The Better Brother

by Rye Hart

  “Nikki,” I said. “I’ve been talking to Penny about what is bothering her, and why she didn’t want to come home for the holidays. It might be difficult to hear, but I think it’s important that you know.”

  Nikki set her coffee cup down immediately on the table. “What is it? What did she tell you? That’s the only reason why I came out here to Chicago. To—”

  “Leave me alone!”

  The sound of Penny’s terrified scream echoed through the living room. My coffee cup slipped through my fingers, and I rushed down the hallway to the guestroom. I passed the hallway bathroom door, the one I had told Dylan to go to, and the lights were off. Dylan was nowhere to be found.

  The door to Penny’s room was slightly ajar. I pushed the door open all the way and saw Dylan quickly scrambling back from Penny, who was huddled on the edge of her bed, trembling. She clutched her towel around her body tightly, with fear shining in her eyes.

  Blood filled my vision, and I lunged forward to grab Dylan by the collar of his shirt. I threw him back into the hallway, out of Penny’s room, and he slammed against the wall so hard, he fell to the floor. He scrambled back to his feet with a flushed face, staring at me angrily.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” I shouted, shoving him in the chest so his back collided with the wall again. “What are you trying to do, you sick fuck?”

  “What is going on?” Nikki cried, rushing down the hallway, too. “Dylan? What happened?”

  “He was in Penny’s room,” I told Nikki while Dylan stumbled back away from us. “I saw him. He was trying to take advantage of Penny when she got out of the shower.”

  Nikki glanced over her shoulder in horror as Penny emerged from the guest room, still clothed in only a towel. Tears streamed down her face as she nodded at Nikki.

  “He came into my room,” she said, her voice shaking. “He’s been calling me from your phone. He’s been sending me all these messages, Mom. He won’t leave me alone. That’s why I didn’t come home for Christmas.”

  “You bastard,” Nikki said flatly. “You were only getting close to me to get close to my daughter. Weren’t you?”

  Dylan stared silently at Nikki, his eyes dark. I strode forward with every intention of punching the piece of shit in the face. It was Nikki who held me back before I could follow through.

  “Get out,” I said. “Get the fuck out of my home. Don’t ever let me hear about you bothering Penny ever again, or I swear to God you’ll regret it.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN – PENNY

  The rest of the afternoon flowed by me in a surreal blur. My mother promptly took me down to the police station to file a report. I spoke to a couple of kind and understanding police officers, and now, I clutched a small paper that one of the officers had handed me-- a protective order.

  It was such an innocent looking piece of paper, but it meant no more phone calls, even the ones where Dylan didn’t say a word, and no more messages through various apps to disguise himself. It was over. Finally over.

  My mother and I left the police station, and we climbed into the back seat of the SUV Gabriel insisted that we take.

  She smoothed a hand over my forehead. “I’m so sorry, honey. Please forgive me for not listening to you in the first place. I feel like such an idiot. How could I have been so blind?”

  “It’s fine, Mom,” I said, my eyes slipping closed under the gentle touch. “It’s finished now. The police are going to pick him up, and he won’t be bothering us anymore.”

  “I can’t believe he tried to force himself on you.”

  The pit of my stomach churned, and the memory of it crashed over me again. I had stepped out of the shower to get dressed, with a towel wrapped around me, and I found Dylan standing in my bedroom. I couldn’t shake the memory of that terrible look in his eyes. It was a look of pure obsession, of someone wanting something so desperately that they were willing to do whatever it took to get it. That was what Dylan looked like as he approached me. He had his hands held up in the air in front of him, in a gesture that signaled he meant no harm, which was bullshit.

  When I had darted for the bedroom door, he reached out to pull me down onto the bed. He’d been lightning fast, and I didn’t have a chance to get away. I barely remembered screaming when he climbed on top of me, but it had been enough to startle him. Thankfully, it had also been enough to get Gabriel’s attention from the living room.

