by A. L Long
Hearing a knock at the door, I quickly taped the last box shut and went to answer it. Even though I hadn’t seen my brother for nearly six years, he hadn’t changed a bit when I opened the door. He was still just as handsome now as he was then. With all the gorgeous women in New York City, it surprised me that he hadn’t settled down yet. I thought for sure he would be married by now, with a couple of kids.
“Are you just going to stand there or are you going to give your big brother a hug?” he asked with a grin.
“God, I’ve missed you so much, Nichols,” I blubbered as I wrapped my arms around him.
Not only was he handsome, he had a body to go with his great looks. At six-foot-two, he transformed into a lean, mean, all-muscle machine. And by the way he hugged me, it wasn’t just for show. I thought for sure he was going to break me in half. I didn’t mind it though, especially since I hadn’t been this close to him in a long time.
Pulling away, I could see there was something behind those gorgeous blue eyes. It was like he wanted to say something, but was holding back. When our eyes broke contact, and the awkwardness of just standing in silence left, I stepped to the side and allowed him in. “Welcome to my shit hole,” I announced as I swung my hand wide and bowed my head.
I knew that he was my brother, but when he walked past me, I couldn’t take my eyes of his tight ass. Thinking about how he looked and how I looked, it almost made me wonder if we had different parents. My frame was more on the short side, and what I didn’t have in height I made up for in width. I wasn’t overweight, but I had more curves than any normal woman should have. If it hadn’t been for my five-foot-five height, I would have been perfect for the “Playboy of the Month” centerfold. After all, most men go for women with big boobs and a small waist, in addition to a plump ass.
Standing by the door submerged in thought, my brother reminded me of when I was in high school. I was a freshman and was asked to the senior prom by the cutest boy ever. He was a senior so I wondered if it was some sort of trick. No senior would ever ask a freshman to the prom, I remember thinking to myself. Turned out it wasn’t a trick at all. Not only was Ryan Hyatt the cutest boy in school, he was the most amazing, but when he went off to the military, not only did he break my heart, he left me crying for months. He was the first boy I ever loved. We wrote each other for a while, but somehow lost touch when he got deployed to Iraq. Losing touch with him, my life as I knew it began to fall apart. My dad got hurt, my mom pretty much didn’t give a shit about anything, and me, I was just there. My interest in everything was non-existent and most of my days were spent isolated in my room.
“Let’s get this stuff loaded so we can get on the road,” Nick said, pulling me from my pity party.
As I walked towards him, there was something I needed to know. “Do you ever remember Ryan Hyatt?”
“Yeah, he was that scrawny little shit that took you to prom,” Nick replied sarcastically.
“He wasn’t scrawny. If I remember correctly, he was bigger than you back then,” I admitted. “I wonder where he is now. Last I heard he was living somewhere in New York.”
“I don’t keep track of your old boyfriends, sis. Maybe once we get to Manhattan, you can look him up,” Nick shook his head as he picked up a box and headed to the door.
I could have punched him, but with him holding a heavy box, he was in luck. His suggestion did make me think. Maybe I should look Ryan up. I wondered what he looked like now. If I had to guess, he would still be the cute boy I knew back then, only he wouldn’t be a boy anymore.
CHAPTER THREE
Ryan
“Your aim is a little bit off today, Hyatt. Not like you to miss your target,” Miles pointed out as I loaded another round in my M24. Miles was a longtime friend and the best sharpshooter I knew. Even with thirty-plus years on me, he could nail his target from at least a thousand meters away. He was the best trainer I knew, having served in the military himself. After having earned the Medal of Honor, he was honorably discharged for saving a fellow officer while risking his own life. Unfortunately for him, it cost him his right leg. He never talked about it and he certainly didn’t want anyone feeling sorry for him.
Knowing that my shooting sucked shit, I decided that it was best to end this catastrophe and head out. Walking to my Charger, I could hear Miles’ voice behind me. “Wait up, Hyatt.”
Turning to face him, I waited until he rolled his wheelchair towards me. “What’s up?” I asked.
“Me and a couple of the guys are going for a brew, thought maybe you would like to join us.”
“That’s the best offer I’ve had all day.”
Maybe a little male bonding would get my mind off of what was going on with my brother. There were still a lot of things we needed to talk about, but like yesterday, he was avoiding me. Sometimes I felt like busting his ass for the way he had been acting the last couple of months, but this time of the year was always hard on him. No one really knew what happened to cause the plane to go down. Not even the black box was ever recovered. So, for now he got a hall pass. Mom and Dad’s death was tragic and since there was no way their bodies would ever be found beneath the twenty-some thousand feet of salty water, he deserved a little slack, but that was soon going to end.
Driving to a hole-in-the-wall bar just outside of Manhattan, I pulled up beside Miles’ Explorer and watched as he struggled to get out. I could never understand why he didn’t get a prosthetic to help him walk better, especially since the VA was more than willing to pay for it. I guess he had his pride and wanted to show people that he was no less of a man. Must not have mattered to him; his pride was more important.
