15 years to life Read online

  No way I could hide my pounding erection it was way too late. I took two strides into the room and pulled the chick’s shirt down over her front. Her face wasn’t red like Blaine’s. In fact, she didn’t look the least bit amused, but she did look beautiful.

  “I’m Brian.” I said.

  “Do we really need introductions?” She said, tossing herself onto my sister’s bed. “I mean you did just see my tits and all.”

  A wide grin stretched across my face, and I couldn’t hold back my laughter. She was funny.

  “I guess we’re even.” I pointed to my shorts. Half my dick was sticking out of hole in the front of my boxers.

  “Mother fucker! Get out Bubba! I’ve seen way too much of my brother. It’s disgusting. Now get out!” Blaine gave me a hard shove. She was a tiny piss ant, and I was a brick wall. Her shove didn’t budge me, but I took the hint.

  Backing out of the doorway, I waved at the girl lying on the bed. “Bye…” I paused waiting for her name.

  My sister kept shoving me. “Her name is Carrie. Now go!” She yelled.

  She slammed the door in my face, and I heard the girls laughing again. Of course it was at my expense, but I didn’t care.

  “Carrie.” I whispered to myself. She was cute.

  I went back to my room, and slipped on a pair of shorts over my boxers and made my way to the kitchen to get a drink. I thought about taking a nap, but changed my mind quickly. Who could sleep with a hot chick in the next room?

  The last thing I wanted to do was be alone with my thoughts or an erection. I needed noise. Silence made me go nuts. Too much alone time would surely freak me out. I had to swallow back the fear because I didn’t have the medication to cure it, and I didn’t want to get myself all worked up.

  With my cup of milk in hand, I looked around. What would a man without twelve years of freedom do?

  “He’d go outside.”

  I must have lost track of the time as I sat there on the porch steps watching the people go by. The front door opened and the two girls walked out. As they said their goodbyes I didn’t stand up. The pervert in me knew that Carrie would have to brush up against me as she made her way down the steps to leave.

  I felt her hand slap down hard on the top of my back. “Nice to meet you Brian. See ya again soon.”

  “Hopefully,” I replied and waved.

  Blaine sat down on the step next to me. Her laughter was loud that she was drawing attention to herself.

  “What?” I asked.

  She continued to laugh.

  “What’s so damn funny?”

  “You don’t stand a chance with that one.”

  “Oh yeah, why?” I frowned.

  “Easy there Gorilla. It’s not because you’re not adorable. You’re just not her type.”

  “Why? She like em’ tiny and nerdy or something?”

  “Not quite. You just have all the wrong equipment.” She stated.

  I gave her a weird look. “My equipment is just fine. At least I think so.”

  She patted my shoulder. “She’s more of a vagina lover buddy.”

  My head snapped around. “That’s hot.” Dear Lord it was hot. I could picture it.

  “You pig.”

  “I’m a twenty three year old virgin. Everything is hot.”

  She chuckled. “I have plenty more single friends. No worries.”

  I could hear the fireworks exploding in my head. Thank God I had a sister.

  “You and her don’t have a thing do you?” I was talking about her and Carrie. I was a little scared to ask. I didn’t want her ruining my wet dream moment.

  “She’s just my friend. I’m a man lover.” She reassured me with a pat on my knee.

  Whew! I wouldn’t mind if they did, but I after that X-rated thought that I’d had about Carrie, another female, and me of course, I didn’t want my sister to be part of the equation. That could have gone bad real quick.

  She laid her head over onto my arm. “I’m glad you’re home Bubba.”

  “Me too.”

  I loved her so much. I could finally be there for her like she needed me to be. I could take care of her now. I would always take care of her.

  Chapter Five- Past

  “I won’t let him hurt you.” I whispered into my sister’s hair as I held her tight.

  “But he’ll hurt you.” She cried. Her body shook as the tears fell freely from her his.

