Surrender

Chapter Nineteen

CHAPTER NINETEEN

I slap Aaron’s arm and he turns to look at me, annoyance in his eyes.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I ask, my voice loud and full of anger. He sits up in his chair and glares at me.

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you?” He shouts, setting the towel full of ice on the counter. “All you seem to care about are those two pieces of shit! I’m your brother for god sakes.” He exhales and picks up the towel, pressing it against his eye.

“Don’t talk about them like that, you have no idea who they are.” I say in a low voice.

“Why are you always defending them, Rae? If you knew the truth about them you’d…” He shakes his head and looks away, pouting.

“I’d what?” I say, slapping his arm again.

“You wouldn’t jump to their defense! Maybe then you’d break away from the hold they have on you.” He looks me up and down, disgust in his eyes.

“Well, it’s a good thing I already know the truth about them, isn’t?” I throw back in his face, resting my elbows on the table and running a hand through my wet hair. He scoffs and slams his fist on the table. I jump at the sound and turn to look at him.

“You are so naïve and you always have been. You know nothing!” He screams at me. He stands and grabs the chair in his hands, lifting it over his head and throws it at the wall. I stare at him with my mouth slightly open. Who is this person?

“What is the matter with you?” I yell at him. He starts to pace, running his hands through his hair maniacally.

Them!” He shouts, pointing in the direction of Harry’s house. “They are my problem. Everything was fine until she found out he was here. We were going to live together and she was going to have the baby and it would’ve been the three of us. We would’ve been happy!” He screams the last word and suddenly punches the wall, a stain of blood left on the fading blue paint. I slowly stand and watch as the secrets and lies consume him from the inside out. My mom’s words echo inside my head warning me that he has secrets I need to find out.

“What baby?” I ask cautiously, staying where I am. He whips his head around to look at me, his face wild and crazed.

“I was going to be a father. I wasn’t going to be the screw up and for once, I was going to get everything I wanted.” He’s pacing, his jaw beginning to swell.

“Okay, I’m not a mind reader, so you need to break it down for me.” I close my eyes and push away a migraine forming in my temples.

“Forget about it.” He says in a cold voice, pushing past me. I grab his arm and pull him back around to face me.

“Enough! We’re not playing this game anymore!” He watches as I yell at him, my face turning red. “ You are my brother and I am your sister and we are going to talk about this, so stop being this weird, closed off person and talk to me!” I exhale sharply and square my shoulders. He looks empty, a deep sadness behind his eyes.

“You’re not going to like me after you know the truth.” His shoulders droop heavily and he pulls out a chair and sits down.

“You’re wrong.” I say, sitting down next to him. I push away a lingering nervous feeling and focus on his face. He takes my hands in his and holds them tightly, squeezing my fingers so hard I cringe a little.

“You have to know that I never wanted to hurt you, Rae. As soon as it happened, I wanted to take it back, but I was too afraid to tell you.” His voice is thick and panicked, his grip on my hands tightening with every word.