Page 187 of Paradox
“You better not have forced him to do a fucking thing!”
“He didn’t!” I scream, but it’s muffled in Eden’s flannel.
“Let go of him.”
“No.”
“Get him off of you.”
I feel Eden’s cheek rest against the top of my head. “I’m not making him do anything.”
“Get the fuck off of him, Jin!”
“Not until you promise to talk to us instead of yelling. And please, stop hitting him.”
“Not a fucking chance.”
Tek’s hands force their way between mine and Eden’s bodies. He pulls hard, and I cry, "Stop! You’re hurting me.”
That’s when I feel Eden’s leg rise beside me, and I hear the thud of my brother's body hitting the floor boards before I even realize he’s been kicked to the ground. “Hurt me all you want, but don’t you dare touch him again.”
“He’smybrother.”
“And I’mhisboyfriend!” I scream.
“The fuck did you say?” Tek's tone of disgust is a stab in my guts, and the tears are almost instant. For several seconds I feel the red and black cotton of Eden’s shirt dampen against my face before I turn to look at my brother for the first time.
“I said, I'm his boyfriend.”
The look on Tek’s face is no better than the sound of his voice. “You’re nineteen, for fuck’s sake. You’re nobody's anything.”
“So why are you here, then?”
Tek is back on his feet. “To get you away from this degenerate.” He tries again to grab my arm, but Eden slaps him away.
“I’m not going anywhere, Tek.”
“And you’re not staying here.”
“Yes I am. I’m not leaving him.”
“Are you fucking insane? Do you have any idea what Mom and Dad have been through? They've put out missing person's reports.”
“I’m not missing.”
“For god’s sake, you don’t know what you are!”
“I’m old enough to make my own decisions.”
“And you think this was a good one? And you.” He turns his attention to Eden. “Are you the one who convinced him to drop out?”
“I haven’t convinced him of anything.”
Tek’s laugh is chilling. “Oh, please. You expect me to believe you didn’t orchestrate this whole thing? How long have you been sneaking around behind my back?”
Eden sighs, long and hard, and I know he’s using all his strength to not attack. “I never—”
“Shawn knew, didn’t she? That’s why she was screwing around with Reeze.”
