Siblings with Benefits Ch. 38

I lowered my head when I saw the look of disgust on his face as he looked around the room.

"Just get your other stuff," he said.

"I don't have any stuff," I told him. "L...let's just go, I guess."

"Nothing?" Mark frowned. Then he pointed at my bare neck. "Where's your locket?"

I brought my hands to my face and started to cry again.

"Oh, Megan, you didn't!" Mark exclaimed. "That was..."

"I...tried to keep it, but I...I needed the money to get the drugs so I could ..." I hesitated. "Be peaceful."

He sighed disgustedly, and then asked, "So you just hocked it recently?"

"Yesterday."

"Then we're going to go get it."

"Mark, I just..."

"Fine, so you're not taking anything with you, let's go."

I nodded and started to walk when my stomach twisted and I stumbled over to the bed. Dropping to my knees, I threw up in the pan. I kept retching until I was gasping for breath. I felt a light touch on my shoulders and realized that my brother was kneeling behind me, holding my hair away from my face.

Catching my breath, I groaned, "Mark, please just leave me, I know you want to help, but it's better if..."I stopped as Mark pulled me to my feet and started to lead me out of the room.

As we passed the table, he looked down and said, "Well, you shouldn't leave this behind, that's for sure."I saw him pick up my black journal and tuck it into the back of his jeans.

Then he looked down at his torn, bloody shirt, and, with a shrug, he stripped it off and tossed it on the floor. Underneath he was wearing a black t-shirt. I had been right earlier; he had definitely gotten bigger. The added definition in his arms was obvious, even under the enormous demonic tattoos that covered them.

In the past, staring at my brother's body would get me aroused. Today, however, all my brother's physical beauty did was make me feel worse. As my eyes dropped I noticed that he was wearing the black Movado watch that Alex had given his for his graduation from Suffolk.

Mark put his arm around my shoulders and guided me into the living room. I gasped as I saw the shambles the room was in. The coffee table was shattered. Tony's chair was broken. There were several holes in the walls, and the lamps were broken. Tony was sitting on the couch, and Julie was next to him, holding a towel to his eye.

When we emerged, Tony quickly stood up, and as Mark and I approached, he gave me a smile through his swollen lips."You going home, Megan?"

"I...it looks that way."

"Good," he said, then looked at Mark. "Hey, man, I'm sorry about before I was just..."

"Trying to protect my sister," Mark replied. "And I thank you for it."

"Yeah, some protection." Tony smiled ruefully as he touched his eye. "Christ, you can fight!"Tony then glanced down at Mark's arms and laughed."Seeing you like this, though, I don't feel so bad for losing. What you do for work? Construction?"

"I'm an attorney," Mark said.

"You're shitting me?" Tony asked.

"No I'm..."

"Fucking hot!" Julie exclaimed. She reached out and squeezed Mark's arm. "Damn, you're fine!"

"And you, my dear," Mark said, taking Julie's hand and bringing it to his lips, "are beautiful."

"Thank you!" Julie laughed. "So hey, you wanna party?"

"Oh, for Christ's sakes, Julie," Tony said, rolling his eyes.

Julie laughed. She gave Mark a quick peck on the cheek, and then hugged me."Be better, Megan," she whispered in my ear, turning serious.

"I..I'll try," I said softly, surprised by her reaction.

"I don't know what a couple of losers like us did to deserve brothers like them."

Deserve. The word hit me hard. I stepped back from Julie and looking up at Tony and felt my eyes start to fill up again."Tony I..."

I didn't have to finish. Tony stepped up to me and gave me a huge hug.

"You let your brother take care of you, Megan," he told me quietly. "I heard what he said to you in there. That's a good man, you stick close to him, he'll get you better, I know he will."

"I...I don't know how to thank you."

"You thank me by coming to see me in a few months, looking damn fine like you did in those pictures Julie has of you. And in the meantime, you call me at the shelter, okay? You let me know how you're doing. Can you do that for me?"

"I can."

Tony gave me a kiss on the cheek, and then he extended his hand to Mark. My brother shook it, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of bills and handed them to Tony.

"Whoa," Tony said, looking at the money in his hand. "I can't take this I..."

"You can and you will," Mark said. "Go get you and your sister some food, and clothes, whatever else you need."

"Mark, come on you..."

"You're also going to take this." He handed him a card from his wallet. "Anything you need, I mean anything, you call me."

Tony was shaking his head, but stopped when Mark reached out and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Listen to me, you helped my sister. You kept her alive long enough for me to find her. For that, I'm in your debt."

