TRAE HAD ALWAYS been the protective big brother. Lindy knew him as assuming no other role. He'd cared for her and raised her when Lee had neglected to do so himself. Anyone who messed with Lindy became a marked man, and Trae made sure they paid the price if she got hurt, even if it was because of harmless pranks. Lindy had always appreciated this about her brother and would have never asked him to back off, but for the first time, she was dying for him to stop defending her.
It was finally New Years Day and Lindy was sitting on the couch, her head in her hands and her ankle elevated on the coffee table. Shelli was nursing it with an ice pack and pillow, trying to keep it level. She had told Lindy that she'd probably only twisted it and nothing more. This hardly reassured Lindy. She was more concerned about what was going on between Kurt and Trae in the corner of the room.
Kurt was in the loveseat, looking sick and ashamed. Trae was standing over him, speaking so angrily that it made Lindy's blood run cold.
"You were supposed to watch her Kurt. Not let her fall down the stairs and nearly kill herself. She could have broken her neck," Trae said bitterly.
"I was doing my best," Kurt snapped back icily. "If you didn't notice, I was as fucked up as she was."
"Well someone has to be the responsible adult!" Trae exploded.
"Stop that," Lindy said sharply. "You sound like our fucking father when you talk like that. It's making me sick."
"Don't compare me to him," Trae said, a note of hurt in his voice.
"Then stop yelling at Kurt. It's not his fault. I'm the dumb ass who didn't listen, I was the one who walked down the stairs. It's not like he pushed me."
"We all knew you weren't going to be able to handle yourself Lindsey, damn it, why do you think I asked him to keep an eye on you?"
Lindy's nostrils flared. She could not believe what she was hearing from her brother. He had never talked to her in such a way. He had always been gentle and careful with his words, always hesitant to put her down even when she had been in the wrong.
"You never call me Lindsay," she said indifferently. Trae scoffed.
"I have to, don't I, when you're acting like an irresponsible kid?"
"Shut up Trae, before you say something you're going to really regret," she warned.
Trae rounded back on Kurt, pressing his hands together and closing his eyes as if he were praying.
"I just want to know why you condoned it, Kurt. If you love my sister, why did you let it happen?"
"So did you! You stood there while she put that shit on tongue!" Kurt shouted, pointing his finger directly at Trae.
"Because I trusted you! I should have known though, when it comes to drugs with you, as long as you're high it's like to hell with everyone else . . ."
"STOP IT!" Lindy yelled, lurching upright and forgetting her sore ankle. She winced in pain, hobbling in place before Shelli pulled her back on the couch and replaced the ice pack. That did not stop her glare from forming again and finding its way back to Trae's face.