  “And in Gabriel’s home, when you were right down the hallway. What does that tell you?”

  “It tells me that you are far better at reading others than I ever thought I was.” She reached across the seat to squeeze my hand tightly. “I’m sorry, baby. I really am sorry for pushing your concerns aside because I didn’t want to believe that he was doing those horrible things to you. I promise from here on out that I will be very cautious about who comes in and out of our lives.”

  I didn’t bother with a response. I just squeezed her hand gently. We rode in silence back to the condo. Exhaustion clung to my body when William dropped us off outside of the lobby. He waved goodbye as my mother looped an arm through mine to help me walk through the lobby without drawing too much attention to ourselves. The second that I walked in through the front doors of Gabriel’s condo, I was swept up into a tight hug by Alyssa.

  “I’m so sorry,” Alyssa cried, hugging me tightly. “I should’ve been here to watch your back, Penny. I hope you can forgive me for being selfish and spending all this time with Scott.”

  “You weren’t being selfish,” I said and patted her back soothingly. “I’m honestly going to be fine. Really. Don’t worry about me. Everything is okay now.”

  I looked up from Alyssa’s shoulder to see Gabriel standing in the foyer as well. Several powerful emotions danced in his eyes, but he didn’t say a word. He didn’t step forward, either, because Alyssa and my mother were in the same room. I was grateful that he kept his distance. In my current state, I wouldn’t be able to resist throwing myself into his comforting arms. Those strong arms that had saved me from Dylan.

  Gabriel’s eyes conveyed everything I needed to feel better, though. He was upset about what had happened under his own roof.

  “What did the police say?” Gabriel asked.

  My mother took my coat while I shrugged out of it. “A protective order is now in place,” my mother said. “She also has to block all accounts and numbers, so we need to call the phone company for that one.”

  “A new phone would be better,” Gabriel said. “A new number where he has no way of figuring out how to get past those blocks. It’ll make things a lot easier.”

  “No offense guys,” I said. “But I really need to get some sleep. I’m just so worn out after everything. A few hours of rest will make me feel a lot better.”

  “Let’s order in some food for tonight, after you get some sleep,” Alyssa said. “Chinese food, because that’s what we get when we are having a shitty day at school.”

  “Whatever you want,” Gabriel said, his eyes resting on me again. “Whatever you want, Penny. You can have it. Just say the word.”

  You. I want you. I want to feel your strong arms wrapped around me. I want to thank you privately for protecting me like no one else in my life had ever done.

  My mother looked over at Gabriel with a nervous look. “I have a small favor to ask of you, Gabriel.”

  “Shoot,” he said. “Anything that you need, Nikki.”

  “I’m not sure if Dylan has returned to the hotel room,” she said. “I don’t know where he’s gone, and I don’t want to go back there until I know the police have picked him up and he’s no longer a threat to anyone. I was hoping I could stay here until then.”

  Gabriel glanced at me worriedly. Even though I could see his concern for my mother’s safety, something that I felt as well, having her underneath his roof complicated things even more for us. So far, we had lied to everyone about what was really going on. It didn’t help my guilt, seeing the worry on Alyssa’s face as she gazed over at me. />
  “Of course,” he said. “I can make up the couch for you. It’s comfier than most hotel beds. And you and Penny are welcome to stay here as long as you’d like.”

  She nodded gratefully, and I retreated to my guestroom to collapse on the bed with a sigh. I didn’t know what else to do besides curl up in a ball and fall into a dreamless sleep. By the time I woke up hours later, it was dark in my room, aside from the little bit of light that streamed through the bottom of the door. A heavy arm was draped over my waist while a large hand splayed itself across my stomach.

  After everything, it felt amazing to wake up with Gabriel beside me, like he was watching over me and keeping me safe. I sighed in contentment and curled into him, laying my head against his masculine chest, wanting nothing more than to sleep next to him like this forever.