"No, you're not," Tony said. "I did..."

"What few would," Mark cut him off. "In fact, tell you what, I know a lot of people. You come down to Providence with Julie, and I can take care of you. I can get you a place, a decent job, and..." he gestured to Julie, who was back on the couch, asleep, "I can get her into a good place. Get her some help."

Tony looked at the card and nodded.

"I'll think about it. Thing is, I grew up here, and I want to try to do some good. But hey, you never know." He then pointed at me. "All you have to do to pay me back is take care of Megan and let me know how she's doing." Tony then looked at the money in his hand and, with a reluctant sigh, put it in his pocket. "Thank you for this, and the rent."

"Thank you for taking it." Mark clapped Tony hard on the shoulder and added, "And thanks for the headache." He smirked. "You hit with bad intentions, my friend."

"Isn't that the only way?" Tony asked, laughing.

"If you want to survive, damn straight it is." Mark nodded. Then he grabbed his jacket from the couch and held it open."Put this on, sis, we have to get going."

"I'll walk you down." Tony said as he grabbed his sweatshirt and put it on.

"Stay with her, we'll be fine."

"Yeah, well, those whack jobs might be out there, and they don't like strangers."

"You mean the Palero?" Mark asked. "He gave me the stare on the way in. I can handle them."

"How did you know he was a Palero?" Tony asked.

"I could smell it on him," Mark replied.

"Umm, yeah, sure." Tony shook his head. "Well, I'd feel better if I came along." He pointed at Julie. "Trust me, she'll be out for awhile." He looked at Mark. "Hey, you want a sweatshirt or something?"

"No," Mark said. "I have things in my car. Speaking of..." He retrieved his cell phone from the pocket of his jacket that I was wearing and dialed a number."Yeah, you still cruising the block? I'm done, so be out front in a minute."

"Who did you bring with you?" I asked nervously. I didn't want my brother to see me, never mind anyone else. "T...Tommy isn't here, is he?"

"No, that's a cab driver," Mark grunted. "You think I parked my car on this street?" He then laughed. "Tommy in this neighborhood, that's a good one, sis."

We walked downstairs. I had to stop at the bottom of each landing so I could rest. Mark finally picked me up and carried me the rest of the way downstairs. When we reached the landing, Mark put me down. I looked out the door and groaned.

"Oh, great." Tony said.

They were out there, at least eight of them, all lounging around the couple of cars that were parked there. As always, the old man was on the stoop. He was looking directly at my brother.

"Let's go," Mark said, walking in front of us.

When we emerged from the doorway, Mark turned to Tony. "Stay here with Megan."

"Hey, man," Tony said. "I'm no slouch I..."

"And that's why I want you with my sister." Mark said. "If the shit starts, you just watch out for her."

Without waiting for an argument, Mark walked down the stoop.

"Is he serious?" Tony asked. "There are a lot of them."

Remembering the night in the Wolves Den, I whispered to Tony, "No one takes my little brother."

As soon as Mark reached the bottom of the small staircase, one of the Hispanic men stepped forward.

"Yo puta, you going past us, you need to pay the toll." He smirked as a couple of his friends walked up next to him.

"What you got for us, Gabacho?" He glanced at Mark's arm. "Hey, how about that watch?"

"How about you spending the rest of your life in a wheelchair? Because that's what will happen if you and your friends don't get the fuck out of my way. Now move your ass, chocha."

"Smooth," Tony muttered. "He just called him a pussy."

"Oh, Christ, Mark," I whispered, feeling my stomach getting worse. "T...Tony go down there and..."

I was cut off by the sound of a shrill whistle. I looked to see the old man stand up and point at my brother, who turned to face him. The old man shook his finger and rattled off something.

"He said your brother has a shadow about him." Tony's eyes narrowed as he listened to the old man continue. "He says that Mark is insulting him by bringing a bad spirit here."

Mark began to speak softly in Spanish, and when he finished, he bowed his head.

"He said he came here peacefully to get his sister, and he hopes to leave that way."

Shaking his head, the Palero stood up and I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach as, pointing at my brother, he began barking out something in a language I didn't recognize. As he continued to speak, the old man held his fingers under his left eye, and I saw all the young men step back. As Mark stood there, the Palero raised his other hand and wove a symbol through the air.

"Wonderful, he's cursing your brother." Tony said. "I think..."

