*I do not own anything you recognize*
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Enjoy.
Tia doesn't talk to her brother for the first hour he's in her home. Instead she sets to the task of getting him closer to human. She forces him into the guest bath with clean towels and lots of soap. Then she makes chicken soup, the cheap canned kind with the star noodles. It's his favorite. After they've eaten and she's made them both cups of tea they settle on the big red sofa and she stares at the man who shares her DNA. He looks like shit and even though he's wearing long sleeves Tia knows there'll be track marks on his arms. She'd looked through his pack while he was in the shower; she knows he has a kit on him.
In all honesty Tia doesn't know what to say to him anymore. They haven't lived together in years and it's not like they have a normal sibling relationship. Tia misses the little boy that used to beat up bullies for her in the schoolyard. She really misses the teenage boy who used to sit on their parent's roof and talk about everything and anything with her. Now she's got a shell of that man in front of her.
"What's going on Ernie?" She tries to keep her voice soft but all she wants to do is yell until he admits that he's fucked up yet again.
"It's complicated Tia. I'm in some trouble. I had to run away from the rehab, they found me there." He looks her in the eye when he speaks and she wants to believe him but she knows it's a lie.
"You're using again." It's not a question.
"No, no I'm not Tia I swear. This is old shit from before. They came to the rehab demanding money and I had to run. I don't know how they found you." She takes a sip of tea letting this settle in.
"They said you told them I would pay your debts. How much do you owe them Ernie?" She can leave the drug conversation for a moment. They're going to have to talk about it though.
"40k." His voice is barely a whisper and he won't meet her eyes. Tia feels her heart freeze up.
"Are you kidding me? Ernie how could you; I can't pay that off. I've been barely managing with the rehab bills." Her voice is rising slowly and she can feel panic deep in her chest. She has eight thousand in her savings. Maybe they can set up a payment plan? She doubts the men from today are the types to take checks by mail.
"It's not my fault Tia, they kept adding interest and I couldn't help myself. That was before I got clean." It's the last straw and she puts her mug down. She can feel her slow temper getting the best of her and it's all she can do not to start screaming.
"You're not clean Ernie. Don't lie to me. I found your kit. I know you're using again. Why would you send them to me?" He's staring down at his fidgety hands and Tia can do math, she knows it's probably been a few hours since his last hit. He's going to start having withdrawals soon. There's a bottle of methadone taped under her bathroom sink for just this type of situation but she won't go get it. She wants to see him expose the truth.
"I'm not Tia, I'm not. I swear. That's an old kit, was in the bag." It's bullshit, no junkie carries extra smack around just for fun. She wants to hit him.
"They stole money from my job Ernie, they did this to my neck." She sounds desperate as she pulls the scarf from her neck and she watches as his eyes widen when the bruises are revealed. "What have you gotten us into? I don't think I can save you again." His eyes go wide at her words and she wonders if he really thought she was going to spend her entire life getting him out of trouble. He probably did, she always had before.
"Fuck Tia, I… I swear I didn't think they would. I thought they would just. I don't know." She presses a hand over her eyes and stands.
"I know what you thought Ernie but I can't do this again. You can stay here tonight but you need to go tomorrow. I can't help you this time." She's signing his death warrant, they both know it and she feels like her soul is splitting in half.
"Tia. Tia." He's looking up at her from the couch and there are tears in his eyes. "They'll kill me." His voice is broken and he grabs for one of her hands. She pulls it away.
"I can give you some money, you can get out of Cali but I can't pay them off Ernie, I can't keep doing this for you. I'm sorry." She makes it to her dark bedroom before the tears start and she ends up sitting on the end of the bed head in hands.
She wants to help him, god she wants to help him so much it's going to kill her but she can't. She's spent her entire life cleaning up Ernie's messes from pawning everything she owns to support his habit to dragging him bodily out of smack houses in the dead of night. She's stayed by his side through three overdoses, four rehab stints, and she's spent who knows how many thousands of dollars paying off his debts. He's her twin, her other half, the only person she's ever counted on and she'd always trusted him to keep her clear of his shit. She wipes at the tears streaming down her face and tries to figure out where things went so wrong. Maybe she should have cut him off years ago.
