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I’m less than a few feet away from the door when someone calls out my name, breaking through the silence that has settled in my mind.
“Ainsley?”
I’m frozen in place as I turn in the direction of his voice. Dread fills the pit of my stomach as I meet my brother’s brown eyes, as if I’m looking directly into a mirror.
“What the hell are you doing here? Do you know how fucking worried Mom has been?”
Mom, not Dad. He probably doesn’t even know that I left.
“I’m eighteen now, Jude,” I remind him, wiping my sweaty palms on my shirt. “Mom doesn’t have any control over what I do anymore.”
Jude scoffs. “Look at you, Ainsley. You’re fucking blasted right now, aren’t you?”
I glare at him, crossing my arms over my chest defensively. “Fuck you, Jude. You have no idea what you’re even talking about.”
“Right, right.” He rolls his eyes. “Are you forgetting that I manage a halfway house? Or how about the pill problem that I had that landed me in rehab?”
I swallow hard, shrinking under his frigid stare. In the past, I was never one to put up with my brother’s bullshit. If he came at me like this, I had no problem matching him head-on. Blame it on my recent depression, but I don’t have the energy to fight with my brother.
“We gotta get you home, little sis,” Jude says quietly, his face softening as he steps closer to me. “We gotta get you help.”
I shake my head, taking a step away from him. “Don’t act like you give a shit, Jude. You’re the last person that I want help from.”
Jude narrows his eyes, glaring at me with his cold brown irises. “What the hell is your problem, Ainsley? You won’t accept help from your family, but you’ll live on the streets with that piece of fucking trash that Mom let into the house?”
His words strike a nerve and it’s the wrong one. I push my shoulders back, straightening my spine as I stride toward him, feeling the rage deep inside driving me. I step up to Jude, getting directly in his space as I slam the palm of my hand into his firm chest. “You don’t talk about him. Are we fucking clear? You don’t know a damn thing about Killian.”
“I know that he’s not good for you.” Jude’s face softens again into the big, caring brother charade that he’s playing. “Look at the life that you’re living right now, Ainsley. If he gave a shit about you, he wouldn’t be dragging you down with him. For Christ’s sake, you guys are on the run after he beat the shit out of Ezra.”
I shake my head at him in disbelief. “You’re so fucking ignorant, Jude. You don’t know what happened. I bet you didn’t know that precious Ezra was the one who introduced me to smack.”
Jude’s eyes widen and I watch as he swallows hard. He runs a frustrated hand over the top of his head, through his dirty blonde hair. He opens his mouth to speak, but it quickly falls shut as he realizes just how wrong he is about the entire situation.
At least, that’s the way that it seems. I don’t stick around to find out. I’m fucking heated and so upset from the whole encounter. The room spins as I turn on my heel and march out of the small store. I hear Jude’s voice in the distance as he calls out my name again, but it’s quickly drowned out by the busy street as I step onto the sidewalk.
My high isn’t what it once was. Instead of having it extinguish the rage that roams inside, I can’t seem to shake the feeling. Running into Jude was the last thing that I needed and I can already feel myself beginning to spiral back down into the dark depths that I’ve been in lately.
I’m on autopilot, my thoughts racing as my feet carry me around the corner as I dip into the alleyway. Killian stands along the wall of one of the buildings, leaning his back against it as he absentmindedly does something on the phone in his hands. His head lifts as he hears me nearing him, my footsteps heavy on the concrete.
Killian’s brow furrows as I get closer to him and his eyes scan my face as he pushes off the wall and meets me in the middle of the alleyway. “What’s wrong, baby?” His tone is filled with concern and he gently cups the sides of my face as his eyes search mine. I tear my gaze away from his, looking at his chest, unable to meet his stare.
“Ainsley, baby,” he tries again, his voice soft as he lifts my chin, tilting my head back. “Tell me what happened. Did something happen at the store?”
I lift my eyes to meet his, feeling the rage inside as it transforms into an emotion that I can’t process. Knives dig into my throat as I struggle to swallow over the sharp edges. Shaking my head, I close my eyes as the tears well behind my lids, threatening to break free.
“Tell me what happened,” he presses. His voice is low and the darkness creeps in. “If someone did something to you, I’ll fucking kill them.”
My eyes open as the tears begin to fall without my permission. “I saw Jude in there.”
Killian’s brow furrows. “Your brother?”
I nod swiftly.
“What the fuck did he do?” It’s impossible to miss the threat in his tone, even though it isn’t directed at me. My heart swells from his overprotectiveness. “I swear to god, Ainsley. I know he’s your brother, but that doesn’t mean a damned thing to me when it comes to someone fucking with you.”
“He wasn’t happy to see me. He said some shit, but it doesn’t even matter.” The emotion is thick in my throat and I swallow roughly. “Can we just go home?”
Killian’s nostrils flare. His eyes are heated with an ignited anger. He nods slowly, clenching his jaw as he swallows back his words. I know that this isn’t how Killian likes to handle things, but he respects me. He gives me what I need.