Tony stopped as Mark began speaking in the same language as the Palero. The old man stopped, his eyes widening, as, continuing to speak, my brother, despite the cold, removed his shirt. Turning his back to the old man, he pointed at the enormous Baphomet tattoo on his back. Turning back to face him, Mark pointed back at me, then at the men standing around the stairs. The old man lowered his hand and started nodding. Mark spoke for another moment, then again bowed his head. This time, the old man returned the nod and snapped his fingers at the younger men. They all stepped away from the stairs. As Mark pulled his shirt back on, Tony pointed at his back.

"Look at that thing," he said. "Damn, that's fucking creepy."

"I...it's from one of my paintings, from when I was a kid," I whispered.

"You can paint?" Tony asked.

"I...I used too."

As Mark waited on the stoop, Tony took my hand and helped me down the stairs. As we passed, I heard one of the younger men complain to the old man and point at my brother.

"He's asking who Mark is and why the old man's letting him go," Tony told me.

The old man lit a cigarette and, nodding towards Mark, replied. Tony grunted and, shaking his head, repeated the old man's words."He said, "The Devil's come to Hell's Kitchen to claim his own."

A cab pulled up in front of us. I gave Tony one last hug, then Mark and I got into the cab. I did the best I could to ignore the stare from the driver when I first got in. As we pulled away. I noticed him looking at me in the rearview mirror. My brother must have noticed as well as he said, "The roads in front of you, I suggest you watch that."

"Um, sure," the driver replied. "So, back to your car now?"

Mark looked over at me. "Where's the pawn shop?"

"Forget it, Mark," I said softly. "I don't deserve to..."

"What's the name of the damn place?" Mark snapped.

"J...Jake's," I answered quickly.

"Take us to Jake's."

"I think they close at six, and it's quarter of," the driver said.

"Then drive faster," Mark told him.

Jake's was only a couple of blocks away. We got there with five minutes to spare. Mark got out and looked at me."Let's go."

"I...I don't want to go in there Mark, I..."

I yelped as, reaching into the cab, Mark grabbed my arm and hauled me out."You think I'm giving you the chance to run off?" he asked.

"Hey, man, you gonna be long?" The cabbie called out.

"Asshole, I paid you two hundred dollars to drive me around for an hour and a half. Just sit your ass in the cab and don't worry about it!"

Holding me by the arm, Mark led me up to Jake's and, opening the door, pushed me in ahead of him. Jake, a short bald man who appeared to be just about as wide as he was tall, was standing behind the counter, His son, Billy, who was almost as fat, was sitting on a chair in front of it. They both looked up as we came in.

"Listen, honey, you got something to sell, make it quick I'm outta here in five," Jake said.

"We came to buy back what she brought yesterday, you still got it?" Mark asked, leading me up to the counter.

"Yeah, I didn't put it out yet," Jake answered.

"We haven't washed it yet" Billy laughed.

"Probably too busy eating," Mark said, then looked at Jake. "Picture still in it?"

"Yeah, hold on, I'll get it."

Jake turned his back and began rummaging through a box. Looking at Mark, Billy asked, "Who are you, her pimp?"

"I'm the person who's going to help you lose weight by making you eat through a straw for a month if you don't shut up."

"Hey, man, that's my son," Jake said, turning around and coming back to the counter.

"I see the resemblance," Mark said dryly.

Jake put the locket on the counter. I reached for it, but Jake pulled it back."Whoa there hon, that'll be a hundred?"

"B...but you only gave me forty." I felt stupid even as I said it.

"Hey, kid, that's how I make money."

"Yeah,Meg, can't be cheap to feed that family."

"Mark, please," I whispered.

"Anyway, fine, whatever it takes to get out of here."

Mark went into his wallet, but he only had forty dollars left. He shrugged and removed a credit card."Here."

Jake laughed at him."What do you think this is, Macy's, pal? We don't take plastic, see?" He pointed at the "Cash Only" sign on the front of the glass display case.

Mark sighed."Fine, I'll go to an ATM, I'll be back."

"We're closing in like two minutes. Closest atm is two blocks, come back tomorrow," Jake said.

"You won't stay open for a sale?"

"I can sell it to you or someone else tomorrow."

"Look, I'll give you forty in cash to wait a few minutes then I'll bring back a hundred, you get an extra forty out of it."

"Sorry, pal," Jake said, smirking. "You can wait until tomorrow; I'm going home to dinner."

"Mark, w...we can stay somewhere maybe and come back or," I shrugged, "just forget it."

"No," Mark said, shaking his head. "We are not leaving it here, and I sure as hell am not spending the night in this pit."

"We're closed," Billy said, pointing at the clock.

