Page 47 of Branson's Promise
“Let go of me, you fucking prick,” I should have known better than to talk back to him. Should have known better than to trust the courage I’d mustered because, as I opened my mouth to speak to Mia again, my words were lost as my father’s fist connected with my face, not once but twice. A blooming heat spread across my cheek as I stumbled backwards.
“Milo!” Mia cried out, rushing towards me and grabbing me around the shoulders. My hand shot out to cover the aching spot on my face and I looked at my father, ashamed of myself for letting him get the upper hand yet again and showing Mia how weak I was.
“Get out of my house and stay away from your sister before you ruin her life more than you already have,” he ground out, shaking his swollen fist.
“He hasn’t ruined my life!” Mia shouted and my heart sank. I knew where he was going with this, it was my greatest fear and I was looking it right in the eye.
“Oh, but he has. Why don’t you tell your sister how you killed her mother.” Mia dropped her hands from me, putting some distance between us, and I turned towards her tear-streaked face.
“What does he mean?” She shook her head but didn’t take her eyes off of me. Her brow was raised in question and her bottom lip quivered.
I couldn’t breathe and my heart was beating in a way that didn’t feel right. “That’s not fair.” It was a whisper, a sad, sorrow filled whisper and I hated how small I sounded.
You’re weak, Milo. Weak.
“What’s not fair was your mother dying because you were so fucking useless. A mistake, Milo. That’s what you've always been. Mia is better off without you.” His words stung, like a blade to the abdomen, and my breath caught in my throat, trying to choke me.
From next to me came the heartbreaking sobs of my sister, the only family I had left. She’d hate me now. I always knew it was coming. I was going to be sick. My fight or flight response kicked in and I turned and ran, right out of the house and away from Mia. A better brother would have dragged her out of there, but I wasn’t him.
I ran like the fucking coward I had always been.
By the time I had calmed down enough to think about my next steps, I was on a dark street I didn’t recognise. My lungs ached and my skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat, now cooling in the night air. Pulling out my phone, I opened the rideshare app and pinned my location. My fingers stalled over the keyboard, unsure what to put as my destination.
I could either go back to my apartment where I'd be alone or go to the hotel where Noel and Branson were waiting for me. Sighing, I entered the hotel's address. Once they got a look at me there'd be questions and I was sure when they learned the truth, they'd leave me. First Mia, now the men I'd fallen hopelessly in love with. Best to get it all over with in one night. Then in the morning I could try to pick up the pieces of my broken heart.
Catching sight of myself in the elevator mirror made my gut clench tightly, leaving me feeling nauseous and unsteady. My cheek was bright red and swollen and on closer inspection I could see tiny broken blood vessels beneath the skin. It hadn’t started to bruise yet but there was no hiding the fact that something or someone had hit me. My hair was a mess, my eyes were bloodshot and my skin was flushed and clammy.
Not quite sure what I was going to say, I hesitantly opened the door to our suite and stepped inside. Within seconds, Branson was up and off the sofa heading straight for me.
“You’re back. How is Mia? Wha-” his words cut off abruptly when his eyes landed on my cheek. “Milo? What happened?” My heart was lodged in my throat and I couldn’t move. Couldn’t get my tongue around the words I needed to say. Gently, Branson ran his fingers over my face and I flinched as tears filled my eyes. His deep blues were filled with concern and the more I looked at him and the more I felt his tender touch, the harder it became to hold back the tears. Slowly, and without my permission, a hot salty tear escaped, marking a path down my skin. “Babe, talk to us, please.”
Behind him, Noel wore a look I’d never seen before. His jaw was tense, and his eyes were hard and cold - the usual ocean blue now a stormy grey. He stepped up to me on the other side of Branson and slowly, as though he was afraid I would push him away, he gripped my chin, turning my face to get a better look at my swollen cheek. “Who did this to you?” Noel was angry. I could feel it in the tone of his voice and the iciness in his gaze.
Swallowing back a sob, I shook my head. Once I started talking, that would be it. This would all come crashing down on me. I loved them, I loved them so fucking much and I hadn’t even had the chance to tell them yet.
“Please. Tell us what happened.” Branson’s voice was softer than Noel’s and I noticed a tear running down his own cheek, mirroring the ones that now flowed freely down mine. I shook my head then dropped it, staring down at my feet, my vision hazy.
“Someone hurt you and that’s not okay. I will deal with it, I just need you to talk to us.” Noel, our protector and caretaker, wanted to fix everything but he couldn’t.
“You can’t fix it, Noel,” a hiccup escaped as I spoke, shaking my head again to drive home my point. “You can’t undo what I did.”
Lifting my head, I took in the worry etched across Branson’s brow, his watery eyes and the tight lines around them. “What do you mean? It looks like someone hit you Milo. What could you have possibly done to deserve that? I don’t believe for a second that you did anything to cause this.”
“I killed her,” I whispered hoping they heard me so I wouldn’t have to say it again and I was momentarily relieved when their responses told me they had.
“Killed who? Milo, what is going on?” Noel asked, a sense of urgency in his voice.
My body shook with the held back sobs. Time to rip off the band aid and share my shameful truth.
“My mom. It was my fault, all my fault. She died because I was a useless son. I ruined Mia’s life because I took her mom away from her. I don’t deserve to be happy. I don’t deserve you two because I’m worthless.”
All those awful, horrible things my father had said to me, about me, since the day she died, came rushing back. My head swam with each and every verbal blow, his words like a dagger to my already-bruised soul and I smashed my hands to my temples, trying to knock them away, trying to escape him for good.
“I failed her because I can’t do anything right. Because I’m stupid and a mistake and now Mia hates me and so will you. You don’t need my mess, you’re both perfect and I’ll just spoil this too.”
“Hey, stop that,” Noel commanded, as he pulled my hands away from my head and held them firmly against my chest. “None of that is true, Milo. You are none of those things. You are not worthless or useless or a mess that will ruin anything. You are not stupid and you are not a mistake. I don’t know who fed you these lies but I really hope you will tell us one day.”
“I just can’t.” Fuck, I felt defeated.