Page 42 of Shattered

She would give me the strength I needed to push through it.

Her and a small amount of scotch.

I loved my sister, even in death.Nothing would ever break our bond.Doing my best to remain strong, I fought back the emotion trying to tear forth from me.Aware my eyes had become glassy in my despair, I turned away from her.I didn’t want her to see me that way.I didn’t want her to witness me break.

Swallowing another mouthful of the amber liquid, I deemed it time to tell my story.

My sister’s dreadful, tragic story.

Once I was seated next to Sara on the couch, I began.She rested her hand on my knee for comfort.It helped.

“Mia was such a wonderful person, so full of life.I still can’t believe she’s gone.”I took a much needed breath.“The world truly lost a great soul when she was taken from us.”

I glanced down at my trembling hands as I spoke my next words.

“She was only twenty years old when she was murdered.”

~21~

Sara

Oh, my God!I’d assumed she was sick or died from the result of an accident.I would’ve never guessed someone had killed her, taken her life on purpose.

I didn’t say a word, knowing he needed to tell her story in his own time.Rubbing his leg, I tried my best to offer him my support and strength.I knew he hadn’t talked about his sister in a long time, and I wanted him to know I was there for him.I would do my best to console him if he broke down.

Just when I thought he might have shut down, words tumbled from his beautiful lips. “Mia was two years my junior.She idolized me growing up, but I never took advantage of it.I always looked out for her, no matter what.It was my job as her big brother.Other than normal sibling squabbles, we got along great.My incessant need to keep her safe,” he said, glancing over at me, “drove her mad sometimes.”A small smile tipped his lips as he saw the irony in his statement.“Her biggest complaint was when I refused to allow her to attend any parties I was invited to.They were simply no place for young girls.I was doing my best to keep her innocent for as long as possible.Since I was the man of the house, I took on the role of her protector, and I played the part to the best of my ability.”

My heart bled for him.I couldn’t even imagine being responsible for another human being, to try and protect them from harm only to have them ripped away from me.I’d lost people during my short life, but it was different.Alek was a man who was stoically strong, always in control, domineering and powerful.But right then, he seemed to be simply a man writhing around in a world of pain.Lost and alone.

It affected me deeply.

It tore at the core of my being.

“It’s okay,” I said, continuing to rub his leg.

He smiled, but it never reached his eyes.“One night, Mia was at a party I attended.When I confronted her and told her to go home, she yelled at me, reminding me I wasn’t her father and since she was eighteen, she could do whatever she wanted.And I knew, knew I couldn’t control her actions forever, but I sure as hell would try to, for as long as I could.My only concern was for her safety and well-being.”

Boy, do those words sound familiar.

He reached out and clutched my hand, searching for the strength to go on.He found it when I tangled my fingers with his and gave him a little squeeze.

“It was at that party she met Michael Covington.”He physically cringed at the sound of the guy’s name.“I should have pressed harder for her to leave.I should have dragged her out of there kicking and screaming.I’ll forever carry around the guilt of not doing more.I can’t rid myself of the feeling that if I had forced her to leave with me, she would still be alive today.”He shook his head.“Anyway, as soon as I saw the look in her eyes when she caught his attention, well…it was all downhill from there.”

“Why?Did you know this Michael?”I tried not to ask too many questions, but I had to know.

“I knewofhim.He wasn’t in my circle of friends, but he was a friend of a friend of a friend.”He waved his hand about.“You know how that goes.”I nodded.“I knew enough about him to know he was bad news.Let’s just say he wasn’t too nice to his girlfriends.”When I furrowed my brow, not quite understanding, he clarified his statement.“I’d heard from numerous sources he had quite the temper, and more than one girlfriend had received the brunt of his anger.I even witnessed it for myself on one occasion.I rushed in to try to break it up, and we ended up fighting each other.Friends of mine broke up the fight, but not before I got in one last punch.And the girl he was pounding on had the nerve to be mad atme!”

“You guys were young.Sometimes, young women don’t understand they shouldn’t tolerate such behavior.It’s really sad.”

“Yeah, I suppose,” he reflected.“I knew what type of person Michael was, and as soon as I saw them flirting with each other, I stepped in and tried to put a stop to it.Mia and I got into a big fight, and she took off.I found out later on Michael had found her and given her a ride home.

“Soon after, they started dating and at first, she seemed really happy.But I knew eventually he was going to hurt her.He was a bad guy, and there was no way he was going to change simply because he was dating my little sister.I warned him on several occasions that if he ever laid a finger on her, I would kill him.He would laugh and tell me he loved her and nothing I could do or say would ever break them up.He reminded me she loved him and would never listen to me.”He looked away for a minute, his recollections obviously dragging him under.“And the sad thing was…he was right.She was so blind to his evil ways, even when I tried to tell her about his past girlfriends.She was naïve, never believing he would ever do those things to her.”

He stopped talking suddenly, released my hand, stood and moved toward the window.Glancing outside, he appeared as if he was summoning the strength to continue. “It was three months into their relationship when I first noticed the marks.Mia was coming out of the bathroom one day and I saw a nasty welt across her back, slightly above where her towel was covering her.Right near her shoulder blades.When I confronted her about it, she said it was nothing.She tried to play it off as if she fell or knocked into something.You know, typical responses from someone being abused.I told her flat-out I didn’t believe her, that I knew Michael was hitting her.She denied it, of course, saying he loved her and wouldn’t do such a thing.Knowing I would go after him, she never told me the truth.But what she didn’t know was I didn’t need her confirmation.

“The more I pushed her to leave him, the more she withdrew from me, an action which hurt me the most.I was only trying to protect her, but she didn’t want to have anything to do with me.”I knew he was breaking.He was still facing away from me, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Oh, Alek, she was young,” I offered.“She was in love with him, or at least she thought it was love.He was manipulating her, probably blaming her for making him hurt her.She was probably so embarrassed she allowed him to treat her like that she shied away from you.”My heart picked up speed, angry toward a situation from so long before.I wished I could have been there for him then.Little did I know at the time I had my own tragedy waiting for me not far into the future.

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