Chapter 9: Brothers and Sisters

MAY 2003, SUMMER BREAK

I stirred awake when a beam of sunlight, coming through the crack in my curtains, drifted directly across my face. Grimacing against the unwanted illumination, I simply rolled back into the shadows and slept for another few minutes.

Unfortunately, that first attempt by my body to wake stirred my consciousness enough to become aware of the extremely painful splitting headache that throbbed against my skull. And eventually, after those few minutes drifting between sleep and wakefulness, the pain won out and I sat up in bed. I held my temples with both hands, hunched over and wincing. And I desperately prayed that someone ... anyone ... would stop ringing that damn oversized bell.

Sometime later, the ringing in my head faded to a dull roar, and I was able to pry my crusted eyelids open. I turned sideways to kick my legs over the edge of the bed, resting my heels on the bedframe.

I'm not sure how long I stayed there, perched at the edge of my mattress, wishing I could somehow go back to sleep. My mouth was parched and I was desperate for a drink of water; but I was still too tired to muster up enough energy to go get it.

Eventually, I managed to stagger to my feet and tottered over to the door, wincing with every single step. I'd had some hangovers in my life; but never anything this bad.

The hallway was filled with WAY too much light. I actually had to stop and shield my eyes against the glow when I opened my door. But feeling my bladder screaming at me, I forced myself to squint and stagger forward, heading for the bathroom.

"It's alive!" Dayna laughed from the living room as I came into view. My eyes were still barely cracked open and I grimaced as I turned to look at her. Brandi sat up from her spot on the couch and turned to look at me as well. But I was already continuing on to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, feeling somewhat relieved after emptying my bladder and splashing some water on my face, I staggered back out en route to my bedroom. My older sister met me in the hallway.

"Here." Brandi handed me a tall glass of orange juice. Gratefully, I took it and downed the entire contents in one long pull.

Then, smacking my lips and gasping for air, I handed it back. "What time is it?" I asked groggily.

"Just after 11am," Brandi answered. "What time did Adrienne say she was coming back?"

I scowled, the act of searching through my brain physically painful. "Noon. Said we'd pack up and go then."

Brandi nodded. "You should eat something first. Go get dressed and I'll fix you a plate."

I winced and started to turn away, but the search through my memory also pieced together some of the things that had happened last night. I stopped and touched Brandi's arm before she left. "Uh, did you see Gwen?"

Brandi sighed and nodded. "She left a couple of hours ago. You were still dead to the world."

I sighed. "I should call her."

Brandi shook her head. "She doesn't want you to."

I paused and frowned. "Huh?"

Brandi sighed, looking away. "You shouldn't have done that last night, Ben. I know you were upset, but you shouldn't have just dragged her into your bedroom. Not right in front of Rick."

My eyes popped open. "Huh?" I'd grabbed Gwen in front of her boyfriend?

My sister arched her eyebrow. "You didn't know? She was dancing with Rick when you came up and just... took her. He was banging on the door for a while. The guy was pretty upset. Started interrogating the rest of us about whether we knew about you two and how long it'd been going on."

Ah, hell. I winced, feeling a wave of guilt sinking down around me. I'd slept with girls who had boyfriends before, dating back to Tara Abbott in High School and even just recently with Julie Carpenter. But I'd never done it right in front of the guy.

Brandi just shook her head disapprovingly of me. "Someday one of these indiscretions is gonna bite you in the ass, Ben."

I closed my eyes and nodded, holding the bridge of my nose. I knew firsthand how cheating could fuck up a relationship; and I wasn't exactly proud of being the "other man". All of the crimes had been committed while I was in a weird place mentally, and I'd never pressured a girl, but those reasons didn't make it right.

"So, Gwen said she had to talk to Rick," Brandi continued. "She was breaking up with him anyways, and she'd already told him she wanted to see other people. But last night complicated things. She said she'd call you after everything died down."

I nodded. And then I glanced sidelong at the other bedroom door connected to the hallway. "Have you seen Dawn?"

Brandi sighed and bit her lip nervously. A feeling of dread settled over me while my sister glanced away and remained silent for a few long seconds. But eventually she collected herself and answered, "She went out with Ryan this morning. Dayna and I are driving her back home for dinner and we're going to spend the weekend with the Evanses."

