My Saving Grace Pt. 06

"We – Grace and I – have something we need to tell you-"

"Is it true?" Mom broke in, her voice little more than a whisper. She looked up at me, meeting my eyes. "Is it true that you've been fucking your SISTER!" The last word was a hoarse shout of rage. Hearing Mom curse was much more surreal than Elizabeth's slip.

"How could you, Kevin?" my Dad asked. "How could you do this? We TRUSTED you to take care of Grace! And instead, you take advantage of her in a time of terrible turmoil and emotional insecurity? HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?" he roared.

"Young people are all kinds of screwed up, these days," Uncle Trent said, serenely. "Lord knows I've had to deal with perversions among my own children."

Fleur snorted. "I've no doubt that you are familiar with perversion, you pig!"

Trent (I'd decided he was no longer "uncle" to me) sighed dramatically as if to say 'see what I have to deal with?' I could tell he was loving the hell out of this. My heart felt like a stone in my chest as I clung to Grace's hand.

Mom stood and held up her tablet. Displayed on the screen were a series of still shots of Grace and I in the throes of passion. I was shocked, to put it mildly! These were from this morning! Whoever had actually done the photography was a professional, judging from the quality. They even had HD-quality video!

Mom couldn't bring herself to speak, for a few moments. She was literally shaking with rage as she stared me down, thrusting the tablet in my face. Trent took her silence as an invitation to speak.

"As you know, I'm a private investigator. I felt, after what I saw at the party yesterday, that my poor niece was being abused. I didn't have anything to take to law enforcement, of course, but I thought if I had some evidence of wrongdoing, I could at lease help get poor Grace out of a bad situation. So I took it upon myself to see what you were up to, Kevin. Anthony, who was also concerned after the way he saw you act at the party, graciously volunteered his time to assist."

I've never wanted anything in my life as much as I wanted to bash Trent's smug face into pink jello, right now. That bastard made himself sound like the voice of reason, dripping sympathy, trying to help a poor abused woman! I could feel my hands trying to curl into fists. I was so focused on him that I was caught totally off guard by Mom.

The first blow was a brutal strike across my face. It hurt badly, snapping my head to the left. Then she backhanded me, not bothering to hold back at all. The diamond in her wedding set caught me perfectly, slashing my left cheek wide open. The pain was pretty intense, but the pain in my heart was far worse. Blood splashed across Mom's hand and sleeve, and started soaking into collar of my sweater as well.

"Kevin!" cried a horrified Grace. She grabbed a cloth napkin from the bar and tried to staunch the flow.

"Kevin, this is deep! You're going to need stitches, baby!"

I hissed in agony as she applied pressure to the wound. Mom stared at the blood on her hand and sleeve, almost as if she was coming out of a trance. The tablet fell to floor, still playing the video of Grace and I loving each other.

Mom stared at me in shock when I stumbled. Fleur moved quickly, steadying me while Elizabeth grabbed a bar stool. Fleur helped me sit and held me steady while Grace and Elizabeth checked my cheek. The blood flow was steady, but it wasn't jetting fountains or anything.

Elizabeth clucked her tongue. As a social worker, she'd seen a lot of similar injuries, especially when working cases of domestic abuse. "Kev, you need to get to the ER," she said, very concerned. "I know it's hurting him, but keep pressure on it, Gracie!"

"No, not yet," I said, thickly. I stood up on unsteady legs to face Mom, and the others.

Aunt Lily looked stricken, seeing the blood. Grandma looked crushed, like she was carrying some terrible weight. Grandpa was inscrutable; he'd always been an excellent poker player. He simply sat holding Grandma, stroking her back with gentle hands. Trent grinned sadistically, savoring this moment like a gourmet. He was ecstactic and it showed on his face. It sickened me when I realized he had an erection!

Just then, the front door of the restaurant opened to admit Uncle James and Aunt Teela. They strode in and piled their coats on the booth by the door.

"So sorry to be late," Uncle James began. "Highway 41 was blocked by-" He came to a sudden stop as he got a good look at everyone in the room. His eyes widened at the sight of my blood, and narrowed at the sight of Trent's pleasure. Aunt Teela gasped wordlessly, moving swiftly into the bar, staring at the blood on Mom's hand and all over me.

"What has happened here?" she asked, softly.

"It seems," Trent said in an oily tone, "that our dear nephew Kevin has been taking sexual advantage of poor Grace." He shook his head, sadly. I wondered if he realized the thin wool trousers he was wearing didn't do anything to hide his hard-on. For that matter, did he even realize he had one? I realized, now, that I truly had no idea of who or what this man truly was, or what he was capable of.

