Page 27 of Tainted Love
I shove past him, my eyes first darting into the living room and then to the staircase in front of me. “Where is he?”
“Calm down, mate,” he says, grabbing at my arm.
I shrug him off. “Where’s that piece of shit brother of yours?”
As if summoned like the fucking devil he is, Troy steps into the entryway from the back of the house. A smirk tugs at his lips when he sees me standing there. “Eli, how’s your sister doing? I haven’t heard from her in a while.”
Asher groans, and I’m on Troy in a second. I shove him against the wall and push my forearm across his neck. “What the fuck did you do to Oli, huh?”
His eyes widen, and he tries to dislodge my arm from his windpipe, but I’m not moving a fucking inch. This confrontation has been brewing for a while, and I’m not leaving until I get answers. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he wheezes out.
“Bullshit,” I shout in his face. “We all know that’s bullshit. I’m going to give you one more chance to tell me. What did you do?”
“Go to hell,” Troy sneers. “I’m not telling you shit.”
I pull my fist back, ready to punch him in the face, but Ash grabs my wrist. “Eli, stop. It won’t bring Oli back.”
“He hurt her, so now I’m going to hurt him,” I snarl, trying to pull my hand free. “That’s good enough for me.”
The front door opens behind us, and I hear Mrs Cohen gasp. “Elias! What are you doing? Let him go right this second.”
I stare into Troy’s smirking face for a long moment before letting out a frustrated growl and releasing him. He pushes me with his shoulder as he moves past, muttering something under his breath. It makes me want to take a swing even more, but Ash hasn’t released my wrist.
“Well, I never …” Mrs Cohen shakes her head at me once Troy has moved past her and headed upstairs. “I will not condone fighting under my roof, do you hear me?”
Realising she wants a response, I simply grunt. Ash releases me, and I shake out the tension from my shoulders.
Mrs Cohen levels me with another disappointed look before making her way down the hallway to the kitchen.
“What was that all about?” Ash hisses at me.
“Forget about it,” I mutter, heading for the front door.
He follows me outside. “Did Oli say something?”
“No. It’s more about what she isn’t saying. He fucking did something to her which caused her to run away, Ash. And now she’s too scared, or some bullshit, to come home.”
Ash rubs at the back of his neck. “Did she say it was something Troy did?”
I slam my hand down on the front of my car and curse. “She won’t tell me, but I know he did something.”
I hate not having Oli here. She’s my twin and we’ve been through everything together—good and bad. It kills me that she feels the need to keep secrets from me.
Asher sighs, his gaze moving back towards his house where we can see Troy standing at his bedroom window, glaring down at us. “I’ll see if I can get him to talk, but I’m not promising anything.”
“I don’t even know what she saw in that arsehole to beginwith,” I grumble. “No offence, but your brother’s a fucking creep.”
“None taken.”
I curse again, kicking at my front tyre. “I just wish she’d let me help her.”
“Yeah, me too.”
I glance up at him, suspicion creeping in. “Have you spoken to her?”
He shakes his head. “I tried to call her a couple of times after she left. She won’t return my calls or respond to any messages.”
I slump against my car. “This fucking sucks.”