I stayed quiet and waited, knowing there was more. Brandi wouldn't have gotten nervous over just that.

My sister took a deep breath, blinking slowly and then fixing me with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry, Ben. But we're supposed to call her after you're gone. Dawn said she doesn't want to see you before you leave."

Good God, could it get any worse? Adrienne, Paige, Gwen, and now Dawn ... My list of failures was snowballing.

I am alone.

"Holy shit, Ben. Are you okay?"

I looked up from my spot sitting on the daybed to see Adrienne standing in the doorway, silhouetted against the bright sunlight in the hallway. I could only imagine how I looked to her. My hair was an unkempt mess. Great big dark circles hung beneath each eye. And I was pretty sure my skin was a sickly, pallid shade. I was clad in shorts and a T-shirt, slumped against the wall, with my knees pulled up to either side of my chest. My forearms rested on each knee while my head hung down.

"Must've been some party last night," Adrienne whistled.

"Something like that," I groaned in reply. Then I took a deep breath and managed to lift my head. "Hangover."

"I figured." Adrienne nodded and looked concerned. "You okay to drive?"

I just nodded in response, then got off the bed and slipped my feet into my sandals.

Adrienne frowned and glanced around the empty state of the room. "Uh, did you already load my stuff into the car?"

I nodded again. After getting dressed, I'd eaten a little and then rather listlessly prepared for the drive home, loading both of our belongings into the trunk and backseat of the Mustang. I had very much enjoyed my first year at college and living in an off-campus house with my roommates; but right now all I wanted to do was go home — far, far away from here — and crawl into my own bed.

"Ben, I'm really sorry about everything," Adrienne began, furrowing her eyebrows as she saw how pathetic I looked. "I never meant for-"

I held a hand up to stop her. Then shaking my head slowly, I looked her in the eye and said, "It's okay. I understand."

"You do?"

I sighed and nodded. The sense of hope that I could somehow talk Adrienne into taking me back had faded away. Our romance was over and I knew it. So I tentatively walked straight over to my girlfriend of the past year. She tensed up just slightly at my approach, and then relaxed as I simply gave her a warm hug. "I'll always care about you, Adrienne. I'll always love you." Heck, I was still IN love with her. But I'd have to learn to let that part fade away.

She shivered in my grasp before answering, "I know. I love you too, Ben. Forever and always."

I pulled back and held her at arms length. The energy was fading away again and I felt like collapsing straight onto the floor. "Let's go," I patted her shoulder.

Together, we went outside and took a last look around the house. True, we were coming back to the same place in three months, but there was still a certain nostalgia at leaving a place that had been home for so long. We exchanged goodbye hugs with Dayna and Brandi, and then turned for the front door.

"Where's Dawn?" Adrienne asked as we descended the steps and turned the corner into the driveway.

I hung my head, sighing softly before saying, "It's complicated."

Adrienne gave me a funny look, but noticed the expression of infinite sadness that had crossed my face. And for a moment, it looked like she was going to move in and hug me again. But then Adrienne's eyes popped open and she looked over my shoulder.

I was just about to turn around myself to see what Adrienne was looking at when a sudden weight slammed into me from behind. I heard a choking sob as arms circled around my body, and a pair of firm breasts was pushed against my back.

"Dawn?" I instantly gasped as my hands came up to touch the arms wrapped around me. She didn't answer immediately, but I felt the soft touch of her lips as she kissed the back of my neck.

In that moment, a mountain load of tension slid off my shoulders as I sagged in blissful relief. She'd come back. She'd kissed my neck.

She still loved me.

"I'm sorry, Ben," Dawn said softly, right into my ear from behind.

I didn't answer. I didn't even turn around to look at her. I just bent my head and gently patted her hands.

She kissed my neck again and sighed. "I'm your Dawn. Forever."

I cracked a smile. And only then did I turn around to give her the warmest hug I could imagine. She pushed her chin against my shoulder and I dipped my cheek against hers, feeling the moisture of her tears. We twisted together for a good minute, hugging each other tighter and tighter until neither of us could breathe.

