****Billy ****
I stepped into the house, dropped my gym bag on the floor, and went to the fridge. I should have gone straight to my room instead. As I reached for the freezer door I heard Mom cry out.
"My god baby, what happened to your face?"
"It's nothing Mom, just got hit a little hard at practice," I grumbled pulling out the ice pack.
"Bullshit, who hit you, and with what?" she asked stomping her feet as she came to stand beside me and tilt my head from side to side.
"It was just a little squabble Mom, don't worry 'bout it," I stepped out of her reach.
"Again, bullshit. Your jaw is probably fractured, your missing at least one tooth, and half of your face is bruising. So tell me, who was it?" Her eyes blazed as she stood firm.
"I called Ms. Sloan a whore, Christmas didn't like it much," I grumbled because it hurt to talk.
"Well no shit, would you like it if he called ME a whore?" she fell back against the counter.
"No Mum," I admitted.
"Well come on, I'll drive you to the E.R. and get that Xrayed," she grabbed my hand and led me to her Jeep Liberty.
"You two are just alike. I'm surprised your father hasn't figured it out yet," She chuckled.
"Figured what out?" I mumbled as I held the ice to my jaw.
"That Christmas is your brother dear, don't tell me you didn't know...Stacy found out years ago," she shook her head at me.
"What?"
"Baby, your dad has never been able to get me pregnant...so I faked it and had an affair...twice actually. Chris is your brother." she spelled it out for me.
Well I had guessed Chris and I were related, but brothers? And Stacy...What the hell? Why is she only telling me this now?
"You understand right, William?" I hated it when she called me that.
"You need to find some way to make this," she waved at my face, "go away, Chris is hurting and losing his best friend will not help, whether or not you tell him the truth...well I'll leave that to you,"
Leave it to me? She'll leave it to me? What the hell am I supposed to do with that? If I my jaw wasn't hurting so bad, and we hadn't just left the city, I'd tell her to drive me back home. My brother, my best friend of 15 years was my brother, and I had totally pissed him off. Why couldn't anything go right in my life?
After several hours in Xray, I was told the good news. My jaw wasn't broken and I didn't need any surgery. Bad news? My nose was broken and I had to wear a mouthpiece for the next six weeks. At least they gave me some really good pain killers, which helped me sleep for about 18 hours.
I banged on the large brown oak doors, waited two minutes then gave another hard knock. The door crept open, Abby's soft blue eyes peeked through the door before it swung wide. She wrapped me in her arms and hugged me.
"God, I am so sorry...I didn't know he'd go after you like that," she kissed my swollen jaw.
"I did, had to make it real," I grumbled.
"Not that real, you want to go somewhere?," she waved towards the little shed beside her house.
I pulled the phone from my belt, , "I have to tell him the truth, he's my brother."
"You can't Billy, please...just until my birthday. Two weeks, just two weeks... If my parents find out..." she begged me.
"We have to tell him the Truth!" I shook my head.
"Two weeks Billy. Mom and Dad would make our lives a living hell if they found out," she pleaded.
"My parents will castrate me!" I shouted.
"Come one Billy, I'll be your fake girlfriend for the entire year. I'm only asking for two more weeks," she said softly.
"I don't want a fake girlfriend," I grumbled.
"Do you think I want to choose between you two? Damn it Billy, I love you both," she cried out.
"I'm not asking you to choose, and neither will he," I sighed.
"Two more weeks Billy, give me until then," she kissed my cheek.
"I don't know how to fix this," I told her.
"We'll fix it together, the three of us. Like we always have," she sighed.
"He is...different, changing," I shook my head.
"I know, I'm worried about him too. He must feel so alone now, this couldn't have happened at a worst fucking time," she rubbed her stomach.
"We are all changing," I sighed.
"I know, we're growing up, but we don't have to grow apart. No matter what, we stay together...this is just a ...hiccup," she put her hand on my leg.
"Big fucking hiccup," I rubbed my face.
"You could have blocked a few of those," she giggled.
"Christmas is like a Mack Truck on Speed," I made her roll in the floor laughing.
"You're still picking me up for work right?" Her laughter dying down now.
"Yeah, I'll be back in an hour, need talk to Stacey" I told her.
She kissed my lips, a soft peck, then ducked back out of the shed and went into the house. I walked down the street to the big ugly purple house on the corner. My sister never answers her door, so I just walked right on in. The baby was crying, a year old now and looked just like his bastard father, my bastard father, our father. Fuck my nephew is my brother too? Shit this is getting confusing.
"Hey little man, where's momma?" I asked plucking the lump from his crib. In answer he smacked me in my nose with a rattler. I groaned, gritted my teeth, and went looking through the house.