by Zoey Parker
Georgia set down her fork and glared at Felix. “I told you not to call him that. He overheard you last time.”
Rocco, referred to as Whacko by her brother, was a guy from the office a floor below hers. They had met in the building cafeteria one day two months ago and, from Georgia’s perspective, had been involved in a lukewarm, sporadic, half-formed relationship ever since.
Rocco, however, had a tendency to be romantically aggressive, as Georgia liked to call it. Felix just called him Whacko. Rocco frequently dropped hints about bringing her over for dinner with his parents, despite her obvious reluctance, and he had even once suggested the two of them move in together, though he later claimed to be joking.
“Why are you still with him?” Felix asked. “Is he really that good in bed?”
“No, not really,” Georgia admitted. “But it’s better than nothing.” She wasn’t too sure about that last part, especially as of late.
Georgia wouldn’t consider herself a kinky person, but she still liked to mix it up a little in the bedroom. She couldn’t remember the last time Rocco and she hadn’t had sex in the missionary position, if ever.
She had tried to initiate sex with her on top once, but Rocco had stopped her and moved so she was beneath him again. She stopped trying after that.
Maybe it’s my fault for not being open enough with him, she thought.
“Whatever you’re thinking,” Felix said, interrupting her, “it’s not true.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking?” Georgia said defensively, knowing the question was pointless even as she said it. Felix always knew when she was doubting herself.
“I know there’s nothing you, or anyone else, can do to fix whatever problems that guy’s got,” he said with a snort of laughter.
“Well, if it isn’t the pot calling the kettle black!” Georgia exclaimed. She may have defended her brother to Stacy earlier, but Felix had enough of his own issues to focus on without making fun of someone else’s.
“Hey now,” he protested, “play nice.”
Georgia reached forward to poke the ticklish spot under his arm. “How’s that?” she teased, just like she used to when they were little.
Georgia had always had a solid, athletic build, with a narrow waist and thick thighs that gave her a much lower center of gravity than her skinny younger brother. Once she got a hold of him, she almost always won their fights.
Felix let out a satisfying yelp and Georgia reached to tickle the back of his neck. She spotted an opening and dug her finger into his side, expecting a girlish squeal.
Instead, Felix grunted loudly and dropped to one knee, holding his ribs where Georgia had poked him.
“Felix?” Georgia cried, alarmed. “What did I do?” Before he could stop her, she pulled up the hem of his shirt to take a look.
Huge bruises, blue, black, and purple, spread across Felix’s chest and sides, their edges tinged with green. Felix had always been skinny, and even now his ribs were clearly visible beneath the boot-shaped bruises.
Georgia gasped. “What happened?” she demanded. “Did you get into a fight?”
“Not exactly,” Felix said.
“Then what happened?” she repeated. “And don’t even think of lying to me right now, Felix Sebastian Lewis!” Georgia said, using his full name.
“I’m handling it, Georgia,” Felix said, glaring at her. “I don’t need your help, you know.”
“Have you taken a good look at yourself recently? Or, better yet, been to a hospital? I’m willing to bet you’ve got at least one fractured rib, by the look of you.” Georgia went into the kitchen and returned with her purse, which she sat on the dining room table and began to sort through.
“What are you doing?” Felix asked suspiciously as Georgia pulled out her phone.
“Since you won’t tell me what happened to you, I’m calling you an ambulance to take you to the hospital,” she replied smartly, dialing.
Felix lunged forward to knock the phone out of her hand. “I won’t let you. You can’t be getting involved in this, Georgia! It’s too dangerous for you!”
Georgia easily moved out of his way, holding the phone just out of reach. “Too dangerous for me?” she said. Felix crumpled as Georgia viciously stabbed a finger into his side. “You can’t even defend yourself against your sister right now. What hope do you have of defending yourself against these people again?” she asked, waving her arm towards his discolored midsection.
Felix said nothing. He merely lay on the floor, clutching his stomach. He was furious with his sister, but only because she pointed out something he already knew to be true. He had no hope of standing up to the Russian mob. Not by himself, anyway. He certainly wasn’t going to ask his sister for help, but perhaps there was someone else who could help him. Someone who already had a vendetta against Ivan and his men.
Georgia sank down to the ground next to her brother. “Please, Felix. Tell me what happened,” she begged. The longer Felix sat in silence, the more creative her imagination became.
She closed her eyes. “How much money do you owe?” she asked resignedly.
Georgia knew there was only one reason Felix wouldn’t want to tell her how he had gotten his bruises. He was ashamed of them. Which could only mean one thing: Felix was in trouble again.
***
Georgia went into the kitchen and pulled an icepack from the freezer, throwing it to Felix, who winced as he raised a lean arm to catch it.
“Start from the beginning,” she ordered him, pouring herself another glass of wine.
Felix sat back, tousling his cropped brown hair. “I don’t know…” he moaned.