Aunt Teela's lovely face gave nothing away as she gazed at Trent for a moment. "Somehow, I doubt that is truly what happened. At the very least, I shall reserve my opinion until I hear from Kevin and Grace. It is a foregone conclusion that I will not merely accept your version of events!"

Her perfect diction, level tone, and steady regard took some of the wind out of Trent, but only for a moment. Trent favored me with an evil grin and gestured for me to speak. I gritted my teeth. Uncle James and Aunt Teela watched me attentively.

"Everyone, I cannot and will not deny that Gracie and I are in love with each other," I said. The need to keep pressure on the wound made it hard to speak clearly.

I turned to look my parents in the eye. "It's also true that Grace amd I made love to each other last night. She was my first."

"HOW DARE YOU-" my Dad thundered, but was interrupted by Uncle James.

"Peace, Michael!" he said, countering Dad's thunder with his tranquility. "Let Kevin speak!"

"We intend to live together as man and wife, in practice, at least. I will defend her, to the death if needs be. I will take care of her to the very best of my ability." I looked my Dad right in the eye.

"I'm sorry – more sorry than you can ever know – that we've caused you pain, but I won't be dissuaded. I have not abused Grace, I've protected her! I have given her all I have to give, and she has done the same for me! I hope that each of you can look past the fact that we are siblings, and accept the love we have for one another. If you can't do that, we will understand, but I'm hoping we can still be a family. But, I must be clear, I will not give up what I have with Grace."

I wrapped an arm around Grace and pulled her closer to me. She snuggled easily against me, still holding the napkin against my face. "Like I said, I hope you will choose not to cut us off – we are still family, and we still love you! But if you decide you can no longer accept us, we will respect your wishes."

"We were going to tell you all after I graduated," Grace said, "but someone decided to invade our privacy first. I had hoped we could have this talk under better circumstances!"

"Ha, someone watched you act like a slut for your own brother, is what you mean!" sneered Trent. "What a load of sappy, whiney, bullshit! Can you believe this?"

"Enough!" Uncle James said, firmly. "Trent, I will not allow you to defame Grace or Kevin. I cannot pretend to approve of their choice, but I do not condemn them."

Trent snorted derisively, shaking his head in disgust. This had started out exactly the way he wanted, and now James had to spoil his fun. I could almost feel his anger from where I stood. At least his obvious erection was fading.

"What the hell are you talking about, you sanctimonious prick! What kind of priest are you?"

"I'm a minister, not a priest, Trent," Uncle James said, levelly. "You might appreciate the difference a little better if you visited a church once in a while!"

I looked at Uncle James, wonderingly, and he smiled. "No, I do not approve. As I heard someone else say, you can love your sister, but you can't LOVE your sister. Having said that, however, I do not judge you, Kevin, or you, Grace; only God can do that. I'm just a man, as imperfect and flawed as any other. I love you both, very much, and that love will never be broken! Just as I love you, Elizabeth, and you, Fleur! You shall always be parts of my family."

He turned to spare Trent a harsh look. "Even you, my brother. I still love you too, in spite of the fact that you keep trying to make that difficult to do!" Uncle James turned back to the two of us and put his arm around his wife. He gazed deeply into her eyes for a moment. Then he returned his gaze to Grace and I.

"I will never reject you. Not any of you! I may not agree with every decision you make with your lives, but that disagreement won't stop me from loving you, or from wanting you to keep in touch. To quote many other ministers, I hate the sin, not the sinner. Your Aunt Teela and I are as committed to this position as you are to yours. Kevin, you and Grace will always be welcome in our home."

Uncle James turned his smile to Elizabeth and Fleur. "And of course – as I said before – the same goes for the two of you, as well! You will always be welcome, and you will always be loved!"

Aunt Teela nodded firmly in agreement with her husband. "I agree fully with James. Family will always remain family, unless they choose to cut THEMSELVES off. And even then, they are always welcome to return; we would never abandon you." She speared Trent with an icy glare. "Even you, brother-in-law, shall always be family."

Aunt Teela reached up and caressed Uncle James' face gently, and led him to a seat. I turned to Mom and Dad. Mom still appeared to be in shock. Dad had embraced her while James was speaking. Now, he addressed us.