"Tell you what," Mark began, "I have a deal for you." As I watched, he removed the black Movado watch from his wrist and held it up in front of Jake. It was the watch that Alex had given to him as a graduation gift. "I'll trade you."

"Mark, no!" I told him.

"That ain't real!" Billy said, laughing.

"Whoa, hey, hold on a minute," Jake said.Taking the watch from Mark, he looked closely at it and whistled."My friend, you have a deal, this for the locket right?"

"Yeah, right," Mark said. He then turned to look at the long rack of women's clothing along the wall. "I want the leather jacket, the long black one," he said, pointing.

"Go ahead and take it," Jake said, waving at the rack.

Mark grabbed the jacket and held it out to me. I slipped his off and Mark helped me into the other one. As he did, I saw Billy frown in distaste as he saw my filthy shirt.

"Shit, man, what the hell are you doing with..." he trailed off as Mark shot him a nasty look.

"Knock it off, Billy," Jake said as he stood there staring at the watch on the counter. "Here, honey, this is yours." He held out the locket to me, but Mark grabbed it first.

"Thanks."

"Oh, the pleasure was mine, kid, trust me."

Mark once again took my arm, leading me out of the shop and back into the cab. We rode in silence. I felt even worse than I had before. My brother cherished that watch, and he had given it away for me. I was back in his life for an hour and had already gotten him attacked and cost him a gift from his best friend. Why the hell couldn't he have just let me be?

The cab drove a few blocks and pulled into the parking lot of a Walgreens. The cabbie circled the building and pulled up alongside a black Lexus.We exited the cab and Mark brought me around to the passenger side of the car."Company car," Mark said as I looked at the car, then back at him. "I wasn't bringing the Firebird up here."

"Work gave this to you?" I asked as Mark held the door open for me.

"Yup, after I put Dimuccio away."

I sat in the car and looked up at Mark, who was getting ready to close the door.

"Y...you won the trial?"

"I did, Meg," Mark nodded.

"H...how?"

"I'll tell you later, sis." Mark said. "We have a lot of catching up to do." He smiled at me. "Lot of new stories to tell each other."

I put my head down as I was struck with the vision of myself on my knees in an alley letting guys jerk off on me."I... don't ever want to tell those stories," I whispered.

Mark's smile vanished and he closed the door. When he had come around, he got in, started the car, then slid across the seat next to me.

"Move your hair, sis." He took the locket from his jacket pocket.

I shook my head."I... don't deserve to."

"We already had that conversation, now move your hair or I will."

Not wanting my brother to feel how disgusting my hair was, I held it up and let him clasp the locket around my neck.

"This was given to you by a woman who loves you with all her heart, Megan, a woman who misses her daughter terribly."

I started to look away, but Mark caught my chin, keeping me facing him.

"Now you never take that off, ever. That locket is a reminder to you that you always have been and always will be loved. You start to feel otherwise, you hold it, and you think of who gave it to you."

"I...I always do," I whispered.

"Good," Mark said. "You can tell her that yourself, because that woman is who I'm taking you back home to."

A soft touch on my shoulder caused me to yelp in surprise and huddle even deeper into the seat of the car.

"Meg?" Mark was staring at me, a look of concern on his face."You okay, sis?"

"Y...yeah." I could barely get the word out between feeling exhausted and how dry my throat was.

"I said your name a few times," Mark said.

"I was sleeping," I lied.

Mark turned back to look at the road. "Your eyes were open."

"Oh, well," I gave up and told him. "H...happens all the time lately. I think I'm losing my..."

"You're malnourished, dehydrated, and exhausted," Mark interrupted me as he glanced back over. "It'll pass," he smiled reassuringly. "All of this will."

He passed me the bottle of Gatorade.

"I...don't," I started.

"Just a few sips, Meg, you'll feel better."

Knowing he would keep pushing it at me, I opened the bottle and took a couple of swallows. It felt good going down my parched throat, but once it reached my already churning stomach, I had to fight to keep it down. As I put the cap back on, Mark moved over to the right lane and slowed down a bit.

"There's a rest stop in another mile, maybe they'll have some crackers or something."

"I...can't eat."

"Well, I have to get gas. We're only halfway home."

"That's it?" I leaned forward until I could make out the clock and saw it was eight-thirty.

"We were in dead stop over an hour," Mark replied. "But you were zoning, I guess."

He looked over at me again. "Besides, I have to go. Your friend there gave me a pretty good kidney shot. I'm kind of dreading what color it might be." He shrugged and added, "I mean, you must need to go, no?"