Kane(27)

It didn't work.

It was like Kane felt no pain. I thought Nico was a ruthless fighter,  but Kane was on another level. He dished out punches and took hard hits  like they were nothing. I was screaming at him, but he didn't  acknowledge me in any way. It was like he blacked everything and  everyone out except James.

His target.

I didn't give up though. I shoved at Kane and tried my hardest to pull  him off James, but all that came with me when I pulled was his t-shirt. I  ripped it right off his body and revealed his back, which was covered  in scars, the ones I felt three months ago in the dark of night. Some  big, some small. Some purple, some light pink.

"What in God's name?" I whispered.

What on Earth could have caused such damage to his back?

I pushed that question aside, dropped the fabric in my hand and slapped  the back of Kane's head. "Get the hell off me broth-" I was cut off when  Kane lifted his arm and tried to swing it at James, but the angle of  his swing caused it to rear back into my face and it knocked me  backwards onto the ground.

"That's ENOUGH!"

I cowered on the ground for only a moment, before I pushed myself up to  my feet and looked at my father who walked out of his house with a steel  baseball bat in his hands. He walked directly over to James and  Kane-James had the upper hand and was on Kane now-and he grabbed my  brother by the scruff of the neck and pulled him off Kane with one tug.

James flew backwards onto the ground, and Kane was quick to try and  follow, but my father pointed the bat at Kane's face and got his  attention. Kane shook his head and blinked his eyes and after a moment  he lifted his hands. "I'm done."

"Too fuckin' right you're done," my father snarled and moved past him  and smacked Alec in the back of the head and pushed him off my little  brother with his foot.

Gavin was bloody all over, Alec had a cut or two on his face showing my  baby brother at least got some hits in on the big lad. Next up were  Dante and Ryder-Dante and Harley obviously switched brothers-who were  locked into a war of punches. It was hard to say who was beating up whom  because both of them were messed up. It took a lot more effort to break  up Harley and Nico, but eventually my father got the upper hand.

When he got everyone separated, he pointed to the cars across the road.  "You four, get in your cars and leave. Do not come back here."

After my father's dismissal, he turned to me. "Are you okay?" he asked me, his tone soft.

I held my face with both hands but nodded my head.

Kane looked at me then. "Wh-what?"

"You back-handed her you son of a bitch," my father snarled over his shoulder. "Now leave before I put this bat to good use."

Kane stumbled a little, the skin on his face that wasn't cut or swollen,  visibly paled. "Oh, Christ. Aideen, I would never-I'm so sorry,  babydoll."

I turned from him. "Leave, Kane."

"But the baby-"

"Will still be in me stomach for another few months. For today, just leave. I can't even look at you."

Kane didn't move. "He hit me first."

I dropped my hand from my throbbing cheek and looked at him. "Me  students come at me with excuses like that and don't get away with them  so don't you dare think you will either."

Ryder intervened, "Kane wanted to talk it out, Aideen. Your brother was hell bent on fighting-not Kane."

I looked at Ryder. "Did you stop for a second from hittin' me other  brother to look at Kane? I screamed at him and hit him to try to stop  him but he blanked me out. He was like an animal, and if me da didn't  stop it, he would have killed me brother."

James grunted against my argument. I wasn't thinking about his pride for  the moment, I was thinking about his safety, and the safety of my other  brothers.

"I'm sorry," Kane said to me, not to my brother.

I shook my head. "I don't want to hear it. I want you to leave."

Again, he stood firm.

"If she has to ask you again, boy, I'll make you sorry," my father growled.

Ryder stepped into the garden, glaring at Harley, who followed him.

"Bro," he said to Kane, his tone softened, "let's go."

"I can't leave her," Kane said to Ryder without looking away from me.

I pressed my hand back to my cheek. "Just go home, Kane."

I turned and walked into my father's house ignoring Kane calling my  name, and my brothers shouting for them to leave. I walked up the stairs  to the bathroom and closed the door behind me, turning the lock to make  sure no one could come in without my say so.

