of feelings on me all at once, and I had no idea what to do with them. We didn’t often share emotions like this with each other.

Damian was staring at me expectantly. He wanted a reply.

“I love you, too.” I whispered, tentatively.

For a moment, we stared at each other, and all things that were so wrong in my world felt a bit easier. I had the urge to pull up a chair and chat with my big brother about this girl I was completely enamored by. I wanted to share with him some details of my life, to actually have a conversation with him. Maybe even hear some advice—something I never craved from Damian.

The sound of toppling furniture shattered the moment between us, and back to reality I went with a startled jump. Damian’s smile vanished and the house became quiet once again. We both knew the thud had come from upstairs.

The silent halls resonated with the muffled, panicked screams of our mother.

I took half a second to judge the dilation in Damian’s eyes.

And then I bolted for the stairs.

I was half way up, using the railing to propel me higher and faster, when Damian grabbed me from behind, pushing me back the way I came. He easily shoved in front of me.

I grunted. “Hey—”

“Stay here,” he ordered, his eyes focused on our parents bedroom door.

His voice was so stern, that I dared not question it. I slowly backtracked to the base of the staircase, and waited. I watched as much as I could from my place at the bottom, seeing how Damian confidently turned the corner and entered our parents room without knocking or announcing himself.

The screaming stopped abruptly.

Waiting was torture. I strained to hear something, anything.

Was she alright?

I gripped the railing, my knuckles turning white with my hold. What had David done this time?