Broken

Chapter 17

Sebastian's POV

My heart skipped a beat when Mom and Rory came back down. Rory was crying. Mom was trying to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

"Oh, my little girl," Dad mumbled as he approached them and pulled Rory to him. "I am so sorry, my little girl. I will make them pay, I promise, honey."

Dad kept stroking her hair and kissed her temple.

Mom approached the couch and sat down opposite me. She looked at me with a mixture of anger and pain. I took a deep breath and released it slowly.

I looked back at Dad and saw him leading Rory toward us. She sat on the couch next to me, but she made sure there was a lot of space between us. I understood it, but it still hurt like fucking hell. I wasn't going to press it, though. I was going to let her come to me.

Rory sniffled quietly and my heart felt like someone put a knife through it. I just wanted to pull her to me and hold her. She was my twin. I always held her when she was sad or in pain.

"Sebastian told us everything, baby," Mom said, her voice laced with pain. "We know everything that's been going on for the past few months."

"And we are furious," Dad added, looking at me. "I can't even think of one thing to say to your brother."

I nodded and looked down at my lap.

"There is nothing to say, Dad," I said. "I fucked up big time. I know that."

"I am so angry, Sebastian," my dad said, making me look back at him. "I am so fucking angry that I..."

He stopped talking and looked at Rory. He took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Your mom and I can't stay here for long," he said, clenching his fists. "We need to go back to Los Angeles in two days."

I furrowed my eyebrows. I already knew that. My parents never stayed long. Their job was important and they always traveled a lot. They weren't even supposed to come home for another two weeks. I didn't expect them to stay long anyway.

"We know that we should stay longer, but we can't," Dad continued. "Your mom and I assumed that we would be leaving our daughter in the hands of her protective twin brother who would make sure that she was okay after being attacked and who would keep your mom and I informed on everything."

Dad narrowed his eyes at me. I tightened my jaw and clenched my fists. Where the fuck was he going with this?

"But since that clearly isn't the case, I think that Aurora should go to Los Angeles with us," he continued and my heart stopped beating.

My eyes widened and a loud gasp escaped me.

"Fuck no!" I shouted as I jumped up.

My heart was going a mile a minute. They couldn't take her from me! I wasn't going to let them!

"Sit the fuck down, Sebastian," my dad said, gritting his teeth.

"You are not taking her away!" I shouted. "I am not letting you take her from me!"

My dad clenched his fists and tightened his jaw.

"Sebastian...," he spoke, but I interrupted him.

"No!" I yelled. "I made a mistake! I made a huge fucking mistake and I will be paying for it for the rest of my life. I made a mistake and I have to make up for it. I made a fucking mistake, but I am not letting you or anyone else take her!"

I gritted my teeth and took a deep breath.

"The two of you were never here," I continued, narrowing my eyes at my dad. "You weren't here when she was sick. You weren't here when I was sick. You weren't fucking here when she broke her arm and when I fell off that stupid wall and had a concussion. She and I always took care of each other and we will continue to do the same."

I tightened my fists and my nostrils flared.

"I will continue to do the same," I added sternly. "She is staying fucking here because I am the only one who actually knows how to take care of her."

My dad was furious. I couldn't even look at my mom or Rory.

"Did it even occur to you to ask your sister what she wants?!" my dad shouted. "Did it occur to you that maybe she wants to leave and be away from you and all those fuckers who hurt her?!"

My heart clenched painfully. She didn't want to leave. She couldn't fucking leave.

My dad took a deep breath and clenched his jaw.

"A month away from here...," he continued, but I interrupted him.

"A month?!" I shouted, my eyes widening.

A whole fucking month?! No way! No fucking way! The longest we'd been apart was four days and we talked on the phone each and every day. I wouldn't last a whole fucking month without seeing her. I already assumed that she wouldn't want to talk to me on the phone, not at first at least. I wouldn't fucking survive that long. She wasn't going to talk to me anyway, but at least I would get to see her if she was home. I would know that she was okay.

"Yes," my dad said, his voice laced with annoyance. "A month."

"No," I said sternly. "Fuck no."

"I wasn't asking or talking to you," my dad said and looked at Rory.

My heart almost jumped out of my body. He was going to ask her. What if she said yes?

"What do you say, honey?" Dad asked her softly. "A month in Los Angeles, away from all this mess."

I looked at her and I almost sobbed in relief. She was going to say no. I knew it. I knew her.

Our parents were kind and loving, but they weren't here for us when we needed them most. Rory was angry at me right now, but I was the only one she wanted to be with right now. Only I knew how to make her feel better. Only I knew how to help her. If someone barged into our house right now, she would run into my arms. Not our dad's or our mom's. I was so fucking sure of it.

"No, Dad," she mumbled quietly. "I will stay here."

I sat back down because my knees started buckling. The anger I felt when he said that they would take her away was slowly turning into a mixture of fear and relief. I couldn't stand up anymore.

I wanted to reach out and take her hand in mine, but I knew that she didn't want me to do that.

"Why not, honey?" dad asked, his eyes widening. "You need to heal. You need to step away from all this mess. When the trial starts..."

"There will be no trial," Rory interrupted him, making us all look at her with a mixture of shock and confusion on our faces.

"What?" my mom asked, her voice quiet and laced with confusion.

"There will be no trial," Rory repeated. "I don't want to press charges."

My eyes widened.

"What?!" my dad shouted. "Why the hell not, Aurora?!"

The anger exploded inside me and I reacted instinctively. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to my chest.

"Do not scream at her," I said, gritting my teeth.

My dad's eyes widened and I saw anger rising in him. Rory tensed up in my arms. I felt guilty for pulling her to me, but my body reacted before my mind could.

"Of course I will scream!" my dad continued. "She has to press charges! That fucker tried to rape her!"

I placed a hand on Rory's ear so she couldn't hear him screaming.

"Enough, Richard!" my mom finally reacted.

She stood up and narrowed her eyes at my dad.

"We need to let her explain," Mom continued. "Sit down and talk to your daughter."

My dad tightened his jaw, but he did as my mom said. He sat down next to her and ran his hand over his face.

"Explain, Aurora," he mumbled angrily.

I looked down at her and moved my hands. She immediately moved as far away as she could from me. My heart hurt, but I had no right to complain.

"Why, Rory?" I asked her softly. "Why don't you want to press charges?"