Facing the Past

"Thank you," she said softly. Chris nodded and moved to get her jacket from the coat rack. His jaw clenched at the idea of her going alone. Visions of her with bruises, broken bones and other injuries flashed into his mind. Never again, he thought.

x-x-x-x

"You're here," Karen said. She was in the same worn coat and carrying the same tattered purse that Annabeth had seen earlier in the café. Her gaze moved from Annabeth to Chris and then her eyes darted away.

"Lorna said Miss Eve was asking for me," Annabeth said in a neutral voice. She was grateful for Chris standing next to her with his arm lightly around her waist.

"Don't know why." Ethan Dileo stood up from the seat next to Karen. Annabeth looked at him and waited for the emotions to come. Surprisingly, there was no fear and the wave of anger ebbed quickly. He was simply a bully who'd grown older. Ethan continued, "She's just an ungrateful little bitch anyway. Left her family and never came back." He advanced on Annabeth, who stood her ground, flinching only slightly from the stale smell of alcohol.

"I can't imagine why I wouldn't want to come back to this family," Annabeth said, her voice cold.

"Why you--" Ethan's eyes narrowed and he raised his arm.

"No." Chris stepped forward and grabbed Ethan's wrist before the big man could lower it. His blue eyes flashed and Ethan blinked in surprise. "You will not hit her ever again, do you understand?"

Ethan yanked his arm back and sneered. "Or what will you do?" he taunted. "You were always such a mama's boy. Never saw you win a fight; always walked away before it started."

"Ask your son about that," Chris said, his voice flat. Ethan glowered. High school had been over a decade ago, but Chris knew the memory would be sharp for both Ethan and Trent.

"You cheated," Ethan said. "You and your friend... set him up.. ambushed him..." he began to sputter.

"If you hit me again," Annabeth said before Chris could reply, "I will press assault charges. I will get the best lawyers I can to put you away for as long as possible." Her eyes focused on Ethan's, who gaped at the sudden opposition. "You may have beaten Karen into submission, but you couldn't break me, and you never will." Karen sat in her chair, trying to be as small as possible.

Annabeth turned to Chris. "I'm going to see Miss Eve. You can wait downstairs if you want. I won't be long."

He couldn't resist tracing a finger over her cheek. "I'll be right here." He kissed her forehead, then moved to stand near the entrance to the waiting room. Annabeth watched and then made her way to the nurse's desk to ask for Miss Eve's room.

Chris was still standing there when Trent Dileo entered the room. He ignored Annabeth's brother, but the latter glared at him as high school came rushing back again.

x-x-x-x

Thirteen years ago...

"Hey, Annabitch," Trent yelled down the school hallway. His two buddies -- Annabeth thought of them as Tweedledum and Tweedledummer -- guffawed loudly at his witticism. She rolled her eyes and ignored him as she gathered the books she needed for homework. She had planned to go to the library, but hadn't made it out before Trent found her.

"Hey!" Trent shouted again. When his sister again made no answer, he grabbed her shoulder and spun her around, knocking her into the row of lockers. Annabeth winced as one of the combination locks jabbed a bruise near her hips. "There," said Trent with a wicked smile, "now I've got your attention."

She jerked herself away from the lockers and stomped on his instep. He howled and hopped, provoking more laughs from his friends until he glared at them. Rage made him forget the pain in his foot, and this time he used both hands to grab Annabeth and hold her against the wall. She struggled but knew it was mostly useless. He was bigger than she was, and her right arm was still weak after another session in a sling.

The hall was empty, but even if it had been full, most of the kids gave Trent a wide birth. They didn't want to be on his bad side, and it was the only side he had.

"What do you want, Trent?" she spat out. Literal spitting was quite tempting, but she decided against it. Trent was already on the edge of control, and she didn't want him losing it in school when there was no one else around.

"I need some money, sis. Me and the boys, we're gonna go get ice cream sodas," he said in a syrupy voice. The other two snickered. His eyes dipped down and then back up. This is the worst, Annabeth thought as she struggled again. Trent had begun looking at her in a different way lately, she'd noticed. A very un-brotherly way. That sickened her more than any punch Ethan could land.

"I hardly have any," she told him. "You took it the other day and Ethan's broke. I have about two dollars." The smell of his greasy hair and the beer on his breath made her want to gag.

"Guess you'll just have to share, then," Trent said. His hands lowered just a bit on her shoulders and the renewed anger gave her more strength.