  Fear jolted through me as reality broke through the pleasant fog in my head. As good as it felt to have him next to me, he couldn’t be here, not with Alyssa and my mother in the condo. I sucked in a deep breath before twisting beneath Gabriel’s arm to face him in the dim light of the room. His eyes were wide open when I looked into them.

  “What are you doing in here?” I whispered, cupping his face with my hands. “You can’t be in here. What about Alyssa and my mom?”

  “It’s nearly two in the morning,” Gabriel whispered back, pulling me into him without hesitation. “I couldn’t sleep without feeling you in my arms tonight and knowing you were safe. They aren’t going to wake up, unless you make noise.”

  I buried my face into his chest. “We can’t be together right now, even though I want to. Not with my mom in the living room.”

  “I know, Penny,” he muttered, voice stretched thin. “I know that. I just wanted to make sure that you were going to be okay once you got up.”

  “I’ll be fine, Gabriel. I promise you.”

  His warm lips landed on mine through the dark with surprising accuracy. The feeling of them gliding along mine eased every bit of tension in my body. I found myself returning that kiss with just as much passion as I felt deep inside of me. I let the kiss simmer for a few precious seconds before I forced myself to pull back. I couldn’t let anything else happen with my mother now lying on the couch.

  “I can’t do this,” I whispered, tracing his lips with my fingertips. “Not right now, at least. Okay?”

  “I understand. Come to me if you need anything.”

  He stole another quick kiss from me, and then slipped away from me on the bed before leaving the room. He pulled the door all the way shut, and darkness crashed over me. I stared up at the ceiling with tears glittering in my eyes. I wished things between us could be simple. Simple enough for me to say that I wanted him to stay with me, but I couldn’t. Not right now.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – GABRIEL

  I slept like shit throughout the night after Penny roused from her sleep. I didn’t know what possessed me to crawl into her room after I was confident that Nikki and Alyssa were both asleep, but it had felt right to hold her in my arms, to feel her even breaths as she slept peacefully without stirring when I had pulled her close to me.

  I rose early in the morning to hear Nikki’s voice chatting away cheerfully in the kitchen. Having her here certainly complicated everything; that much, Penny was right about. We couldn’t afford to risk being together with the both of them around. Even though having Nikki around increased the risk of getting caught, it didn’t dampen my desires at all. My feelings for Penny had only strengthened since the day before. The urge to pull Penny close last night and to make love to her had been so strong that it took everything in me to respect her wishes and pull away from her. She had a lot of emotions to sort through over the next couple of days, just like I did.

  I had no idea what I wanted, either, and I got the feeling that Penny had no idea what to make of our relationship at this point. Things were so complicated between us, making it impossible to get a handle on what exactly we felt for each other.

  I found Nikki sitting at the kitchen island with Alyssa, who was already showered and dressed for the day—a sign that she intended on venturing out at some point.

  “Morning,” Nikki said cheerfully. “There’s a fresh pot of coffee sitting over there for you, if you want some.”

  “Thank you,” I mumbled, rubbing at my aching eyes. “What are you two up to?”

  “I have to go into the city to meet Scott, if that’s okay with you,” Alyssa said cautiously. “I didn’t think it’d be a problem since you both are here now to keep an eye on Penny.”

  Nikki reached across the kitchen island to pat Alyssa on the hand. “Of course, it is, honey. You don’t have to ruin your plans. Your father and I are here for her.”

  I poured myself a cup while I fought to keep my irritation levels down. I had to get through an entire morning with a painful erection straining in my pants that my sweater thankfully covered up. More than anything, I just wanted some damn alone time with Penny to talk things out before we figured out what to do. From the looks of it though, it wasn’t going to happen with Nikki wandering about my kitchen as she frowned at me.

  “You look like hell, Gabriel. You were one of the first ones to go to bed, too.”

  “I laid in bed for a long time,” I said, which was the full truth. I had waited until I knew everyone was asleep before getting up. “What are you looking for in my kitchen, Nikki?”