I rolled my eyes as I put the toilet seat down and sat on it-I never  could get my father and Gavin to break the habit of leaving the seat up  after my other three brothers moved out. I leaned forward, placed my  face in my hands, and sighed. I rubbed my eyes but winced when a pulsing  pain in my cheek demanded attention.

"Damn it," I mumbled to myself and stood up.

I turned and took two steps towards the sink. I turned on the taps and  washed my shaking hands. It took a few seconds of inner pep talk and  deep breaths in order for me to look up, but when I did, I wished I  hadn't.         

     



 

"Oh, no," I grumbled.

My eye wasn't swollen, but my cheekbone was. It was already bruised as  well, a light electric blue spread out over my upper cheek. I thought  back to nearly two years ago in Playhouse Nightclub when I last had a  bruised face. That was Kane's fault too, or was it Alec's? Whatever, it  was one of the brother's fault. A lay of theirs got pissed and hit me  because she thought I was trying to take her face down arse up position.

Please.

I shook my head clear of my thoughts and refocused on my reflection.

"How am I goin' to hide this?" I thought aloud.

The last time I had a bruised face was before school term started so I  didn't have to worry about work. I had to worry about it this time  around since term was already in session.

Make up.

I hoped the bruise wouldn't darken up too much over the coming hours. I  would be able to cover it up if it stayed light. Otherwise, it would  draw unwanted attention at school from students and fellow colleagues.

"Me stupid brothers," I muttered as I examined my face in the mirror. "Stupid Kane!"

I lowered my hands and tightly gripped the sides of the sink and took a  few breaths to relax myself. I had enough to worry about without adding  the Slater feud with my brothers and their stupid fight to my  ever-growing list.

I refused to work myself up over them. I wasn't taking bullshit from  anyone, not even my family. That was final. I didn't need the stress.

I nodded to myself in the mirror, turned and exited the bathroom. I  descended the stairs and marched into the kitchen where I found my  father scolding my brothers.

I felt my anger dip when I saw Gavin and how beat up he was. I didn't  have a favourite brother, but I did feel a little closer to him because I  helped my father with him after my mother died giving birth to him.  Granted I was only six when Gavin was born and couldn't do a lot, but I  stepped up as much as a little girl could. I knew not to complain, hog  my father's attention, or be an all-around problem. I accepted I wasn't  the baby anymore and that there was a serious change in our family.

I took it on the chin.

By the time I was ten, and Gavin was four, I would make food for him,  wash and clean him, dress and play with him. He came everywhere with me.  I would drop him to pre-school on my way to school and collect him from  after-school on my way home. One of our older brothers would always  tail us to make sure we both got to class on time, and to make sure we  were safe. I think they just let me believe I was bringing Gavin to and  from school because it made me feel like I had a great deal of  responsibility with him.

I never told them I knew they followed us all those years-they were just  doing what I was doing with Gavin in making sure we were safe. I  couldn't fault them for that, and I still couldn't... except when they  do really unnecessary things like fight other people over me.

"I'll clean them up," I said to my father and got the First-Aid kit from under the kitchen sink.

My father grunted, "You don't deserve to be fussed over, you little pricks."

James groaned, "Jesus, Da. What did you expect us to do? It's the Slaters!"

"I don't give a fuck who they are; you should have more respect for your  sister than to treat her like a child who cannot handle her own  situation. She is twenty-eight years of age."

Go on, Da!

I stepped around my father when he paused his pacing to kick James in  the leg. "And that is for makin' the baby's father hit Aideen in the  face."

"Da!" James hissed, leaned forward, and rapidly rubbed at the spot where our father kicked him.

I felt my lip quirk.

James glowered at my father but said nothing to him. He was thirty-four,  but he knew age didn't mean a thing when it came to our father. If he  back-talked or stepped out of place, he would still get a hiding. All my  brothers would. Even if they were bigger than our father, he'd cut them  down to size real quick.