The Next Morning
As I wait for her flight to arrive, I call Xander to let him know about my parents. He’s heartbroken as I knew he would be. He’s known my parents for a long time and is closer to them than I think I have ever been.
After I’ve notified everyone there is to inform, I head out to my car to go to the airport to pick up my baby sister. It’s a thirty-five-minute drive and the traffic is surprisingly light. I pull up to the curb to get her and she’s standing outside with a man that can only be described as a pillar of stone. She didn’t mention a boyfriend, but I already don’t like this guy whoever the hell he is.
I get out and open the back of my vehicle for her suitcases, four. She does not travel light. Elle runs up and throws her arms around me the same way she did when she was a little girl. “LIAM!”
I whisper to her, “Who is the guy that looks like he wants to kill me?”
She giggles, “That’s Max, he’s my security guy. He always looks like that.”
I kiss her on the forehead and then release her so I can put her suitcases in the car. She gets in the passenger seat while Stony Max climbs in the back. This man is so huge that he has to sit, slanted to even fit in the car. Where did she find this fucking gorilla?
As we drive, I try to make small talk, “How was the flight?”
“Fine.”
Again, she starts to cry, “Is he going to jail?”
“He was arrested but hasn’t been charged yet.”
She sniffles, “I’m talking about Nash.”
I sigh, I know this is hard for her. I hated even telling her about what happened. Nash is really more like a brother to her; they grew up together. My parents who thought they could never have kids adopted me and my brother after trying for five years. Twenty years later in the middle of peri-menopause Elle surprised everyone. Nash was three when she was born, and he instantly loved her.
“Yeah, he’s going to jail. Well prison probably. He kidnapped and attempted to rape a woman.”
“Yourwoman,” she states.
I grip the steering wheel tight, “At the time.”
She gapes at me, “What?”
I blink back the tears threatening to fall, “She ended things after Nash…”
I can’t even finish the sentence. A month later and it’s still so painful and I can only imagine how terrible it has been for Mercy. Then I remind myself that I’m the only one suffering. She seems fine, on social media anyway.
“Oh Liam,” she says while tenderly touching my knee, “I’m sorry.”
I take a deep breath, “It’s fine, but I prefer not to talk about it.”
“Maybe she needs time after going through a traumatic experience like that.”
“Elle.”
“Right, you don’t want to talk about it but maybe you need to.”
As I pull into the driveway, I glance over at my beautiful sister, “I’m glad you’re here. I missed you.”
She smiles a huge grin, “I missed you too, Li-Li.”
“Don’t start that.”
When she was little, she couldn’t pronounce my name, so she called me Li Li. It was cute then, but it is not cute now.
I grab two of her suitcases while Max grabs the other two, and we walk into the house, and I show Max to her room.
“You can take any of the other guest rooms. Wherever you’re comfortable,” I tell Max, “Except the princess one. It’s reserved.”