The Bad Boy's Dirty Little Secret BL Chapter 71: I Would Never

Kai’s P.O.V

I tried my best to listen to Kia as she narrated her struggles with Rick, but I was too angry to focus on the details. All I knew was that he hit her; he was trying to force himself on my sister to get his way, and when he hadn't been able to do that…he had hit my sister.

And that was unforgivable.

I was overly aware of Night sitting still behind me, the tension in the air palpable. He also resented Rick for what he did to my sister, even though he had never met the guy, and from the way he clenched and unclenched his hands, I knew he was wondering if it was okay to hold my sister’s hand in comfort, or if it would be overstepping her boundaries.

I wanted to tell him that it was fine, and that she wouldn’t mind, but I was trying to focus on controlling my own rage to say anything.

The overwhelming sense of guilt that I had been feeling all this time finally took root, paralyzing me on the spot. I watched as my sister’s eyes watered, and she closed them tightly to hold in her tears…I watched the bruises for on her cheek, the dried blood at the corner of her lips…and a sense of helplessness washed over me as reality set in.

Why hadn’t I done anything to help her? I had always known that she wasn’t very happy with him lately, but I should have kept a watchful eye over him.

I could have prevented this, if only I had done a better job at protecting my sister…

“Why haven’t you told our parents about this yet?” I finally found the voice to speak. “And why are you still with that bastard?”

Kia sighed. “I know,” she admitted, sounding so defeated that another surge of anger sparked within me. “I have been trying to break up with him ever since I felt suffocated in our relationship, but to no avail. Every time I bring it up, no matter how gently, he starts to cry and apologizes for his wrongdoings, making me feel like an asshole for wanting to break up with him, and after that… I just can’t…I feel guilty... I feel like I’d been overthinking everything.”

“He’s manipulating you!” Night exclaimed indignantly. “The fact that he’s gaslighting you means he is the bigger asshole. You shouldn’t feel guilty for wanting to leave him, but he is making you think that you are so you won’t have the strength to break free from that toxic relationship.”

“I know…I understand that now, but…” Kia’s face darkened, her fingers curling around mine. “But… what should I do? I feel so lost,” she sounded so helpless that it broke my heart. “Because back then, no matter how bad it was between me and Rick, not once did he raise his hand on me. But now that he has…” she shook her head, a tear spilling over to trickle down her cheek.

“Now that he has, I can no longer look at him without seeing him as the abusive manipulator that he is. And I can’t bring myself to go back home to our parents and pretend that everything is alright, not when I know that nothing is...”

“I am so sorry,” Night whispered to my sister. “You don’t deserve to be in such a hellish situation. Nobody does. Trust me…I know how hard it is to get out of this situation or to find the courage to stand up for yourself when everyone believes that the guy is innocent.”

Kia nodded. “That’s exactly how it feels. It seems that letting this go on longer than it has, would bring me nothing but misery,” she said. “But at the same time, I cannot get out; he won’t let me. And the fact that my family likes him far too much to even think that he could ever hit me…you’re right…they won’t believe me.”

“Fuck!” This was what Night had told me before about his ex…the man who had manipulated young boys and taken advantage their vulnerability…but now…seeing the same happen to Kia, I didn’t think I could take it any longer.

“And no matter what I tell them, they might defend him instead. I can already hear them telling me to understand his side instead of calling him out for physically hurting me. They’d rather tell me to adjust to his wants rather than help me cope with what he did to me.”

Her voice broke, as more tears spilled down her cheeks, and I could feel the helplessness radiating off of her.

She was just like me, it turns out. My picture perfect sister whom my family loved more than me, turned out to be facing the same insecurities that I, too, had been having when it came to our ridiculously uptight parents.

I’ve always known that she had her fair share of problems; I understood that everybody’s got their own shit to deal with. But I always thought she had it easier than me.

I always thought she had the edge of being the better-established sibling.

And it was only now that I realized how, when all was said and done, we still were siblings facing the same problems with the family we shared. We were still trying to get their approval in everything we did.

I should have known that I wasn't alone with my fears of rejection and not being accepted as who I truly am. It might be a bit late now, but late is always better than never, anyway.

Finally, I stood up from the floor and held out my hand to her. “Come on.”

Kia looked up at me in surprise, wiping away her tears before she placed her hand in mine. “Where are we going?”

“To our parents.” I told her firmly. “To end this shit once and forever.”

“Kai…but…”

“No more buts, Kia. Enough is enough.” I urged her to stand up, before I turned to Night to do the same. “I’m not going to stand back and have some dick abuse my sister while I’m still alive. I’ll make sure you’re free of him, even if it’s the last thing I do. This ends today.”

Kia smiled, even though she looked hesitant. “It’s worth a shot.” She looked at me and Night. “Thank you, Kai. You’ve always been a good brother, no matter what our family had to say about you.”

“Oh, shut up,” I said, spreading my arms to invite her in for a hug. “Come here.”

My sister’s arms were firm around me. It was like she was trying to tell me all the unspoken words through this embrace. I’m sorry our parents are the way they are. Thank you for being ready to stand by me. I’ll always be here for you, too.

I was the first to pull away. “Let’s go.”

We headed downstairs where Kia’s car was already parked out front and we got in to head to our final destination. I drove while Night was in the passenger seat, Kia at the back.

Night turned back to look at my sister in concern. “Are you still hurt?”

Kia shook her head, but I could tell that she wasn’t feeling well from the way she still wiped away her tears and how she bit her lips to keep from crying out loud.

Night’s face softened. Finally, he reached forward to squeeze Kia’s hand. “It will be okay,” he promised. “You have us on your side.”

We were silent for the rest of the ride home, the only noise coming from the passing cars on the highway. As I drove, I thought about how our parents would react to the situation once I explained it.

Surely it wouldn’t be difficult to make them see reason? Surely they would not be crazy enough to defend another man over their own daughter? But even as I tried to convince myself of such things, I was skeptical.

When we finally rounded the driveway to our house and I parked the car up front, Kia’s gasp filled the silence just as I was unbuckling my seat belt, startling both me and Night.

“What?” I asked. “What happened?”

“That car.” She pointed to an unfamiliar vehicle in the driveway. “That belongs to Rick...”

“Guess I won’t have to hunt him down to beat him up. He brought himself right at our doorstep.” I smirked, my anger rising at the sight of that car itself.

“All the lights are on inside,” Night noted. “Rick may have come to cause a scene. Clear signs of a manipulative abuser.”

“He must have come here immediately as soon as I left his apartment,” Kia guessed, “he’s going to try and twist the story in his favor.”

“Not if I can help it,” I told her, as I got out of the car and held the door open for her. And then, the three of us walked inside the house, with Kia in the middle.

As soon as we walked up the porch, we could hear Rick groveling to our parents inside. “I swear, it was just an accident. Kia… I never meant to hurt her. I would never! She just…”

I opened the door that instant, hard enough that it hit the opposite wall with a bang, and the scene that greeted us was Rick on his knees, tears streaming down his face, with our parents standing over him. And they looked like they pitied him.

That was not a good sign.

And right then, when he looked at Kia, his lips tilting up in a smile…was when my composure finally snapped.

Rushing into the room, I grabbed Rick by the collar and hurled him up, cutting off his manipulative speech, and then I punched him in the face, hard enough that he fell face first on the ground, and our parents shocked gasps echoed through the house.

“Sorry, Rick,” I said, mockingly. “That was an accident. I never meant to hurt you. I would never!”