This newest train of thought is interrupted off by a crash from the living room and Tia jumps to her feet, running out of the bedroom. Ernie is on his knees on the floor, the contents of his backpack spread around the room wildly. His eyes are huge and he's shaking as he rips through the small zippered case she'd found mixed into his clothes earlier that evening. She knows immediately what happened.
"What'd you do with it Tia?" He's yelling and his eyes are bulging. "You bitch! What'd you do?" She leans against the doorframe and wraps her arms around herself. This man isn't her brother. This is the man she can't save.
"I flushed it." He looks up at her and he's shaking, his face a mask she's never seen.
"You fucking bitch." He's already gathering up his things and she knows he's about to make his escape. "Where's the money? I know you keep money here." She shakes her head.
"I'm not giving you any money Ernie. If you stay here and go through detox I'll give you some cash to get out of Cali but I'm not paying for you to go out and buy more." He's on his feet in a second and for the first time in her life Tia is scared of him. They may be twins but he's got a good a few inches on her and even in his emaciated state she knows he could do damage. Especially in the throws of a withdrawal.
"Where is it?" His arm sweeps out at the end table and she jumps as the lamp and phone shatter to the floor.
"Calm down. I'll call the cops." She's never threatened him with the police.
"Give me the money Tia!" He's all out shouting now and she wonders how long it will take a neighbor to actually call the police, this is usually a quiet neighborhood.
"I'm not giving you anything!" She shouts back, heedless of the circumstances. After everything today this is too much.
"Methadone. You always have methadone you sneaky bitch I know you have those doctors at your home in your pocket." He lunges for her and she falls sideways into her room as he rushes for the master bath.
"Ernie you can't take it for a high!" She pulls herself up onto hands and knees trying to get after him. He's already in the bathroom, tearing things from the counter. There's a loud clatter as he dumps one of the drawers onto the floor. She grabs at his shoulder to stop him.
"Get off me." His elbow slams backwards into her stomach hard enough to knock the wind out of her. "I know you have it." He's dumping another drawer and Tia leans back on the wall trying to catch her breath, her ribs feel like they're on fire. She glances up as he lets out a triumphant crow; he's on his knees, the small orange bottle clutched in one hand.
"Ernie you can't take it like that. It has to be measured out." She's gasping out the words and he throws her an annoyed look.
"Shut up Tia." This man is not her twin.
"Don't move." The voice from the bedroom is cold and Tia watches as Ernie's eyes go wide. "Drop it." Her brother shakes his head and there's a soft click of metal on metal. Tia can feel her heart hammering in her chest. She knows that too calm voice.
"Who the fuck are you?" Ernie's pulling himself to his feet, pill bottle still in his hand and Tia reaches out for him.
"A friend." There are heavy footsteps and Tia keeps her eyes on the tile refusing to look up even as Ernie lunges forward. There's a sickening crack and she screams as her brother falls boneless to the floor at her feet.
"Did you kill him, Jesus, did you kill him?" She's on her knees in a second and she feels her panic subside just a bit when she finds a pulse at Ernie's neck. She looks up at Happy just in time to see him tuck the gun back into a shoulder holster.
"Who is he?" Happy's face is blank as he stares down at her.
"My brother. He's…" She has no idea how to explain this. "He needs help." The biker nods and reaches down grabbing at her arm. She feels boneless as he pulls her to her feet. "Help me get him on the bed at least." She feels so weak as she pleads but Hap is having none of it. He doesn't even acknowledge that she's spoken as he drags her out into the bedroom and pushes her down on the bed.
"Stay." There's nothing to do but obey and she watches as the big man walks back into the bathroom, gathering up the pill bottle he pockets it before closing the door on Ernie and shoving a chair under the handle.
"Please, you can't just leave him in there like that. He'll have a concussion, we need to wake him up and check for cranial bleeding, reaction times." She can feel her medical training kicking in like an old friend in light of this terrifying situation.
"He'll be fine." Happy's voice brooks no argument and he kneels down in front of her by the edge of the bed. His eyes are unreadable as he reaches out for her chin, turning her head side to side, his fingers trail down the bruises on her throat. "You let another man lay hands on you." It's not a question and when her mouth opens to respond nothing comes out.
