I woke startled and sat up in my bed. Still in a daze from my previous deep sleep, I got my bearings. The alarm clock showed 1:10 am and the room was as dark as expected. Then, the doorbell rang, and I knew what caused me to wake.

“Fuck!” I muttered as I threw on a robe and slipped on my slippers.

The bell rang again as I groggily walked downstairs.

“I’m coming,” I shouted, angry from the intrusion.

I opened the door without looking through the peephole and was shocked to see my old friend Jack standing in the rain.

“Jack?”

“Hey, Blaine.”

Yeah, my mom was a fan of Pretty in Pink.

“Come in. What the hell are you doing here?”

Jack Renwick was my oldest friend. We were inseparable as kids, all the way through school and up until I abruptly left my parents’ home six years ago.

“Blaine, you know I wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t an emergency.”

“Hang on. Let me get you a towel. Help yourself to some coffee in the kitchen. I’ve got a Keurig.”

I left to get the dripping police officer a towel to stop the water from wetting my floors.

Jack was a cop back in my hometown. He always wanted to be one like his father before him and made it. I wondered what the emergency was that brought him to my door in uniform. I wondered if something happened to my father or brother, but I’m sure that could’ve been handled with a phone call as opposed to a two-hour drive in a storm. He knew I wouldn’t give a shit if they were in an accident or died.

I tossed him the plush towel and sat on the couch.

“Well? What’s up, bud?”

“Steff is in jail.”

I told you my mom liked Pretty In Pink.

I laughed, “You came all this way to tell me my asshole brother is in jail? Fuck him. Let him rot and get raped by bubba.”

I couldn’t believe it. He came to tell me my brother was I jail, like I cared. My asshole brother, who stole the only woman I ever loved, just because he could. It still enraged me. It was why I left. My parents sided with him as usual.

Jack frowned and took a deep breath.

“He’s not why I’m here.”

My head spun and my eyes flew to my front door. He wouldn’t...

I looked back at him, and he answered my unspoken question.

“We got a 911 call from their neighbor. When we showed up, Kennedy ran out of the house carrying her child. Steff followed her out, screaming the entire way. When he saw us, he took off. Obviously, we eventually got him and took him into custody.”

“And Kennedy?”

“He beat her, Blaine.”

I winced.

“She’s okay. Just a swollen eye and a broken arm.”

“Jesus.” My brother was a piece of shit bully to me, but I never imagined he would hurt Kennedy. “The kid?”

“Little Bella hid under her bed during the fight. She’s okay.”

I nodded and looked at my door again.

“You brought them here, didn’t you?” I asked.

“You know she doesn’t have any family, bud. She refused to go to your dad’s house and was too afraid to go back to her house. We didn’t get him into custody until I was well on my way here with her.”

I shook my head and my heart pounded. Kennedy was outside my house. After all those years.

“Can I bring her in?” He asked with a surprising amount of trepidation.

I sighed, “Yeah, let’s bring her in.” I couldn’t believe my past caught up to me. Jack was the only one who knew where I was living. I trusted him with my life, and I knew he wouldn’t let my family know where I was. He didn’t approve of what they did to me either.

I walked to the door with him and watched as he opened the door to his cruiser. Kennedy looked horrible. I wouldn’t have recognized her if I didn’t know it was her. The child she carried in her good arm was small, I guessed she was about three, and was asleep.

The love of my life, my soulmate, walked slowly looking at her feet as Jack led her up to my door.

“Hello, Kennedy. It’s been a while.”

***Six years earlier***

I sat on the top of a picnic table and watched my best friend Kennedy Taylor sadly walk up to me.

“I’m sorry, Blaine. You have no idea how sorry I am.”

I looked at her with tears falling down my cheek.

“What are you sorry for exactly? Telling me that we could never be more than friends, or for me catching you fucking Steff?”

She had the decency to not look at me.

“Steff is just...”

“Yeah, I know. Steff is larger than life. Steff is powerful. Steff is brilliant. Steff is amazing. Blah, blah, blah. You know how he’s treated me all these years. You know how hard it’s been to live in Mr. Perfect’s shadow since I was born. You were my rock. You were my shoulder to cry on. You were...”

“I’m sorry! You don’t understand, I need him. I...”

