Forget Me Not

Chapter 13

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

BERLYNN

Monday morning comes far too quickly, and it is complete and utter pandemonium. Nothing goes as was expected. Everything is in disarray and we’re all scattered. It’s a whole new struggle trying to get Tracker’s schedule to intertwine with ours. Before his day can begin there are things he has to do—eat, potty, and play so some of his energy is restrained. On top of that, we have to gather not only Berk’s belongings but Tracker’s as well. In other words, he has to have his leash and harness attached as well as placing his working vest around his torso, one that showcases the fact that he’s a service animal before Berk and Mrs. Crockett can consider leaving the house.

Berkley was physically exhausted this morning after spending the weekend standing upright to toss the ball around the yard with Tracker, and he was disappointed with himself that he had to succumb to using his chair in order to move around for the day. So that was another thing we had to deal with before we could begin our own day—his outburst and self-loathing.

Dealing with my brother and his tantrums is exhausting at times, but I’m glad that I didn’t toss him into a home like our father wanted and let them handle him. He needs family, he needs to know that someone cares and that person, or persons, is me and Aris.

Addison would be another one if I was mentally and emotionally in a place to let her in. Right now, we have a lot of changes we need to get used to and deal with before bringing on another one. And my bestie, she’s a whirlwind tornado and extraordinary headstrong when it comes to getting her way.

Speaking of, as if her twin radar is blaring off in her head telling her that her brother is up to no good, the second Aris turns the ignition on in his vehicle, the phone immediately begins ringing. The display on the screen shows ‘twin calling’.

Before I have the opportunity to tell Aris not to let her know I’m with him, he answers. “Yo, Addy. I’m on my way to the office, what’s up?”

“Brother of mine. I did a little digging over the weekend and imagine my surprise to find out that you’ve been busy. Busy with my BFF! Why didn’t you tell me that Berlynn finally let you in?” Aris looks over at me out of the corner of his eyes and I roll mine in response. I guess we have a dramatic Addison this morning.

“I didn’t tell you because a lot has happened since then, Addy. I take my cues from her and she’s been swamped trying to get her and Berk settled at my house,” he tells her.

“They moved in with you?” she asks, her voice high and squeaky. “How could you, Aris? You know I’ve been miserable without her and the fact that she blows off my phone calls and that my letters have gone unanswered has broken my heart. Is she okay? Berk? How are they doing? I want to know everything, Aris!”

A giggle escapes me at her dramatics. Yes, I’ve ignored her letters and calls, but my life has been full of turmoil since Berk was released from the hospital and put into my care. It’s a lot of responsibility. Not to mention his numerous check-ups, physical therapy, day surgery to implant the probes that allow him to walk, therapist appointments to help him deal with his anger issues over the entire drugging thing that forever changed his life, on and on it goes. It’s never ending. In addition to all of that, I still managed to hold down a full-time job to cover all of our bills. My day is draining, and at night, I don’t want to people, I want to drink a glass of wine and unwind.

“Berlynn!” Addison hollers. “Seriously, chica? Why?” I can hear her getting choked up and listen as she begins sniffling over the receiver. “You just threw me away.”

“I didn’t throw you away. I didn’t throw anyone away. But I was dealing with a lot, DeeDee.” I begin ticking things off with my fingers, which she can’t see, but it’s a habit I haven’t been able to break. “My father, mother, doctors, Berk, trying to find a caretaker who couldn’t be bought off or scared by my dad’s threats. Working tirelessly so we could eat and have a roof over our heads. Constantly being followed, our lives were in peril, there’s no way I was willing to put you guys through that,” I explain.

“You let Aris!” she contends.

“I didn’t let Aris do anything. He sorta stormed in and didn’t give me any choice in the matter,” I say, defending myself.

“Because things got messier than they’d previously been. Your inheritance was closer to being released to you two which made him relentless and more ruthless in his pursuit to get his grubby mitts on your money,” Aris asserts, giving me a reproving look. “Marcus went from mere verbal threats to acting aggressive. When yours and Berk’s life was on the line, I stepped in. I won’t apologize for that.”

Clearing her throat, Addison asks, “So does this mean I can come see you now? There’s so much I need to tell you about, Berly.”

