"Wait, Elijah!"
I felt weak and unsteady as he pulled me along behind him, growing nearer to my flat with every step. Elijah refused to listen to me on anything. He refused to believe that Seth wasn't that bad, and he probably shouldn't. Seth was that bad. I just couldn't let Elijah know that. But there was one truth that I had spoken: I loved Seth. Even through all the scars, I loved him.
"I love him!" I repeated for the millionth time. My words had been useless the past times but finally, Elijah stopped and turned to look at me, his eyes flat and cold. "You don't love him, Alice. You're attached to him. He guilt trips you and you're too naive to realize it! He's using you. That's what happens in these kinds of relationships. They're fucking disgusting. You think you owe him something, but you don't. And I'm going to make sure that you never have to deal with that again."
He continued pulling me along behind him then, and all I could do was sob as we finally reached the door to my flat. When he stopped now his eyes were softer and he seemed torn on what he was about to do.
"Alice, please don't hate me," he muttered. "I can't let him keep hurting you."
I wasn't sure whether to be angry or comforted by Elijah's words before he released my hand and threw open the unlocked door. It banged noisily against the wall and I was frozen in place as Elijah walked inside. I flinched as I heard Seth's voice. "What the hell?"
"You fucking hurt my sister," Elijah roared. "Do you know how much pain you've inflicted on her? She's broken because of you... you disgust me."
I sunk to the floor, my back pressed up against the wall, and plugged my ears, my eyes squeezing shut in hopes that I wouldn't have to hear or see anything that was going on, but the yelling was too loud to block out entirely. I didn't realize I was shaking until someone's hands wrapped around my waist and I could feel my body vibrating dangerously.
"It's okay, Alice, calm down." I looked up and met Shane's eyes. It was surprising, seeing him again. He had been my brother's best friend for years and while Elijah was away he would keep me company. I had the sneaking suspicion that he was there on Elijah's orders, to keep me safe, but over time we really did bond. It wasn't until about a year ago that he had left for the states because of the scarce work in Bradford and his need for money. That was around the time I had started dating Seth, and I wondered if Seth had originally been my replacement for Shane in some strange, twisted format.
But the fact that he was back all of a sudden shocked me. I didn't bother questioning his sudden appearance though as I curled my body into his chest and sobbed. He held me there, rubbing patterns along my back in a soothing manner as the fighting continued inside my flat.
We sat like that for at least twenty minutes before my brother's voice sounded above us, surprised and uncertain. "Shane."
I looked up, my eyes feeling sore and tired from crying for so long. "Elijah," Shane replied. "Good to see you again."
"What are you doing back?" I heard a hint of resentment in his voice as he spoke, though he tried to suppress it. I knew he was angry at Shane for leaving Bradford, mostly because Shane had refused his offer of work prior to his leaving. It was something that I actually liked about Shane. He was the only person I knew that wasn't entirely terrified of my brother and could stand up to him.
"It didn't work out for me in America," he admitted slowly. "I just got back today. Sorry I dropped in at such a bad time."
"No, it's fine," Elijah shook his head quickly. "I'm glad you were here." His eyes focused on me and he looked sad. "Are you okay, Alice? I'm sorry I lost control like that and just left you out here, but he makes me so angry with myself. I should have realized it."
