Chapter Forty-Six

The family had been trying to get through to Brigid for hours and she wasn’t answering her phone or her emails.  Aiden decided he would drop by his sister’s apartment and see what was going on.  Standing in the hall he thought he heard the faint sound of a shower running.  “Brig?” Aiden called as he knocked on the door and received no answer from within.  “Brigid?!” He knocked harder.  She must be in the shower.  It wasn’t his habit to just let himself in to anyone else’s home but he looked around to be sure the small hall was empty before he walked through the door.  Now he was in her little open kitchen and the phone began to ring but no one came to pick it up.  Aiden turned it over to see Amy was calling. “I’m here I think she is too.  We’ll be home soon don’t let them put Mom to sleep until we get there.”  He clicked off the line without waiting for a reply. 

Catching his sister naked in the shower wasn’t one of the things on Aiden’s Top 10 List so he would knock on the door before he opened it.  Funny thing was the door was open, the shower was blasting cold water and no one was in the bathroom.  “What the hell?” Aiden muttered as he reached under the cold spray and turned the water off.  On the floor something shiny caught his eye and he bent to pick it up.  It was half of a gold Mitzvah necklace, he turned it over to see it had been engraved with a single capital ‘L’.  He wondered it if stood for Lee or Lester or something like that.  Brigid had a boyfriend, Aiden shouldn’t think that was unusual after all he had several girlfriends but Brigid was a little different. He couldn’t remember ever seeing her with a boy or even talking about one.  Another thought came to his mind; what if the guy was still here? What if they were sleeping heavily after a long lusty round of love making?  That would explain why she wasn’t answering her phone.  “Shit.” He muttered and walked out of the bathroom which adjoined her bedroom in just a few small steps.

The bedroom was dark and it reeked of fresh sex.  Aiden knocked on the wall before poking his head through the small doorway. “Brigid?”

“Go away, Adie.”

All the Ichor in his veins went cold, just as cold as her voice to be sure.  He wasn’t interrupting some lover’s tryst.  “Brig?  You all right?” In the dark he couldn’t see her but felt she was propped up on the bed and he walked over to it.

“Other than being incredibly stupid I’m just fine, now go away.”

“Can’t.  We’ve been calling you for hours and you didn’t answer so I came to get you.”

Brigid let out a little snort. “Why?”  One of them sunk so low as to come and collect their stupid little mortal sister.  Would miracles never cease?  Too bad Adie hadn’t come a few hours earlier he could saved her a little heartache and humiliation.

“They’re gonna put Mom out tonight and she wants to see us first.”  Aiden settled on the edge of the bed next to her.  “You sure you’re all right?”  He reached for his sister’s hand in the darkness but she pulled it away. “Did he…” Aiden swallowed not wanting to finish the sentence, “did he hurt you?”

Another little snort. “Just my pride.” Brigid returned.

The softly acrid scent of strawberry wine on her breath didn’t escape Aiden’s attention and neither had the empty bottle of the stuff sitting on the coffee table in the living room. Some fucking creep got her drunk and took advantage. “You tell me who he is and I’ll give his pride a beating it won’t soon recover from.”  He waited but she didn’t say anything. “C’mon, tell me, who is he? Leland? Lenny? Who?”

“Leland?” Brigid said in confusion and let out a little laugh. “Where did you get that name? His name’s Dexter.”  Suddenly something glistened in the darkness, it danced in front of her swollen red eyes. Brigid turned on the light by the bed and Aiden held back the gasp.  Whoever Dexter was he hadn’t beat her, not her body anyway, but Brigid’s spirit sure took a mighty blow.  She snatched the gold necklace from his hand, looked at it, turned it over and saw the ‘L’. “That bastard.” She mumbled with anger. “I knew it! I knew he had a girlfriend!” She threw the necklace across the small room. “Son of a bitch.”

Aiden offered the only comfort he could in the form of the most basic truth he knew about the situation.  “Guys are pigs, Brig, it’s not your fault.”  Sis sure was taking it hard so either she really liked this Dexter asshole or this was her first time.  “Pigs,” he said again.  “I’m so sorry, sis.”

Brigid let out a heavy sigh and flung her arms around Aiden’s neck as she started to cry.  Maybe guys were pigs but that didn’t make her feel any better.  Out of all of her siblings and Lilly, Brigid was the only one to go to University on a full scholarship.  The colleges fought over her and her academic brain.  At her tender age she’d been published four times in three major scientific publications and won several prestigious awards.  Put her in front of a microscope or some incredibly complex mathematical equation and she was in her glory. Put her in a room with people and she was a fish out water. “I’m sorry I didn’t answer the phone.”

“It’s ok,” Aiden soothed as he held her close and ran a hand down her back.  “I hate to do this…”

“They’re waiting for us at home.”  She sniffed back the tears and nodded her head against his shoulder.  “What changed? Is Mom all right?”

“Yeah, she’s ok.” Aiden said easily as she pulled away from him.  “It seems Hades and Poseidon think she can open some kind of gateway that could bring Dad home but she can’t do it with that shit in her head weighing her down.”

That made sense and Brigid nodded again though she wasn’t really sure what Aiden was talking about.  “Turn away,” she told him and pulled back the sheet only to take in the sight of the dried blood on her thighs.  “I really need a shower first,” she muttered.

“I don’t think you’re gonna find a lot of hot water in there.” Aiden advised without looking at her.

How long had the shower run?  How long ago had Dexter left? Brigid didn’t know “What time is it?”

“Here?  Almost ten.”

“Throw some shit in a bag for me, ok?” Brigid asked as she slid off the bed with the sheet around her and headed for a very quick and very cold shower.

Aiden looked around the room as the water went on. Well, what the fuck?  How was he supposed to know what she wanted?  “Whatever.” He muttered and opened the bi-fold closet doors to find an overnight case on shelf.  Grabbing it he went through the closet and then through the dresser drawers without much grace and stuffed things into the hand-held bag.  When this was over, or even before it was and while Mom slept, Aiden was would find out just who Dexter was and go kick his ass.  Brigid was a sweet girl, very book smart, very people stupid.  Any guy worth his salt could see that.  Making his way around the small room the necklace on the carpeted floor met his eye and Aiden picked it up to put it in his pocket.  Might need a little visual aid to get Brigid to talk and tell him where he could find good old Dexter.

End of Chapter Forty-Six of
Golden Years
by Moon Mistress
a/k/a Lisa Beth Darling
Go to
Chapter Forty-Seven