Eric by Jody Kaye (uplifting novels .TXT) 📕

“You’re a goddamn liar.” I spit blood on the rusty dirt, making it shine.

Whether it was over a broken toy, a cuss word, or a girl, Drew and I have fought before. I never anticipated a girl we scuffled over might be one of my sisters. We all grew up as one big unit.

“Nah, I’m not. Like everyone else, B’s had me wrapped around her little finger,” Drew says as if it’s the God’s honest truth. He stands, offering me a hand up.

He took the beating almost as if he wanted it. And his response isn’t a bullshit line to make him look better. I’m stupid for not realizing what’s been happening under my nose. Under everyone’s noses. But that’s Brier for you. The rest of us quints have used our sister for years to help us get what we want or get out of trouble. Why hadn’t I considered Brier had tricks up her sleeve she hesitated to share?

B hightailing it out of here proves Drew isn’t lying.

My best friend gets in his horn-grilled Caddy and drives away before Bud Green warns us about the cops. They never show. Brier and D steal the convertible and I drive home alone in the clunky old green truck, leaving Eric to deal with Colton.

An hour passes. Everyone goes to bed before Momma sees what a wreck we are.

Moonlight falls through the pane of the dark room. I touch the tenderness near my right eye. By accident, Colton hit me hard enough that I’m sure to have a shiner. 

I’m having a tough time sleeping. Pacing my floor, part of me believes what’s happened is absurd. I stop and move the curtain back, looking outside.

The arc of the back of the house gives me an exterior view of my sister’s bedroom. The window is closed and Brier’s nimble form crouches on the sill. She catapults herself into an aerial somersault, avoiding the flowering bush beneath. There is no sound as Brier lands in the grass outside her bedroom window. It’s like watching her dismount from the vault. Her strong legs never waver supporting her frame. 

I’ve always wondered how she avoided detection sneaking out. The imprint of her feet will fade by the time anyone’s the wiser.

Brier looks back, reassuring herself no one has spotted her and runs at full speed across the lawn towards a line of trees. She’s wearing a black silk camisole that bares her midriff and matching shorts. Not an outfit someone wears fishing or hiking. Or drinking, which is a more likely reason to sneak out of the house. We’ve already done that tonight, though, haven’t we?

A figure emerges from the darkness between the trees wearing a Stetson. Brier hesitates, standing in the dew-soaked grass, looking at the bloody pulp we’ve made of Drew’s face.

The pussy has no pride. He shouldn’t have even shown. If Brier were any other girl, I’d be certain leaving her standing alone at the edge of the wood waiting for him was what she deserved. But it’s hard to prove you care about someone if you refuse to look past their stubbornness.

Drew holds his arms open for her and she bolts to the warmth of his skin, pressing her head into his chest.

Fuck, he really does love her.

The next morning Eric is lounging on the retaining wall along the front steps, sipping his silver can of caffeine while watching Colton whittle a stick he’s torn from a sapling in the front garden. He’s making nothing in particular except a mess of wood scraps.

None of us want to engage in conversation after the tongue lashing we got from Momma over the bruises and scrapes Colton and I are sporting. She hates fighting and didn’t believe a damn word out of anyone’s mouth, which is smart of her because we’d lied through our teeth yet again about Brier’s disappearance.

It’s eight o’clock on the nose when Drew’s Cadillac pulls into the circular drive.

I lean against the jamb and fold my arms. The first thing I note is Brier is wearing navy cropped yoga pants and a white sweatshirt that zips up the front, not the half-naked outfit she ran off in last night. Instead of bare feet, she has on socks and her running shoes.

Drew doesn’t watch her get out of his car and Brier won’t look back. I try to touch her arm as she passes expressionless through the threshold into the cool of the foyer, but Brier recoils.

The door is wide open. I hear Momma’s shoes clip against the marble floor, becoming muffled against the carpeting on the steps. “I said, ‘where have you been’, Brier Rose. I know you’ve been gone all night.”

