"Shh, Suzy, it's me." Bert gradually relaxed his hold on Suzy's mouth. He could feel her deep breaths, she was shaking with fear.
"R-Rob?"
"Yep. I need to talk." Suzy's neck was craned and pulled back. He let her go slowly. She straightened and turned around to see him.
Her eyes widened when she noticed his cowboy costume but then her eyes misted. "Oh sweetheart, are you OK? I've been worried sick."
"Why are you whispering?" Bert asked and she laid a finger on his lips.
"Not here," she whispered and pointed at the downstairs neighbor's house. The windows were dark and the curtains were drawn.
"We can sneak up, but please be quiet."
"That doesn't look like your mom." Tamara, who he had asked to hide in the hedge, stepped out.
"Who's she?" Suzy turned to him.
"She's Tamara, my friend." He turned to Tam. She had dressed in black jeans and jacket and was scowling at Suzy. "Tam, Suzy's my sister."
#
"What a small apartment!" Tamara, the one with the dirty-blond hair, levelled a look of disdain at Suzy's home. "The couch looks nice though." She plopped her size two ass on her new couch cushions.
Suzy turned to her brother who shot her a sheepish grin. "She's saved my life, Suze."
Suzy just gritted her teeth. She was bristling with fury. She got up and started pacing the room. Abruptly, she stopped and faced her brother. "And, pray tell, why did your life needed saving?"
He looked away and Suzy felt her nostrils flare. She took a deep breath, but unbidden tears sprang into her eyes. She realized that Tamara was staring at her and sniffed and blinked away her tears.
"Could you give us some privacy please?" She asked the other girl.
Tamara shrugged. "There isn't another room. Unless you want me to stay in the bathroom?"
Rob turned to her. "I want Tam here, if you don't mind. I trust her with my life."
She took a deep breath and turned to Rob. Stubborn, obstinate boy!
She turned away and stood at the window. She was beyond angry now.
"Well, I need to go wash." Tamara took the hint and walked into her bathroom. She heard a whispered conversation between her and Rob, but the bathroom door closed shut shortly.
Her brother came up behind her. "Well, that was rude. Why did you have to drive her away?"
She turned and fisted her hands. She wasn't going to hit him, she wasn't.
She was shaking with a mixture of anger and relief. "Robert Thomas Ford! What have you gotten yourself into this time? How could you still be with the Marauders? You promised me that you'd quit, you did!"
She couldn't help it. She landed fists on his chest. He was still thin, he hadn't filled out. Her little brother wasn't a grown man yet.
He grabbed her hands and pulled her in for a hug. Suzy let out a sob. "Oh, how could you? You'd promised me!"
"Hush. I'm not hurt. And I tried to quit the gang, but...well...it's not easy."
When she still went on sobbing, Rob buried her face in his jacket. It was the same leather jacket she had bought for him last year for Christmas. When he had promised her that he would quit clowning around and get a job.
Just after she had moved in here with Mrs. Nader as her landlord, Rob had paid her a quick visit. "You told me you were working as an intern upstate. Oh, I'm so stupid to trust you. Oh, what am I going to tell mom?"
She was bawling now. "Shh, it's ok, don't worry. Just tell mom that I'm fine. Will you do that for me? I'm staying with Tam and she's taking care of me."
She pulled away with her hands on her forehead. Staying with Tam? Her little brother still needed someone to take care of him.
She wiped her tears and composed herself. Where, oh where had she gone wrong in taking care of her brother? He was seven years younger than her; she would move heaven and earth for him. Had she been too lenient with him? Why, oh why, didn't he listen?
She tucked her hair behind her ears, rubbed a hand over her weary eyes and turned to him. "Who is Tam? How did she save your life? And more importantly, why did you need saving?"
Rob let out a sigh. "You should believe me Suzy, I wanted to get out of the gang for a while now. I-I..." He stopped and sighed. "Trust me, it's too hard."
She couldn't control her agitated tears. "Why did you get into it then? I told you I'll take care of you like I always have, didn't I? Why didn't you let me?"
"You know why! I'm sick of your babying me! I'm a man now, I should be the one taking care of you."
"And what a fine job you're doing of it!" She took several deep breaths to calm herself. How many times had she had this talk with her brother?
"And you're still having someone take care of you. Who's the girl?"
"I'm Tamara." Tamara stepped out of the washroom. She waved a hand towards Suzy. "Hi."
She plopped on the couch. "Don't mind me. I just got bored inside. And I could hear everything."
Suzy turned to her brother with an eyebrow raised. He was looking at Tamara with a foolishly lovelorn expression on his face.
Oh, how she wanted to shake some sense into him!
Rob saw her furious expression and cleared his throat. "Well, like I said before, this is Tamara. The gang was after me and she saved me and we are staying at her place now."
"What! The gang is after you? What did you do!" She was screaming. God help her, she was about to commit fratricide.
Rob covered his ears the same way he did when he was ten. "Don't scream please, I'm fine. Please tell mom that and don't worry about me."
"Oh my God!" She was suddenly too weak to stand. She grabbed a chair and sat in it, her head in her hands.