“Girl talk?” Aris inquires around a chuckle. “You’ll have to give me and Berk a heads up when that happens so he and I can be far away from the two of you. Especially if there’s going to be drinking and tears involved.”

“Oh, brother of mine, I can guarantee you there’s going to be copious amounts of alcohol consumed and tons of tears released.” Addison snickers, teasing him. “We’re girls who’ve been kept apart, it’s going to be a blubber fest.”

“Shit,” Aris hisses, but he can’t hide the lift of his lips from me as he strives to keep the smile from popping free.

Aris can try to contain it, but I know his signs and ticks. It’s evident to me that this reunion makes him ecstatic.

He’s delighted.

He wants this.

Us all back together again like it used to be before tragedy struck.

The four musketeers.

We may have been at separate schools, on different paths, but no matter what, we stayed in daily contact. It makes me feel guilty for keeping them away for as long as I have. I know they’re our biggest supporters and I’ve treated them like adversaries.

“Wait. If Aris is heading to the office, why are you with him, Berly?” Addison probes, “Shouldn’t you be at the gym, coaching our next Olympian?” I’m astounded that she knows that. I haven’t been active on social media—I’ve kept my personal life on the down low in attempts to keep my father from finding out too much about me and Berk.

“How do you know what I’ve been doing?” I ask, my heart pounding in my chest.

“Avoidance. I see you still do that when you don’t want to answer a question,” Addison harrumphs. “The gym advertised you as working with them when you accepted the position. You were our hometown hopeful, Berl, you know that. You became the town's sweetheart when you took custody of Berk. Everyone follows you that way, backing you and encouraging you, even if you never responded on the website to all of the remarks and comments.”

“I didn’t know about it,” I justify my non reaction to any posts about me or my coaching. “I didn’t put my life out there on blast because I was protecting Berk.”

She hums before stating, “That’s understandable, and from what I saw on the forum, nobody was upset by your lack of contact because they were replied to, just not by you. It was a blanket response by the gym. Now, back to my original question, why are you heading to the office with Aris?”

I don’t immediately answer her as my brain digests the fact that my life has been made public by my former employer and who I thought was my friend. He knew, they all knew that I was keeping things quiet so that my dad didn’t have any ammunition to twist and twine to use against me. He has the capability to take the simplest thing and make it into something devious and make me look incapable of caring for my brother.

I feel betrayed.

I’m hurt and it’s like my inner fire has been doused by water, sizzling out. I deflate. How could they do that to me? I was loyal to them so why didn’t they return that in kind? I never made it a secret that I was sheltering my personal life from anyone outside of my inner circle. Then that burst of depression is overridden by a sudden flare of anger. My fists clench on my lap as I let the abrupt rage zing through me.

“How could they?” I cry out. “We had a deal, my life stayed out of the limelight. I’m so mad!”

“Sis, we’ll call you back,” Aris announces as he hits the red button on the dashboard and disconnects the call. He gives me a few minutes to stew as he glances over at me periodically, reading my emotions. I don’t have a poker face, whatever I’m feeling, you’re going to know. “Berlynn, what can I do to help?”

“I’d say,” I grit through my teeth before I continue speaking, “take everything down about me and Berk that’s online. But the damage has already been done so what good would that do us now? I don’t know what will make this feel better because right now, I feel like I have a black hole in my heart.”

“I’m sorry,” Aris states. “If I had a time machine I’d go back into the past and fix this for you, but I don’t and I can’t. But what we can do going forward, is do some damage control by going on the internet and making our own generalized statement. Something that may force your dad to retreat and lick his wounds. It’s worth thinking about. Everyone is already aware that he’s not a good man, but what they don’t know is that he’s coming for you and Berk.”

Tapping my finger against my chin, I hum. He has a good idea. If I were to make myself vulnerable to the masses and call my dad and my mom out for what they’ve been up to, it may have them backpedaling. It’s election year, and no judge in his or her right mind would be willing to stand beside a man with the reputation my dad’s earned for himself. It’d make them look bad in the public eye and nobody would be willing to vote them into office. Then by the time they were in their robes, the timeline for my parents to argue against Berk and me gaining our inheritance and me being his guardian would’ve passed.

“That could work,” I acknowledge.

“Then that’ll be one of the first things we work on today,” he encourages.

“Thank you, Aris,” I whisper.

“Anything for you, Berlynn. Anything.”