“All those times I vented to you about my parents not giving a shit about me because when Steff farted it smelled like roses, you were crushing on him. When I kissed you and told you I loved you, and you said we were nothing but friends, you had his cum in your pussy.”

“No! You walked in on our first time together.”

“Did he even take you on a date, or did he just tell you to drop your panties and bend over? Why were you in my house with him anyway? He has his own place.”

She didn’t answer.

“You realize he wanted me to know.” I spat. “He wanted me to walk in after work and find you with him. You’re just a pawn. Another way to show me I’m inferior to him. Well, fuck you too. Fuck you both!” I ran home and hoped he was gone.

When I walked in the door, I was attacked by my mother.

“What did you do to your brother?”

“What did I do? Are you serious?” I shouted. “Why was Steff in your house fucking my best friend?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Seriously? None of my business? He has his own place, mom. Why did he bring her here?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“He did it to rub it in my face. To show me he took the only girl I’ve ever loved.”

“You’re overreacting. If he and Kennedy have a connection, let them be happy.”

“You’re gonna take his side in this? Of course, you are. You’re going to ignore my twenty-four-year-old brother, who hasn’t lived here since he left for college, fucking my friend in your god damned house? What is wrong with you?”

“Watch your mouth, young man. I won’t have you swearing in my home.”

“But Steff can fuck his whores on your couch, right? That’s okay as long as they don’t swear?”

She stared at me waiting for me to back down, but I was done with them all.

“Well, mother. I’ve been waiting until I left for college to say this, but I think the time is better now. Goodbye. I’m done with you. I’m done with you always being disappointed in me for not being Steff. I’m the valedictorian of my God damned graduating class. Did you bother to congratulate me? No.”

She stood, mouth agape, and said nothing. I’m sure she was dying to know what I would say next.

“What was your reaction to my getting a full ride scholarship to the college I’ve wanted to go to since I was a kid? You said, thank God we don’t have to pay for your college.”

Her eyes started swelling as I paced around the living room.

“When Steff burned me while he was playing with a lighter when I was five, I got spanked for horseplay. When Steff held my head under water until I squeezed his balls so tight, he had to let me up for air, I got grounded from using the pool. While Steff went to college, I should’ve had freedom. I should’ve been away from him. But no, you had to gloat about him. The star linebacker that rode the bench most of the season. Your darling.”

“Blaine, we...” she was crying.

“Yeah, we. My fucked-up father too. I wish he was here now, but at least I have the satisfaction of knowing that when he bitched at me this morning because I didn’t dust Steff’s trophy case yesterday, like he asked me to, it was the last time he’ll ever see me. Do you think he would’ve said goodbye and gave me a hearty handshake? Maybe a big hug? No. That would be too much affection to give the scrawny nerd son that didn’t play sports.”

“Blaine, you’re wrong. You’ve got it all wrong.”

“No, Mother. Do you remember that last time you did anything for me? None of the clothes I own were bought by you. The laptop, tablet, and phone I have, I bought. I will be leaving here with one suitcase, in the car I paid for. You bought Steff a Camaro when he turned sixteen and you wouldn’t even let me drive your car to work. I had to buy my own car.”

I shook my head.

“Well, this is goodbye. Fuck you and fuck my father. You will never have to feel disappointed in me again. You’re only forty-three. Maybe you could try again for a son that will be more like Steff.”

“No! Blaine, don’t go!”

I ignored her as she followed me, telling me how wrong I was.

I shut and locked my bedroom door. They probably never noticed I installed a lock on it that needed a key. I packed as much of my clothes as I could in my suitcase and made sure to take my electronics. I planned on never going back there.

I listened at the door and heard her on the phone telling my father he had to come home and stop me from leaving. I laughed as I opened the door and walked past her.

That was the last time I saw her.

***Present Day***

Kennedy looked up at me, her eyes were full of tears, and my heart melted.

“Come in, come in. It’s nasty out there,” I waved them in.

She sniffed back her tears as she walked past me. Jake smiled sadly and asked, “She can stay, Blaine?”

“Yeah, bro. That’s why you brought her to me right?”

He nodded. “Blaine, I have to get back. I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know if it’s safe to get her stuff from the house.”