  “He won’t. Don’t worry about me.” I knew that I was telling her a lie, but I needed her to believe me.

  “Girl, you’d better get out here. I’m not telling you again.” My father’s voice was angry. It was always angry. We thought things would be better once mom died, but they weren’t. They were worse. He’d get angry over the noise. He’d get angry if things weren’t exactly the way he wanted them. But most of all, he’d get angry with Blaine because she looked just like our mother. Sometimes when he was drinking a lot he’d call her by our mother’s name. We never understood it. We always tried to be extra good around him, but it was no use.

  “Don’t make me drag you out here.” He yelled again.

  I hated him. I hated his guts. He would hit her all the time, and I tried to stop him. I would do things to make him mad at me¸ so he would leave her alone. It rarely worked.

  “Stay here, and lock the door behind me.” I told her.

  “No Bubba!” Her tears fell down from her tiny blue eyes. She was shaking with fear, and she had every right to be. He could bring fear with just his voice.

  “It will be fine Blaine. I’m tough.”

  That was a lie too. I mean maybe I was tough for my age, but at ten years old I was no match for my father. That never stopped me from defending my sister though. I would take whatever beating he sent my way.

  He hated when I was the one who would come out in her place. His ears would turn bright red, and his fists would be squeezed so tight that his knuckles were white. I had to do it though. I had to take her place. I didn’t like seeing her cry. It made my chest hurt.

  Later that night after the wrath of my father, I went crawling back to her bedroom. I knocked twice so that she’d know it was me. I had to wait until he was asleep in his recliner before I could go to bed. He left me lying in the living room floor battered and bruised. He’d hurt me real bad this time. I knew I couldn’t go to school for the rest of the week. It wasn’t like school would do anything anyway. They never did. The other kids would make fun of Blaine and me when we’d show up with black eyes and swollen faces. Weaklings are what they’d call us. So when we’d take a bad beating, we would just stay home from school until we were healed.

  There were so many times that we wanted to tell somebody, but we were scared. The one and only time that we tried to tell Grandma she wouldn’t listen. She said that he was sad about Momma, and to quit making a fuss about it. I guess Momma never told Grandma that he’d hit her. Maybe she was scared too.

  I lay on top of the covers right next to Blaine, and watched her cling to her little gray stuffed elephant. She cried when she saw me, and wouldn’t let me out of her sight. I kissed her forehead as she drifted off to sleep, but not before we made our usual promise.

  “I promise that some day he will be out of our lives for good. We will stick together forever, and one day there will be no more pain. I love you.”

  Chapter Six- Present

  For the second night in a row, I was unable to sleep. My brain just wouldn’t shut down. I tossed and turned for hours hoping that for once I could just close my eyes and rest like a normal person. But no, that would have been too easy. I knew what the morning hours had in store. I’d have to venture out of the house, on my own, in search of a job. The thought made me nauseous.

  I knew this town well. It was small, and hadn’t changed in twelve years except for the new Taco Bell and KFC. I think what worried me the most was that someone would recognize me. People talk. They had to know that I was a free man.

  I released a loud sigh, and got up
out of bed. I couldn’t lie there another second.

  Quietly, I tiptoed through the hall. I obviously didn’t tiptoe quiet enough. I heard Blaine call out from her bedroom.

  When I opened the door I could see her lying on the bed. The lamp on the nightstand was on so I could tell her eyes were open. They were heavy but open, as she glared up at me. When she patted the spot next to her in the bed, I went over to her. I lay down on top of the covers beside her.

  “You still got that damn elephant?” I asked when I saw it peeking out of the covers.

  She squeezed it tighter to her. “Don’t you worry about it.”

  I ran my knuckles lightly over the top of her hair. “Why are you still awake?” I asked. It was far past midnight.

  “Why are you?”