And then I turned and kissed her cheek, whispering, "And I'm your Ben."

Happiness is relative; it's all a matter of what came immediately before it. And right now, my life didn't feel quite as bad as it had just last night.

If you'd told me a few months ago that Adrienne would break up with me and plan to separate herself from my family, I would have thought I'd be completely distraught. If you'd told me a few weeks ago that Paige would also be freeing herself of me, I would have felt even worse. Plus the Gwen thing. Plus this splitting headache. All of it bad, bad, BAD.

Well, while I wasn't thrilled my situation, I had to admit that I was feeling rather ... accepting ... of it right now. And it was all because Dawn had come back to me just before we left.

If Dawn hadn't come back, I wouldn't recommend anyone getting in the car with me. I would have been liable to flip the damn thing on purpose.

No, Adrienne wasn't getting back together with me. She was still planning to separate herself from my family. But I was okay with that. I could see in her eyes that she still loved me, in her own way. And she would still be around. Heck, maybe I could talk her into still coming with us to summer camp, and then I'd have a full month of distraction to try and change her mind.

So I drove the Mustang at a cruise-controlled 80mph, passing the occasional Buick-driving walnut and getting passed quite frequently as well. I never knew a Tercel could hold that speed without overheating.

And Adrienne and I talked about the future.

"So where are you thinking of living?" I asked, one hand on the steering wheel and one eye on Adrienne.

The stunningly gorgeous blonde leaned onto the door's armrest and played with her hair. "I don't know yet. I talked to Candy on Thursday about us. I floated the idea of getting an apartment together for the summer, but I don't think it's going to happen. It's not that she can't afford it, but she actually likes living with her parents for a few months out of the year."

"No need to rush. You know Mom and Dad are never going to kick you out."

She nodded. "I know."

I raised my eyebrows at her. "And broken up or not, there's really no reason we can't live under one roof. We'll always be your family."

"Bennn," Adrienne sighed regretfully.

I put both hands on the wheel and turned forward. "I'm not going to say any more. I don't want to make you feel awkward about it. And ... Okay, just one last thing I'm going to say."

Adrienne smirked and looked at me. "What?"

"You're running away again."

"Am not."

"Sure you are. And if Lynne were here she'd tell you the same thing. You're only moving out because you're running away from me. Because you don't want to feel awkward around me."

"I'm moving out because I'm not really a part of your family," Adrienne insisted. "Because I don't want to intrude any longer."

"It's not intruding if we WANT you with us."

"Fine," Adrienne huffed, looking down. "Because I need to put some distance between us, okay?"

"At least you admit it. You're running away from me."

"It's not 'running away', Ben!" Adrienne barked indignantly. Then she exhaled and visibly shrank. "I just ... If I stay living with you, I'm going to want to get back together with you. I love you so much, and I can't make these feelings go away if you're too close to me. Do you understand?"

"Sure," I grinned. "So if you stay living with us, I'll get you back. Now I'm NEVER letting you leave."

"Bennn..."

I sighed. She was probably right. If we were really going to stay broken up, and breaking up seemed to be the right thing to do for both our futures, getting some space between us only made sense. "Can you blame me for not wanting to break up?"

"No. But you know this is what's best," Adrienne said solemnly. "You DO understand, don't you? I can't be what you want forever. We both have to move on."

"Can't we postpone the 'moving on' until later?"

"No. We've gone as far as we can go."

I frowned, feeling dejected and yet resigned to our fates. I stared straight ahead and sullenly asked, "So there's nothing in the world that can change your mind?"

Adrienne shook her head. "No. Absolutely nothing."

"Anybody home?" I pulled my key from the door, glancing around the foyer. I moved forward and Adrienne followed in after me, dropping her purse and duffel bag onto the floor.

"Oh, I want a bath," Adrienne groaned, grimacing groggily. She'd fallen asleep for the last two hours of the trip and was still trying to wake up.

"You'll have to wait until we unload the car," I informed her, a goofy grin on my face.

She noticed the grin. "What?"

