Brody (21 page)

“Okay. Okay,” he said, bringing me into his chest, his hands, his body calming me down. His warm breath went down the strands of my hair, his fingers threading through. “What do you want to do then?”

One thing was for certain, I didn’t want him to go inside. I didn’t want him, his heart, to take the risk, but if my sister was in there… If
he
left her for dead after doing something to her…

I swallowed, asking Brody to circle the block instead. He asked me what we were looking for, but only I knew. I looked for any signs of him, a body, a car. He used to drive this old white Corolla, as the lot was empty of any vehicle at all, I had no idea if not spotting it was a good thing or a bad thing.

“We can just take a look,” Brody whispered to me. We’d long since stopped, back in the parking lot. “Just let me take a look, Alexa.”

Holding my arms, a shudder broke through me. That’s the last thing I wanted. That’s the last damn thing. His hand came to settle on my shoulder.

“I’ll come right back if I hear anything,” he assured me. “Anything at all.”

Brown eyes flashed before me, young ones that always looked for me and ears that always listened though miles away from him. If Aiden was in there, I needed to know.

So sick, I nodded and not a moment later, a door clicked open, Brody’s truck door ajar.

I can’t let him do this.

I was out of the truck before I could think, but Brody, he was bigger. He was faster. He got me in his arms, bracing mine.

“No,” was all he said. “No.”

But he couldn’t stop me. He’d have to restrain me to do so and that’s something Brody Chandler would never do.

“If we’re just coming back,” I told him. “Then I’m going, too.”

He stared at me, long and hard, and for just a moment, I believed he might actually try to hold me back. Instead, he kissed my forehead, telling me to wait a second while he closed the truck door, the open vehicle still dinging in the air. Standing there, I let him, choosing to stare up at the apartment while I waited. For some reason, I believed doing that would tell me something. Brody took a minute and I turned, watching him straightening his shirt over his jeans while he made strides back to me. His arm came around my waist and then we went.

We took the stairs with caution, Brody’s arm around me the whole way. We got to the third level, to my sister’s door, and everything really did look on the up and up. That’s when Brody’s arm left me, his hand poising to knock, but I waved him not to.

Allowing myself to breathe, I pulled my sparkly bag around my front and took out the key designated for emergencies. I had it made from the one she forced me to give back after our falling out. I went to put it in the lock, but Brody touched my hand.

“We shouldn’t,” he said, but I felt like I had to.

“We leave if we hear something,” I told him, trying to keep the shake out of my voice. But I was scared, scared of so many things.

His long fingers looped in mine. He kissed the back of my hand. “You let me go first.”

God…

Taking my key, he pushed it in himself, so quiet despite being so big. He slipped inside, the crack in the door giving me my own vantage point after he did. The living room clear, even the TV was off. She always had the TV on and music. She often played it while she cooked.

Brody told me to let him go, but I couldn’t help letting my fingers push the door open wider and eventually, I stepped in, too. He’d gone somewhere, Brody, into another room and I somehow lost him.

My heartbeat whispering his name with my steps. He didn’t answer and I felt like vomiting.

“Brody,” I shuddered out. “Brody, where are you?”

Nothing.

My eyes blinking, coating, I forced bravery in my steps. I didn’t hear him, but was trying to be so quiet because that had been the original plan.

I maneuvered around furniture, items of Elena’s history and mine. She got everything when I left. I couldn’t take anything with me and memories surfaced at an old blanket on the window. Mom had made that in the rare times when she had been sober. She used to read us stories underneath it, but now? Elena was using it as a window cover, something to block out the sun.

Closing my eyes, my steps took me away from that. I traveled wayward and I didn’t know where I was going, but then I came across a room, one with plastic stars on the ceiling and army men on the bed.

Aiden’s room was empty, vacant like the rest of the apartment I’d seen, and that would have made sense. But one thing in the room made the vacancy more than confusing.

I picked up the action figure, life-sized with boxing gloves on, and the room tilted. I sank to the bed with it, feeling it as if it were still warm.

“Alex?” came my name followed by a deep breath. “Thank God.”

