What the hell?
“What are you-”
“What are you doing here, Devi?” he asked, and his tone actually hurt my feelings a little bit. We’ve always been close, and it was rare that Keith was rude to me.
“I came to check on you, asshole,” I snapped. “You weren’t returning my calls. And…why is it so dark in here.” I walked over to the light switch on the wall.
“Devi, no-”
Too late.
I flipped the switch and when I turned to face my brother, I couldn’t stop the shocked gasp that flew from my lips. “Oh, God.”
“Devi-”
I rushed forward. “Keith, my God, what happened to you?”
“Devi-”
I grabbed him by his arm and led him to the couch. “Let’s sit down,” I rushed out. “You should be resting.” Luckily, he let me lead him to the couch without argument. Once he was seated, I walked over to get him some water. I wasn’t sure if he needed it, but I was freaking out.
He looked horrible.
Taking a seat next to him on the couch, I asked again. “What happened, Keith?”
Being as close as we were, I knew my brother was debating lying to me. I could see it in his sky-blue eyes, even if they were both swollen to hell. The rest of him looked like shit, too. From what I could see of the visible skin not covered by clothing, Keith was black, blue, purple, and yellow everywhere.
After a few strained seconds, he chose honesty. “I got caught up in a bit of a mess.”
“Don’t,” I bit out. “Don’t sugarcoat this, or downplay what you’re involved in, Keith.” My eyes raked over his person. “You can barely move, and the bruises speak for themselves.”
“Devi-”
“Don’t bullshit me, Keith,” I snapped. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“I owe some money,” he finally admitted, and the tone of his voice was unlike I’ve ever heard before.
My stomach tightened at his words, and I had so many questions, but those accusatory questions wouldn’t do anyone any good. Keith was a grown man who knew better, so berating him for how he found himself in this situation was futile. Besides, we’ve been here before. Keith had a horrible habit of not trusting happiness, and when things were going well for him, he sabotaged himself by falling back into his old crutch mechanisms. And while I understood it, it still wasn’t excusable.
And, goddamn, how I wanted to yell at him.
“How much, Keith?” His head dropped back, his eyes closed, and he let out a sigh so regretful, I felt it where I sat. “Keith?”
Looking back at me, he shook my entire soul when he answered, “Thirty-thousand, Devi.”
My hands started to shake, and I couldn’t seem to fill my lungs with enough air to function. I felt frozen, but jittery. I felt shock, but extreme awareness.
Thirty-thousand dollars.
It took a couple of swallows to work up enough saliva to speak, but I finally managed it. “By when?”
“Three weeks.”
“Who?”
Keith let out another sigh, and the wince that accompanied the movement only confirmed how bad this was. “Alvin Fischer.”
I stared at my brother. I stared at the only family I had left in the world since we didn’t count Uncle Terrance as family anymore. I stared at the man who has always been there for me, always a part of my life. For all his fuck-ups, Keith’s always held me when I needed it, and he’s never left me alone.