"Well, if I was still your boyfriend, I'd probably tell my girlfriend to go ahead and take a bath, get relaxed, and then I'd give her one of my famous massages. I'd tell her I'd take care of all the luggage, because that's what a good boyfriend does." I pinched my lips and shrugged. "But I'm not your boyfriend anymore."

Adrienne rolled her eyes and slapped my arm. "Jerk." But there was a teasing smile on her lips. She turned and went back out the door, heading for the car.

I was about to follow her when a voice called out, "Ben! We're in here!"

It was Eden, if I had to guess, though I'd been gone long enough that I wasn't entirely sure it wasn't Emma. In any case, I headed through the house and into the family room, where I stopped in surprise.

Eden and Emma had grown up even more since the winter. Only 13-and-a-half, they'd seemingly grown another inch in height and even more in curves. The twins were well on their way to becoming young women, and they sat side-by- side on one of the sofas wearing the skimpiest of summer tank tops that exposed their bra straps, and the shortest of shorts that revealed their creamy legs.

But they weren't the reason I stopped in surprise. If nothing else, I was expecting the twins to look more grown up. I stopped because there was a man in the family room with them, a tall, blonde guy who looked like he was in his late twenties. And as he knelt on the carpeted floor in front of the couch, each of his hands was on a thigh of one of my baby sisters. "Who the hell are you?" I barked.

The guy looked eerily familiar somehow as he turned around and flashed me a charming smile. There was a twinkle in his hazel eyes as he looked at me, patting the twins' knees absentmindedly. "Relax, Ben. I'm just introducing myself to your sisters. Aren't they just the prettiest girls you've ever seen?"

I wasn't sure exactly why, but something seemed definitely... wrong ... about the way he was touching their legs. And I couldn't help but angrily bark, "Get your fucking hands OFF them. And you either tell me who the FUCK you are or I'm calling the cops."

"Bennn!" Emma whined. "Relaaaax. He's practically family!"

"What?"

"We know the rules," Eden said firmly. "When we're alone in the house, we're not to let in any strangers. But Adam's not a stranger; he's Adrienne's brother!"

Holy shit. My eyes flew open and I went rigidly still.

A few seconds second later, Adrienne shrieked beside me as she entered the room and saw who was there. "Holy SHIT!"

Two conversations proceeded simultaneously from that point onward.

In one of them, I rushed forward, ready to kick the shit out of Adam Dennis, Adrienne's seven-years older rapist brother. But he backed away, so I went straight for Eden and Emma, grabbing their hands and rather violently jerking them off the couch and pulling them away. "What are you girls thinking?" I hissed. "You do NOT let in a stranger!"

"But he's not a stranger," Eden protested.

"Had you ever MET him before? How do you know he's who he says he is? He could be ANYBODY!"

Emma blanched, but Eden insisted, "We're big girls, now! We can take care of ourselves!"

"CLEARLY, you CAN'T!!!" I thundered, perhaps gripping their wrists a little too tightly.

At the other end of the room, Adrienne was yelling even louder than me. "What the FUCK are you doing here, Adam? You get out, RIGHT NOW! You have NO RIGHT to be here!"

"I have every right, Punkin," the blonde guy sneered. "You thought you could just take all the money and I'd never find out? There're millions. I'm here for my share of the inheritance."

We overheard that part, and the twins chose to ignore everything but the confirmation of his identity. "See..." Emma waved toward Adam. "He IS Adrienne's brother." She then struggled to break free of my grasp.

But I held on and dropped to one knee, tugging both girls to bend over and bring our faces closer together. I yanked their wrists toward me as well and growled with obvious rage on my face. "That man is a BAD man. Do you understand me? You are NOT to talk to him anymore. Do. You. Understand. Me?"

Emma looked frightened. Eden just whimpered, "Ben, you're hurting us."

Startled, I let go of them. The girls backed up, rubbing their wrists. But they looked over my shoulder to where Adrienne was still before her brother, tears streaming in rivers down her cheeks with her hands clenched in front of her chest.

"Go away! Please? Just go away! You talk to whatever lawyers you want," Adrienne blubbered. "I don't care. Just go away!"

I instantly moved beside her, wrapping my arm around Adrienne's waist and staring down the slightly taller man. "Leave this house. You are not welcome, and if you don't leave right now I WILL call the police."

