Big Brother

2003

"TATE!" I called, trying not to voice how upset I was in the moment. "TAAATE!" I barreled up the stairs, pounding on the doors.

One of the nurses, Maria, popped up, blocking my way down the hall.
"Look what he did to me." She droned.

"GO. AWAY!" I shouted. Not only was I already annoyed; this bitch totally creeped me out. I don't know why, but the nurses and Mrs. Harvey totally give me the creeps.

Maria disappeared, and I took a deep breath, pushing on through the house.

"TAAAAAAAAAAAAATE! TATE TATE TATE!" I shouted, stomping through the house. "TA-"

"I'm right here Jules! Right here! Stop shouting." Yelled Tate, appearing in front of me. I took a deep breath, glaring at him.

"I cannot believe you. Well, I mean, I can. You're you. God Tate! Why would you even... And mother. God, Constance, that bitch. She's with someone new. Fuck, I can't... I mean... Ugh!" I slammed my fist into Tate's arm, then my open palm into his chest.

"Jules, stop." He growled, grabbing my arms as I continued to slam my hands into his body angrily. If I were anything like our mother, he'd be on the ground, but my hits never hold very much power, and therefore he wasn't in any sort of discomfort.

"NO! I'm gonna keep hitting you because you're a douche bag!" I shouted.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Exploded Tate, pushing me towards the wall. He slammed me roughly against it, holding my wrists tightly so I couldn't hit him, and using one leg to keep my legs from kicking him. I screamed, thrashing around to get my brother off of me. I was pissed, and I didn't care who knew. However, I was running out of anger quickly. My energy level was dropping, as was the loudness of my screams. I began to cry normally, going weak in Tate's arms.
"Shhhh, hey." Tate cradled me close to him, enveloping me in a hug that made me feel okay. "What's wrong? What happened?"

I pulled away from Tate so abruptly, that he almost lost his own balance. I sat down against the wall, biting my lip.

"Tate, what the hell would possess you to do that to him?" I wondered.

"Do what?" Tate cautiously sat next to me, watching me like I was some crazed dog with rabies.

"You're not stupid Tate! Why'd you get Gavin over here and then scare him away?! I saw him today, at school. He has a big gash all up his face, he's totally fucked up." I growled. "You fucked him up, and now he won't talk to me."

"Jules, I didn't--"

"Don't lie to me Tate!" I cried, looking up so I could stare my brother in the eye. "He was gonna get me out. We were gonna get away together. I love you Tate, I would miss seeing you every day, but we were gonna leave and be happy! Now? He won't even talk to me Tate." A few tears slipped from my eyes, no matter how hard I tried to make them stop.

"You were gonna... leave me?" He asked. I could see the hurt and pain in his eyes, and it just made the tears come faster.

"I'm sorry Tate. I'm sorry." I cried, carefully wiping under my eyes. Somehow, he'd turned my anger at him into feeling awful for even thinking about leaving him.

"I c-- What's that on your face?" Tate was staring intently at my cheek bone, eyebrows knitted together in anger and confusion.

"What do you mean? It's my face." I sighed.

"You're lyin' to me. Lemme see." Tate started reaching forward, but I jumped up before he could touch me.

"Stop Tate! I'm here to get answers from you! Not the other way around!"

"Did someone hurt you?"

"Tate, I wanna know why you did it!" I yelled, ignoring his question.

"I'LL ANSWER YOU IF YOU ANSWER ME! DID GAVIN HURT YOU?!" Exploded Tate, jumping to his feet. His deadly tone sent bad shivers down my spine.

"NO!" I screeched.

"THEN WHO?! SOME OTHER BOY I GOTTA WORRY ABOUT?! CONSTANCE?! HER NEW GUY?! Who hurt you, Juliette?!" Tate was pissed, to say the least. It was really irking me, because I had come in with every intention of biting his fucking head off, and now he was yelling at me.

"Tate, please! Just-- stop yelling! Stop! I'll tell you anything you wanna know!" Again, I slid against the wall. I held in a few quiet sobs as I looked up to meet my brother's eyes once more. "After you tell me."

Tate got down on his knees in front of me, placing his hands on my face. Worry took over his features, just as they often did when concerning me.

"I had to scare him away so he wouldn't hurt you. You're my baby sister. You're only fifteen. You don't need a boyfriend yet. Besides. Him and his douche bag friends came in here. They were upsetting Nora. I had to make 'em understand that they can't just come in and start messing everything up. He wasn't right for you, Jules."

"That wasn't your decision." I whispered. Although I was peeved that my brother had done it, I was no longer angry. He'd only been trying to help. His intentions were pure, his method-- not so much.

"Your turn, Jules. Who hurt you?" Tate murmured.

"John. I mean... Constance. But it was because of John. Because she won't listen to anything I say about him." I explained.

"Has John been hitting you?" Tate asked suspiciously.

"He's been doing something worse." I croaked. I looked up at my brother with big, tear filled eyes. I wanted more than anything to just know everything was going to be okay. Tate sighed, pulling me into his lap. He wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug.

"I'm gonna make him stop. I swear." Tate himself sounded as if he was crying now. "I promise, I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you anymore. I promise." He pulled away, holding my face between his hands and looking at me. He wiped away some tears with his thumbs. "I promise."

Current Time

"Have a good visit with the doctor?" I smirked towards my brother, who flipped me off.

"Yes, I had a good visit with the doctor. Told 'im all about 'my fantasies'. Then I met 'is daughter. Violet." Tate recalled. I shook my head, chuckling.

"Of course you did."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tate asked, taking on a defensive tone.

"Nothing." I waved my hand. "Nothing at all."

"Shut up Jules." Tate lightly pushed my shoulder. I pushed him back, walking over to where the attic door swung down, a small smile on my face.

"I'm gonna go check on Nora. You wanna come?" I asked.

"No, you go ahead. I'm already doing something for Nora."

Without a question or a second thought, I left the attic and my brother behind.