Page 10 of Holidays and Handcuffs

She sighs, her shoulders slumping slightly. “It was… a lot. My brother’s sick. I’m sure you remember Billy?”

My jaw tenses. I’m not sure how, but she doesn’t seem to know what happened ten years ago, how I’m the reason her brother went to jail. My hands grip the steering wheel.

“My parents…” she continues. “Well, they’re a whole other issue.” She hesitates for a moment, as if debating how much to say. “Thankfully he’s going to get better.”

“Your parents are…protective over the two of you?”

She lets out a shaky breath, her fingers fidgeting in her lap. “No, just over Billy. Whenever… Billy gets sick, my parents always make a point of reminding me of my duty.”

My brow furrows. “Duty?” I grip the steering wheel a little tighter, feeling a rush of protective anger on her behalf.

She continues. “Honestly, I’m just tired. Tired of always being second to Billy, of being the one to save him.” Her voice cracks slightly, and she quickly looks away, as if embarrassed by her own vulnerability.

“Why do they think it's your duty to save him?”

Her silence stretches out for a moment, and I wonder if I pushed too far. Finally, she glances at me, her eyes wide with hesitation. “Promise you won’t tell anyone about this?”

I pause before answering, already thinking about all the ways I know how to kill and bury someone without anyone ever finding them or realizing they’re missing. “Yes, I promise.”

She takes a deep breath. “I’m... I’m a savior sibling. For Billy.”

I draw in a sharp breath and stomp on the breaks so hard her seat belt engages.

“Jack, wh—”

“You’re a savior sibling for that piece of shit?”

Emily’s head snaps my direction. “What?”

I think about all the times Billy got into fights in school, picking on kids way bigger than him. I think about how he wascarelessly and recklessly was dealing drugs to minors and doing every drug he could get his hands on—and it’s all because he knew Emily would be there to mop up the mess he made.

“Emily,” I grind out. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

She open and closes her mouth before answering. “I—how could I? I was a minor, and I…I didn’t know I could escape.”

I’m seeing red and have to fight to not ruin the date I have planned for us. This is a big chance to win Emily, to show her I’m here for her, that I would never, ever use her like her shitty family. I swallow hard and pull back out into the darkened street. My stomach twists with disgust at the thought of what her parents have put her through, of what I could have done for Emily.

I glance at her, my heart aching at how small and vulnerable she seems right now.

“Emily,” I say, my voice soft but filled with the frustration I can’t hide, "is this what you’ve been going through your whole life? They made you feel like you exist just for him?”

She nods, her eyes glistening. “Yeah. My whole life has revolved around Billy. Whenever he’s sick, I have to be on standby…just in case he needs any vital organ.”

I shake my head, furious. “You’re not... a fucking insurance policy.”

Her lips press together. “I sort of am.”

“No, you’re not,” I bark out. She turns to look at me, her eyes searching mine as if she’s weighing the truth in my words. I take a deep breath, trying to calm the storm inside me. “You’re more than that, Emily. So much more.”

Her lips twitch, almost like she wants to smile but doesn't quite manage it. “Sometimes, it doesn’t feel like it. Sometimes it…it feels like I’ll never have a life of my own.”

I glance over at her, my chest tightening at the sadness in her voice. “They don't define you,” I say quietly, my voice firm. “You get to decide who you are. Not your family.”

She looks down at her hands, her fingers still fidgeting. “I wish it was that easy.”

“It’s not easy,” I admit, keeping my eyes on the road. “But it’s possible. You don’t have to live in their shadow anymore.”

“I used to dream about leaving, you know? About getting out and starting over somewhere far away. I was actually really jealous of you when I heard you left after graduation.” She huffs out a laugh.

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