"Kids...it's not that I don't love you, or don't want you in our family anymore. It's just...Kevin, damn it, I just can't accept this. I can't! It's so wrong!" He held my mother close to him, and kissed the top of her head. "I actually feel betrayed right now!"

"What have I done?" Mom said softly.

"What, Catherine?" my Dad said.

"I've bloodied my own child," she said, in that same weirdly soft tone. "How...how could I do that?"

She looked over at Trent.

"I'm not you, Trent; I never want to be like you. I couldn't try to wreck my own child, abandon her and cast her away, just because I don't approve of her sex life. And yet, I started down the path of doing exactly that, didn't I? Is that how it started for you? Is that how you became a monster?"

"Oh for fuck's sake, I'm a monster now?!" Trent roared. "Melodramatic, much? All I did was show you what your kids were up to, Catherine! Seriously!"

He swept the room with a hateful gaze, settling on James and Teela.

"Well what about it, Jimmy boy?" he taunted. "Do you think I'm a 'monster?' I don't believe this! All this self-righteous bull about 'love' and 'always family!'" he sneered, making air quotes with his fingers. "You're all fucked up, all of you! This little bastard is fucking his own damn SISTER! Are you seriously going to invite him for New Year's Dinner, or something? Have tea and crumpets?"

"I suppose I'm not in any place to talk, though. After all, my own little bitch of a daughter packs a box lunch! I guess I didn't beat you enough when you were a kid!"

"I wouldn't try beating her now, if I were you," Fleur said, dangerously. The look in her eye promised critical damage to anyone that tried to hurt her lover.

"You talk a good game, you fucking dyke!" Trent sneered. "If we ever meet somewhere privately, I'll show you how a MAN fights! I don't give a flying fuck in a rolling donut if I ever see any of the four of you damn kids, again!"

Trent actually spat on the floor, glaring hatefully at us.

"In fact, why don't you just get the fuck out of here right now, the whole shitty lot of you!"

Everyone in the room rounded on Trent at this, but it was Aunt Lily, who spoke first!

"No," Lily whimpered, holding her face in her hands. She gazed longingly at her daughter.

"Nobody asked you anything!" Trent roared, and in that moment, something finally became clear to me, in the midst of my pain-fog.

Trent was the abuser here. All the classic signs of abusive behavior were there, I just never looked. With a sick feeling in my gut, I came to understand a little more about Trent. From her expression, Grace must have been thinking along similar lines. Well, with her knowledge of psychology, no doubt she understood far better than I ever would.

"No!" Aunt Lily said again, her tone stronger. Her eyes never left Elizabeth's face, and her eyes filled with unshed tears. "I'm n-not going to l-let you take her from me again!"

Aunt Lily leapt to her feet and threw herself into Elizabeth, hugging her and holding on like a drowning man might hold on to a life saver. Elizabeth was startled, but then she wrapped her arms around the mother she believed she'd lost two years ago.

"Oh, my baby girl," Aunt Lily cried. "I love you! I love you so much! I've missed you so much! I wanted to call you! I don't care who you love, I don't care who you sleep with, I just want to see you happy! Forgive me for being so weak, please, my precious one! He – your Dad – he-"

"Shhh, it's okay, Mama," Elizabeth said. She pulled her fragile Mother closer and kissed her cheek. Grace and I were both tearing up, and Fleur discreetly wiped a tear from her own face.

"Catherine, you can't let anything – or anyone! - take your children out of your life!" Lily sobbed. "Listen to James! If you don't, you'll regret it...like I do!"

"Lily and James are right, Catherine!" Grandma said, finally. "Listen to them. More than that, listen to Kevin and Grace. I know how you're feeling right now, believe me, but I've come to accept their love. I don't approve, necessarily, but I accept it. It's real! It's not two young people experimenting, it's true love. Nothing can stand in the way of that, my sweet girl. Don't let your shock force you into making a drastic, and irreversible decision! Love your children. Micheal, you need to listen too!"

"I want to...," I broke off. I was feeling a little light-headed, and it wasn't the tide of emotion. Yep, I think Mom did some damage... I stumbled slightly, and Grace and Fleur eased me back down to the stool. My head felt heavy; it fell forward. My sweater was probably ruined, I thought absently.

Aunt Teela moved quickly to my side. Pushing Grace away, she pulled the bloody napkin away from my face, and gasped. "James!" she called. "We need to get Kevin to the hospital. Now!"

Uncle James didn't question his wife, nor did he hesitate. He moved, grabbing his coat on the fly. At least the pain had faded some, I thought. Dimly, as though they were speaking from the next room, I heard Grace gasp.

