Her big brothers

Chapter 53: apologies

I look up at my brothers who are still standing there, in shock.
I was glad the truth was finally out, but it was way too late.
"Emma, I'm so sorry," Alex said, finally breaking the silence.

I sat up in my bed, but immediately let out a yelp of pain and stood up. I rubbed my tender butt gently while I glared at his guilt-ridden face.
"It's too late to apologise" I snap, leaving my room, and slamming my door behind me. Probably the only time I won't get in trouble for that.

I immediately regretted leaving, because my ass was so sore that it was pretty painful to walk. I began to stiffly walk over to Cole's room when my room door swung open and Alex came rushing out. I ignored him, but he walked up to me and grabbed my shoulders, then gently spun me around to face him.

"Emma, I'm so incredibly sorry. I should have believed you, please forgive me" he said softly, looking desperate. I shook his hands off of my shoulders.

"You tore my ass up for no reason and you expect me to forgive you?" I asked him angrily. "I trusted you Alex" I mumbled, tears pooling in my eyes again. Before they could fall, I made a mad dash to Cole's room, with Alex calling after me.

"Dang, you look awful" Cole snickered, looking up from his homework when I entered his room.

I said nothing as I flopped on his humongous bed, burying my face in his pillow.
"Excuse you, I didn't invite you here," he says annoyed. I continue to ignore him and try to swallow the lump in my throat.

"Get out before I throw you out" he grumbles, rolling over to me in his chair. I knew he was serious about his threat since he actually picked me up and threw me out of his room once.

"Just let me be Cole" I croak, and I realise how awful I sound.
"Woah, what's wrong?" He asks, putting his hand on my arm.

I immediately begin to cry all over again, and he grabs my arm and yanks me up so I'm sitting.
"What the hell happened?" He asked, looking panicked.

I'm unable to speak as I sob uncontrollably. "Cath- Alex- I" I manage to get out before I burst into tears again. My butt is stinging, so I get up. He takes a second before his eyes filled with understanding, and then he gets up and pulls me into a hug, holding me tightly as I weep on his shoulder. He's tense, I can feel how angry he is.

"Alex spanked you because he saw the cigarettes, didn't he?" He asked, his voice quiet, but filled with rage. I nod silently into his shoulder, as he tenses up even more. He holds me for a good few minutes, gently rubbing my back as I cry a river. I finally calm down and pull away from him. He's still holding my arms as I sniff. "You done?" He asks, and I nod. He used his hand to wipe my tears away, before pulling me into a hug again and kissing my forehead. I and Cole are rarely ever affectionate with each other, so I thought this would feel weird. It didn't. It felt just right.

He then went over to his desk and handed me his water bottle. I eagerly chugged the water, only then realising how thirsty I was from crying so much.

"Wanna tell me now?" He asked, placing a pillow on the edge of his bed for me to sit on. I gingerly sat on it and immediately winced.

"Sheesh" he mutters. "So what happened?" He asked seriously.
I sigh and tell him everything, top to bottom. He was getting angrier by the second.
"Why the hell did he not believe you? What's wrong with him?" He asked, exasperated.
I shrugged.

"I really wanna go out and punch him," he says, clenching his fists.
"Don't" I mutter. "You'll get into trouble too"

He sighs loudly and lies on his bed. "This could've been avoided if I was just there to back you up. There's no way I'd let you get in trouble for that lying piece of shit" he grumbles, throwing a small pillow up at the ceiling.