They’re here.
My mind can’t fully comprehend that my brothers are here. There’s only the two of them, and still, I find myself counting them off in my head.
One.
Two.
Leo.
Dash.
One.
Two.
Dash.
Leo.
They’re here.
And from the way they encircle me, escorting me out of our childhood home, hands on my shoulders, fingers on the back of my skull, questions pouring out of them, I know they’re here for me.
Both of them.
For me.
“Calm down,” I gripe, only able to deal with their affection by affecting crabbiness. “I’m fine.”
“You have blood on the back of your skull,” Dash sees fit to announce to the world.
Oh. Guess it was already dry when I checked.
“Who’s here?” Leo growls. He has a Glock in his hand. “Who’s involved?”
I meet my twin’s eyes and see murder in them.
And because my head and emotions are thoroughly fucked up, the sight warms my chest.
They’re here.
That’s when the enormity of their actions clicks.
I’d envisioned escaping the house, sprinting to the nearest bus stop, riding until I was far enough from my childhood home that I could figure out my next steps.
There was no scenario where I imagined a rescue crew would come for me. Not one consisting of my brothers.
Because as much as I love them both, neither has ever shown up for me.
Not in decades.
Despite everything I did for them when we were younger, they still chose to work for Uncle Mike. I went to their court hearings when they got arrested in possession of a stolen car. They were both still in prison when I graduated from college. I didn’t bother walking at the ceremony.
Who would’ve come to see me cross the stage?
No one.
When Dash was released from prison, I picked him up at the gate. I helped him set up his new life. And when his heart broke, I drove the eight hours from Nashville to New Orleans to comfort him.
When Leo was freed, I didn’t know because he never told me. Just went straight back to the family business.
But I’m still ready to jump through every hoop to get him out.
I show up.
They don’t.
Until now.
“Why are you here?” The question comes out as hard and betrayed as their continued abandonment has made my heart.
Both of my brothers look at me, eyes wide, confused.
“Charlie called me,” Dash says. “And I called Leo. We thought the two of us could get you out, hopefully without bloodshed.” My little brother uses a pointed tone as he stares down at the gun Leo definitely doesn’t legally own.
I’m still comprehending the fact that I’m not alone when the creak of a step on the old wood of the front porch announces another arrival.
“Leo? Prince?” My mother comes out the front door, which hangs off one hinge after their forceful entrance. But Vivian shows no sign of noticing as she stands with a hand over her heart, her eyes watering. “Oh, boys. I’m so happy you came by. But things are tense right now. Maybe—”
“Tense? You think?”
My mother’s face slackens in shock at the biting tone from an unexpected source.
Leo.
The golden boy.
The beloved son who’s now stepping toward her with a smoldering expression of menace.
“Dad took Luna, didn’t he?” My twin stares over her shoulder.
“He was upset.” Vivian can’t seem to decide between a glare and a pout. “But I called your Uncle Mike. Things would’ve gotten sorted out just fine. If your sister had waited instead of flying off the handle.”
I bark out a laugh. “Of course. How silly of me to be a little pissy about getting abducted and threatened. Should’ve sat like a good little girl duct taped in a locked room.”
“What the hell?” Dash wraps an arm around my shoulder.
“Damn it, Mom!” Leo’s shouting now. “Why didn’t you just let her out?”
“Your father—”
“Is the piece of shit you always chose over us! Fuck that! Fuck this!” Leo turns his back on her and stalks past us to his Mustang, which I didn’t realize was sitting halfway up the curb. “I’m done. He comes near Luna or me or Dash, I’ll fucking kill him. You tell him that.”
Wow. Death threats from two of his kids in one day. Dash should toss one in too just so we can hit the worst-dad-in-the-world trifecta.
“Leo,” my mother whimpers his name, readying the waterworks. Maybe the tears are real, but I have trouble believing any emotion from her other than the mysterious disdain she’s always shown me.
He ignores her. “Come on. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
Dash guides me to the car. Like I’m fragile or something.
Despite the bump on the back of my head, I’m physically sound.
Emotionally though, I’m working through some shit.
Only when I’m strapped into the passenger seat can I let my mind sift through the roiling contents of my new realizations.
My brothers showed up for me today, and the support—though unnecessary, because I got my own ass out of that disastor—feels great.
The high is temporary though. This one attempted rescue doesn’t fix the twisted mess of our past.
But it does help me realize something important.
I never expect Charlie to show up.
And he always does.
He’s been there for me more times in these past few months than my family has in thirty years.
Even my grandmother let me down. Not by dying—no way I could blame her for having cancer—but by hiding her decline from me. Not warning me our time was limited.
What I crave more than anything is someone I can rely on. But I can’t seem to let myself believe that type of person exists. Or that they would want to be with me.
But Charlie shows up.
Charlie has only ever given his full self to me. And I know if he says he wants to stay, he will. I just worry he’ll say he won’t. Because no one else has.
Glancing over at my older brother, I consider people’s ability to change. Our relationship has never been a fair exchange. I give more than he does.
He showed up for me today, though, which tells me he can do it again. Maybe we’ll never be a balanced equation. So be it. I still want to buy his freedom.
But I can’t spend an entire year pretending I’m not wildly in love with my husband.
Charlie needs to hear my truth.
The car’s momentum slows, and I realize we’ve pulled into the driveway of a house. A very large house. Bigger than anyone in my family could afford.
“Where are we?” I glance between Leo and Dash.
My younger brother answers.
“The Kellers’.”