I looked up to see Brody coming to me, his hand on my arm before dropping to his knees. “I asked you to wait,” he said, his voice terse, frustrated. “You didn’t see anything did you? The rest of the apartment is clear, but…”

The tears came in a wave I didn’t expect and as I attempted to pull in breaths, I discovered quickly the feat wasn’t easy. Hyperventilating, my shoulders shook and Brody’s hands came down on them. He guided me forward, making me put my face between my knees and I cradled Aiden’s doll. I cradled it so hard.

“Hey,” he soothed, his hand moving circles over my back. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll find them.”

But what if it was too late? What if we found them too late? I rose up with the doll, the tears flooding more as I put a hand over my mouth.

“He never goes anywhere without this,” the words came out choked. “Brody, something bad happened.”

His face looked pained, pained for me. He squeezed my shoulder. “We will figure this out. We won’t stop looking until we find—”

A noise made him pull me to him, noise coming directly ahead us.

The shuffle in the closet sounded again, but this time, I had to listen for it and when I did, a near-muted sniff hit the air.

I dropped the doll, rising up.

“Alex, wait.” Brody’s hand came into mine, but I let go. I had a feeling I needed to for a second.

I reached for the brass handle, but Brody got it first, shielding me with his big body. But he didn’t need to. He didn’t. I just had a feeling and that feeling proved to be something worth holding stake in at the sight of a little boy; a boy with coarse hair and brown skin. He lifted his head, it buried within the confines of his arms gripped around his legs. He did so cautiously and when he saw me behind watery brown eyes, the tear soaked cheeks pairing with them, my nine-year-old nephew lowered his knees. A large wet spot revealed damp pants and the puddle on the hardwood floor around him. His fear made my heart ache.

I tried to be strong. I did, but tears fell and I was unable to stop them. I fell to the floor and he met me halfway, shaking in my arms. I couldn’t even ask him what happened, where
he
was, because I couldn’t form coherent words. The only thing I could do was quiet him, soothingly rubbing his back and telling him things I wasn’t sure of. I didn’t know if everything would be okay, if he’d be okay.

I didn’t know what he’d seen.

Steps sounded lightly, coming up on my side; Brody. His form blasted a fear in my nephew’s eyes and he cowered, crawling into my lap like when he was younger.

I touched his cheek. “This is my friend Brody,” I said, giving Aiden my best reassuring smile. “I heard you guys have been talking.”

His brown eyes gazed up to him and his arms loosen from around my neck.

Brody smiled at him then, waving slightly and my heart eased when Aiden lifted his hand and did the same. I squeezed his arm. “Brody’s here to help,” I paused, staring up at him, and he nodded, confirming with a smile.

It started slow, but Aiden managed to smile at him. “Thank you,” he whispered, and Brody lowered his chin to him again.

With shaking legs, Aiden started to stand and I helped, telling him we needed to get him changed. Brody left the room without being told, letting us, and while I found some fresh underwear and pants, I went for a cautious question.

“Aiden, you called us,” I started, slipping his arm into a new shirt, too. He’d sweated this one out. The portable phone still sat in the bottom of the closest, confirming the call, and Aiden breathed, gasping. His body shook again like he was cold.

“He hurt mom,” he whispered, dipping his head. Tears filled his eyes once more. “He twisted her arm and told me to leave the room. I didn’t want to, but Mama told me…”

“Where is she, sweetie?” I asked, chilled. I didn’t know if I was strong enough to know, but awareness that my sister never left her son unattended made me.

A small hand came up to his eyes, wiping the tears away. He opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn’t, shaking his hand.

I covered his head. “It’s okay. It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.” Pausing, I swallowed. Gazing around the room, I spotted his overnight bag. “Let’s get you a bag. I think we should leave for a little bit.”

Barely a second passed before Brody came into the room after I called him. I was slipping the last of Aiden’s clothes into his bag. Aiden had stopped crying at this point, but I was quite sure that took everything he had. I passed a glance over my shoulder, to Brody. “He doesn’t know where his mom is.”

“What do you want to do?” he asked me.

I grabbed Aiden’s bag standing. “Get out of here. I don’t want to run into him. We’ll call the police when we get on the road.”

