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“This has been going on for a lot longer than a fucking hour,” Elliot slurs. “I’ve been dealing with this shit for over half my life.”
A beat of silence passes before Everett lowers his voice to a calming tone.
“If you don’t talk to me, then I can’t understand,” Everett says. “I can’t help you if I don’t know what you’re talking about. But I will promise you that, whatever it is, I am going to be here for you. No matter how bad it is. Do you understand me?”
Elliot’s eyes flinch.
“Really?” Elliot chuckles sarcastically as tears pool in his eyes.
“Really,” Everett repeats. “You’re my brother, and even after everything we’ve been through, that will never change. I willalwaysbe here for you.”
Elliot blinks, letting a single tear slip down his cheek.
“Is that so?” he asks as a sob bubbles up from his throat. “What if I told you that I killed someone? Would you still have my back then?”
Killed someone.
My breath hitches at the same time Everett releases his hold on Elliot’s neck.
“You what?” Everett exhales in complete shock.
“Exactly,” Elliot rasps.
Everett shakes his head.
This can’t be true. There is no way that Elliot actually killed someone.
“What the hell do you mean you killed someone, Elliot?” Everett snaps. “That is not something to fucking joke about.”
Elliot’s cheeks fill with red as his nostrils flare.
“Do you think I’m fucking joking?” he screams in pain as tears stream down his face. “That’s not something I would fucking joke about!”
Everett quickly places his hands on his brother’s shoulders, giving him a light shake before taking Elliot’s face between his palms.
“Calm down, Elliot,” he demands. “Just calm down, and tell me exactly what happened.”
Elliot coughs, his chest heaving up and down as he tries to catch his breath. Once he takes a few seconds to steady his breathing, he finally speaks.
“You already know,” he whispers.
“Obviously, I don’t, Elliot,” Everett retorts. “And I feel like shit that this is the first time I’m hearing about this. I feel like shit for not being here for you. But I’m here now. Talk to me.”
Elliot swallows thickly and slowly lifts his eyes to Everett before unleashing what’s been plaguing him his entire adult life.
“Do you remember the girl from our hometown who died when she was only sixteen?” Elliot asks. “The whole town was shaken up over it?”
Everett pauses to think, pinching the skin between his brows with his thumb and forefinger.
“Anna,” Everett says as his gaze snaps up to Elliot. “Are you talking about Anna?”
“Yeah,” Elliot croaks, nodding his head.
“Didn't she get in a bad car accident?” Everett asks. “It was a drunk driving accident. How could you have had anything to do with that?”
A sob breaks from Elliot’s throat as he recalls the memory.
“Because I gave her the alcohol,” he says weakly. “And then I let her leave alone.”
