Stepbrother Broken (The Hawthorne Brothers Book 2) (22 page)

“
I can,
”
Anna spits,
“
As far as I
’
m concerned, this is pretty
in-character for good ol
’
Robin.
”

“
Do you think she
’
ll really stay here with John?
”
Maddie asks us both plaintively,
“
Maybe she
’
s just bluffing.
”

“
Now she
’
ll stay, just to spite us,
”
I say bitterly.
“
Where do you think you got your
competitive streak from, Maddie? We
’
ve
dare
d to challenge
her. Now we
’
re the ones who are going to pay.
”

A
sudden thought occurs to me in my desperate despair, and I put words to it
before I can think.

“
Fuck her
,
”
I
snap,
“
If she cares that little about us,
why don
’
t we just follow her lead? What if
we just took a stand and cut her out of our lives, right now? If the three of
us broke off from her, think of how much happier
—”

“
If any of us could stand to abandon
her completely, we would have already,
”
Maddie cuts in,
“
No matter how badly she hurts us, she
’
s still family. That
’
s not something you can ever
forget.
”

My
heart sinks as I realize that she
’
s right. Family isn
’
t something you can wash away, no matter how many
tears you shed over the ways it disappoints you. I almost have to laugh at the
irony of it all. Your family is supposed to be made up of the people who care
about you the most. But now, I
’
m being kept from the person I care
about most,
because
of my family.

Not
exactly
“
ha ha
”
funny,
is it?

My
ears prick up at the sound of a car engine approaching the lake house. The men
must be back from their job. I look up toward the driveway and spot the family
pickup lumbering our way. Cash drives while John rides shotgun, the truck
loaded down with wooden planks and slabs of concrete. And there, sitting in the
truck bed with his little brother, is Luke.

The
sight of him sends a punishing blow of despair straight into my solar plexus.
Suddenly, there
’
s no denying the reality of my mom
’
s decision to stay here with John. No getting around
this obstacle that
’
s sprung up in my path. I know that
I should stay here, tell Luke the news myself
…
but
I can
’
t bear to watch the happiness go
out of his eyes when he realizes that we
’
re through.

Hating
myself for it, I turn away from him. I dash away through the front door at the
same moment that Anna runs off down the front stairs. My bare feet carry me
through the cavernous house, out through the patio door, and down toward the
lake
’
s edge. I sprint out onto the dock,
tears blurring my vision. After just a few furious paces, I feel my feet fly
out from under me as I hit a slick patch on the wooden planks. I pitch forward,
my hands shooting out in front of me to break my fall.

Sharp
pain shoots up through my arms as I land hard, my wrists taking the full force
of my impact with the dock. Rolling onto my back, I hiss out my pain through
gritted teeth as the clear night sky careens overhead. Only now, as I lay here
leveled, do I let the full weight of my despair roll over me. Deep, wrenching
sobs rip out of my throat, carrying out across the still water of the lake.
Laying here, alone between the water and the sky, I feel smaller than I ever
have in my life. Just when I thought the universe was on my side, I find myself
out of its good graces once more.

My
voice catches in my throat as the sharp sound of screaming shatters the night
air. I pull myself to sitting on the slippery dock, cradling my aching left
wrist to my chest. Raised male voices ring out from the front of the house. At
first, it
’
s only John and Cash that are yelling
out there like madmen. But then I hear Luke
’
s
voice as well, raised in outrage. I
’
ve never heard him like this,
before. Not even that night at The Bear Trap, when he stopped me and Danny from
getting attacked. The ire comes through loud and clear in Luke
’
s every shouted syllable, but there
’
s something deeper rumbling beneath his anger.

It
’
s pain.

The
shouting voices give way to sounds of fierce struggle, and icy panic floods my
body. Luke
’
s told me about how his father used
to hit him and his brothers when they were small. I had no idea that threat of
violence still existed. I would expect a man who hits children to be too
cowardly to fight with anyone his own size. But as the men
’
s screaming reaches a fever pitch, there can be no
doubt of what
’
s unfolding out there in the dark.

Before
I can form a single rational thought, I scramble to my feet and start sprinting
for the house. My wrist throbs painfully with every step I take, but I couldn
’
t stop now if I tried. The hurt in his voice matches
my own pain. Our sorrow is vibrating on the same frequency, and his draws me to
him now. I fly across the grassy lawn, no plan in mind to stop the men from
beating each other into the ground
…

But
it looks like I won
’
t need one.