Peering inside, I see Brier stall on the staircase and turn toward our mother. “Please, Momma, please don’t use that name. Don’t make it sound like I am supposed to be as sweet and good as Daveigh. We all know I’m not.” My sister’s exterior shell crumbles.

“You know I never compare my children. You are all unique and special. No one knows you better than I do.” She cups Brier’s chin with both hands, wiping the tears away with her thumbs the way she’d done when we were little.

“I’m sorry, Momma. I’ll never do it again.”

“I believe you, Sugar.” Momma glances outside. “I won’t pry. But don’t cheat yourself by sneaking around with a good man all the while trying to convince yourself he’s otherwise.”

A rumble from the driveway distracts me. 

Colton has thrown his stick down, hulked around the front of Drew’s car, and slammed his hands down on the hood. Eric has followed. Not as much to intimidate, but to reign in the intimidator.

“Looking for a repeat of last night? I’m not in the mood.” Drew speaks to the dashboard. “And you’re not in any position to talk, Eric.”

“Leave Ginny out of this.” Eric snarls.

My boots scrape the granite as I saunter down the steps. “Why’d you say it?”

Drew turns in his seat. “That I love her? Apparently, to make myself look like an idiot.”

“I mean the shit you talked about our sister. You were an intentional ass about being with her to start a fight.”

“It was like you needed us to knock some sense into you.” Colton bends the raised Cadillac emblem, letting the tension on the wire pull it back upright.

“Nah, Brier did that all by herself.” 

My sister waylaying him by showing her true colors was not what Drew had expected at all. He must’ve figured B was like any other girl and by now she’d be clamoring for him to take her on a date. It was stupid of him. Brier is all about protecting herself from herself.

I open the passenger door, sitting down on the old leather, shocking the shit out of Drew.

Colton and Eric back off from the car.

“The fuck?” Drew growls.

“I haven’t had breakfast. Head to the Grille.” I hide how miserable I feel for the guy getting played. It’s hard enough taking a knock from Brier when you only love her like a brother. “After we eat, you’ve got shit to show me.”

Drew sulks throughout the meal. The two of them have it bad for one another. It’s fucking awful. But he says he’s done. Last night he ended it with Brier. Although, that isn’t what it looked like to me.

I pay our tab and Drew drops me off down the road, directing me where her stash is. I have to admit, Brier’s technique is masterful. I wander the wood, using a branch to reach the three bullseye bags I find. She’s placed them in inconspicuous spots; limbs high enough that no one sees them and only Brier is daring enough to shimmy up the tree to get. One holds an outfit almost identical to the one Brier had on this morning, including the shoes. At first, I thought the other two were trash since both contained maxi pad boxes. When I opened the first box, I found her black camisole set. My sister comes and goes, buying and returning items. We’ve merely thought she’s making honest exchanges. None of us the wiser, she’s been swapping out the contents of the bags. 

I enter Brier’s room from the bathroom adjoining hers to Daveigh’s. I’m the only one who isn’t forced to share a Jack and Jill. It’s one of the few privileges making my rank as the oldest obvious. 

Brier’s face is blotchy and her eyes are red-rimmed. She pulls a white sheet up over her head. We had a lot to drink last night. If my skull was pounding, the hammering on her brain must be even worse. 

I toss the plastic sacks on her floor and lay down on her bed. Crossing my legs, I fluff the only pillow she isn’t using to rest my back on.

“You coulda said something. He took those hits for you.” I scrub my face. My sister turned me into a moron. I should’ve been able to read the signs. Brier’s limited interest in the guys who chase her. Drew in the kitchen early on a weekend morning, when any normal person would have still been dead asleep. “B, you get why he doesn’t want to see you anymore, right?”

She stays silent.

“God, you’re stubborn. I brought your stuff in. Smart. There are three bags there. If I find more, I’ll let you know.”

The sheets shift again as I turn to leave.

“When you’re done with the silent treatment maybe you’ll tell me about how you got back in without anyone figuring it out.” I huff. “Mark my words, baby sister, you’re