Toxic - Luke Hemmings

Chapter 21

Izzy's POV

We hopped in Luke's car, him peeling out of the driveway right after. He didn't even wait for me to put my seatbelt on, he just wanted to get the fuck out of there. We sat in silence for a moment, not knowing what to say after that nightmare of a dinner.

"Brett was nice." I said, giving him a goofy smirk. His hardened features softened as he turned to me, and we both burst into laughter. I figured the comedic approach would be the best way to go about this. Yeah, I was genuinely traumatized, but I didn't want him to feel bad about it.

"I'm glad you like him." He chuckled, after the fit of laughter died down. We stayed silent again for another couple minutes, the elephant still remaining in the room. Neither of us wanted to bring up how Jaime acted, but Luke was the brave one to do it.

"He didn't touch you, did he?" He asked carefully.

"He tried to. That's when I started banging on the door." I told him quietly, not wanting him to get worked up again.

"I knew it was a bad idea." He sighed, stopping at a red light and grabbing my hand in his. "He's not doing it again, I can tell you that. Brett wasn't having any of his bullshit. And I'm not leaving you alone with him again, that's a promise."

"It's fine, he just made a fool out of himself. He thinks he's god, but I could piece together enough to know that Brett has the final say." I assured him, not letting how Jaime acted affect me. Yeah, he was a dirt bag, but the world was full of them and I couldn't let every single one bother me.

"Brett's the only one that looked out for me after our parents died. That's why he got me to sell for him, he knew I needed the money. Social services denied his request to be my guardian so he took care of me the best he could." He explained, merging onto the highway back to campus. "Jaime just showed up every once in a while to rough me up. My parents hated him and everyone knew it. He's bipolar as shit, sometimes he's a decent guy and next thing you know he's down your throat."

I let him rant to me, finally getting fuller picture of what his teenage years were like. If it wasn't bad enough already, a scum bag brother tormenting him really sealed the deal. I couldn't imagine it, granted I didn't have any siblings, but still.

"You turned out pretty good, you know?" I turned to him and gave him a sincere smile. He looked at me quickly, smiling shyly before returning his eyes to the road.

"Yeah, I don't know about that. But thanks." He said, chuckling lightly.

"I'm serious. You could have turned out like Jaime. You had a good enough head on your shoulders to want better for yourself." I rubbed his upper arm and squeezed his hand that he was holding mine in. "I knew something was up when I saw the way you looked at him. I just didn't realize how much of a prick he was." I finished, leaning my head on his arm.

"You have no idea." He mumbled, thinking I didn't catch it.

"What do you mean? What else is going on, Luke?" I asked him seriously. I didn't want to be left in the dark. He sighed, pulling his hand out of mine and running it through his hair.

"The first time he came to see me after I got placed, he slept with the girl I was seeing." He said simply, making my jaw drop. Sophie said that his last girlfriend cheated on him with a guy from school, I bet she didn't even know that it was his own brother. Ashton probably left that part out, and rightfully so.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked in disbelief. "And he just tried to make a move on me? What the fuck is wrong with him?" I kept throwing rhetorical questions at him, not even expecting answers. I just couldn't believe he was that low.