The tears started again, dripping down to my nephew’s fresh t-shirt. “They’ll find Mama?”

The last thing I wanted to do was lie to Aiden or give him false hope, but at this point, I had to do anything to get some of that fear out of his eyes. I touched his cheek. “They’ll handle everything. Don’t worry.”

Brody took Aiden’s bag. I got my nephew’s hand, heading toward the door of the apartment, but he jerked me back and I nearly lost it.  I faced him. “Aiden—”

“Joe!” he called, tugging at my hand again. “I left him. We have to go get him.”

I didn’t want to spend another moment here, but anything I could do to make the transition leaving better for my nephew, I would do it. I turned to tell Brody we were going back. There was no way I was letting Aiden go by himself, but Brody was already leaving my side.

He set the bag down. “The action figure, right?”

God, why was he so perfect? I nodded, watching him leave behind us. Bringing Aiden close to me, I lowered. “He’s going to get it. He’ll be right back—”

Something spilled. Liquid hitting tiles. It came from the kitchen ahead and wet steps had every hair on my neck standing on end.

My legs froze. They froze in place and I couldn’t make them move.

“Aunt Alex,” Aiden whisper shouted, tugging at my hand.

Move. Move.

Gripping Aiden’s hand, I pivoted, but the sight of something familiar caused me to stop. I stopped because I knew her. I knew that messy brown bun and the matching freckles that dusted that light complexion of her cheeks.

Elena had a mop in her hand when she came into the door frame. Sighing, she moved the mop over the floor, soaking up whatever she spilled, but she only did so with one arm. The other she nursed, cringing like she’d been hurt.

“Mama!” rang beside me, and she looked up. She sniffed up, rubbing her nose, but I saw no tears in her eyes, no. She hadn’t been crying at all. It was a different sniff and she wiped her nose, squinting at him like at first she didn’t know him. But then something clicked. It must have because that’s when she dropped the mop.

“Aiden,” she said, her eyes wide, and he tugged to be let go. He tugged, but I only let him get as far as the length of his arm. He stepped back and that’s when my appearance suddenly became known to my sister. I knew because her eyes narrowed and my name left low sounding from her lips.

“Alex?”

My name came from behind me, Brody. His hands settled on my shoulders, but didn’t tug me away. He only stood there, supporting, and my sister couldn’t have looked more confused, shaking her head.

“What’s all this?” she asked, and the question could almost come across as accusatory. Like
I’d
been the one to do something wrong by coming here.

I brought Aiden closer. “He called me,” I responded simply back. I jutted my chin toward her arm. “What’s all that? What’s up with your arm?”

Her hand moved back to it hanging limply at her side. She squeezed it before sniffing again and I recognized the action this time along with the hazy look of her eyes. She was high, a way I’d seen her too many times to count.

My next question was laced with something too, anger. “Where is he?” I asked, because now what was going on became clear. He did this and he couldn’t be far.

Her face clouded with her own anger. “Balcony,” she said. “We had to. Someone called the cops.”

The balcony.

Brody must have missed checking there and it was my sister’s words that drove even more fear. Even now, she was standing by him. Even now after all this time and yet another injury. The difference now, I didn’t have time for them. I had to act, quickly.

Brody’s hand slid down into mine. “We need go, Alex.” We were always so in sync.

Dipping down, I grabbed Aiden’s bag. Standing, I went to turn, but Brody squeezed my arm. His eyes narrowed and he couldn’t have looked more confused. He tipped his chin in my sister’s direction. “What about…?” he said, glancing at Elena before back at me.

I didn’t say a word. I didn’t because I had nothing to say about Elena. There was nothing more because I recognized the same ignorance in her eyes, the same refusal to think about anyone but herself and I wouldn’t fight with her. I had no energy for it this time.

Brody stood there during my silence, his head tilted. “She’s not coming with us, is she?” he asked, and something flashed over his eyes after that. It was something that had me uneasy, something that flipped my stomach in a million ways over. No, Elena wasn’t coming with us, and in my heart, I knew she wouldn’t even before I stepped into this apartment.