"What are you doing here?" She finally manages.
"I went to the home to see Ma. Saw the broken glass and she told me about the robbery. Came by to find out what the fuck is going on." Tia nods, pushing all her white night fantasies aside. He wasn't here to save her, he was here to make sure he didn't need to protect Noreen.
"I'm sorry about that. We'll of course give you a full refund and understand if you need to move your loved one." Her voice goes flat as she forces herself into work mode. He smiles at her dangerously and she swallows.
"You're an idiot zorra." She has no idea what he's getting at but she loses all thought when his hands start to tug at the buttons on her shirt. If he thinks they're fucking after all this he's lost his mind.
"Stop." She tries to push him away and his smile is gone instantly. He grabs at her wrists with one hand and holds them still.
"You don't tell me what to do." His eyes are mesmerizing and she nods slowly. His hands go back to work on her shirt and he pulls it open, face still serious. For a minute she thinks he's really going to try and fuck her without permission but then is hands are gliding down her sides gently, his fingers testing her ribs. She lets out a hiss of pain and he nods. "Bruised not broken. Now tell me what happened."
"My brother, he's an addict." Happy's face doesn't change; he just nods for her to continue. "He was in rehab and I thought… I thought he was going to get it together this time but," She swallows hard. "There were men today at the home, they say he owes them money. They came to me for payment. Emptied the safe at the home." She doesn't add the part about them promising to return.
"They'll be back for more right?" His voice is gravel and Tia wants someone to pull her close and tell her it'll be all right. She knows she won't find that comfort here. She just nods. "Right, take this." He's reaching for his gun and she balks as he holds it out to her, his eyes are cold and there's an expression there she doesn't recognize. "Take it!" She reaches out for it gingerly. "Have you ever used a gun before?"
"No." Her heart is in her throat just holding it. He grimaces.
"Fuck me. Look," he takes it back, "this is the safety, leave that on unless you plan to shoot it. The rest is simple, point and pull." He demonstrates without fully compressing the trigger and she nods. "If you use it, you call me and I'll come do the clean up. Aim for the chest, bigger target." He gives her a hard look. "Your brother will wake up soon, do what you want there. I have to go take care of some shit." She nods again, she feels hollow.
"What do I do?" His eyes are hard and if he's not going to comfort her he can at least give her instructions.
Instead of an answer she gets a kiss, his lips slamming down on hers with their usual force. His fingers tangle back in her hair and despite everything Tia finds herself kissing him back the gun pressing between them. He pulls away after a long moment and gives her another once over, his eyes impossibly dark.
"Stay here, do what you usually do. Use that gun. If I come back here zorra and find out you've let another man touch you there'll be trouble." He's staring at her and she realizes he's waiting for her to agree.
"Yes," she nods and he's already pulling himself to his feet.
"Take this." He's holding out a small flip phone and when she doesn't reach out for it he tosses it on the bed. "Untraceable, only use that to call me from now on. Don't let your brother get that gun." His voice is stern and he gives her one last look before he turns to go.
Tia hears the front door close and lock and she wonders how the fuck he keeps getting her new keys. It doesn't really matter anymore. She's shaking as she pulls herself to her feet and she's careful with the gun. It makes her nervous in a deep aching way. She's a good girl, or at least she'd always tried to be. This is not how she saw her life going. At 28 she should have a husband and a few kids. She should have a white picket fence. Instead she's got a wrecked apartment, an addict in her bathroom, and an illegal firearm. She takes a shuddering breath.
Moving towards her closet she shoves the gun into a box on the top shelf and tucks the phone into her briefcase before settling herself back on the bed. She wants to go into the bathroom and check on Ernie but the feeling of his elbow smashing into her is too fresh. She doesn't know who that man is but it's not her loving, sometimes high twin. She curls up on the bed facing the door and stares at the line of light at the bottom. If she's quiet she'll be able to hear when he wakes up. She lays there, her mind going a million miles a minute until sleep takes her.
I do want to clarify, zorra, is a Spanish word for hooker. It's not the traditional term but it's a slang word and I thought it made sense as a nickname for Tia.
Reviews are always welcome, don't be afraid to send a critique if you have one. Thanks for reading and I'll see you all in a few days.