“Thanks, but I’ll make sure she has whatever she and the kid need up here anyway.”

“Okay. Good to see you, dude.”

“You too, copper. Talk to you soon.”

I gave him a hug and he walked away. I walked back into my house to face my past.

I watched Kennedy set her child down on the couch and cover her with the throw blanket I kept there.

“You can put her in one of my bedrooms.”

She spun around startled.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Come on, I’ll show you to a bedroom she can use.”

I walked upstairs and assumed she would follow. I turned the light on and pulled the blanket down. Kennedy appeared and put Bella under the covers and kissed her cheek. She was in obvious pain, and I felt like an ass for not offering to carry the child for her.

I smiled, “You can sleep here too, or you can use the bedroom next to this one.”

“This is fine, thank you,” she said in the voice I desperately missed hearing.

I nodded and said, “Get some sleep. We can talk in the morning.”

As I closed the door, she whispered, “Thank you.”

***Four years earlier***

I stood in the rain at the freshly covered grave. The attendees were long gone and that’s how I preferred it.

I looked at the temporary grave marker that listed my mother’s name and shivered from the cold. I thought about the two years that passed since I last saw her—when I left her in tears.

What a waste. Dead at forty-five along with her almost two-year-old granddaughter. I looked at the smaller grave two plots over. It was sad, but I couldn’t allow myself to cry. Not a tear would be shed for the mother that didn’t love me, nor for the child that was a result of my brother’s need to show me up.

After I left home, Jack kept me filled in on the happenings in town. Steff impregnated Kennedy and married her out of a misplaced sense of propriety, and based on the timing, it could’ve been the day I walked in on them.

All was well for them until my mother took Steff, Kennedy, and the child to the mall on a winter day, for a family portrait. According to Jack, the semi-truck that side-swiped them off the road never saw them merging onto the expressway. Steff and Kennedy were on the driver’s side. The child and my mother were on the passenger side.

Since the worst damage was done on the passenger side when it rolled down the embankment, Steff and Kennedy were injured but not critically. My mother and the child died before they got to the hospital.

My father, I was told, cried at my brother’s bedside. Who knows who he cried for? Hell, for all I know he was upset that he’d have to make his own dinner and wash his own clothes.

I walked away from the grave, thanking God I had the fortitude not to piss on it. I shook my head at the thought that neither my father nor brother bothered to try to find me to tell me about the accident. I found out from Jack.

***Present Day***

I woke at my normal time and took a shower. I was going to shave but decided against it. I did brush my teeth though.

I was putting my shirt on when I saw Kennedy’s door open. Bella looked out sheepishly and was shocked when she saw me. The door slammed shut and that was that.

I smiled as I walked past the door and down the stairs. She was a cute little girl and the look on her face was priceless. She had no idea where she was or who I was. I figured she’d wake Kennedy and they’d be down soon.

I just finished making coffee when I heard a toilet upstairs flush. I had a few moments left to figure out what I was going to say when I saw her. The love of my life that didn’t love me back. I never imagined I’d see her again, yet there she was walking down my stairs.

“Coffee? I asked as I poured a cup of orange juice for Bella.

“Yes, please.”

She sat at my breakfast table, with Bella snuggled into her chest. The pain was obvious, her eye had become black, and her broken arm was in a sling.

“Do you like orange juice, sweetie?” I asked.

The little angel nodded but didn’t look at me.

I poured the coffees after I set the juice on the table.

“So,” I started, “You need a place to stay for a while, huh?”

She started crying.

“I’m sorry. I guess I’m an ass. Are you okay? Do you need a painkiller or anything?”

“I took one. Blaine, I’m sorry...”

“Wait! No apologies. It’s not your fault my brother’s an ass—sorry, I’ll try not to swear.”

Bella giggled.

“Yes, we need a place to stay for a while. Is it okay?”

“Sure. Mi casa, su casa. What happened?”

“I told him I wanted a divorce. I found out he was cheating on me.”

“Of course. No one leaves the great Steff, right?”

“We’ve had a lot of problems. He lost a lot of money in a bad investment. A lot of our money and a lot of his clients’ money. Some kind of oil investment or fracking or something. I don’t know all the details. I just know he got screwed. After that, he lost most of his clients and was having trouble finding new ones that would trust him.”