The blonde guy held his hands up defensively and backed away. "Okay, okay. I'm leaving. But this isn't over, Punkin. I ain't leavin' town until I get what's mine," he growled. And then with a sneer, he looked past us to Eden and Emma. "And I'll see you girls later, huh? Maybe next time Uncle Adam will show you all that... fun stuff we talked about." And then he laughed.

The laugh was short-lived as I stepped forward and clocked him right in the face. The big guy staggered from the punch and immediately went up to hold his nose, which wasn't quite broken but certainly looked rather pink. "That's fucking assault!" he yelled behind his hands.

"That's defending my home against an unwanted intruder," I snarled. "Now get the FUCK out!"

Adam wiped his nose and narrowed his eyes, looking at me with a world of hatred in his hazel irises. But he turned and quickly left, hustling out the front door and leaving it wide open in his wake.

I followed Adam out to the foyer at least to be certain he was gone. Then I turned around and looked back toward the family room. Adrienne and the twins had come to the hallway entrance as well, looking shaken but unharmed. Only then did I exhale slowly and begin to calm my racing heartbeat.

I blinked twice and sighed. "You know, I used to think that everyone had some good inside. Even guys like Drew Walker were just being hormonal, reckless boys. I'll always hate him for what he did to Brooke, but I can almost understand."

I put my head down and then looked out the open doorway. "But that man is just evil."

Adrienne turned and bent over, planting her hands on her knees as she stared the twins dead in the face. With tear tracks still running down her cheeks, she made sure she had their undivided attention before intoning, "You both stay the HELL away from him. Got it?"

The girls nodded 'yes', their eyes wide.

And then Adrienne collapsed.

With a reminder to the twins not to let ANYBODY in the door, I scooped Adrienne into my arms and carried her upstairs to my bedroom. And while straining my arm muscles to keep us balanced, I maneuvered myself onto the bed with my back against the headboard and Adrienne cuddled up beside me.

She was a sobbing mess against my chest while I held her in my arms. I wanted nothing more in the world than to soothe her in this moment as I rubbed her back and repeated over and again that I loved her and that I would always protect her, no matter what. I may not have been her boyfriend anymore, but I knew that she still needed me.

She gripped my arms so tightly that her nails were digging rather painfully into my skin. But after a few minutes, Adrienne managed to get her sobbing under control and relaxed her hands. She made no move to free herself of my embrace, simply laying her head against my chest as she let out a final, keening wail. "How did he find me? How did he FIND me?"

I didn't know how to answer her. Sure, Adrienne had lived just a few houses away for most of her life, and most of Adam's childhood; but that still didn't point to our family. Unless...

I sighed. "He said he was here about the inheritance, right? Well, if he's got any lawyers, they can track down records that Mom and Dad took you in after your father died. And that would give him our address."

"But it's not right! He shouldn't be allowed to come near me! Not after what he did to me!" Adrienne wailed.

I patted her back and buried my nose in her hair. "Adrienne, please." My mind raced to figure out what was going on. "Did your parents ever report what he did?" I didn't remember all the details she'd told me so long ago. I was pretty sure they hadn't.

She exhaled with a mournful tone. "No. Nothing official. They just shut down his college fund and told him never to come back."

"Never disowned him, legally?"

She shook her head. "Don't think so."

I sighed. "But your father left you everything in his will, right?"

Adrienne nodded. "Yes. But I'm guessing Adam can still challenge it, though."

"But they can't let that... monster ... take all that away from you!" I growled. "Maybe if you tell them what happened when you were younger? No judge would give him part of your family's estate knowing the circumstances around why he left."

"What will I tell them?" Adrienne whimpered. "At this point, it's just my word against his. There are no records that he raped me. My parents are both dead. I don't know if there's anything I can legally do if he denies it." She sniffled and buried her nose against my chest. "I don't care. If giving him half the estate makes him go away, then give him half. I just don't ever want to see him again!"

She started sobbing again. I squeezed Adrienne tighter and started rocking her gently. And then I was back to trying to calm her down.