"Get your own damn money," she said, eyes flashing. "Go beat up someone else for it, since that's all your good for. Not like you could hold down a job."

"Don't talk to me like that," Trent said in a low voice. She could see the fury settling over his face like a mask. His beady brown eyes narrowed to slits.

"I'll talk to you any way I damn well please," she said through gritted teeth. The pleasure of seeing his face contort in anger was short-lived; he yanked her away from the wall and threw her against the opposite one. Old and new pains mingled and took her breath away, leaving her gasping on the floor. The Tweedles looked from Trent to her and back, and she nearly threw up when she read the message in their expressions.

"Get up, Annabitch," Trent said, yanking her sore arm and making her cry out. "I think you need to make up for the way you've been acting."

"Let her go." Annabeth's vision was blurred from pain but she recognized Chris's voice. How does he know? she wondered. How does he know when I need help? Chris should have been on the other side of the school, if she remembered his schedule. He played on the baseball team with Pete.

"Hey, look, it's the mama's boy and his friend, the half-breed." Trent tightened his grip on his sister's arm and yanked again. Annabeth wondered idly if he would end up dislocating her shoulder.

Chris's eyes glinted. "At least I'm man enough to earn my own money. I don't have to beat up girls for it."

"Yeah," Pete agreed, his dark eyes shifting between Trent and his two buddies. "That's weak. Especially when you need back up."

"I'll show you weak," Trent snarled. He made to push Annabeth over to Tweedledum. "Come on, let's go outside, Kincaid, you and me. Fight like a man."

"You have a friend for me to fight?" Chris asked as Pete intercepted Annabeth. Tweedledum took one look at Pete's expression and backed away without a protest.

"Thanks," she murmured.

"No problem," said Pete. "You need to go to the nurse or anything?"

"No, let's just get out of here," she said, trying to take a deep breath. "Let's go before anyone gets hurt."

Her words were seconds too late. Trent let out a roar and rushed at Chris, who stepped aside and shoved him into the lockers. Trent howled with frustration and anger, staggered up and ran at him again, fists raised. He took a wild swing which Chris blocked, then followed with two quick blows to his gut and chin. Trent tumbled to the floor and lay in a dazed heap. Chris shook his stinging hand and turned to Pete and Annabeth.

"Let's go," he said. They both nodded. Pete picked up Annabeth's bag while Chris placed an arm carefully around her shoulders. They walked out, Trent hurling curses behind them.

"My hero," Annabeth said with a wince.

"What about me?" asked Pete with a grin. She smiled back.

"You're a wonderful sidekick," she said.

Pete gave an exaggerated scowl. "How come he's the hero and I'm the sidekick?"

Chris chuckled. "Because I hit the guy. You need to protect your arm."

Pete considered and nodded. "Okay, I can be the sidekick."

x-x-x-x

"What the hell are you doing here, Kincaid?" Trent demanded as he entered the waiting room.

"Waiting for Annabeth," Chris said calmly. Internally, he was shaking his head. Trent Dileo already looked older than his age. When one looked at Ethan, Trent's destiny was plain. Thinning hair, a bulbous red nose, wrinkled skin and a beer gut were mere years away. How did Annabeth come from these people? he thought bemusedly.

"You can go now," Trent said with a leering smile. "Her family's here."

"That's why I'm staying," Chris told him.

"Goddammit, I--" Trent started towards Chris who stood to meet him, when Ethan grabbed his son's arm and pulled him aside.

"Don't be an idiot," Ethan snapped. "You're in a hospital, for Christ's sake. You don't need to get arrested again."

"Me?" Trent rounded on his father. "I'm not the only goddamned idiot around here, Dad," he said with a sneer. "I wasn't the only one in lockup last night." Now Ethan raised a hand at Trent, while Karen simply cowered in the corner.

"Shut the hell up before I call security," Chris told them, his voice low and menacing.

"I haven't forgotten you, Kincaid," Trent said with a glare.

"I'm honored, given the brain cells you must have killed at the local bars," Chris said dryly. He hadn't meant to taunt him -- he knew it could lead to trouble -- but it slipped out before he could stop it. Not that he regretted it.

"Why don't we step outside?" Trent suggested. Chris read the glint in his eye and realized Trent was slightly drunk, which made him more than slightly dangerous. "We can finish what you started in school that day."

