Page 33 of I Could Have Missed This
“Is that any way to greet your big brother?”
His brother? Teddy told me he didn’t speak with his family anymore. I cower behind one of the bookshelves to eavesdrop.
“I don’t want to speak with any of you. I’m done with you!”
“You can never be done with us, Edward! C’mon, we’re family!” he booms, his voice penetrating the room. His voice is deep and gravelly, like he smokes 10 packs of cigarettes a day.
“Not anymore,” Teddy says bitterly.
The man makes a noise with his breath like a bull. I hear the sound of a slap as Teddy drops to the ground in my view.
“You better not fucking rat us out,” he warns him, pointing at him aggressively. “Fucking faggot,” he mutters.
“Hey!” I shout. I rush towards Teddy and help him up.
“What gives you the right to speak to him like that?” I ask, my voice laced with molten anger that fills my face with red. My heart beats quickly as the man stares me down. The corners of his mouth curve up.
“Who’s this? Your boyfriend?” He jests.
“So what if I am?” I say through gritted teeth. My fists are clenched as the man begins to laugh, amused by me sticking up for Teddy. Then his face grows serious as he studies me.
“Hmm, where do I know you from? What’s your name?”
“It doesn’t matter what my name is. Don’t ever come back here,” I tell him, staring him down. He doesn’t look scared, just amused. He turns back around just as Elijah arrives back from the shops. Teddy’s brother pushes the door open with all his strength and almost hits Elijah as he storms out.
“Who the hell was that? Are you okay?” I ask Teddy, turning to him.
“I’m fine,” he says, massaging his cheek. It’s a deep shade of red, and it makes me want to run back out and slap him back, and then some.
“Was that—?” Elijah starts.
“Elliot,” Teddy interrupts.
If he’s the type of person to call his little brother a faggot and slap him, no wonder Teddy wants nothing to do with his family.
“What did he want this time?” Elijah asks Teddy.
This time?
“It doesn’t matter,” Teddy bites back. Elijah seemingly gives up pursuing the issue. He sighs and begins cleaning. This isn’t the first time this has happened.
“You, me, office. Now,” I tell Teddy, taking him by the hand. He follows me without hesitation. As we enter the office, I grab a clean washcloth out of a cupboard. I hold it under cold water for a few seconds. He’s massaging his cheek quietly as I do this.
I sit next to him and place the washcloth against his cheek. He gasps as the cold, damp cloth touches the fire on his cheek.
“What are you doing?” He asks quietly, looking at me while I pay attention to his cheek.
“Does it hurt?” I ask, dabbing the cloth softly against his skin. Droplets of water run down his skin and land on my arm.
“A little.”
“You’re lying,” I say, knowing damn well he’s hiding it to look strong for me.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed, you can tell me it hurts Ted,” I tell him, causing a soft smile to appear on his face.
“Okay, it really hurts,” he says as I get up and run more cold water onto the cloth.
“Has he done this before?” I ask. I continue rubbing the cloth gently against his cheek. There’s no blood, his cheek’s just red.There’s so much red…
