His Secret Bodyguard

Part 58

"Are you saying there's no way she'll live through this?" I asked. Jeff rolled his eyes. "Harry, he isn't a doctor. He couldn't possibly know that." He commented.

"Actually, I know a lot about her condition. Growing up, I was the one who had to make sure she stayed active and healthy." He replied. "Until you left her there." I stated. He looked over at me. "She told you that?" He questioned. "Yes." I said. He glanced over at her. "I never thought she'd make it this far." He said quietly. "What do you mean?" I asked, confused..

"Well, when I left, her health had started to deteriorate out of nowhere, and very quickly.. Because of.. well, her living conditions. And I didn't want to watch her die. I never thought she'd make it out of there." He explained, his face unchanging.

He was emotionless, like Brynn. Jeff was listening intently, obviously trying to figure everything out.

"You know she suffered after you left, right?" I asked. He sighed, shoving a hand through his hair.. He looked over at me. "You don't know the half of it. Okay? Don't judge me for the decisions I made. I couldn't be there for her anymore; I had to take care of myself. Call me selfish, I don't care. You have no idea what you're talking about." He stated, anger flaring in his eyes.

"You boys need to take this elsewhere. We're in a hospital." A voice said from the doorway. I looked over. It was one of the nurses that spoke some english. "I apologize." Andrew commented, and then said something I didn't understand in French. She nodded, leaving the room.

Jeffrey was watching him. "You know, I didn't see the resemblance at first, cause you seemed normal, and actually pretty nice. But now I see it." He commented. Andrew laughed, looking over at him. "Yeah.. She can be a little much at times. But, it's part of her charm." He said..

The nurse came back into the room, setting a chair down next to Andrew. "Merci." He said, giving her a small smile. She was young, and wasn't trying to hide the fact that she liked him.. She said something to him in French, which he responded to, and then she walked out of the room. "Thought you said you had a wife." I commented. He glanced in my direction. "I do." He replied. I could tell he wanted to say something else, but he didn't..

He pulled the chair over, sitting next to her. He reached up, grabbing her hand. It only took him a few seconds to realize that it wasn't normal..

He turned it over. "What is this?" He asked, looking at me, and then over at Jeff. "You don't know?" Jeff questioned, and Andrew shook his head. "I haven't really seen her in years, just talked over the phone a few times recently. Is this from my parents?" He asked, referring to the cut on her hand. Jeff looked over at me. "She didn't tell me. I don't know." He said.

I sighed, not knowing if Brynn would want her brother to know.. He saw my hesitation. "She's secretive, I know.. She won't know if you tell me though; I'm the same way." He commented.

I glanced in Jeff's direction, sighing. "She um. Dated this one guy for a few years. He did that." I explained. "What? Are you.. He cut her?"Andrew asked. Jeff also obviously hadn't been expecting that.

"Yeah.. Um. That same arm, further up. Look a little bit above her elbow, on the inside of her arm." I commented. He looked at me for a second, before turning Brynn's arm over. "Oh my god.." He murmured, leaning back in his chair, shoving both his hands through his hair.

"She got away from them, just to meet someone like this.." He said quietly, seeming distraught. Jeff cleared his throat, and I glanced in his direction. He motioned over at Andrew. I sighed. "He um.." I hesitated, seeing how much those two cuts affected him..

"What?" He asked. "There's thirteen of them. One for each time she tried to leave him." I explained. He seemed to have a hard time comprehending that, and looked over at her. "What's his name? Did she tell you? I'm gonna kill him." He muttered the last part, moving forward in his chair. I hesitated. "I don't know his full name." I said. I felt a little guilty talking about something she kept a secret from everyone in her life..

"Well? Spit it out." He stated. "His name's Ryan. That's all I know." I replied. He had a pissed off look in his eyes, but probably knew there was nothing he could do with that little information.. "Where are they?" He asked.. I sent him a confused look. "The other cuts. Where are they?" He questioned.

"Oh. Um.. I mean, I never saw all of them. But there's a few on her back. Maybe like four of them? She had two on her stomach I think. Two on her left leg.. And the one on her arm and hand." I explained, trying to remember from seeing them in Cozumel.. "That's only ten." He commented.

"As I said, I never saw all of them." I replied. He sighed, looking back over at her. "She stopped dating him, right?" I asked. I nodded. "Yeah, it's been a few years. Maybe like four or five?" I said, unsure.. "She's 23.. Are you saying she was still with my parents when this was going on?" He asked.   "I mean.. I don't know. She didn't tell me a lot." I replied..

"Sorry, so.. If your parents didn't want her, why wouldn't they put her up for adoption or something?" Jeff asked out of nowhere. Andrew looked over at him. "They couldn't, not with her heart condition. Trust me, they tried to get rid of her more than once.. Just.." He sighed, standing back up.

"I came here, to check on her. I've done that. So, I'm going to go now." He commented, walking back over to the door. I stood up. "What? You can't just leave. Do you see her? That's your sister." I stated.

He turned around. "You don't think I know that? Listen, I know this isn't the ethical thing to do or whatever. But, her heart condition is bad, and I know that better than anyone. And the fact that she's been lying around like this.. I don't see how this could possibly end well. So, yeah. I'm leaving." He replied, walking out.....