“Well, you’d better figure it the fuck out, Felix,” Georgia said, unconsciously falling into Mom-mode, with her fists squarely set on her wide hips, “because you getting killed by the Russian mob isn’t an option!”
He rolled his eyes. “Right, because that’s what I want. To be murdered. Very helpful, Georgia. This is exactly why I didn’t plan on telling you about this.”
“Yeah, and your cover lasted all of an hour and a half before I found out. Great job, Felix!” Georgia shot back. “I can tell you’ve really got a handle on the situation.”
She saw the hurt flash in her brother’s eyes and she mentally cursed herself. Yelling wasn’t going to help anything now. If she freaked, Felix definitely wouldn’t come to her the next time something happened.
She sat down next to him, sighing deeply. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I just worry about you, and when I worry, I get angry. Will you please tell me what happened now?”
“Are you going to get mad?” Felix asked testily.
Georgia bit her lip at his tone. “I promise I won’t get mad.”
Felix leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “You know my friend Alex who got me the job? Alex Vaskov?”
She felt her heart sink and tried not to let the disappointment show on her face. It was something Georgia was well practiced at by now.
“You said his cousin’s friend hired the two of you to work at a bar,” she said evenly. “That wasn’t true, was it?”
Felix shook his head. “That part is true. His cousin Victor did hook us up with the guy we were working for, Petey, but…” He trailed off, too ashamed to continue.
“But what?” Georgia pressed. Despite her promise, she was quickly losing patience with Felix’s reluctance.
“It’s not like I said before. Not anymore, anyway,” Felix said, hanging his head. Georgia thought she was going to scream if her brother didn’t spill in the next thirty seconds. “About a month ago, Alex and I were bussing tables one night when this guy walks in. He’s a tall, snooty-looking guy, like how dare you breathe the same air as him, y’know? Anyway, as soon as he walks in, the bartender goes to the back and gets Petey, who shuts the place down. Like, kicks everyone out except the staff, it was crazy.” He paused to take a sip of his wine and Georgia mentally screamed at him to get to the point. Felix seemed to b
e in a much better mood now that he had an audience.
“So after everyone leaves, in walks this other guy, biggest guy I’ve ever seen. His shoulders practically touched the door frame when he came in. Scary guy. He gave me the heebie-jeebies.” Felix shivered dramatically to make a point. “He and Petey went to the back and Alex and I went back to cleaning. Cut to an hour later, the guy comes back out. He spots Alex and me and comes over to us.” Felix paused. “This is where I start to get stupid,” he warned her. “He asked us if we wanted to make quick cash running an errand for him. Alex said yes before I could say anything, and I figured I could use the money.”
He paused for a long time.
“What was the errand?” Georgia asked hesitantly, unsure if she really wanted to know.
“It was a drug run,” Felix blurted out finally. “Almost a pound of meth. Alex carried it and I was lookout.”
“Why did they beat you?” Georgia asked, trying to maintain her carefully constructed I’m not judging you face.
“They didn’t,” Felix told her dully. “Ivan, the big guy who sent us on the run, he was so pleased that he gave us five hundred bucks each, and a bonus: some coke.” He laughed bitterly. “I’m sure you can imagine what happened next. I got hooked on the coke and the cash. So did Alex—for the cash, anyway.”
“So then…” Georgia was still struggling to understand how Felix had gotten hurt in the situation.
“Everything was good for a few weeks,” Felix continued, seeing her confused face. “We got bigger and bigger runs, for more and more money. Then a couple of days ago Alex and I got jumped. They stuck guns in our faces and told us to hand over everything we had. The drugs and the money.”
“Felix!” Georgia gasped. “You refused to hand it over? They could’ve killed you!” she exclaimed.
Felix laughed again, anger beginning to creep into his voice. “Oh, we handed it over. That’s what nearly got us killed. They didn’t do this to me, Georgia,” Felix said, gesturing to his stomach. “Ivan did. When we got back, and he found out what had happened…he lost it. Went fucking nuts. He grabbed a bat and started swinging, then kicking when I finally fell down.”
“What about Alex?” Georgia asked timidly, terrified of the answer.
“Ivan beat the shit out of him, too,” Felix said. “But he got off lucky,” he added.
Georgia made a face, bewildered. “How is that? You said he got beat up as well.”
Felix sighed. “Yeah, well, do you remember that cousin of his I told you about?”
“Yeah, what about him?”
“I guess he’s pretty rich,” Felix told her, explaining nothing. Georgia bit her lip until she tasted blood to keep from screaming at her brother. “Ivan expects us to pay him back for what we lost. Alex’s cousin Victor paid for his half,” he clarified, continuing. “I still have to come up with mine.”
A long silence stretched between them.
Georgia stood up, pacing the living room. “I guess asking what happens if you can’t come up with the money would be a stupid question,” she said, finally breaking the quiet.
