Page 71 of Past

"I will leave you and Seb to sort a worrying Maisy out," I say.

I pull Allie by her hand over to me, and she kisses my cheek. I turn at the last second to give her a proper kiss considering she is leaving for a little while. She winks at me as she pulls away, and Luke follows her out, his hand in the air for a wave goodbye. Luke looks no better, I notice, with his hair all over the place, his clothes wrinkled, and his clothes look slept in.

"I was so fucking worried about you, Elliot," Harley says, patting my shoulder.

"How long was I gone?" I ask quietly.

"A week. Allie was going mental. She didn’t sleep or eat unless we forced her. We were all losing it. I thought he might have killed you. I was going to kill him," Harley says darkly, looking away, out the window."Maybe we still should," he adds, and I wonder if it would solve a lot of our problems.

"No, we aren't killers. He can't make us like our father," I tell him firmly, and Harley looks at me with a small grin.

"I should have guessed you were the calm and responsible one, even after what he did,"he replies.

"Someone has to be." I laugh and flinch when it hurts my chest.

"I will get the nurse, maybe she can give you some more pain meds," Harley says, walking out.

I rest my head back on the pillows, knowing Allie is safe. The door opens, and I expect it to be Harley. I shoot up off the bed when I see Arthur walk in like he hasn't got a care in the world. "I just want to talk, no need for the dramatics," Arthur says, closing the door behind him. He stands in front of the door, playing with the cuffs on his suit.

"Keep her safe. I'm warning you, Elliot. She doesn't understand, but I love her. I always did, but my work . . . ."he stops.

"Is more important to you," I finish darkly. Arthur doesn't disagree with me, answering my unsaid question.

"Just keep her safe, boy," he says before opening the door. "Tell Allie–" he stops mid-sentence. "Never mind. I expect to see you at the next fight, Elliot. I may not hurt you because I want you to look after Allie, but your brothers are something else," he says as he straightens up, reminding me of the few fights we have left.

"Leave," I say, crossing my arms.Arthur pulls the door open and laughs as he walks out.

I hear his fake laugh as he walks away down the corridor.

Chapter 29

Allie

"Are you doing okay?" Tris’ voice slightly wakes me from my thoughts of our dad. I still can’t believe what he has done to Tristan. His whole face is covered in blue and yellow bruises. His one eye is just about open. The long cut from the corner of his eye to the edge of his mouth is a constant reminder of that night. Tris doesn’t say it bothers him, but he won’t look at himself in a mirror. He just doesn’t care about anything anymore, other than pain meds and beer. He gets pissed when I don’t let him take them together. Tris is looking a lot better now than the first time I saw him, his bruises have started fading, and it's only been two weeks since the bridge, that's what I call that horrible day.I couldn’t be more thankful to Blake’s mum, who found a great local nurse who is slowly cheering my brother up.

"It's me who should be asking that." I chuckle, looking over at my brother who’s sitting on the sofa in his apartment.

The apartment is on the ground floor, and there are two more floors above us. The best part is that it’s right in the middle of the village. The building even has its own swimming pool. The rent must be high because it’s a gorgeous apartment. Everything has been done in a cosy theme, with large fireplaces in the lounge and two bedrooms. High ceilings, and most of the rooms are painted a warm-brown. The place does not suit my brother, with his black hair, tattoos, and piercings. It has his own personal touches though, like his guitar in the spare room.

"I told you I'm good." He laughs humourlessly.

"You’re not," I point out because I've been staying in his spare room since they let him out of the hospital a week ago, and I know he is having nightmares.Luke is over constantly, they used to be really good friends, and they wind each other up like no time has passed since they last talked.

"Don't, Allie." He groans, playing with his phone. Tris looks a mess with his baggy clothes, and his hair is all over the place as he sits with his leg on a cushion on the coffee table.

"Maybe you should see someone," I say gently.

"Look, Allie, I love you, but please leave me to deal with my daddy issues alone," he says bitterly.

"Our dad is–" I start, but Tris’ angry voice stops me.

"He isn't my father. He told me that."

I fall back on the sofa next to him in a quiet state of shock. I don't say anything, but I feel like Tris has taken my head with this news. It doesn’t change anything for me, it doesn’t matter that we have different dads. Blood does not make family; you make family with the people who care the most. The people you know are there for you.

"We may be half-brother and sister, but you’re my closest family. I love you all the same,"Tris tells me, and there’s a brief glimmer of pain in his blue eyes until he looks away. I should have known; Tris doesn’t look anything like me or Arthur. I guess part of me guessed, but I couldn’t admit it to myself.

"I'm sorry. Honestly, he is no dad to me anymore, and I just have you for family. Screw the rest of them," I say to him, thinking of everything my dad has done. I know calling him ‘dad’ isn't a good idea anymore; he won't be my dad again after what he did.

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