Rob kneeled down next to her. "Really, have some faith in me. I can take care of myself."
Tamara scoffed. Suzy raised her head to look at her and the other girl gave her a sympathetic smile.
"Well, I may have to skip town for a few months, but it's all taken care of."
She looked at her naïve younger brother. She loved him. She would move heaven and earth for him, even give up someone she deeply cared about for him.
Because she couldn't have both: a cop boyfriend and a brother with a juvie record.
"What did you achieve by hanging out with the Marauders? Did you become rich like you wanted? Did you get the girls, the fame?" Rob didn't say anything; he was waiting for her tirade to finish.
They knew each other well. After their father had died, their mom had become a recluse. Brother and sister only had each other to fall back on.
She had taken care of Rob for so long, she wasn't about to stop now.
She gave a deep sigh and stood up. "What do you need? Do you need some money?"
"No, we have enough money." Tamara cut in and she snapped towards her.
"Who are you exactly? Where did you meet my brother?"
"She was uh...well, working with us."
Rob gulped. He was a terrible liar. Suzy narrowed her eyes at Tam. "In what capacity?"
"I was the head of the jerk-off committee." Tamara shot back and she just caught Rob's eyes widen.
She couldn't believe her ears.
She took several minutes to compose herself.
Deep breaths, Suze.
Rob went and stood next to Tamara, daring her to say anything. He was still full of bravado.
She rubbed a hand on her forehead. This was worse than she had ever imagined!
"A hooker? You brought a hooker to my home? What do you want from me then? My blessing?"
"No, we aren't involved in that way." Rob hurried to assure her.
"Not yet, anyway," Tamara cut in.
Rob shot her an incredulous look and said to Suzy, "Don't listen to her. She just likes to aggravate people. She's a softie, she has taken care of me so far."
Suzy shook her head to stop the buzzing in it.
Please, oh please, let this be a nightmare!
"We don't need anything, I promise you I'll be fine. Please don't tell mom, but let her know that I'm fine."
Could she still lie to her mother and everyone around her? Should she go on pretending that her brother wasn't a gang member?
She knew she shouldn't, but old habits died hard.
"I know what you can do instead." Her voice was steady. "Stop running. Turn yourself in to the police. I personally know Sergeant Jake Larson, if you come clean, he'll help you."
Rob jumped up from where he was kneeling. "No way! Do you know what Joe would do to me?"
"You know Sergeant Larson?" Tamara cut in. "As in, personally?"
Her eyes were watchful. She may be a whore but she was a damn smart cookie. Suzy ignored her.
"I thought Joe Busconi was your "brother"? He had promised you a job, hadn't he?"
"He's the leader of the Marauders." Rob was as white as sheet. "If he catches me, I'm toast. He'll kill me and grind my bones into bread."
"Oh Lord!" She rubbed her temples. If she was the swooning sort, she would have been a goner. She wiped her face. Her cheeks were wet. She slid a glance at Tamara, hating to let a stranger see her at her weakest.
Tamara shrugged and handed her a box of tissues from the side table. Suzy accepted it with a murmured thanks.
"You know, your sister's right? You can surrender to the cops and tell them everything. I'm sure that they'll put you in witness protection, there is nothing to worry about."
Suzy, who was dabbing her cheeks with a tissue, shot her brother a pleading look but he was already shaking his head.
"No, I can't. I just can't." His hands were rigid at his side, his jaw was set and his eyes glistened. No way was he going to give in easily.
"They'll use me as a scapegoat. I can't risk it." He checked the clock on the wall. "We have to go now," he said to Tamara.
"Oh." Suzy was deflated. How could she save her little brother?
Should she tell him her fears? That the Marauders had vandalized her home as payback?
But what would Rob do then? He would be angry. He loved her so he would probably do something drastic. The last thing she wanted was to make him get into more trouble.
"Bert." Tamara motioned to the door. He had always shortened his name to Bert, but for his family, he was always just Rob.
He was looking at her and she straightened and nodded. "Is there any place I can contact you? Your phone's off."
Rob took out a new phone from his jacket and gave Suzy the number. "Tamara asked me to not turn on my phone lest I get tracked."
Suzy nodded grimly. Hooker or not, Rob was alive because of Tamara. She was looking at them with an impatient look on her face.
She went up to the other woman. "I-I didn't even thank you properly for saving my brother's life."
Tam looked up to Rob. "Sometimes I think that he's the one saving me." There was no amusement on her features.
Impulsively, Suzy grabbed her hand. "Promise me that you'll take care of him?"
Tam looked uncomfortable, but nodded.
Rob came to her, hugged her, told her not to worry and sneaked out of her home.
She watched him slip into the darkness, looking ridiculous and out of place in his cowboy hat. She bit her lip to stop crying.
----
A/N: Whew, an emotional chapter because my younger brother is also much younger than me. So, could relate to Suzy as a big sister.
Now you know who Bert is and why Suzy can't date Jake.
Well, the title says it all!
Vote/comment, pretty please?
Love,
S.