Her brother nodded. “I don’t think they would be quick about it, either.”
Georgia turned green and her stomach did a flip. “So, how much?” she asked him again, continuing to pace. Georgia wasn’t stupid. She knew her brother had been purposely avoiding this particular fact during his story hour.
Felix bit his lower lip and said nothing.
“Felix…” Georgia threatened, stopping in her tracks to glare at him.
He mumbled something under his breath.
“Felix!”
“Ten grand!” he yelled back, snapping. “Fucking ten thousand dollars, okay?”
Georgia sank back down to the couch, her eyes wide.
“Yeah,” Felix said solemnly. “I’m fucked.”
“Not necessarily,” Georgia said, optimistic. “He had to have given you some time to get the money together. How long do you have?”
“One week,” he replied heavily, nearly crushing her hopes with his fatalistic tone.
She jumped up from the couch and began to pace again. “Okay,” Georgia said, her mind going a mile a minute. “Okay, so I’ve got a couple grand in my savings account. I might be able to open a credit card and get a cash advance on it within a week, that should be at least another three thousand dollars right there, so that’s half of it taken care of…”
Felix watched as his sister walked back and forth across her small townhome living room, muttering to herself about accounts and advances. A slimy pit of shame grew in his gut as he realized he had gone his entire life allowing his sister to clean up his messes for him.
Every time he got into trouble, there she was to bail him out, no matter what he had done. And every time, the trouble he found himself in was worse and worse. Eventually, a time would come where Georgia wouldn’t be able to help him.
Is this that time? he wondered, hating himself that he was so weak. He tuned back into his sister’s ramblings. The least he could do if she was going to save his sorry ass was pay attention.
“…if I sell my car I could get another three, maybe four thousand, so that leaves a thousand…let’s say fifteen hundred dollars we need to come up with in a week,” she finished, looking at him expectantly.
He stared back at her. “Yeah, uh, that sounds great.”
“Do you have any ideas where you can get fifteen hundred dollars?” she asked, though what she really wanted to say was, “You had better start helping me save you or I’m going to let them murder your ass.”
“I might be able to borrow a couple hundred from Alex,” he suggested.
“Okay, why don’t you give him a call and ask him while I go get more wine,” Georgia said, heading to the kitchen before Felix could respond.
If she didn’t get a minute to herself, she was going to flip the fuck out. Her brother had really pushed the limits this time. She had to help him, though. If she didn’t, he would be dead within a week. There was no way he would be able to come up with ten grand on his own.
Georgia poured herself another glass, reasoning that tonight had been incredibly stressful and that she was entitled to an extra glass of wine or three. Taking a deep breath, she reentered the living room and immediately saw Felix was white as a sheet.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, alarmed. She rushed to his side.
“Well, I’m glad we hung out at your house tonight. Alex said Ivan put someone on my place, to make sure I don’t run,” Felix explained, seemingly in shock. “He also said every day I don’t come up with the money, he’s going to add ten percent interest. I, uh, I guess it’s normally twenty percent, but, um, Alex said Ivan gave me the employee discount.” Felix broke into a crazed, uncontrollable laughter that quickly subsided into heaving sobs.
“He wants me to fail, Joja!” he screamed. “He wants me to fail so he can kill me and pretend it was my own fault, that’s what he does!”
Georgia flinched, more at his tone than his volume. She had never heard the sound of pure terror before. It was particularly horrifying knowing that its source was her little brother.
“We’ll think of something,” she finally said, sounding more confident than she felt.
“Like what?” Felix asked skeptically.
Georgia stood up. “Let’s just figure out tonight first, okay? You can’t go back home obviously. You’ll stay here and we’ll work out a plan first thing tomorrow morning.” She forced a smile onto her face and went to grab a pillow and blanket for the couch.
Felix caught sight of the look on Georgia’s face just before she plastered that awful “everything is fine” grin across it. It was a look that said for once, she had no idea what to do. Felix took the bedding from Georgia, setting it next to him on the couch.
“Good night, Joja,” he said, flashing a quick smile at her. “I think I’m gonna watch some TV before I go to sleep. I’m feeling pretty wired, y’know?”
Georgia didn’t
move. Felix gave her a look. “I’d ask you if you wanted to watch with me, but at this hour it’s just going to be infomercials and I know you hate late night TV.”
“I’m really sorry, Felix,” Georgia said quietly. “But I need you to turn out your pockets.”
Felix stared at his sister, a confused look artfully constructed on his face. “What? Why?”
“You know why, Felix. Please don’t turn this into a thing,” Georgia said flatly, her blue eyes aimed squarely at his shoes.
Felix began to puff his chest up, ready to stir up a dramatic outrage against his sister’s terrible insinuations, but one look at his big sister, a woman who had spent half of her childhood and all of her adult life taking care of him, and the tank of prideful hot air whooshed out of him in one big rush.