I shook my head. The mighty had fallen.

She continued, “He started drinking more and more, until finally he lost his job. We’ve been living off of our savings ever since. He wouldn’t let me find a job to help. Anyway, a couple of months back, I came home from the store, and he had a tramp he picked up at the bar blowing him on my couch. It was as if he wanted me to find them.”

“Sounds familiar,” I knew I shouldn’t have said it, but I couldn’t stop myself.

She nodded, “Well, he said he’d been cheating on me our whole marriage so it shouldn’t make a difference if I knew or not. Blaine, I put up with it because of Bella. I stayed and let him disrespect me until I finally snapped. Three months. For three months, I put up with it until he demanded I give him a blow job yesterday. As soon as he pulled his pants down, I smelled her. He had just been with another woman and wanted me to taste her on him. I punched his penis and started yelling at him. That’s what got me to your doorstep.”

“I’m truly sorry. I really am,” I said. “Obviously, you didn’t deserve that. I notice that you don’t have a cast. Do you have to go to the doctor today to get one?”

“Yes. I don’t mean to be a pain.”

“You’re not. I’ll take you, it’s no problem. Look, I don’t have much in the way of breakfast food. How about I go and pick up some IHOP for us?”

“Thank you. Can I use your shower?”

“Of course. Everything you need is in the cabinet in there. Go into my room and grab a shirt and see if any of my shorts will fit you. You can use the washer and dryer at the top stairs if you want.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

I watched her gingerly set Bella down and hold her hand as they walked upstairs. She was beautiful even when suffering the effects of being beaten. My brother was an idiot. I knew I had to make him pay for what he did to her.

“Chocolate chip pancakes are here!” I shouted as I entered the house.

I heard the pattering of little feet as I entered the kitchen. Bella turned the corner and froze when she saw me.

I laughed and knelt before her. “Bella, my name is Blaine. I’ve known your mom since she was barely bigger than you and I’m your uncle.”

She looked frightened. Thankfully, Kennedy came around the corner. “It’s okay, honey. Uncle Blaine is a nice man. We’re safe with him.”

I stood and started opening containers. I got plates and utensils and apologized for not having a booster seat.

“It’s okay. She can sit on her knees,” Kennedy answered. “Your house is incredible. I can’t believe it’s so large. Is it just you here?”

I shrugged. “I got a great price on it and couldn’t pass it up. I suppose I’ll eventually find a girl to marry and have a couple of kids.”

“No girlfriend?”

I shook my head no.

“What do you do for work?” She asked. “You’re obviously doing well, and I can’t believe how buff you are now.”

“Not much for work at the moment, and I started working out in college. I was tired of being the scrawny kid,”

“Oh? Are you out of work?”

“No, I’m kind of a day trader. I made a lot of money in cryptocurrency before I left home and kept making more after I left.”

“I always wondered how you were able to just leave. You always were the smartest person in the room. I’m glad everything worked out for you.”

“Yeah,” I snapped. “Everything sure worked out great for me.”

Before I could go on an angry rant, my phone rang.

“Hey, Jack.”

“Hey. Listen, you brother made bail. It’ll be safer if you keep her with you than trying to take her home.”

“It’s no problem. They’re safe here, I guarantee it.”

She looked at me with fear in her eyes. I smiled and mouthed, “Don’t worry.”

Jack continued, “He’s gonna go away for a while. He’s charged with spousal abuse, battery, and resisting arrest. The only thing is, he isn’t sitting in a cell waiting for trial.”

“I figured he wouldn’t. I was never that lucky. I’m gonna set her up with an attorney that can take care of a restraining order. Do I need the police report?”

“No, your attorney will get it from us. That won’t be a problem.”

“Okay. Thanks for the call, bro.”

I ended the call and looked at Kennedy. “He’s out. You’re staying here until he goes to prison.”

“No, Blaine, you don’t have to...”

“Stop it. You were my best friend once upon a time. If I can’t help you when you’re desperate, I’d hate myself more.”

She looked at me oddly.

“Look,” I said, “finish your breakfast and when your clothes are done, we’ll go to get your cast on. After that, we’ll go shopping for what you girls need. After that, we’ll start working on your legal issues.”