  “I don’t sleep well. I never have.” I admitted. There were a couple of long, silent minutes between us and all of the thoughts that had been bugging me seemed to race through my mind. There were so many questions that I wanted to ask her. They had been eating away at me. Our visits at the prison were few and far between. She didn’t come as often as I wanted her to. I’m sure it wasn’t easy. When she did visit, I always made her tell me good things. I wanted to hear about work, and her friends. I wanted to know how well she was doing. I never wanted to hear anything bad. The good things are what kept me going.

  “Maybe your insomnia is rubbing off on me.” She said. “Want to talk about it?”

  No…

  Yes…

  Maybe…

  The minutes passed by and you could hear crickets. It was more of a battle within myself. I wanted to talk, but then again I didn’t. Some things were better off not spoken about. On the other hand, if anyone was going to be there to listen than I wanted it to be her. We used to be able to talk all the time, but too many years of separation made it hard for us. She always wrote me letters though.

  I quit thinking so hard, and just blurted out what was on my mind. “Are you mad at me, and are you scared of me? Do you think of me as a murderer?”

  “Don’t hold back you big Gorilla.” She said playfully, pinching my side. Her soft laughter was like music to my ears.

  “I’m serious.” I really did want to know.

  She turned to face me. “No, no, and no. I have never been mad at you over any of this. I’ve never been scared of you, not once. And I would never think of you as a murderer. What you did was not right. You know that, and I know that. But you protected me Brian. You took care of me, and saved me. The only thing that has ever bothered me is the fact that I lost you for all those years. You’re my better half, and I don’t want to lose you ever again. I won’t.”

  That was the second time I had cried in a week. Dammit. I hugged her close to my chest and patted her head like she was that same little girl that I’d left all those years ago.

  “What was it like?” she asked, and I knew what she was referring to. In the times that she came to visit me we never talked about it, and she never asked. There were still things that I couldn’t talk about.

  “Scary at first. I didn’t know what to expect. I was only eleven years old. We’d lost Mom, and then the situation with Dad; I was so scared to leave you. That was the worst part. It took me nearly a year to ever feel comfortable. I was so lonely. I didn’t know what was going to happen to you, or where they would take you. I remember a lot of times I would cry myself to sleep at night. Being a kid in such a grown up place was fucking hard. It made me grow the hell up real quick.” I admitted. “I’ve got to be honest though. It scares me more now that I’m out than it ever did while I was in.”

  “Why?”

  “Because so much has changed. I’ve missed out on growing up, at least the normal way. To be an adult, and not know shit about most things scares the hell out of me. I don’t know how to drive, cook, date, or even use a cell phone.”

  “Those are all things that I can teach you. Well, everything but the dating part. You’re on your own there.”

  “But that’s just a few. What about getting a job? Nobody is going to hire me, and I don’t blame them.”

  She growled under her breath. “Quit getting yourself all worked up. We’ll figure it out.”

  I took a deep breath and tried to relax.

  “Just go to sleep Bubba. Tomorrow is a new day. No more worrying tonight.”

  Her bed was softer than mine, and my eyes were heavy. The late night hour was finally taking its toll on me. “Yeah, okay.” I closed my eyes, and for the first time in a while I slept. It was only for a few hours, but there were no nightmares and no interruptions.

  Chapter Seven- Present

  Four companies told me that they were looking for someone with experience, two places told me they would get back with me, and one lady said I had to fill out the application online. I was seriously screwed. In not so many words they all said “NO”. I’d had all I could take for one day. It would have been much easier if they had just said, “You’re a loser and we’re not hiring you.” It just felt like everywhere I went people were staring at me and no doubt talking behind my back. It took all I had not to tell them all to go fuck themselves. I’d done my time. I wasn’t out looking for people to kill. I was looking for a job so I could do better. I’d put on these God forsaken pants for no reason. I should have just stayed home in my underwear all day.

