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“Not gonna do that without Kennedy, so let’s not make a scene, hm? Step aside so we can collect her, and we’ll be on our way.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are, coming to my house like this?”
“I—”
Dean shot his hand out, keeping me from jumping in front of him to tell this motherfucker who the fuckIwas. He scowled at me with a stiff shake of his head then turned back to Jordan as he pulled out his wallet. He held a business card between his index and middle fingers. “I am Miss Novak’s attorney. Now, are you going to step aside, or are we going to have a problem?”
Jordan took the card, studying it as he shifted over, allowing us enough room to enter his house. Barely.
Dean stayed by Jordan, both of them glowering at each other, while I headed upstairs. “Kennedy?” I called, popping my head into different rooms. “Kenny?”
A door in the middle of the hall opened to reveal my sister, eyes swollen and cheeks red. She fell into my arms. “Titi!”
I rocked her side to side, running my hand over the back of her head. “Are you okay?”
“Mmhmm.”
I held her at arm’s length, a quick survey to make sure she was unharmed, and as far as I could tell, she was. “Come on. Let’s get your stuff and go.”
I tugged her out of the bathroom, noticing pills scattered along the floor behind her and in the hall.
“We weren’t…” She panted, her eyes watering. “He isn’t…”
I held her face between my hands. “We’re going home. We can talk about it later. Get what you need.” I ushered Kennedy to the door down the hall, where she started stuffing things into a bag, and I sought to try to pick up as many of her pills as possible. She took six every day, three in the morning and three at night. Missing even one could drop her body’s defenses against an oncoming seizure. Screwing the cap back on the bottle, I stuck it in my pocket then clasped Kennedy’s hand. “Let’s go.”
I tugged her down the hall, but she paused when we heard raised voices downstairs. “It’s okay,” I told her. “Dean is here. You don’t need to be afraid.”
She nodded absently, her eyes a little wild like she didn’t know what to do, so I tucked her into my side.
“Kennedy, come on. Don’t do this,” Jordan said as soon as he spotted us on the stairs. He moved toward the steps, but Dean leaped into his way, and while he was careful to keep his hands to himself, he held them out, blocking Jordan from us. “Please, baby, don’t leave. You know I love you.”
I curled my arm tighter around Kennedy, pressing my other hand against the side of her head, over her ear. “It’s all right,” I told her. “I got you. It’s going to be okay. We’re going home now.”
Dean didn’t bother to turn our way, keeping his focus solely on the red-faced Jordan. Directly behind him, snowboards hung on the wall, and I sped up, thinking about the damage one of those could do if someone wanted to wield it.
“Kennedy! Don’t leave. You can’t leave me!”
We were outside, tripping down the steps in our haste, but I shoved her into the back seat of the car, strapping her in because her hands shook so badly. Dean was hot on our heels, though he was still facing away from us, making sure Jordan didn’t get anywhere near Kennedy. Once I had the back door closed behind us, Dean rounded the hood and jumped behind the wheel, locking all the doors. Jordan banged on Kennedy’s window, crying about how much he loved her, how sorry he was. I didn’t acknowledge him and kept my hand on Kennedy’s head, making sure she didn’t look at him either.
Dean sped away, tires squealing as Kennedy sobbed. He met my gaze in the rearview mirror, our only communication a silent nod.
Once my sister calmed down, I handed her one of the bottles of water Dean had thought ahead to bring. Her hands still quaked, so I held it for her. “Little sips.”
“I’m sorry,” she said after wiping her face with a tissue.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“I do. I shouldn’t have called you.”
“Yes, you should have.” I held her hand in mine. “You needed help, and there is no fault in asking for it.”
I felt the awareness of Dean’s gaze on me and met his stare in the mirror once again, this time his brow raised sardonically. Yes, I realized I didn’t often take my own advice, and I rolled my eyes at him.
He smirked.
“What are we going to do about my car?” my sister asked, forcing my attention away from him.
“We’ll take care of it another day. Don’t worry about that.” I wrapped my arm around Kennedy’s shoulders. “We’re going to go back to my apartment now, and we’ll talk about everything tomorrow.”
