Older Brothers

Chapter thirty-three

Charlie's P.O.V

Khloe rested her head on my chest and fell asleep. I sighed slightly, almost relieved that she was actually able to shut her eyes and fall asleep. I was getting the feeling that she was struggling a lot more than she was saying. It was almost like she wasn't telling me everything, but at the same time, trying to explain that she was trying and there was a reason behind her behaviour.

I didn't want to be, but part of me was still angry at her. I still felt like I was shut out. She may be here in my arms now, but how will I know when she's starting to slip away from me again? She hasn't been telling me anything for quiet some time and I was the one person that she should have been talking to all this time, going back to our old school.

"Is she asleep?" Tommy whispered to me, he had gone back to studying and was sat at the desk, looking over at me and Khloe.

"Yeah. Sound asleep." I whispered.

Tommy nodded. "What do you think that was about?" He asked.

I wanted to shrug, but I didn't want to wake her up.  "I have no idea. I feel like she's still not being completely open."

"It takes time, Charlie. Besides, it's Khloe. She'll eventually explode and we'll find out everything."

"I don't think it's like that. This is different. She's been keeping things to herself since we went to the other school, we just didn't realise it. She's good at keeping secrets." I explained.

"It's to be expected. Our families not really one for being all open with each other."  Tommy said.

"yeah, but it makes me mad. I'm angry at the other's for shutting her out so much. They just saw her as our annoying little sister."

Tommy shrugged. "She is our annoying little sister."

"Yes, but there's more to her than that. How was she supposed to be open with us when before Dean would yell at her every time she did the slightest little thing, Chase would shut her down every time she opened her mouth, Jake would go along with whatever Chase was doing and Elliott tried, but he was so preoccupied with trying to get her to behave that he didn't see what else was going on. You're to blame too, you would make fun of her at every given opportunity." I explained.

Tommy ran a hand through his hair. "what do you expect? She's our sister, it's what brothers do."

"But we're not like other families. We don't have Mom and Dad's always away, she needed us."

Tommy nodded. "She just drives me crazy." He admitted. "Before I didn't even realise I cared that much about her until you told me about that party and me and Dean went to get her. I thought I originally went because I was mad at her for doing another thing for attention and cause Dad and Elliott problems when they have enough on their plate, but when I went and found Khloe with that guy, my blood boiled in a way it had never before. Then we got her to the car, that I was so relieved that she didn't do anything stupid that all I wanted to do is hold her in my arms. It sounds stupid, but I was scared."

I nodded, remembering how Tommy's attitude towards Khloe changed after that party. He still tried to get on Khloe's nerves and piss her off, but it was different. Before that party, he was crueler. Afterwards, he was more concerned that, that would never happen again. I could tell, I just never thought I'd hear him admit it.

"I was too." I nodded, remembering hearing about the party through the school hallways. It was all any one could hear about and Khloe wasn't completely honest with me about whether she was going after I overheard a senior invite her to the party, who, in my opinion, was a creep. I used to hear him gloating in the boys locker room about the latest girl he'd scored and I was scared he'd use Khloe just to impress his friends. Besides, Khloe was unpredictable back then. I didn't know what she'd do.