I walked out of the kitchen and went into my office.

She tried to use her credit card for her co-pay at the doctor, but as I expected it was declined.

“He’s cut you off,” I said as I handed the lady my debit card.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. It’s the smart play. He wants to make you suffer. Thankfully, he doesn’t know you’re with me and I have the means to help you.”

She tried to access her bank account from her cell phone, but the phone was turned off as well.

“I’ll get you a new phone. Can I see yours for a sec?”

She handed me her iPhone and I connected to the doctor’s Wi-Fi. I backed her phone up to the cloud and tossed it in the trash.

“What are you doing? I need that.”

“You’ll still have all of your stuff. Don’t worry. You know your Apple ID and password, right?”

“Yeah?”

“You’ll be fine. Let’s go shopping.”

After a long day of waiting for doctors and shopping for things I never imagined needing, it got too late to visit my lawyer. I moved the appointment to the next day and took the ladies to a nice dinner.

“Blaine, you don’t have to do this. I can make us spaghetti or something. You’ve already spent too much on us.”

“Oh, this dinner is for me. I figure I’ve earned a good steak.”

She laughed for the first time since I’d taken her in. It was music to my ears.

“Do you want a big steak, Bella?” I asked. She still hadn’t warmed up to me and shook her head no.

“Okay, how about big chicken nuggies?”

She smiled and nodded.

Kennedy laughed. “Chicken nuggies, huh?”

“Hey, I may not have kids, but I’ve seen all the baby Yoda memes.”

We laughed and it finally felt like we were getting comfortable.

She kept touching her cheek, and I knew she was uncomfortable being seen like that.

“It’s hardly noticeable. You covered it up with makeup well.”

She nodded and looked away.

“Do you like wine? I’ve discovered I’m a wine guy as I’ve matured.”

She laughed. “Yes. I never would’ve pegged you as a wine drinker or mature. I remember you puking up that cheap wine we had at Jack’s graduation party.”

I laughed at the memory. “Yeah, what can I say? I’m cultured in my old age.”

As the night went along, we reminisced and laughed. It was like the old days. Then she ruined it.

“I never meant to hurt you, Blaine.”

I chugged the last of my wine and tried to calm myself.

“Oh yeah? You didn’t think it would hurt me that you fucked my brother two days after I told you I was in love with you?”

She sniffed back a tear, and I stopped. It wasn’t an appropriate place for that conversation.

I looked at Bella, and asked, “Do you like chocolate chip ice cream?”

She smiled and nodded.

“I have some at home. I have whipped cream and extra chocolate chips too.”

She smiled wider. How easy it is to win a child over.

“Okay,” I smiled. “Let’s go home for ice cream.”

I sat in my office as Kennedy put Bella to bed. I had a bottle of wine open and was waiting for the inevitable. I knew we had to talk. We had to have the big talk. The talk about her killing my soul.

I was surprised to hear Bella screaming. I ran upstairs and found her having a meltdown in her mother’s arms.

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing. She just misses her room.”

Bella looked at me and yelled, “I want Ariel!”

Then the tears fell again.

“Ariel?” I asked. “Teddy bear or something.”

She shook her head. “No, I’ll be down in a minute. It’ll be okay.”

I walked away wondering what it was all about.

When she finally came down, she grabbed her glass and drank a large gulp.

“Ariel was my first daughter. I have a picture of her next to Bella’s bed. She likes to believe Ariel watches over her as she sleeps.”

“Oh, Jeez.”

“Yeah. Jack told me he stayed in touch with you. I assume you know the story?”

I nodded. “I was at my mother’s funeral.”

She looked up in shock. “I didn’t see you.”

“I waited until everyone left before I walked over to the graves.”

“I see. I tried to find you. Steff and your dad told me not to bother, but I felt you needed to know.”

“I know. I got all the messages after the funeral. Jack was the one who told me about the accident.”

“It destroyed your father. He’s been angry and mean ever since the accident. I think he’s more of an alcoholic than your brother. I won’t let Bella be near him.”

“Oh well.”

She shook her head. “Did you know I found my mother?”

“Really? No.”

