Meant For You

fifty-six.

Miles Dempsey

It's almost dawn.

While I figured drunk teenagers wouldn't give a fuck about who I was, I still wore my casual disguise. A gray sweatshirt hoodie, a baseball hat, and my Prada sunglasses. Stepping into the house, there are still a handful of kids here. I make sure to watch my step avoiding bottles of alcohol on the ground and red solo cups.

The air reeks of cheap beer and sweat. It's not the nicest smell so I scrunch my nose up. As I walk through the house, I feel eyes on me but I don't bother paying attention to anyone who isn't Brooks. This house is massive, he could be anywhere. The living area and kitchen were a fail. The first flight of stairs leads into a huge upstairs space filled with about six rooms. Each one I enter is a fail too.

My phone dings in my pocket and I pull it out as I continue my search.

Nola Scott: no reply from joey yet. have you seen him?

Have to change her contact name to something less formal soon. I keep the phone in my hand but don't reply as I enter another room. This one is a bedroom, larger than the others. The room is dark but I can see the curtains flowing from the cool wind outside. Is that a balcony?

Putting my phone into my pocket, I take large steps to the balcony. The whole backyard and more is in my view from here. A couple of kids hang out in the backyard still and I glance around. My eyes do a double take when I see a body lying on the floor in the corner. Please don't let that be...

"Brooks," I whisper to myself. "Fuck." As soon as I spot him, I'm taking off downstairs. I'm careful not to bump any bodies on my way outside but I rush to his side. He's lying down, eyes closed and my heart starts racing quickly. Does no one give a fuck that a kid is knocked out on the ground ten feet away from them?

Of course, they don't.

"Brooks." I grab his limp body and place his head on my lap. "Hey, man, wake up." Lightly, I smack his cheeks a couple of times. His eyes open after the third time but they're really low. Yeah, he has no idea what's going on. His lack of words doesn't make this any better. I pull out my phone and text Nola where we're at. Less than a minute later, both Scotts are rushing to my side as I try to keep their little brother awake.

"Brooks!" Nola says, getting on her knees next to me. His eyes open again at the sound of his name. They're red and his eyelids hang low. "We have to take him a shower," Kayce says. For a second, I see panic cross his features but he recovers quickly. "Miles, help me carry him to a bathroom."

I remember seeing a full bath in the room I was in earlier but we'd have to take him up the stairs. Kayce says it's fine and I grab his arms while he grabs Brooks' feet. At fifteen years old, you'd think he'd be lanky and not at all heavy. He's actually the opposite. Brooks is about 5'10 and has a lean build, still building that muscle. He's not light at all and it's kind of hard getting him up the stairs.

People stare at us but we don't bother paying any attention to him. Nola tries to help us up the stairs, leading us verbally so we don't trip. Once we make it to the bedroom, we put Brooks down gently in the shower. "You should leave," Kayce says, talking to his older sister. Nola furrows her brows looking down at their younger brother. "Are you kidding?! I'm not leaving him in this state!"

"We have to take off his clothes, Nola. He can't get dad's seats soaked," he explains. Nola makes a disgusted face but she still hesitates. She looks over at me and I nod. "We got this, just wait outside the door. We'll call out if we need anything," I assure her. She still hesitates, eyeing me for a long time, and then Brooks.

"Fine," she huffs before walking out of the bathroom and closing the door behind her. Kayce is already removing Brooks's shoes and t-shirt. We both pull off his pants and boxers. "This feels illegal," I say, not glancing down once. Nope. I'm not trying to see my girlfriend's brother naked. Not now, not ever. "He's basically your brother too, who cares," Kayce mumbles as he switches on the shower head.