“Who is Angel to you?” I demanded, my voice hoarse as if I’d been screaming for hours.
“What?”
“Who. Is. Angel. To. You?” I shouted.
“He’s my brother,” she admitted as she bit her bottom lip and stared at me with worry. “You’re not going to tell him, are you?”
“Oh my fucking God. I’m a dead man. You—I—I saw. Oh shit,” I stammered as I shook my head over and over.
She stood and reached for me beseechingly.
“No!” I shouted. “Don’t touch me!”
I watched as worry morphed to hurt on her beautiful face, and I hated myself.
“Holy shit. I saw what happened to Angel as a boy. Fuck, Jay, I can’t touch you. You are so off-limits, it’s not even funny. And now I know… oh shit… Angel….” My stomach churned as bile hovered in my throat at what I’d seen.
“What do you know, Nico?” she whispered as her eyes widened and her face went ashen.
“Too much,” I admitted.
“Oh my God. You can never tell him,” she begged before she quickly straightened her clothes. “Promise me you won’t breathe a word of it.”
I nodded. No one needed to know what I’d seen.
She winced as she moved toward the door. I wanted to reach for her. I wanted to ask her if she was okay. I wanted to comfort her. I wanted to hold on to her and never let go.
But my reality was, I let her walk away.