  I walked a couple more blocks until I found the place where Blaine worked. It was a new business –at least to me, but in an old building. She wanted me to meet her there once I got finished. Supposedly, there were tons of people that she wanted me to meet, including her boss. I wasn’t really in the mood. If I hadn’t already promised her, than I’d be scratching my balls on the couch.

  The place was called Bright’s. It was a one-owner establishment, and from what Blaine had told me it was the happening place to be. She said they did great business. Blaine was a waitress and bartender there, and she had a great friendship with the owner or at least that’s what she’d told me.

  When I walked inside, the place was lit up. There were brightly colored lights, and neon signs everywhere.

  “Can I help you?” The cute little redhead asked as soon as I stepped through the double doors. Her eyes went wide as I walked up closer to her. They weren’t wide as if she knew me. She was too young to recognize me. She was barely eighteen if I had to guess, maybe younger. She was looking at me like I was breakfast and she was starving. It was the tats. I had several of them stretching along the length of my arms, or it could have been the muscles. Either way, I didn’t care. I was horny so all I saw were tits and curves. I didn’t try hiding it either as I stared straight at her rack.

  “I’m looking for someone.”

  “Well if you don’t find her, I’m free tonight.” She said in a sultry voice. Her voice sounded twenty-five, but her face said otherwise. The sexy rasp of her voice made my pants tighten.

  “Wipe the drool newbie and stay away from my brother.” My head snapped at the sound of my sister’s voice.

  I glared hard at her. There was no way I’d ever get laid with her around.

  I followed Blaine through the restaurant and over to the bar, but not before catching one last glimpse of the cute little redhead. “Wait here, and for the love of God, don’t talk to the skanks. You don’t want your pecker to fall off. And trust me, if you fall into that hole, they won’t pull you out alive.” She pointed back to the girl at the door.

  She was so damn funny. Maybe I wasn’t getting laid today, but it was nice knowing that she had my back.

  “Maddie!” Blaine yelled at a girl across the bar. The girl never turned around.

  “What?”

  “You better tell the redhead to stop hitting on the customers, especially my brother.”

  I heard the prettiest sound come from the girl named Maddie, and I instantly wanted to see her face. Her laughter was infectious. Blaine walked around the bar towards her, and I took a seat on an open barstool. I watched the two girls banter for a minute, bu
t never got a glimpse of the mystery girl’s face. I picked up a food menu and looked over it, never hearing the girls approach me.

  “Bubba.”

  “What?” I sat the menu down. My sister stood there in front of me with the girl.

  The girl.

  She was the one with the cute laugh that Blaine was chatting with behind the bar. Holy hard on! Talk about the prettiest thing I’d ever laid eyes on. She was a knockout.

  Her eyes were dark green, and her short brown hair was wavy around her adorable face. There wasn’t one single flaw there, at least none that I noticed. Even the tiny freckles across her nose were perfect.

  “This is my boss Madeline.” Blaine said. “This is my brother, Brian.”

  Madeline held out her hand to me. “Nice to meet you,” she said as I shook her hand.

  “Nice to meet you too.”

  She’d thought it was nice to meet me. Had Blaine not told her anything about me? Then again, why would she?

  Note to self: Talk to the sister when we get home.

  “You own this place?” I asked. She looked way too young. She was probably younger than me, or at least my age.

  “It was my Dad’s place. I practically grew up here. He signed it over to me when he got sick.”

  What was I supposed to say, that I was sorry about her Dad, or congratulations on her amazing future? I was horrible at conversation, especially female conversation.

  “I better tend to the bar. I’ve got thirsty customers. I’ll see you around again I’m sure.”

  “I’m sure. Don’t work too hard.” I replied feeling like a complete idiot who missed his chance.

  “Oh Blaine,” Madeline called out as she was backing away.

  “Yeah.”

  “You guys have dinner on me.” She winked at Blaine and turned around to help some young men at the end of the bar. I couldn’t peel my eyes away from her. Though I couldn’t hear what she was saying, her movements spoke loudly, and her laughter rang out.