As I watched him hop on his good leg to the back of his Explorer to grab his chair, I had to give him credit for his independence. I was just about ready to help him out when I got one of those looks. I recognized it the minute he looked at me heading towards him. It was his way of saying, “I got this.”
Holding the door for Miles so that he could roll his wheelchair inside, I could hear the sound of music playing from an old jukebox that sounded like it had been played one too many times. Even though the bar was a little rundown, according to Miles it had the best hamburgers ever, and he always made sure to order the special whenever he came. It was his way of giving back a little so that this place could stay open. Another thing about Miles was that he always insisted on sitting at the bar. It didn’t matter how hard it was for him to lift his ass up onto the barstool, it was where he loved to sit.
While we sat at the bar drinking our brew, it occurred to me that maybe his mighty wisdom could help me deal with my brother. I hadn’t said too much to him about the situation with Josh, but he knew Josh was headed for trouble. Peeling the label off the bottle, I hinted, “I’m at a loss with my brother. If he doesn’t get his head on straight, I’m afraid he’s headed for disaster,” as I took a pull of my beer.
“You know, Josh kind of reminds me of this guy I served with in Vietnam. He was stubborn as all hell. Never would listen to anyone or ask for help. I will never forget the day that he thought he was invincible. Stubborn fool. He tried to rescue a little Vietnamese girl without considering that the entire area might be covered with landmines. He knew it all; at least, that was, until he activated one. He was blown to smithereens. The only thing good that came out of it was that the little girl was rescued.”
“I need some help, Miles. I just don’t know what do to with him anymore. Mom and Dad’s death has been really hard on him. He is fighting demons and can’t seem to get past them,” I confessed.
“Sounds like Josh needs some help with this. Have you thought about getting him a shrink to deal with his feelings and help him get past this so he can move on?”
“I’ve tried everything. Nothing seems to help. I even suggested that the doctor introduce himself as a friend and try to get through to him that way. Josh knew right away that he was a shrink. He didn’t talk to me for a month.”
“Let me try talking with him.
I think he knows me well enough to share what is going on in his head.”
When Miles suggested that he could help me out and have a chat with Josh, I couldn’t turn him down. He had seen a lot during his life, and of anyone I knew, he was about the only person I trusted to find out what was going on with Josh. Downing the last of my beer, I headed to the men’s room. As I walked down to the other end of the bar, I noticed a guy and a girl sitting at a table near the bathrooms. I wasn’t able to get a good look at them, but there was something about the girl that looked familiar. I didn’t want to get caught staring at her, so I decided to do my thing and check her out more on my way back to my seat.
Taking care of business, I looked over to the door and watched another guy enter the bathroom. It was the guy sitting at the table with the girl. The minute my eyes fell upon his face, I recognized him instantly. There was only one name that came to my mind, Nick Winters. He was a little shit in high school and constantly got his ass kicked by the bigger guys. Even though I wasn’t part of what happened to him, he blamed me for not helping him. He figured I was obligated to protect him since I was dating his sister at the time. Problem was, I never saw who roughed him up and he would never tell me. There was no way that I could be his shadow during school. I had my own problems. I was a month away from being shipped to boot camp and I needed to steer away from trouble. The last thing I needed was a ding on my clean record. Feeling guilty about what was happening, I followed him home one day and just happened to see the guys that were picking on him. Come to find out they didn’t even go to the same school. I guess that was why he never went to the principal like I told him to. I couldn’t stand seeing him get picked on, so I got in touch with Miles and he helped Nick protect himself. He was home on leave and had nothing better to do anyway, as he put it. Nick never knew I told Miles about him. As far as he knew Miles was just a guy walking by who offered to help.
Feeling like I needed to say something to him, I quickly washed my hands and wiped them dry. “Nick Winters, is that you?” I asked.
“Holy hell,” he began. “You are the last person I expected to see.”
As I held out my hand to shake it, I guessed he never forgave me for not helping him out in school. No sooner than my hand was out, his were up in the air like I had the plague or something. I wasn’t sure what was going on with him, but I felt like I needed to say something. “It’s been a long time. I wish I could have helped you out all those years ago, but I couldn’t afford any trouble back then.”
“I get it. It’s in the past,” he said as he approached me with his hand out. “No hard feelings.”
When he took hold of my hand, I knew there were still some animosity there by the way he gripped my hand. Pulling it free, I asked “So how is your sister? Is she with you?”
“Nah, she’s still back in West Virginia,” he replied.
For some reason, I didn’t believe him. There was something about the girl he was with that was familiar and I needed to find out for myself. Letting him do his thing, I opened the door and headed towards the table where they were seated. Just my luck, she was no longer at the table. Maybe it wasn’t her.
Taking my place next to Miles, I ordered up another beer while I watched Miles chow down on his burger. The grease was just dripping from the meat and he was licking the sauce off his fingers that had also dripped down the side. Shaking my head, I chuckled and said, “That burger is going to kill you.”