  “Things for breakfast,” she said. “You have nothing in your fridge at the moment, besides milk and creamer.”

  “We don’t eat here,” Alyssa said. “That’s why. We normally just order in because neither one of us knows how to cook a decent breakfast.”

  She hopped down from the bar stool to peck a kiss against my cheek. I nodded goodbye to her while Nikki continued to rummage through my cupboards with light clucks of her tongue. I took a long drink of coffee in the futile hope that it would stomp down my frustration, but it didn’t work. I set my coffee down on the kitchen counter when she slammed a cupboard door shut with more force than necessary.

  “No need to take your anger out on my kitchen,” I remarked cynically. “Alyssa is right. We don’t eat here most of the time, and when we do, it’s usually take out from somewhere close by.”

  Nikki shook her head at me in dismay. “You need to be cooking that child some home cooked meals. I always made a point of doing that for Penny growing up.”

  “Alyssa is nineteen years old,” I said. “She doesn’t care about that type of stuff. Plus, she’s already gone to go meet with her boyfriend.”

  “Well, I’m not going to stay idle in here. I’m going to the store to get something to cook my child for breakfast.”

  She left the kitchen to grab her purse from the living room. I shook my head as I heard Nikki mumble to herself while she swept through my kitchen with a notepad in her hand. She was clearly looking for a way to make things up to her daughter, and breakfast seemed like the easiest thing to do for her right now.

  “Mom?”

  I looked up at the sound of Penny’s voice cutting through haze of the morning. Her eyes flicked over to where I stood near the kitchen sink before focusing on Nikki who scribbled something else down on her notepad.

  “What are you doing?” Penny asked with a tired smile. “You look like you’re annoying Gabriel.”

  Nikki glanced up at me indifferently. “I am getting you all groceries. That’s what I’m doing. I’ll be back in a little bit. There is a supermarket down the street that I can walk to.”

  She kissed Penny on the apple of her check before the front door clicked shut behind her. Penny and I stood there in a mild daze before she let out a strained laugh.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “She can be tenacious about things.”

  I shook my head. “I’m just glad that we have some alone time to talk.”

  “I suppose,” Penny said, and reached up to twirl a finger through her hair nervously. “I’m sorry about kicking you out last night. I just didn’t want things to ge
t out of control.”

  My erection already throbbed with the temptation to take advantage of the time we had alone together. This was why we never had the chance to talk. We both wanted to be physically close to one another. Just one kiss. It wouldn’t hurt to indulge in one little kiss.

  Penny’s eyes widened as I approached, but she didn’t back away. She looked up at me through long, dark lashes that framed her beautiful eyes.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered, panic intermingling with desire. “What if—”

  “Alyssa is gone,” I said, quieting her fears. “And your mom just left. Just one kiss.”

  I pushed my lips against hers. A small sigh escaped her lips as she returned the kiss. Her arms wound around my neck, and she tilted her head back for an even deeper kiss. Our tongues touched lightly while I slid my hands along the slope of her back to grasp her firm ass cheeks through the sweat pants she wore.

  “Hey, Penny. I was thinking that—”

  The sound of Nikki’s voice felt like cold water splashing over Penny and me. I didn’t even have time to let go of Penny when her mother strolled back into the kitchen, stopping in complete shock and horror. Her wide eyes swept over Penny, who hastily moved away, before “What the hell is going on?” she yelled.

  “Mom,” Penny started. “Please, don’t freak out. Don’t—”

  Nikki didn’t bother hearing the rest of her daughter’s words. Her eyes cut at me coldly as she turned to walk out of the room.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - PENNY

  The door slammed shut so hard behind my mom that the mirror on the wall crashed down to the floor and shattered into a million pieces. Tears were streaming down my face as I gently pulled myself away from Gabriel who stood quietly behind me.

  “I have to go after her,” I whispered. “After everything that has happened, I need to go talk to her alone for a moment.”