I need to get inside to Emily to make sure Addison didn’t fill her head with any more shit. It’s a little impossible to do in the moment though because I’m still hard as a rock and unfortunately, I reckon there’s no chance it’s going to go away. I need release. I cock my head both directions, making sure nobody’s watching. When I know I’m alone, I make quick work unzipping my pants and taking hold of my dick.

Behind closed eyes, I imagine that things went a little differently. I’m between her legs, taunting her and threatening her at the same time. Instead of her taking control, she angles her head forward, devouring my lips with my own with a hangover reserved for whores. And then I’m fighting with the zipper of my jeans as she spins around on her feet, pulling her pants down so that her pale bare ass waits for me. I wet my hand first with my tongue and then wrap it around my cock before thrusting into her.

There’s no foreplay and I’m certainly not fucking gentle. She moans as she reaches a hand backwards, clawing at the back of my neck as she beckons for me to drive deeper into her hot, wet cunt. And I’m chewing into the side of her ear, breathing hot fire against her throat. In my fucked-up head, I’m coming in the deepest parts of her, but in reality, I spray the brick exterior with ropes of cum. I drop my head forward, resting on the side of my arm as I come back down to reality, my chest heaving and my tired eyes fluttering. I stroke myself one last time, releasing the last of my seed before tucking my cock away and heading inside the bar.

It’s dark inside. Just as I remember it. It’s like the place hasn’t changed at all in the last ten years. I guess that’s part of the charm. Dive bars aren’t expected to keep up with the times. So often, they’re relics of the past, of simpler times.

There’s only one person. An older man behind the bar. I recognize the face but could never tell you his name. He’s old and weathered with a beard that screams he’s heard his fair share of stories. I’m not here to make friends though.

I approach the bar, leaning onto the top of it with my weight shifted against my elbows. “I’m looking for my sister, Emily. Can you tell me where she is?”

His gaze shifts to a door at the back of the bar for a brief moment, and then they’re back on me. He shrugs as if he doesn’t know the answer to my question. Maybe he doesn’t, but the way he drops a hand to the edge of the bar and begins tapping his fingers makes me think he’s nervous about something. “There’s nobody else here.”

“Interesting.” I rub the bottom of my chin with one hand while I refuse to break eye contact with the liar standing on the other side of the bar. I could tell him that I already know she’s here because I’m tracking her location or I could beat the living shit out of him for lying to me. I decide to take the route less taken and thank him for his service with a quiet, “Okay.”

I step away from the bar and make a beeline towards the door in the back. I throw it open to find the same alleyway I just jerked off in. There’s obviously nobody to be seen out there unless Addison came back for another dose of torture. With a sigh of confusion, I close the door and retreat back into the bar. I glance over at the bartender to see that his back is now turned to me, but I catch him just at the right time as he cops a quick glance over one shoulder.

He’s hiding something and I’m going to figure out what the hell it is.

I feign a smile, with dark intentions woven into my hitched lips, but something stops me as I approach. There’s muffled groans or moans–I can’t decipher which–coming from behind the door to my right. Without a second thought, I rush forward, throwing the door open without knocking.

I find her with some man’s dick inside her. She’s sitting on the sink with her legs spread while a tall man stands between her, thrusting. His jeans are tangled around the base of his legs, his belt clattering on the floor. Emily digs her hands under his shirt, clawing at him while he screws her.

And then she’s screaming as her eyes flash open, “Get out!”

There is something disturbing about walking in on your younger sister getting fucked. There’s something even more disturbing knowing that the boy screwing her isn’t a boy. He’s a man. He should know better. If he didn’t know better before, he’s going to know better now. I reach forward, grabbing the punk by the back of his shoulders and throwing him backwards into the stall door. He’s unbalanced, no doubt because his jeans are wrapped around his ankles, and completely unable to fight back. I draw back and launch a fist forward, knocking him through the door. He stumbles backwards onto the toilet, and even though his hard dick is right in my face, all I can see is red.

I lunge towards him as he cowers before me. My best guess is that we’re about the same age, so there’s no excuse. I grab him by the shirt with one hand as I begin swinging with the other. There’s a certain thrill in the way my knuckles crack against the side of his face. Again and again. Blood begins to dribble from his nose on the third punch. The fifth or sixth punch might be the killing blow, but I’m stopped by a wailing scream against my ear.

“Stop it!” Emily screams as she reaches for my hand, as if her tiny, fragile body could ever be enough to stop me. “What is wrong with you?”

I don’t say anything. Not just yet. I just stare her down as I work to reclaim control of myself. She must’ve gotten dressed during the scuffle because she’s fully dressed now. She tries to push past me, to check up on her boyfriend, I suppose, but I don’t let her. I grab her by the arm and drag her out of the bathroom.

“Where are you taking me?” she questions, digging her fingers into my arm. “Let me go, Nick.”

I drag her across the length of the bar and out onto the empty city sidewalk. I release her from my grip but block her path to get back inside. That’s when I see it. I can spot a junkie from a mile away, with red eyes and oversized pupils. I don’t know exactly what she’s on but she’s on something. “If I ever see you with that man again, he’s going to end up in a casket.”

“I’m not your sister anymore, remember?” She folds her arms over each other, but she can barely remain staying up. Her feet threaten to give out beneath her, unbalanced and wavering. “You can’t protect me.”

I pay her theatrics no attention, opting to dive straight into the reason I’m here in the first place. “You also need to stay the hell away from Addison. God knows she did a number on you the last time.”

She rolls her eyes and laughs incredulously. I don’t know if it’s a symptom of being high as a fucking kite or if she really thinks there’s something funny about what I said. “She should be the least of your fucking worries. How are you still blind all this time later?”

“Do you think it’s a coincidence that she just magically showed up at the same place you were at?” I point squarely at my own head. “Use your fucking head, Emily. I understand that losing Carter pushed you into a bad place, but you need to come back to reality. I’m not to blame for what happened. Mom and Dad aren’t to blame for him dying.” I point forward to the place where I had accosted Addison prior, as if she’s still standing right there. It’s like her ghost lingers everywhere she goes. “That woman killed our brother.”

She coughs out a lowly chuckle. “I’m glad you got it all figured out.” She steps forward, brushing her shoulder against my body. “Have a nice life, Nick.” She passes me one last glance over her shoulder as she walks away. “Like I said before, I’m not a Calloway anymore and you’re definitely not my brother.”

I should give chase. I should throw her into the back of my car, even if it means tying her up to get the job done. It’s not like I was the smartest kid in the world when I was a teenager, but she takes stupidity to a new level of bratty art. She’s a danger to herself and to everyone around her, and if she’s not careful, Addison is going to suck her into her dark world. It’s best to keep her at a distance, I suppose, but I’ll keep my eyes on her in the meantime.

It’s only when she’s gone that I realize there’s something missing. I reach behind me to dig into my back pocket to discover my wallet is gone. There’s only two possible people that could’ve taken it.

The first suspect is Emily. My own flesh and blood. She’s been cut off from the family fortune after disowning us all after Carter’s funeral. I have no idea where she’s even living, although it wouldn’t be too difficult to figure it out with the help of a handy-dandy app.

The other suspect, and the more likely one, is Addison.

ChapterNine

ADDISON