Page 14 of Until Tomorrow Comes
Neither of them speak as they walk to the edge of the deck, and stop at the railing. I push up to my feet, moving to the bottom of the stairs. Pausing there, I give myself a pep talk, telling myself to ignore the pain and head up the stairs when Alan talks again.
“Thanks man.” His voice is quiet and I get the feeling that I’m about to overhear a private moment, yet I can’t get my feet to move.
“It’s no big deal.” Jackson answers.
“It is though.” Alan sighs. The silence that stretches would be the perfect opportunity for me to make my presence known. But still, I stay in place.
“How areyoudoing with everything that happened?” Jackson questions, and I’m grateful he asked. Even when I tried to ask Alan how he was, he shrugged it off and focused on nitpicking over me. Briefly, I wonder if Alan is going to answer and when he does, my heart drops to my stomach at his words.
“We’ve seen and done a lot of fucked up shit, but seeing Kat like that?” Alan scoffs. “It was the worst moment of my life. If I’ve learned anything from this past week, it’s that I can’t lose her. She’s the one good thing that came out of this family. Iwon’tlose my sister.”
I hold my breath, despite my ribs screaming in agony for me to give them relief.
After enduring my husband’s abuse for the past year, I’d become convinced that I was only an inconvenience or an embarrassment. Zack had twisted my view on everything so thoroughly that I believed I was at fault and deserved it. I thought that I was honestly doing the right thing by staying silent.
Maybe it was my fault.
Worrying about how Alan would feel if anything happened to me was never something that crossed my mind. I had been too caught up in doing my best to keep the peace with my husband and to not let anyone know just how bad things were getting behind closed doors.
No. It couldn’t have all been my fault.
I did all I could to keep him happy, to make it so he had nothing at home to worry about and that I fit the mold of the “perfect wife.”
“Tell me honestly,” Jackson asks in a low voice, pulling me from my thoughts. “Should I be worried about the look in your eyes?”
“I’ll be smart.” My brother says in response. I tilt my head in their direction, brows furrowing as I wonder what that means.
“Just remember one thing man. I know you need your sister, but I have no doubt that she needs you just as much,” Jackson responds. “If not more.”
At this moment, I promise myself that I will never put my brother in a position to worry about my safety ever again.
6
Jackson
I’ve never seen Alan likethis.
Even during our three deployments, he always remained the level-headed one, and the few times I saw his emotions take the reins, were nothing compared to his rage right now.
His self-control seems to have snapped completely.
“Just remember one thing man. I know you need your sister, but I have no doubt that she needs you just as much. If not more.” I remind him.
He slowly nods, but says nothing, simply staring out toward the ocean.
However between the tone in his voice the other day, and the look in his eyes right now, I worry that his anger might land him in jail. No matter how justified that anger might be.
I’m racking my brain for something rational to say that might convince him not to act rashly, when I notice the timid woman waiting at the foot of the deck steps.
Thebeautifultimid woman.
Because even with the bruise on her chin, and the angry red cut above her eye, there’s no denying that Alan’s sister, Kat, is still gorgeous.
Even still, I barely recognize her.
Her dark brown hair is pulled up in a messy bun, a few pieces slipping out and framing her face. Piercing blue eyes bounce cautiously between Alan and myself.
When they settle on me again, my heart actually skips a beat, and I have to fight the urge to stand at attention.
