Behind Closed Lips by Emelia Ryder

Author:Emelia Ryder [Ryder, Emelia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-01-15T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

I talk to Bryan throughout the week. Just a few calls and texts back and forth. As angry as I was when he came back . . . in less than a week it already feels like he never left. I have my brother back, something I wasn’t sure would ever happen.

And let’s face it, having him to talk to is amazing right now. Gemma’s hardly speaking to me, though I still haven’t figured out why. I regularly sleep on the couch as a matter of choice, not wanting to share the bed with her stoic silence. Every night I lie there and stare at the napkin with Laura’s phone number, illuminated by the soft glow of the television.

Saturday morning, I wake bright and early and put on a modest purple dress, with black stocking and boots. I dab my makeup on lightly and make my hair look presentable, before hopping in the car and picking Bryan up from Dad’s.

We’re going to our mother’s grave. I often make an effort to look nice when I visit her. I want her to know how well I’ve grown, even without her by my side.

“You sure you don’t want to come?” Bryan calls over his shoulder as he stands in the front doorway. Our father grunts form the living room and Bryan shrugs helplessly before shutting the door.

“He hasn’t been in a long time,” I say. “Don’t worry about it. He’ll come back around to it one day.”

The drive to the cemetery is silent. I park a little ways down from the grave and we get out, walking along the road that winds through the cemetery. She’s just a few rows deep, I can already see the headstone.

I look between Bryan and Mom’s grave as we stand there. His face is pinched and white, hair blowing in the brisk breeze. He starts blinking a lot and so I drop my eyes respectfully.

“I didn’t buy a return ticket,” he says suddenly.

“What?” I turn. “Back to California?”

He shakes his head. “No. Annie – I think I want to stay here. I’m coming home.”

My chest fills with joy, and I try my best to contain it. But a smile stretches across my face nonetheless and before I know it I’m launching myself into his arms. “Welcome home, Bry,” I whisper in his ear.

I feel him shaking against me, a reaction I wasn’t expecting. I lean back, trying to pull away and look into my brother’s face. But he wraps his strong arms around my back and holds me to him like a child, burying his face in my shoulder. I hear the sobs that he’s trying to bury in his throat, and so I rub his back.

“It’s alright, Bryan,” I murmur. “I forgive you, and Dad will eventually.” I pause. “Mom forgives you. You’re home now, and that’s all that matters.”

He eventually stops crying and leans against me. He’s larger than me, taller by more than a bit. But in this state he feels like a frail little boy in my arms.

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