Warrior

Chapter 17: Back at the Apartment

Her shift ended and we started walking to the apartment complex that she lived in. It was pretty cold out here and it was very late. It was pretty foggy and misty.

I knew what Naomi was saying back there was true. She was right. That didn't make me any less angry at my brother. Ma needed him. She needed both of them.

We had finally got to the apartment complex and walked up to the elevator and up the the apartment. We both stopped in our tracks. Jade was sitting next to the door with her stuff next to her in a bag. "Naomi why are you with Tommy?" She asked, she looked strung out. She was so different now. Naomi picked her up and brought her into the apartment. I grabbed Jades stuff and followed behind.

I wondered what she was doing here. I wondered if she was okay. She seemed so sad. Naomi layed her down on the couch and I crouched next to Jade, examining her. She was all grown up. "Tommy you left. You were my big brother, I uh-" She mumbled before passing out. It broke my heart to see her like that. I had no idea what she had been through. We'd have to talk about it tomorrow.

I sat on the recliner next to the couch and stayed silent. I wasn't the only one hurting. Naomi was hurting, Jade was hurting. I wanted to help her. She was still my sister. I wanted to help Naomi. I never stopped caring about her. I never stopped caring about any of them.

"You will talk to her tomorrow, right?" Naomi spoke up, pulling me away from my thoughts. "Yeah" I mumble.

I found myself thinking about Manny again. There was a lot of things haunting my mind, and he was one of those things. I considered him a brother of mine. I had lost him and everyone else in battle. Sething I will never ever forgot. "Shes gonna be so angry tomorrow" I spoke up. "Are you gonna talk to her about Ma?" Naomi asked quietly. "Of course. She deserves to know" I reply, fumbling around with my hands.

Naomi went to her room and it was late now. I stayed out here to keep an eye on Jade. Make sure she was alright. She started shifting around and then she woke up. She hadn't noticed me here yet. "Tommy? The fuck you doin' here?!" Jade asked, raising her voice a bit. "Naomi brought me here." I mumble. "Why are you here? I don't want you here. Get the fuck out!" She spoke, getting up and stumbling a little. "You really want me to leave, Jade? Is that what you want?" I spoke up. I didn't want to yell at her. I could see the sadness, hurt, and anger in her eyes. "Don't fuck with my head. I don't need this" She spoke, going into the other bedroom.

I followed behind her, "Jade just let me talk. I wanted to tell you what happened to Ma. I wanted you to know why I didn't come back." I spoke sitting on the bed. She stayed silent. "Ma was gettin sick before we left. She didn't have insurance. It got real bad. She was coughing up blood, Jade. After she died, I went into the Marines. That's why I didn't come back." I spoke, holding my composure the best I could. It hurt to talk about Ma. I hated seeing her like that. I could see the tears well up in her eyes. She looked so much like her. Seeing her so sad reminds me of how Ma would be. It hurt to see her like that. "I needed you. Things got real bad at home after that day. It felt like endless beatings. Brendan had to take care of me because Pop was to drunk to function. We ended up staying with Naomi because we couldn't be around Pop no more." She spoke up, it seemed as if all that wasn't the only thing on her mind. There was something else wrong. Something else going on with her.

"I can hear the rain outside. You're staying here but you leave tomorrow. I don't want you here." She said, her voice cold but I could see through it. If she really didn't care she'd make me go right now. I left her room and went into Naomi's. She was laying on her bed but she wasn't asleep. I layed next to her. "Don't mind if I sleep here, mm?" I asked. The couch wasn't the most comfortable, plus I just wanted to be with Naomi, in all honesty. "You can sleep here. Is Jade alright?" She asked quietly. I nodded "She's holding up. There's something she's not talking about though. I can see it. Almost like it was when we were teenagers. Before grandma hinted to me that she was getting beat. When she wouldnt tell me what's going on with her" I spoke laying my head down on the pillow. "I see it too." Naomi spoke, turning over to face the wall. I started to drift to sleep. I'd hope Naomi would get some sleep. I knew she had a hard time.