“Yep. She tends bar at one of the dives in town. It was an accident, you know. I was looking for Steff and saw her at the bar. It was like looking at an older me. She froze when she saw me. We both knew immediately.”

“I’m happy for you.”

I knew she grew up as a foster kid. The last family she was with for all of high school.

“Don’t be so happy. Once we talked and I confirmed she gave a girl my age up for adoption, I slapped her. I told her to rot in hell and walked out of the bar.”

“I’m sorry. I know how badly you hoped to find her. Why’d you do that though?”

“She ruined everything. I blamed her for the biggest mistake of my life.”

“What was that?”

“Lying to you.”

I looked at her having no idea what she meant. I filled our glasses and she continued, “When you told me you loved me, I already knew Steff wanted me. He’d been coming after me since I turned eighteen. We’d been on a few dates, and I was planning on accepting his advances when you told me you loved me.”

“Why, Kennedy? Why did you...”

“He was my ticket out!” She snapped. “I had no family. No one wanted me. I had no scholarships, so college was out. I got a job waiting tables and was about to be homeless. I figured he was my only chance.”

“I would’ve taken care of you. If you’d only loved me...”

“I did love you, damn it. I loved you with all of my soul. I died when you walked in on us. That was his condition. I could move in with him if we told you together that I was choosing him. He wanted to show you he beat you again. We were alone in the house, and he wanted me. I felt like I had no choice but to do it. I didn’t know that you would be home that early. I swear.”

She broke down in sobs. I watched her with my own tears falling.

“If my mom wouldn’t have abandoned me, I’d have never moved in next door to you when the Singh’s fostered me. I would never have fallen for you. I’d have never grown up thinking I needed a meal ticket instead of love. It was all her fault.”

“I wish you’d have told me that before you did it. We’d have left right away. I had my own apartment all set. We could’ve...”

“I would never have lost my little girl.”

She was in full-blown hysterics. I rushed to her and hugged her. She felt so good in my arms. I had no idea what I was going to do.

“Easy, Kenz, easy. I think that’s enough for tonight.”

She looked at me and said, “You called me Kenz.”

“So?”

“You haven’t done that since I broke your heart. I always loved it when you called me Kenz.”

I hardly slept that night. I was dying trying to come to terms with the last twenty-four hours, and more importantly my feelings for Kennedy. I never stopped loving her. I always knew that. It killed all of my attempts at relationships.

I would get to a certain point with a woman and the relationship would blow up when we got too close. No one measured up to Kennedy—it wasn’t even close.

As I lay in bed, I watched through my open door, and her door slowly opened. Little Bella poked her head through the door and smiled. I thought that was a good sign. I waved and she walked across the hall into my room. She looked around and saw the picture on my dresser that never left its spot. I kicked myself for not putting it away.

Bella pointed and said, “Mama.”

I sat up and said, “Yes, it is. That’s me and your mom when we were friends.”

She looked at me with the cutest look of confusion.

“What’s the matter?”

“Mama says you knew her when she was little.”

I laughed and patted the bed. She climbed up and sat against the headboard.

“I did know your mama when we were little. We were friends all the way up to when we were big, like in that picture.”

“She looks happy.”

“She was very happy. That picture was taken the day she got her driver’s license.”

She shrugged her little shoulders.

“We have to have a driver’s license so we can drive a car.”

“Do you have any kids? Sookie lives next door, and she has a kitty named Benson. He’s orange.”

“No, I don’t have any kids.”

“Do you have a kitty?”

“No, I’m sorry. I don’t have a kitty either.”

“Does next door have kids or kitties?”

I laughed.

“No. I don’t have any neighbors. I live on a big piece of land because I like to be by myself.”

“Who do you play with?”

“Well, mostly I play on my computer.”

“We have a ‘puter. Daddy doesn’t like me to play with it, but mama lets me when daddy’s at work. Do you know my daddy?

“Yes. Your daddy is my brother.”

“I have a sister. She’s an angel.”

“I know. You have a picture of her next to your bed.”

She nodded. “I miss her.”

“Would you like me to get your picture for you?”

She nodded. “I want to go home.”

I sighed. “I know it’s different here and that’s scary, but I can make you feel just as safe and happy here. You’re my niece and I love you.”

I heard a sniffle and looked up; Kennedy was standing in my doorway.