Page 117 of I Knew You
Her mouth opened and closed like a fish, and Bram handed me water and my pill, then he looked at his sister. “Whit attacked me, and he accidentally pushed Julianna. She fell and now she’s hurt.”
Melanie’s head whipped to Whit, who didn’t look her in the eye. He was acting like she wasn’t even in the room. She hauled off and started hitting him with closed fists wherever she could make contact. Her efforts were moot on his strong body, but it was entertaining to watch.
“Hey!” He made several grunts and emitted curses as he tried to dodge her hits. She stopped after a few jabs, but sharpened her eyes at him.
“You should have told me you were Julianna’s brother!” Melanie exclaimed.
Bram and I looked at each other.
Before we could say a word, Melanie grabbed Whit’s hand. “You’re coming with me.” They left, and a few moments later, the forceful slamming of a door upstairs made me jump.
“What the hell was all that?” Bram ran a hand over his beard scruff.
“I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out as soon as you’re cleaned up.” I put a hand to his blood-smeared face. “This must hurt. You need some antiseptic.”
He winced like he remembered that my brother had gotten some formidable hits on him.
“I’ll get myself cleaned up. It’s fine. I’ve had my share of fights in my time, but it’s been a few years. I forgot how much getting punched hurts. It will be fun to explain at MCA this week.” He chuckled at that. “I’ll be back in a minute. Stay right here.”
My heart fell. “I wish I could help you. I’ve always wanted to clean up my boyfriend after he fought over me.” I stuck my lip out in sadness.
He shook his head, then bent to kiss me on the bridge of my nose.
“No, stay still. I’m a grown man. I can handle it. I’ll be back in a second.” He plugged in the heating pad and handed it to me, then grabbed the throw from the back of the adjacent chair and spread it over me.
“Something is going on with that,” he grumbled, pointing to the ceiling. We could hear mumbled voices, but they were too low to make out the words.
“We’ll figure them out,” I replied, unable to keep the smile off my face. “You know they’ve probably slept together, right?”
“Fuck me,” he muttered, rolling his eyes.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Bram |October 28, 2024
There were a lot of things I regretted in my life—the arrogance of my youth. I didn’t tell Grams what she meant to me before she was gone. Driving buzzed with Julianna in the truck. I didn’t have the bravery to break things off with my parents sooner. Hurting Julianna worse when she was already mourning and unsteady. I didn’t go after her when I should have. The list went on and on.
Yet, I couldn’t help but think that another one on my long list of worst regrets was never telling Whit what he meant to me.
Over our twenty years of friendship, I’d never expressed what he’d done for my life. It was past due. What was a better time than after beating each other up?
We’d talk as soon as I could get him away from my sister.
My blood boiled at the thought of them, even though I knew I had no leg to stand on. Julianna was Whit’s sister, andMel was mine. It was ironic, and I couldn’t keep the laughing scoff from coming out as I stood over the large basin sink in the downstairs bathroom, using a wet cloth to wipe the blood off my face.
I took in the damage. The knot below my left eye swelled up fiercely, but that was the worst injury. There were a couple of gashes on my forehead and one on my collarbone, but they were easily cleaned and no longer bleeding.
Worse than the damage to my face was what Whit had done to my body. I wasn’t a young buck anymore. I’d felt every punch, push, and kick he administered. Welts and knots formed along my torso, and I winced as I gingerly skated fingertips over my sides.
I hadn’t fought back because I deserved every punch I got. But when Julianna went down, I was blinded by rage.
I didn’t regret fighting back then. No one would hurt Julianna, accidentally or otherwise, and not have to answer to me—ever.
I had a few clothes in the dryer that hadn’t been retrieved yet, so I changed into clean jeans and a black t-shirt and went to the kitchen, grabbing another bottle of water for Julianna and a beer for myself. I sauntered back into the living room threshold in time to see Mel and Whit emerge from around the corner of the stairs.
“Oh, there you are,” I quipped, unable to stop the passive aggressiveness from spilling over. Julianna was sitting on the couch. She reached over and gently swatted my stomach in reprimand. I took a long draw from my beer, eyeing both my best friend and my sister with piercing aggression.
The look wasn’t working very well. They both stared back at me with relaxed postures and bored stares. Whit was cleaned up, yet some blood and scuffs still stained his shirt. Julianna seemed to be assessing him hard, and I wondered what they’dsaid to each other while I had been out of the room gathering her things earlier.