"You finally find someone to, what was it, 'fight like a man?'" Chris asked. "I haven't forgotten, either."

"Goddammit, Kincaid," Trent said with a growl. "You just better watch your back. I haven't forgotten." He seemed to be stuck on that sentiment, Chris noticed.

"Christ, Trent," Chris said in exasperation. "It was high school. Fifteen years ago or whatever. Let it go."

"Don't think I don't know you weren't screwing Annabeth," Trent said. Chris's jaw clenched but he said nothing. Then Trent gave a greasy smile. "I guess I'll have to take seconds there."

Chris was in front of him in an instant and grabbed him by his shirt front, yanking him to his feet. "You will never get a chance to touch her," Chris said, his eyes afire with anger. Like his father, Trent was speechless in the face of opposition. "If you so much as try," Chris said, "I will make you wish you'd never been born." He threw Trent back down in his chair and stalked back to his own seat.

Trent's mouth flopped open and closed for a moment, then he rallied and started to get out of his seat. At the same moment, Ethan smacked the back of his head and Annabeth came back in the room.

x-x-x-x

"Hello, Miss Eve," Annabeth said. She surveyed the woman in the hospital bed. As she remembered, Miss Eve was old and frail-looking. Her skin had been wrinkled like leather, but her eyes and mind had been sharp and clear. It was much the same now, although the skin seemed more like parchment, and the eyes were half-closed.

"You came back," her grandmother said, opening her eyes.

"I did," Annabeth said. "And when we're done here, I'm leaving again."

Miss Eve gave a wheezy cackle. "You always were an uppity one. Wanted more than your due, more than your station."

"I wanted to be treated like a human being and not a punching bag," said Annabeth. "I don't think that was more than my due."

"Well, if you want the money, you'll stay this time," Miss Eve said. Her voice was hard, belying her physical appearance.

"Money?" Annabeth blinked. "You think I care about money?" She let out a harsh laugh and shook her head. "I should have known. I don't need money, and I sure as hell don't want yours."

"There's that uppity streak," Miss Eve said. "Now, you snuck off like a thief, but you're still my granddaughter. I have a will, and you're in it. I have money and you're getting it, if you do as I say."

"Thanks ever so much," Annabeth said dryly.

"Don't sass me, girl," her grandmother snapped. "You aren't too big or old for Ethan to belt you." She coughed from the exertion.

"I am exactly too big and old for that," Annabeth said icily. "You don't scare me. None of you do."

"You get the house and all my money," Miss Eve said, abruptly changing the subject. Annabeth could tell the woman was disconcerted with her reaction, and so moved on to new ground. "But you move back here. You stay in the house."

"Not likely," said Annabeth. "I can't believe I came back for this. Give it all to the others. I don't want it. I don't want anything from any of you."

"You take it or they go on the streets," Miss Eve said. "I'll let that house rot where it stands." She fixed her granddaughter with the stare so many children in town had dubbed the Evil Eye.

For a quick moment, Annabeth debated with herself. Could she do that? Turn her family -- though she loathed them -- out of their home? Was she so vengeful, so mean? She stared back at the woman on the bed. She saw the glint of smug satisfaction in the watery eyes and drew herself up.

"Then put them out," Annabeth said. "I will not let you blackmail me. If you do this, it's your fault, not mine. I will not let any of you hurt me any longer." Miss Eve's mouth pursed and her gnarled hands clenched into ineffectual fists. Annabeth rose and went to the door.

"You were always an ungrateful little bitch," Miss Eve told her.

Annabeth turned back. "All I ever wanted," she said quietly, "was for someone to love me. You were my family, you were supposed to do that. Instead, all of you only ever hurt me. I'm done with you, with all of you." She walked out.

She felt light-headed as she walked back to the waiting area. Although it seemed a load had been lifted, she still felt weighed down and uncertain of what to do. She drew a hand across her eyes, suddenly wanting to see Chris more than anything. When they opened again, she saw him -- as well as her brother and father.

Chills danced on her spine at the sight of her brother. As he had gotten older, Trent had frightened her more than her father. Ethan would hit her or throw her against a wall or down a set of steps; that was plain violence. Trent, however, had looked at her as a predator looks at prey, had attempted to steal touches that only a lover should have; that had terrified her into blocking her door every night.

As she stood there, Trent looked over and gave her an oily smile. "Well, hello, sis."

x-x-x-x

"Chris, let's go," she said, ignoring her brother.