The twins were still freaked out when the rest of our family came home. The parentals had been running errands and Brooke was visiting friends. Eden and Emma immediately told Mom and Dad what had happened upon their arrival, and of course our parents immediately came to find Adrienne and me.

We were still in my bedroom when they came bursting in without knocking. Mom immediately opened her arms to Adrienne as she slid onto the bed and Dad stood nearby looking righteously angry.

When Adrienne slid away from me and fell into Mom's hug, I rubbed my sore arms and stood up from the bed. Dad nodded to me and I went to him, standing off to the side.

He glanced back at Eden and Emma, who were cowering in the doorway. "The girls said Adrienne's brother was here. They said you and Adrienne told them that he was a bad man, but they don't know exactly why, and you had to hit him to get him to leave. Ben ... what's going on?"

I bit my lip nervously and glanced back at Adrienne. Up until now, no one but Brooke knew the history Adrienne had with her brother. All my parents ever knew was that he was estranged from the family, but not for what reason.

Adrienne overheard what my dad was asking and met my gaze. Taking a deep breath, she looked at me and nodded.

I winced and then glanced over at the twins. "Maybe the girls should leave."

"Ben!" Eden complained, immediately defensive. "We're old enough to know!"

Before I could say anything Adrienne spoke up, "Go ahead. They need to know why they've got to avoid Adam and people like him."

I grimaced and looked around for my desk chair. Half-moving to it and half-rolling it to me, I sat down heavily and collected myself. This was Adrienne's story, but she clearly was depending on me to tell it for her. I paused and looked around the room, meeting each of my family members in the eye. And then I told the story in much the same way Adrienne had told me two years ago.

"I first met Adrienne when we moved into the neighborhood. We were both ten. I was the new kid and looking for any potential friends my age. Plus, Adrienne was quite pretty even then." That drew the faintest of smiles from both Adrienne and Mom.

"But something happened that summer." I sighed. "Both of Adrienne's parents were workaholics, rarely home before like nine or something." I waffled on the exact hour, not quite remembering it. But I pushed on. "Adam, Adrienne's brother, was seventeen and going to be a Senior in High School. Being the big brother, he was in charge. And he was old enough that they didn't need a babysitter. So it was just the two of them alone in the house all summer."

Mom and Dad started to get an idea of where I was going with this, and looks of horror began to creep across their faces. I didn't delay. "Adam started raping Adrienne that summer," I said plainly. Then I waited while my other four family members all gasped in disbelief. Even Eden and Emma, while still very young, understood the concept of rape.

I started breathing hard, old fury building inside me. My hands gripped the armrests on my desk chair so tightly that I felt the entire chair vibrate. I looked at Adrienne and she simply stared back at me with a blank expression. She'd already lived this nightmare enough times.

"Look, I'm not going to get into the details. The point was that he kept raping Adrienne throughout the year. She couldn't escape and as a 10-year-old, she didn't fully understand what was happening to her. And then the next summer he went away to college."

Mom and Dad started breathing a little easier, thinking it was over. But it wasn't. I took a deep breath and continued. "But Adrienne was pregnant. Only eleven, and she was pregnant."

As expected, Mom and Dad gasped again. Eden and Emma just looked nervous. I pushed on. "Adrienne's parents found out and eventually got the story. They talked down Adam and got him to confess. Then they cut him off financially from the family and told him never to come home. And Adrienne got an abortion."

Mom looked ready to collapse herself. Dad looked ready to run out and strangle Adam with his bare hands. I knew how he felt. And even so, I still wasn't done. "Adrienne's mom couldn't handle the whole thing. She became an alcoholic and shortly after, died in a drunken car accident. Her dad buried himself in his work and Adrienne has more or less been alone ever since."

I went quiet, lost in my thoughts. No one else in the room said anything, either. The twins were pale and frightened. And Mom just looked too shell-shocked to even move. She wasn't doing Adrienne much good anymore so I got out of the chair and returned to my ex-girlfriend, wrapping her up in my arms and rocking her once again.

Dad found his voice first. "Why is he here?"

I sighed and rubbed Adrienne's back. "Adrienne's father left the entire estate to her in his will. Plus, there was a substantial settlement from the cab company." I grimaced. "Adam's here for the money."