Page 3 of Retribution

Since Neve was back on her feet, I expressly told her that I didn’t want to be tied down in an office. That was the reason I quit my job in the first place. This freed me up to work with the soldiers, even though some of them didn’t take me seriously. I needed to make my mark, to prove to them that as a woman I could go as hard as any man. With Sam I didn’t feel like I could do that.

It was Monday, and I was hyped to get started. I slipped out of bed at around seven in the morning, showered and dressed. When I arrived in the kitchen, Cory was just about to head out to school.

“I made breakfast,” he said, indicating the pan on the stove.

“You and your disgusting oatmeal,” I replied with a fake gag. “No thanks.”

“It’s eggs and sausages,” he said. “See, I also made the coffee.”

No wonder I didn’t smell the coffee because it looked more like brown water, but I didn’t want him to feel bad, so I said nothing about it. “Thanks. Want me to drive you?”

“Nah, I’m good.”

I gave him a quick hug and he was off. The eggs were bland and the coffee watery, but I had my breakfast as though it was a five-star meal. My brother was a good kid, an A+ student who was often called a genius. I didn’t care that he didn’t cook to my tastes, and I was grateful he was considerate enough to make me breakfast. Being proud of him didn’t even begin to describe what I felt for my younger brother. I basically raised him and now he’s turning out to be this awesome person, I couldn’t wait to see what the future had in store for him.

The rest of the day was spent shopping for the outfits I needed for my mission as well as picking up a few things for Cory. When I arrived back home at around three in the afternoon, I could tell that Cory was home because his backpack was sitting just inside the door along with his shoes. This was strange as he usually takes his bag with him to his bedroom upon arrival, and he never left his shoes by the door.

“Cory?” I called but there was no answer. Concerned, I picked up the bag, hurried down the hall and knocked on his bedroom door. “Cory, are you in there?”

“Just a minute,” came back from the room.

A moment later the door opened, and he was toweling his hair, wearing his bathrobe. I handed him the bag and was about to turn away when I noticed a bruise on his right cheek and a busted bottom lip.

“What happened to you?” I demanded. “Who did this?”

He wasn’t a jock, so I knew he didn’t get injured while playing sports. The only sports he liked was squash which he played at the community center on weekends because his high school didn’t have a team or court.

“It’s nothing,” he denied, but he knew that I wasn’t buying it. Grabbing the bag from my hand, he tried to close the door.

I stopped it with my foot and grabbed his chin, turning his face to see how badly he was hurt. “Stop lying to me. Who did this?” He kept silent. “Alright. I’ll just have to go to your school tomorrow and find out on my own.”

I started to walk away, and he grabbed my arm. “Please, you’ll only make it worse.”

“Then tell me what happened to you … now.”

He gave me a resigned look with a deep sigh. “Can I at least get dressed first?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I’ll be in the living room.”

A few minutes later, Cory appeared, dressed in shorts and t-shirt. I waited until he was settled beside me on the sofa before asking him to tell me everything.

“Marco and his friends took my iPad and when I tried to get it back, they ganged up on me.”

“Who’s Marco?”

“A guy in my homeroom.”

Taking his face between my palms, I willed him to look at me. “This isn’t the first time, is it?” He shook his head. “How long has this been going on?”

“A while.”

“And you’re just now telling me?”

He pushed my hands away. “Because I know how you would react,” he said, pointing at my face. “Like that. That crazy look you have right now.”

I managed a smile to soften my face. “What crazy look?”

“Come on Sis, you know how you get. I don’t want you making things worse, so please don’t do anything.”

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