"Sure," he said, holding out a hand.

"What?" asked Trent, feigning hurt. "No hug for me?"

She took Chris's hand, focused on his face. He saw the expression on hers, begging to escape, and wondered what Miss Eve could have said. Apparently her mother was curious as well, and it made her -- uncharacteristically -- speak up first.

"What did she want, Annabeth?" Karen said. She now sat primly in her chair.

Annabeth lowered her head and took a deep breath. Chris pulled her close and hugged her briefly. She looked up at him and nodded, then turned to face her parents. Chris stayed close enough behind her that she could feel his warmth.

"She wanted to discuss her will," said Annabeth. Now Ethan and Trent looked at her, interested. Everyone suspected Miss Eve had money squirreled away, and they thought it would come to them. Who else would it go to, after all?

"So what did she say, girl?" Ethan rumbled. She felt Chris's hands tighten on her shoulders, reached up and gripped them with her own.

"She wanted me to come back," Annabeth said, then rushed to get the rest out. "She was going to leave the house and the money to me if I came back. I won't. You'll have to find somewhere else to live."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Trent shouted, jumping up. Annabeth couldn't help but flinch although she stood her ground and met his eyes.

"She said if I don't come back, she'll turn you out. You can't stay." She took a deep breath. "That's what she said."

"You ungrateful little cunt," Ethan seethed. "Thinking you're so high and mighty. This how you get back at us? Put us out on the streets?" He lumbered up out of his chair. "I'll be damned if I let you do this to us. You're coming back to that house now if I have to tie you up myself."

"I'll help," said Trent. He leered at his sister.

"Get away from her." Chris's voice cut through them all. He fixed Ethan and Trent with a glare. "You take one more step, and I'll call the cops."

"If you want to be mad at someone," Annabeth said, finding some of her own anger again, "then talk to the old woman in the hospital room. This was her idea, not mine. For once in your excuse for a life, be mad at the right person."

Ethan started towards her but Chris pulled her behind him and stood before Ethan. Ethan was large, but it was all fat; Chris was taller, leaner and in better shape. Trent got up to stand by his father.

"Think you can take us both, Kincaid?" Trent taunted.

"We're leaving," Chris said, his voice icy calm. "If you take one step after us, I will have security on you so fast your head will spin." Trent started to take a step forward, but his father yanked him back. As the son turned on the father, Chris led Annabeth out of the hospital.

"Sit down," Ethan ordered his son as Trent made to go after Chris and Annabeth. Damn stupid idiot, Ethan thought. Doesn't know when to wait. Always wants things now.

"You're not going to just let her walk away," Trent spat angrily. "She can't. You know that old hag in there means it. Just like her to do something like that."

"I know," said Ethan with uncharacteristic calm, although the usual anger bubbled underneath. "But if you try to get her now, Kincaid's right. He'll call security and they'll call police. Annabeth'll get out while we're tied up with the pigs. Keep it quiet and we'll take care of it later." Trent glared but sat back down.

Karen surprised them both. "I'll take care of it," she said quietly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ethan swung his hand almost leisurely and hit her shoulder hard enough to make her wince. "Since when can you take care of anything?"

Karen ignored the hit. "I'm her mother. She's my daughter. I won't let her put us out on the street. I'll take care of it this time, Ethan."

Ethan shrugged. "Fine by me. 'Bout time you did something to earn your keep." Annabeth would be staying, he figured, however it happened. If Karen could do it and keep the police out of it, so much the better. "You wait here," he told his wife. "She's your mother. Come with me, boy." Trent followed his father out.

"What?" he asked sullenly.

Ethan snorted. "I'm not going to sit in there and wait. Hell, no. Let the woman sit there, it's all she's good for. I want a drink." Trent brightened slightly.

x-x-x-x

Chris stole glances at Annabeth as he drove. She hadn't said a word and he wasn't quite sure where to go. Finally he decided on the one thing that people did no matter the situation -- he stopped for food.

"Come on," he said gently as he opened the car door. "At least let's go in and you can tell me what happened." She nodded and let him guide her inside.

She was silent as they were seated and Chris ordered coffee for himself, tea for her. He called his mother and quickly brought her up to date, then held Annabeth's hand across the table, waiting patiently until she was ready to speak. After the server brought their drinks, she mechanically added milk and sweetener, then took a sip. She made a sour face.