Chapter Seven – Laying Low
Renee walks into the kitchen after Dean motions for them to leave the room. She turns and stares at him. "Little sister?" she asks.
Dean lets out a soft breath as he nods. "Yes. She's my dad's daughter from his third marriage… or second, I don't really remember which marriage. But she's my sister."
"Why do you have her?"
He leans against the counter. "The call I got last week was from our other sister, Lauren, who was with Megan at the hospital."
Renee frowns a little as she watches Dean. "Hospital?"
"Yeah. Megan's stepdad has been abusing her and she ended up in the hospital."
"Oh my God."
"That's why I left in a hurry last week. I needed to get to Megan's side."
"But it's been over a week."
"I um… had to take care of some other things and then needed to lay low. I didn't want you to be involved in any way." He watches her closely. "I'm sorry I didn't call, but I couldn't risk something happening to you."
"Take care of things? Meaning you did something to her stepdad?"
"I guess you could say that."
"Dean, what did you do?"
"Don't worry about it."
"Dean…"
"He's still alive. I didn't kill him." He moves over to stand in front of her. "I know I shouldn't have stopped by like this, but I needed to see you." He takes her face in his hands. "I couldn't stay away any longer."
She stares up at him, taking a shaky breath as she meets his gaze. In an instant, she knows that everything he's telling her is the truth. She doesn't need to hear anymore to know that. "When was the last time you two ate?"
"She ate earlier."
"What about you?"
He shrugs. "I don't know."
"I'll make you something to eat."
"You don't need to."
She nods. "I want to." She steps away, wiping her eyes as she moves to the fridge. "His name is Ryan. He's Nick's brother."
"Nick? Nemeth?"
"Yes."
"You went out with Nemeth's brother?"
"Summer and Nick were there too."
"Are you seeing him again?"
She turns around after pulling a bowl out of the fridge. "That depends on you."
He frowns at her. "What the fuck does that mean?"
"Look, I know what you do. I'm not an idiot. It's how we met. But if this…" She gestures between them. "…is gonna work, you need to figure out some way to get a hold of me when something happens. I can't sit around not knowing where you are. I didn't know if you were in jail or lying dead in a ditch somewhere. And damn it, I hated myself for crying over you."
"You were worried about me?"
"Yes!" She covers her face when the tears start to fall once again. When she feels Dean step closer, she lets him pull her against him.
"I'm sorry." He kisses the top of her head. "You're right. I should have found a way to let you know." He pushes her back enough to pull her hands away from her face. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me." He kisses her cheek. "Forgive me."
Renee meets his gaze. "Just promise me you'll try to figure out a way to get a hold of me if this happens again."
"I promise."
She slides her arms around his neck and lets him pull her in for a soft kiss. "I'll make you something to eat." She pats him on the chest before pushing him away. "How old is your sister?"
"That one in there is six. I've actually been trying to get custody of her. Her stepdad is a jackass, her mom is a drug addict, and my dad… well, he's at least trying."
Renee puts the bowl of ravioli's in the microwave. "You can't though?"
"No one wants to give a criminal a chance. And I can't say I blame them. But I also know what Megan needs. And I hope after this they'll see she doesn't belong in that house."
"What about your other sister?"
"Lauren's schedule doesn't allow her to and we won't let her do anything but what she's doing. She's actually doing something with her life."
"What's she do? If you don't mind me asking."
"She's a CNA currently and is going for her nursing license. Megan actually stays with Lauren most nights but hasn't been able to lately because of Lauren's schedule. If I would have known that, I would have figured something out. But I didn't know she was back at her mom's."
"You can't blame yourself, Dean. You couldn't have known."
"I should have though." He shrugs. "Do you think we could stay here for the night? She's actually sleeping and I don't want to disrupt that."
"You can stay as long as you need to. Does her mom know she's with you?"
"I'm sure she's figured it out. My dad knows."
"Okay." She pulls the ravioli's out of the microwave. "Sit." She sets the bowl down on the table. "What do you want to drink?"
"Anything is good."
"Okay."
Dean sits down and watches Renee grab a can of pop from the fridge. "How many times have you seen him?"
"Tonight was the first time." She sits down across from Dean and smiles.
"Did you really want to?"
She shrugs. "It was fun to get out." She watches him closely. "Dean, I wasn't looking for anything more than a fun night."
"Did I interrupt?"
"No. It ended before I even saw you."
He nods. "I just hated seeing you with him."
"You won't have to again."
"Good." He pushes the bowl forward after finishing. "That was really good. Thank you."
She nods. "Glad you enjoyed it. Want more?"
"No, I'm good."
She stands up and goes to grab his bowl. He grabs her hand to stop her. He tugs her over before pulling her down to kiss her softly. She lets out a soft gasp before relaxing into the kiss. After a moment, she pulls back and smiles at him.
"Let me clean up in here. You look like you haven't slept in days."
"I haven't much." He leans into her touch when she slides her fingers into his hair. "Sleep would be good."
Renee hands Dean a blanket for Megan. "She going to be okay staying out here?" she asks.
Dean nods. "Yeah, she'll be good. I'll probably be up before she wakes up. I just hope you're okay with leaving the bedroom door open."
"Of course." She watches as Dean leans down to kiss Megan's forehead. She's surprised by how he is with her. She smiles at him when he turns toward her. "You're a good brother."
He shrugs. "I do what I can." He slides an arm around her shoulders as they walk down the hall. "She deserves a better life than what she's had so far."
"If I can help in any way, let me know."
"Right now, this is enough." He watches as she turns away from him once they're in her room.
"Unzip me, please."
In the matter of moments, they're climbing into bed. Renee watches as Dean settles beside her on his back. She leans over and kisses him softly.
"It's going to be okay." She settles in beside him, laying her head on his shoulder.
"Just glad to see you again."
"Me too."
