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“Honey. I wanted to wait until we got home before I told you.” Charleigh takes a deep breath and holds her younger sister’s hand where they sit on the big leather sofa in the library.
I debate whether my brothers and I should leave them alone while Charleigh breaks the bad news to her sister, but figure we’re in the middle of this too.
“Pops is gone, Evie.”
Her face is blank at first, then she frowns, then yanks her hand from Charleigh’s. “No, he’s not!” she yells, jumping to her feet.
She runs for the doorway just in time for Niko to pull the doors shut, blocking her.
“Let me out!” she shouts, trying to reach around him.
But with one swift move, he has both her wrists in one of his hands and for all her struggling, she can make no progress.
So she tries to bite him. Not smart.
“Jesus, child,” Niko hollers.
I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve heard my youngest brother raise his voice.
I reach into the drawer of one of our end tables, and pull out a handful of zip ties. I never thought I’d be using them on a sixteen-year-old, but I never thought we’d have one living with us, either.
Niko deftly gets Evie’s hands behind her back, and before she knows it, she’s restrained.
Charleigh looks upset for a moment, but then understands what we’re doing is for her sister’s own good.
“Go sit over there with your sister,” Niko barks, pointing toward Charleigh.
Evie runs back to the sofa, and with her hands tied behind her back, buries her face in her sister’s shoulder and sobs while Charleigh rubs her back.
As frustrating as this kid is, it’s sad to see her lose her father. I mean, she knows nothing about what a loser he was, and unless Charleigh decides to tell her, she never will. All she knows is that he was pretty checked out after their mom died, and that he was an otherwise okay guy. Not a very hands-on father, but did Evie ever know any different?
“Wh… what happened?” she sobs.
Charleigh smooths her hair. “He was shot, honey. He died fast. He didn’t suffer.”
“But why?” Evie wails.
Charleigh looks at me, her expression begging for help.
“Evie, we don’t know exactly what happened yet, with either the pawn shop or your dad, but we are working on it,” I say.
She looks at the floor, tears streaming down her face, then narrows her eyes at my brothers and me, her face red and distorted, spit flying out of her mouth. “It never would have happened if not foryouguys,” she screams.
That’s not exactly true, that we’re the cause of her father’s demise. The man dug his own grave, so to speak. But no need to get into that now.
“It was probably the same person who hurt you and me,” Charleigh says. “That’s why we must be so careful. If they knew you were at Pops’s apartment, chances are they would have come after you too.”
After several minutes of sobbing, Evie starts to calm, unable to wipe her tears because of her restraints. She’s so pathetic and yet I’m not sure I’m ready to remove the zip ties yet.
“Fuck this. Fuck you all. Charleigh, our lives are so messed up right now. What are we going to do?”
Charleigh takes hold of her sister’s chin and looks straight at her. “We are going to stay here on the compound unless we’re out with the guys. We are going to listen to what they ask of us. And we’re going to keep you up with your schoolwork.”
“C… can you take these things off my hands now?” she asks.
I reach in my pocket for a knife and cut them clean off. I don’t know if Evie is more surprised I had a knife within reach or that the ties came off so easily. “Your sister is right, Evie. You must listen. When you don’t, you not only put yourself in danger but also the rest of us. What if we’d gone over there and walked into a trap, like the one you helped set for Charleigh at the arcade? We could have all been killed. Over nothing. So, please promise you won’t do things like that again.”
She rubs her wrists. “Sorry,” she mumbles. When Charleigh nudges her, she speaks up a little. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know I was making such a mess of things.”