“Yeah, but at least I’ll die a happy man,” he grinned.
~****~
When I finally got home two hours later, I couldn’t help but think about Charlotte Winters. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever dated. I would never forget the look on her face when I told her that I had enlisted. I could tell then that I had broken her heart. It was going to be a long time before we would see each other again, and I just couldn’t let her wait four years for me. She wrote to me every day for two years. Even though I did write her back, there was a point when I just stopped. It was for the best. I could have kicked myself in the ass for the way I ended it with her. Even worse, I never looked her up when I got back to the States. I figured that she was settled down with someone who would treat her like a queen.
Heading to bed, I undressed and set my cell on the night stand. Stretched out on my bed, I reflected that there was one thing I loved the most about New York City and that was the way the city lights lit up at night. When I got this place, I made sure that the king-sized bed I purchased was set up on the opposite wall of the floor-to-ceiling windows. I loved looking out at them whenever I laid in bed thinking about whatever came to mind. Tonight, my thoughts were on Charlotte. Maybe it was time I tried to get in touch with her. If nothing else, I really needed to apologize for what happened to us ten years ago.
Closing my eyes, I let my mind wander. Unfortunately, my mind didn’t get very far as my phone began to illuminate on the nightstand. Picking it up, I could see that Peter was calling. Swiping the screen, I greeted him. “What’s up, Peter?”
“It’s your brother, Ryan; he’s been taken to Bellevue.”
It took me a moment to gather my thoughts before I answered. “What happened to him?”
“He got beat up pretty good. You should probably hurry.”
Without thinking twice, I got out of bed and slipped my jeans and t-shirt on. All kinds of thoughts were running through my head, trying to figure out what could have happened to him. One of which being, what the fuck did he do now? I knew he was headed towards trouble, and I was pretty sure getting beat up had something to do with whatever he had gotten into.
CHAPTER FOUR
Charlie
I don’t think there was one muscle in my body that didn’t ache, so when Nick offered to buy me lunch I couldn’t refuse. I knew one thing: it was going to be the last time I was going to move. I think my heart skipped a beat the minute we drove into Manhattan, and moving just seemed that much more worth it. I had never seen so many people, way more than what I had expected. Living in a town with a population of no more than a thousand people didn’t even compare to the population in Manhattan. I wasn’t sure how Nick did it. Everywhere you turned there were people. Crowds of people, to be exact.
As we pulled up to a small bar where Nick swore they had the best food, I looked to the building wondering how he even found this place. It looked like it could have used a make-over. Even my apartment building in Cedar Grove was in better shape than this place. Getting out of his fancy car, which probably cost more than I made the entire time I worked at ‘Last Stop,’ I carefully shut the door and followed him inside.
When Nick opened the door, it really wasn’t as rickety as I thought it was going to be. The inside smelled of something wonderful and I could feel myself begin to salivate. Maybe he was right about this place and they did have the best food. Nick pointed in the direction of a table near the end of the bar that was tucked out of the way. We hadn’t sat down before a young girl came to the table to ask what we would like to drink. A cold beer would have been perfect, but as thirsty as I was, I decided a nice glass of water would have to do for now.
Placing our orders, which consisted of a smothered hamburger for Nick and an order of cheesy fries for me, I took in my surroundings. The first thing I spotted was a jukebox in the far corner. Even when I worked in the café there was always music playing. Thinking that this place needed a little action, I held out my hand and asked, “Nichols, spot me a five.”
“For what?” he asked as he dug out his wallet.
“Music, silly.” I replied with a smile.
With the five in my hand, I scooted my chair from the table and headed to the jukebox. Looking down at the songs and the artists, I could see that most of the songs were old. Some of them I hadn’t even heard of. Whoever owned this bar must have been an old soul.
Making my selections as best I could, I headed back to the table and waited for the first song to fill the room. When the sound of “Sweet Home Alabama” began to p
lay, I began tapping my foot to the beat. It must have been a good selection, because the gal behind the bar began dancing around. Even when she brought us our orders, she was swaying her hips from side to side.
As she placed our food on the table, she smiled and asked politely, “Can I get you anything else?”
“Nope, I think we’re good,” Nick replied with a wink.
Why is it, whenever a pretty girl approaches a man, they have to send her a wink? I am pretty sure that wouldn’t work on me, no matter how good looking the guy was. When the girl winked back, I just about lost it. It was so hilarious the way they were going on. Rolling my eyes at my brother, I commented, “Geez, Nichols, do I need to leave so you can move in on her?”
“Nah, I’m good. You have to admit she is pretty hot.”
While I was finishing the last of my fries, Nick headed to the bathroom, leaving me the keys to his Lexus so that I could cool it off before we headed out. I almost told him that I would wait, but decided it wasn’t a bad idea. The last thing I wanted was to get in a car that was boiling hot. Having a car that actually had air conditioning was a step up from what I was used to. Dad had an old beat-up Ford truck that he used to let me drive back and forth to school and to run errands with. It suited us just fine, minus the fact that it had no air.