The Staal Sister

"Hey, uh, Dani." He fidgeted with his hands, very obviously nervous. He hadn't really changed much. His hair had become a little shaggy but he still had his bright eyes, but they took on a sad edge. I opened my mouth to speak but shut it when I heard another voice.

"Go see Uncle Jordan," Kris spoke softly to Iris and Liam. They trotted away happily. Kris put his arm around my shoulders and whispered in my ear.

"I don't know who this guy is or why he's here. You tensed up when you saw him. Just say the word and he'll be gone." I smiled up at him, very grateful. I had no idea what Justin wanted and what he knew. He and his brother had always been really close.

"Can we talk?" Justin eyed Kris up warily and Kris pulled me into his side, glaring at Justin. I nodded. Before walking towards Justin, I looked behind me.

Jordan had Iris on one knee and Liam on the other. Liam looked to be in depth in a story, probably telling Jordan about one of his adventures on the sod farm. I smiled back at them and Jordan's eyes connected with mine. He gave me a small smile, like that would fix all of thr cruel words he said to. I looked away. Those wounds were just too new and numb. Just like when you get stitches. They numb it and it doesn't bother you, it's just there. But you'll be feeling it when all of the barriers fade. I knew that too well.

"Allons, ma chérie. Il va les regarder. C'est un bon oncle. Tout simplement pas un bon frère." (Let's go, sweetheart. He will watch them. He's a good uncle. Just not a good brother.) Kris pulled me along with him, Justin 10 feet in front of us. We ended up in a little cafe and were sitting in a booth in the back, Kris and I on one side and Justin in the another.

"I took a plane down here with them." Justin began as he rubbed the back of his neck. I remember he always did that when he was nervous.

"Why? Why did my parents let you? I left Thunder Bay for a reason." I started to get worked up, my anger for Jordan ricocheting to Justin. He had no fucking right to be with my kids. He didn't even know them. Oh shit.

"Who told you!?" I growled and a few heads turned our way. Kris pulled me against him again, tracing lazy circles on my back. Justin widened his eyes and looked away from me. Everything I ran away from was coming to bite me in the ass.

"My brother." He glared at me. I felt Kris tense up beside me.

"Listen, buddy, don't look at her that way." Kris leaned forward and looked menacing. "She certainly doesn't need your shit and I'm not even sure why you're here. If you upset her, I'm going to beat your fucking head in. Got it?" I stifled a laugh at the expression on Justin's face. He looked like he was just about to shit himself. Kris leaned back again and had a blank expression on his face. He should've been an actor.

"I... You can't blame me for being a little mad." I gave him an incredulous look. Why the fuck would he be mad? Excuse me for being raped by your ass hole brother.

"Why would you EVER be mad at me?" He narrowed his eyes at my words. I continued. "He's the one in the wrong here, not me." Justin let out a humorless laugh and shook his head, like he was clearing my words from his memory. I glared daggers at him. This wasn't the kid I knew. Just goes to prove that everyone seems to change for the worse. Well atleast the people I care about.

"Hey, dickhead, what did I say about upsetting my girl?" Kris spit out again but my heart softened at the last part. Justin narrowed his eyes at Kris and I could practically smell the testosterone in the air. I know things were going to get worse.

"Okay, time to leave. It wasn't nice seeing you, Justin." I was being a bitch but frankly, I couldn't care less right now. Kris slid out of the booth and I followed him. He held my hand as we stood up, ready to walk away.

"What an asshole." Kris muttered as we reached the doors. I nodded in agreement. I didn't know what happened to him. He was acting like his brother.

"I know you left because you slept with him! You're just a whore. Always have been, always will be. Just own up to it!" Justin shouted and my mind felt like it was in a blender. My thoughts were scattered. His brother really told him that? He probably told the whole town, not that I cared what they thought. But my parents... Is that why they were calling me?

His words stung. I'm not gonna deny that they did. Hearing it over and over again made me feel like shit. Did they not understand that? I was extremely sympathetic to teen mothers. Some of them were whores, sure. But you never knew. It drives me crazy when people judge without knowing. Chances are she was a nice girl who screwed up. We all fuck up sometimes. Some worse than others. You can never know for sure.

"He's fucking dead." Kris spun around and made his way back over to Justin. I just wanted to leave. I was so done with this shit. So done.