I
skid to a stop as Luke storms around the side of the house. He
’
s unhurt, as far as I can see. And thank god for that.
His shoulders are drawn up, his hands balled into furious fists. His strong,
square jaw is set like concrete, and his mouth in a straight, grave line. But
it
’
s his eyes that do me in
—
his pained, furious, perfect green eyes. The same eyes
that have seen to the very core of me, in whose gaze I
’
ve found deeper understanding than I could have ever
hoped possible, are alight with anguish. And the second they land on me, a
fresh wave of tears washes over me.

Luke
catches me up in his arms as I run to him, burying my face in his chest as I
weep. He holds me tightly to him, bracing me as I shake with sobs. We don
’
t need to ask the other what
’
s happened, the shared source of our despair is
perfectly clear. Our parents have decided to advance their relationship, which
means a future between me and Luke is impossible. Even the rest of the summer,
which we were supposed to spend together at Sheridan, has been ripped away from
us.

“
It
’
s
not fair,
”
I whisper fiercely, looking up at
Luke.

“
No,
”
he
growls, wiping the tears from my face with his thumbs,
“
No it
’
s fucking not.
”

“
What are we going to do?
”
I breathe, clutching my throbbing wrist,
“
Luke
—”

“
What happened?
”
he demands, gently taking hold of my left arm.

“
It
’
s
stupid,
”
I mutter, shaking my head,
“
I was upset, and I lost my footing
—”

“
It
’
s
swollen,
”
he says through gritted teeth,
“
Probably sprained.
”

“
Don
’
t
worry about me,
”
I say,
“
What about you? Are you OK? I heard
—”

“
We need to set this,
”
he cuts me off, leading me back around the house to
the garage.
“
I
’
m
sure I have a splint from one of my sports injuries upstairs.
”

He
won
’
t let me ask about the fight, that
much is clear. Dazed, I give in and follow him to the garage. His car is parked
there, and I steady myself against the trunk as we reach it.

“
Wait here,
”
Luke tells me, planting a kiss on the top of my head,
“
I
’
ll be right back.
”

I
nod silently, and Luke disappears into the house. For a moment, all is silent
again. But just as I start to take a breath, I hear the shriek of tires peeling
out of the driveway. Rushing forward, I catch a glimpse of the family pickup
charging away at top speed. And standing there, watching it go, is my sister.
Maddie. Her body is rooted to the ground, still as stone. She looks as gutted
as I feel. I take a step toward her, hoping to offer what comfort I can, but
she turns and bolts into the house just as Luke reappears in the garage
doorway.

“
Here,
”
he
says, holding up a small sling,
“
I must have been fourteen when I
needed this, so it should fit you fine.
”

“
Ha, ha,
”
I smile tremblingly, as Luke helps me work my arm into
the brace,
“
Good to know your sense of humor is
still intact. I have a feeling we
’
ll be needing it.
”

But
he doesn
’
t respond as he ministers to my
injury. Each minute of silence that unfolds between us feels like another brick
in the wall that
’
s rising up to separate us. Just as
I muster up the courage to speak, the sound of a slamming car door jerks my
attention away. I turn to see Maddie hoisting her heavy suitcase into her
secondhand car and hurrying into the driver
’
s
seat. She takes off like a shot down the driveway. And I know for certain that
she
’
s not coming back.

“
This whole thing is falling to
pieces,
”
I breathe.

“
That
’
s
for damn sure,
”
Luke replies, helping me to
standing. Once he sees that I
’
m stable, he goes back to the
garage door and grabs something else from inside.

It
’
s my suitcase. And another that must be his.

“
What are you doing with those?
”
I ask softly.

“
We
’
re
leaving, Sophie,
”
he tells me,
“
I
’
m getting you out of here.
”

“
We can
’
t just leave
…
Can we?
”
I breathe, as Luke walks around me and heaves our bags
into the trunk of his car.
“
Nothing
’
s been solved, here.
”

“
And nothing ever will be,
”
Luke says heatedly, slamming the trunk,
“
What just happened with my dad? That
’
s not news, Sophie. That
’
s
been my entire life. And now this thing with your mom? And what it means for us
…
? Fuck it. I
’
m done.
”

“
Maybe we should just think this
over. For a second,
”
I offer quietly.

“
Look at your arm, Sophie,
”
Luke growls back,
“
You
got hurt, because of this. Because of
them
. I don
’
t trust my dad enough to keep you in this house with
him. We
’
re going back to Sheridan tonight.
It
’
s safer there, believe me.
”