Page 101 of The Keeper
“Your dad’s here,” is his response.
My eyes flick from Mack where he stands to Jeremy, who is leaning sideways against the cinderblock wall, not fully looking at me. I’m trying to decipher the underlying tension swarming around them, but I’m unable to see what they’re not saying.
“…And?”
Mack looks to Jeremy again.
When my eyes track back to my brother, I gasp. Now that he’s pushed away from the wall and turned fully towards me, I can see his split lip and the cut on his eyebrow, as well as the bruises already forming under his eye.
“Jeremy, what the hell happened?” I ask, rushing towards him to inspect his face.
But he brushes me away, waving his hand in the air dismissively.
“It’s nothing,” he replies. “Dad’s face looks worse.”
“What!?” I shout. “Jeremy, will you just tell me what happened?”
Jeremy shakes his head, just slightly, mostly in disbelief.
“That stupid fuck thought he could show up tonight and not get the shit beat out of him is what happened,” he barks out. “I don’t know how he found out about this tournament, but I made sure he knew he wasn’t ever welcome back at one of your games.”
Jeremy makes an angry noise, then curses and touches the cut on his lip.
“I waited outside for him and when I saw him stumbling up to the entrance, I made it clear that he wouldn’t be attending. The asshole sucker punched me. So I wrapped my arm around his neck and dragged him out to my car. He got in a few good hits but he’s fucking wasted. I knocked him out and threw him in the backseat. He’s gonna sleep it off until I drive his ass home.”
We are all silent for a moment. I let Jeremy’s words play over again in my head. He beat the shit out of our dad. Part of me wants to laugh and part of me is upset because I would never want Jeremy to risk getting in trouble or getting hurt.
When Jeremy found out that Carter cheated on me in high school, he drove home from college that very day and confronted Carter as he was leaving football practice. I was coming out of the women’s locker rooms when I saw them through the chainlink fence, arguing in the parking lot.
Mack had taken Carter by the shirt and slammed him up against the expensive truck Mr. Lincoln bought just two weeks earlier as a present for Carter making team captain. I raced as fast as I could towards them, but by the time I got there, Carter was flat on his back and Jeremy was hitting him over and over in the face.
I had to throw myself in between them to get him to stop punching. Who knows whether he would have been able to stop.
He spent a night in jail because dad hadn’t wanted to bail him out and his coach had to come to town to do it. He was charged with assault and had a bunch of community service.
I’d bought him a thank you card.
I’m jolted back to the present when suddenly, Jeremy turns and punches the cinderblock wall of the tunnel.
I’m so stunned, I don’t react.
I just watch as Jeremy hits the wall over and over again.
It isn’t until Mack wraps his arms around Jeremy and pulls him backwards that I realize Jeremy’s blood is now marking the wall where he split open his fist.
Tears track down my cheeks as I watch Mack quickly and quietly bring Jeremy to his knees on the floor of the tunnel where we stand. Mack remains with his arms locked around Jeremy’s torso, inhibiting Jeremy’s ability to move.
I rush to kneel down in front of them, my knees touching Jeremy’s. And when I lean in close and try to catch his eyes that I realize he’s crying too.
“Are you okay?” I whisper.
He’s quiet for a moment, staring at the wall behind me, before finally shaking his head.
“I should have protected you from him,” he whispers back.
I lean forward and rest my forehead on Jeremy’s chest.
“No,” I reply, although I know my words are slightly muffled. “We talked about this. It wasn’t your fault.”