"Oh God, Aunt Teela, what is that?" she said, horrified.

"Calmly, Grace," I heard Aunt Teela reply. "I'll explain later, if you truly wish to know. Now however, we must get this bleeding under control. I can hardly believe no one here, myself included, realized the bleeding hadn't stopped!"

I was exhausted. It'd been quite a day, after all. I sighed, feeling my eyelids drooping. I was slowly drifting off to sleep when a hand shook me.

"Kevin! Listen to me, nephew! You must stay awake!"

Oh, for heaven's sake, what's wrong with a little power nap? Leave me alone! Then, powerful arms took hold of me from both sides and lifted. I saw my Dad on one side, and Fleur on the other. Between them, they easily carried me out to Uncle James' car and loaded me in the back. Grace slid in next to me.

"Keep him warm, and don't let him sleep, Grace!" I heard someone say. I was so tired that I didn't really care what the people around me were saying. Time seemed to distort around me, I couldn't have told you how long the car ride was.

Then I felt warm, soft, gentle hands touching me. I could hear Grace's voice; it floated down to me from the darkness where I was sleeping. "Stay with me, love," it said. "Don't leave me, you promised me you'd be mine forever, YOU PROMISED!"

I drifted aimlessly for who knows how long. I sure couldn't tell you. But, at some point, I became aware of sounds. Next, I realized I could smell, too. Then, feelings returned. I could hear the steady beep of a heart monitor (a sadly familiar sound). I could smell the faintly unpleasant antiseptic smell I associated with hospitals. I could feel I was lying flat on my back, in bed. And I was in that bed alone. Hardly a surprise, but disappointing just the same.

Strong, but gentle hands brushed against my cheek. The uninjured one, thankfully.

"Wake up, Kevin. C'mon, buddy, rise and shine!" came a familiar voice. "Well, don't rise. Stay in bed and shine!" The voice was filled with humor, compassion, and concern. Hannah, that was who owned the voice. Yes, nurse Hannah...

I slowly opened my eyes as the gentle hands prodded me again. I was greeted by the face I remembered from my last hospital stay. Hannah grinned at me and shook her head.

"I was starting to think you didn't want to talk to me, Kevin!" she said. After making sure I was truly awake, and wasn't about to pass out again, she bustled around the room. The open curtains revealed it was full dark outside. No surprise there.

"My sister-in-law, Jennifer, is working in the ER today. She has a bone to pick with you. Apparently you bled all over her nice clean floor!"

"Yeah, I'm messy like that," I mumbled, slurring my words slightly.

"Well, lucky for you, Dr. Rajesh got you stitched up before you made too big a mess."

I didn't laugh, or even smile at her humor, and her own smile faded, a little.

"Ooookay, Kevin," she said. She pulled a chair over to the side of my bed and sat down. She then sighed and swiped tiredly at her eyes. "Why don't you tell me about it?"

"Tell you about what?" I said, disinterestedly.

"Well, you could start by telling me who decided to tenderize and filet that face of yours! And then you could round out the tale with a reason for why they did it. Enquiring minds want to know!"

"I really don't feel like talking about it. Besides, if I did, you'd just think I'm a freak or something."

Hannah giggled, and for some reason the sound of it pissed me off. "Kevin, any man with integrity, a sense of honor, intelligence, and humor, is a freak, these days! That's probably because it's so rare to find someone who has all of those qualities. So tell me about it. What brings you to see me again? It's pretty clear you didn't slice your OWN cheek open with a filet knife!"

"No, I walked into a door."

Hannah sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Okay, you walked into a door. At least you didn't slip in the shower. Look, you've got 9 stitches in your face. I'm sorry to say, it's going to scar. You also got a pint of blood. Dr. Rajesh is going to keep you overnight for obeservation, because you apparently also have a mild concussion, not to mention the bruising. Hell, you were well into shock when they brought you in. If I were you, I'd leave the door open from now on and save yourself the pain."

Hannah's voice was anything but humorous, now. "If you want to tell me what actually happened, I'll be on duty until 2 this morning. Just hit your call button."

She paused for a moment in the doorway as she turned the lights off. "By the way, Kevin, the next time you walk into a door, get yourself to ER immediately, okay? Freak or not, I don't want to see you get killed!"

I know she was trying to help, but there was no way in hell I was talking about any of this with her. She was a good nurse, and she struck me as being a good person, as well. But there are some things I just can't talk about with a person who is basically a stranger.