Page 1 of Beautiful Lies
Prologue
Iwrapped the blanket around my shoulders and climbed the ladder to the top bunk. “Watch me fly, Kill. I’m Captain Courageous.”
Killian snorted as he pulled on his pajama top. “You’re Captain Stupid.”
“Is it a bird? Is it a plane?” I said. “No. It’s Connor the Wonder Boy.” I leaped from the top bunk and for about a second, I really felt like I could fly. Then the ground rushed up to meet me and I landed with a loud thud. All the air got knocked out of my lungs. I rolled onto my side and curled into a ball. “I can’t breathe,” I wheezed.
“You’re an idiot,” Killian said, cracking up.
“Them’s fightin’ words,” I said, lunging at him. He dodged out of the way and I crashed into the dresser, making him laugh even harder. For some reason, I laughed with him. We were cracking up so hard, tears sprang to my eyes. We stopped laughing when we heard the heavy footsteps in the hallway.
“Get in the closet,” Killian said.
“No.” I crossed my arms and widened my stance, like I’d seen Killian do.
He grabbed me by the shoulders and shoved me into the closet. “Stay in there and don’t come out until I say so,” he warned before he shut the door, leaving me in the darkness, in a space where I couldn’t breathe for real. My stomach churned as I heard the bedroom door opening.
“You’re supposed to be in bed. What the hell’s going on up here?” Seamus asked, slurring his words. He’d been drinking Jack Daniels tonight. Maybe he’d just leave and that would be the end of it. I folded my hands in prayer and silently prayed, my lips moving but no sound coming out of my mouth. “Where’s your brother?”
“Asleep.”
He wouldn’t bother checking. He never did. Our dad didn’t really give a shit about me. He’d said so more times than I could count. He called me a sorry excuse for a son and all kinds of other things, none of them good.
“I’m going to bed now,” Killian said. “Go back to your TV and whiskey.”
Killian. Keep your big mouth shut.
“You think you can tell me what to do, boy?”
I heard the sound of bones crunching followed by a grunt from Killian. I covered my ears with my hands, trying to block out the sound of Seamus’ punches. Killian’s grunts. He wouldn’t cry. He wouldn’t scream. He wouldn’t run. He would just stand there and take it until Seamus was done treating him like a human punching bag.
I’m sorry, Killian. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.
“That’s the best you could do?” Killian asked, and then he was laughing. Like an idiot. Why did he have to poke the bear?
I heard Seamus’ fist hit Killian’s body and the sound of Killian crashing to the ground. The floor underneath me vibrated from the impact.
“You’re moving into your own room this weekend. You’re too old to share a room. You hear me, boy?”
Killian didn’t answer.
He probably couldn’t. I wanted to burst out of the closet and fly at Seamus, pummel him with my fists. Make him bleed. Make him feel the pain. But my puny fists would bounce right off him. He wouldn’t feel a thing.
Someday, I would take the punches for Killian. I’d behissuperhero.
And someday, I’d make sure Seamus paid for everything he did to us.
I heard the door close behind Seamus and counted to ten before I opened the closet door. Killian was doubled over, an arm wrapped around his ribs. I crouched next to him and put my hand on his back.
Killian lifted his head, his eyes meeting mine for a split second, long enough for me to see his busted lip and the bruise already forming beneath his right eye. He swept his tongue over his lip, catching the blood before it dripped onto the moss green carpet.
“You should have told him it was my fault,” I said.
“It makes no difference.”
Killian was right. It didn’t matter if we were good or bad. On nights like this, the end result was always the same. “I’ll be right back.”
“Wait a little longer,” he said, wincing as he got to his feet, weaving a little. I grabbed his arm to steady him and helped him over to the bottom bunk.
