Page 102 of The Tomorrows After You
Ignoring the tick of irritation, I reminded myself how relieved I was to have him home. “What questions did they ask?”
“Theyaskedabout my work. Theyaskedabout you. About Nicolette. About Mom and Dad. About our childhood. My hobbies. CountriesI’vevisited. My religious affiliation.”
“And what did you say about Mom and Dad?”
“They asked if what you said on the tape was true. I told them it was. But the recording was taken illegally so it was inadmissible in court. I offered to give them the true recounting if they met my list of requirements.”
A heavy weight settled in my chest.
Ten years.
I spent ten years. I hung my head between my shoulders and covered my eyes with my palms.
“I insisted that you not face any repercussions. That your probation be cut immediately and your record be entirely wiped clean.” He grinned proudly.
“What did they say?”
He frowned, curiously. “They didn’t seem too interested. I noted Agent Gibbons didn’t even write any of it down.” Brennan scrunched his face up but then shrugged like it was a joke he didn’t get.
“Ughh!” I growled and leaped to my feet. I wanted to strangle him. “These are our lives here, Brennan! What happens next?”
His lipsturneddownward.“Sorry, brother. I don’t know. Theysaidthey would be in touch with any more questions.”
Solemn quiet settled over us. When I looked up, Brennan was shifting uncomfortably.
“Ahem, you can rest assured, though…” His eyes darted around the room like someone might be listening. “There is no record of the events that…precededyour confession.” His face went red. I furrowed my brow. What—?
Oh shit.
“Right, yeah…” I dragged the word out.
“I didn’t listen to it.” Brennan’s face twisted like hearing two people have sex was the most repulsive idea, ever. “And there are no copies. In theory, I may be able to scale the same protocol to erase the adult video of Nicolette from the web…”
He scooped the last bits of SpaghettiOs into his mouth before perking up, his eyes landing on the locked sliding door to the screen room.
“Where is Nicolette, anyway?” he asked, looking around and my stomach clenched at his hopeful tone.
A heaviness weighed my head down. “I kicked her out. She’s probably halfway to L.A. or New York by now.”
“Why would you kick her out? Iwasthe one whosentthe audio file.”
“Yeah,I’maware of thatnow, Brennan!” A heavy sighinflatedmy chest. “It’s more than that. Shewasonly here to try to get me to participate in this stupid TV documentary. Shewaslying to us the whole time.”
Brennan was quiet, and I saw something flicker behind his eyes.
“Did you know about it?” I asked suspiciously.
“I did see a few e-mail exchangesreferencingthe assignment.”
In-fucking-credible.“So,I’vebeen the only schmuck in the dark this whole time?”Iletmy head roll back to stare at the ceiling.“The two people I…”Brennanstoodto regard me apologetically. Iwavedhim off.“I need to lie down.”Istalkedto my bedroom door. But I paused before disappearing inside.
I said quietly to the floor, “I’m glad you’re home.”
40
Riot
When the next morning rolled around and I remembered that my brother was asleep, just a few yards away, like he was supposed to be, the feeling of hopelessness left my body.
