Chapter 53: Family Squabbles

I sighed and gently shook my arms. Lenore and Ashley let go as I stepped through the doorway. "Dad is currently in Europe. He was travelling, but his companion got in trouble. If all goes well he'll be back sometime this summer."

My brother strode into the hallway. He stood out of the light, but I could see that he had lost a lot of weight. He also kept his right hand hidden from me as he looked at me.

"Summer? And I guess you don't live here anymore," my brother said. "Although it looks like you aren't missing meals. Why is there no food in the house?"

"Because I'm never here for meals," I pointed out.

Mike looked over my shoulder. "You aren't alone? Who's with you? If it's the cops..."

"I didn't even know you were back," I said acidly. "Last I heard you were on the run after you killed some cop's wife with your phony drugs."

"I didn't do that!" Mike shouted. "I wasn't even in the clubhouse when she came by. I was off picking up a delivery of some crank."

"You were part of the gang," I pointed out. "And from what I heard, you were one of the people pushing that drug. And you had to know it didn't work."

"Who cared, people paid," Mike said scornfully. "They knew that there was no way around the tests, but they came to us searching for anything that would improve their score."

My brother was looking over my shoulder. Ashley had come forward. She put her hand on my shoulder and leaned in. "He'll be a problem," she whispered.

"What the fuck!" Mike exclaimed. "Dude, isn't that bitch the older sister of that butt fucker you always hang with? What is she doing with a loser like you?"

"We stopped by to check on the house and to pick up a jacket for Matti," I replied.

"Matti? Who the fuck is Matti? Wait! You mean our brat of a sister? Matilda? When did people start calling her Matti?" Mike spat out.

"I started before you left; you just didn't notice," I said calmly as I walked a bit further into the house. I heard Lenore follow Ashley and me. The front door closed, and I stared at my older brother.

Mike clearly had been living on the edge for a while. His hair was greasy and had several gray locks. He had it pulled back into a ponytail to try to hide the length. His formerly heavily muscled frame looked shrunken, and the old t-shirt he wore hung like a dress on his frame. I noticed a teardrop tattoo under his left eye.

Lenore hissed as she put a hand on my free shoulder. "What?" I asked.

"The tattoo either means that man killed someone, or that he's someone's bitch," Lenore replied coldly. "Either way, he's not a nice person."

Mike's head snapped around, and he glared over my shoulder. "Who the fuck are you to say anything about me? You want some of this bitch? I've beat bigger men. Why don't you get down on your knees and suck my cock."

I put a hand up. "Not happening. Why don't you crawl back to whatever city you were hiding in?"

"I told you the investigation isn't after me anymore, and I need a place to stay. Now why don't you call Dad?"

"No cell service where he is," I replied with a shrug.

"Where the fuck is he anyways? And what about Mom?" Mike snapped.

"Mom was picked up long ago. I thought you were aware of that much. But I guess you are the type of salesman who uses the products you sell. Not a good idea in your line of work," I replied.

"Dad?" Mike asked again.

"I already said he's in Europe somewhere. He was travelling with that union organizer they brought out for the rally. I don't know the whole story, but he is stuck over there for now. He's trying to return with some band. I helped get that started," I said.

"When will that happen?" Mike asked.

"Honestly, I haven't asked. The band plays some weird choral rock style that I've never heard before, so I haven't paid attention. I guess Dad is supposed to be one of the chorus singers, and that's how they'll get him onto the plane," I said.

"And how have you survived? And where is our sister?" Mike demanded.

"Dude, I survived. The house is intact and until you showed up it was clean. Matti is fine except for wanting to be fourteen so she can test," I said.

"She'll never get a good score ... Wait! What the fuck are you doing with two babes? I thought your score was no better than mine!" Mike turned around and both of his hands clenched.

Ashley and Lenore backed away as I dropped into a fighting crouch.

"I never said that," I pointed out. "All I said was that my score was disappointing."

"How disappointing could it be if you have two sluts hanging around you?" Mike said as he began moving forward. His hands were raised to chin height as he approached.

"They aren't sluts," I said dangerously as my brother continued to slowly advance.

"They will be when I'm done," Mike said. "They'll never want you again, and they'll happily go out and fuck any man I tell them to."

My brother stepped forward and launched a slow right hook at my head. I slid to the right and raised my left arm. I caught his forearm on the back of my wrist. Mike roared in anger as I pushed the punch away from my head.

My maneuver left me standing close to my brother, but I realized that he was leaning forward slightly due to his wild punch. I grabbed his right hand with my left and then spun forward, using my right foot to kick at his right ankle as I crouched just a little and pulled on his arm.

Mike tumbled over my back with a cry of anger and confusion. He landed on his back as Ashley and Lenore moved into the living room.

"Run upstairs and find Matti's jacket, it should be in her closet," I commanded them.

"Which room?" Ashley asked as Mike tried to use a kip move to get back to his feet. The hold I had on his right hand twisted his arm behind his head, but he had enough power to break my grip.

"Upstairs, go right and then its on the left. The right is Mike's bedroom. Matti had the corner room," I said as Mike turned and crouched again.