My Friend, My Enemy, My Wife

Chapter 6 Confessions

	"What do you want here," I asked in a low voice.  Vic and the others were still sleeping 
and I didn't want to wake them.  Plus you seem more in control if you talk low.

	"What a way to treat your little brother." He laughed.  "I came here to warn you and to 
apologize for the misunderstanding.  Instead I get jumped and am forced to talk with a knife 
pressed against my throat."  I wasn't taking any chances and had kept my knife on his neck to 
keep him seated on the coach.

	"What do you want?" I repeated.  "And make it fast before I lose my temper and kill the 
little brother I never knew."  Xaviar stopped smiling and looked very seriously at my mother and 
me.

	"I have come to know the brother I never knew and to warn you that you need to get out of
 here before night fall."  He looked very serious and I wasn't sure whether to believe him or 
not.

	"Why should I believe you?  After all, you did try to harm my girlfriend."  The memories 
of Xaviar dragging Connie out of my car rushed back and I pressed the knife even closer into his 
throat.

	Xaviar tried to lean his head back, but I moved with him and kept the knife firmly 
against his throat.  "Let's get that misunderstanding cleared up right now, shall we?"  His voice
 was a little strained and I took a little satisfaction at that.  "I wasn't trying to hurt her.  
I was trying to protect her."

	I was totally confused now.  I saw with my own eyes what happened, but my instincts were 
telling me something else.  I sensed there was more he wasn't saying and I wouldn't like it.  
"Why should I believe that bullshit?  Connie did scream.  Someone being helped doesn't usually 
scream at the helper."

	"She had been raped before," Xaviar pointed out.  "Maybe she still has a phobia of men 
sneaking up on her."  My blood had turned cold when he mentioned her rape.  The fact that he knew
 about crossed my mind and I wondered how he got the info.  That is not public knowledge  
anywhere.

	"How did you know she has been raped?" I growled at him.  "That is not a widely known 
fact."  I had a suspicion that he might be gifted with telepathy and plucked it out her mind. If 
I was right, he wouldn't have to worry about using his gift again.

	Xaviar looked me dead in the eye and I knew my answer before he spoke.  "I was there," he
 said  "I saw it happen."

	The only thing that saved Xaviar's life was that my mom pulled me off of him before I 
could slit his throat.  "You bastard!  I'll kill you.  How can you calmly sit there and tell me 
you were there when my girlfriend was raped.   Did you do it, you filthy piece of trash?"

	Mom was having no trouble holding me back and it made me pause for a moment to wonder 
why.  As I turned to look at her, she let me go and simply said, "He's not done yet."

	I looked back at Xaviar who stared at me with a little fear in his eyes.  The red mist 
that had clouded my vision before was starting to come back.  "Make it quick.  Next time I fly 
off the handle, Mom won't be able to hold me back."

	Xaviar swallowed and ran a hand through his hair, which was about shoulder length.  
"Jamar and Jared got drunk one night and started cruising around town.  We were searching for you
 when we saw that young girl, Connie.  She was walking home from a party and Jared asked if she 
needed a ride.  She said yes because she lived on the other side of town.  She was talking about 
she can't wait til she grows up so she can have kids.  She kept saying she would be a great 
mother and that she already had the father picked out.  She says his name was Jay.  Jared thought
 it was you and came up with a plan to kidnap her, but Jamar said, "Let's have some fun instead."

	Xaviar took a deep breath and continued.  "We pulled up at a 7-11 and I got out to get 
everyone sodas.  When I came out of the store, the car was gone.  I circled to the back and saw 
Jared on top of your girlfriend."  Xaviar broke off then but continued when my mother nodded for 
him to go on.  "I ran to where they were standing and attacked Jamar, who was sitting on the hood
 and urging him on.  Next, I pulled Jared off her and told Connie to run.  Seeing that there fun 
was spoiled, Jared and Jamar beat the shit out of me and left me behind the store.  They came 
back an hour later and apologized, but they never forgave me for disturbing them."  

	He leaned back and looked me in the eye.  "That's the story.  I'm sorry, big brother."  
Xaviar looked visibly shaken from telling the story.

	I stood staring down at him.  Silently, I asked Mom if she thought he was telling the 
truth.  Her eyes widened and she immediately ducked down and hugged Xaviar.    I pulled Mom off 
of him and pulled Xaviar to his feet in front of me.  He stared silently as I put my knife away.
  My anger was replaced with gratitude and regret.  Still, I didn't know why he had come.  So I 
asked him.

	"It's simple.  I don't want you to die.  I'm tired of taking their orders.  For years, I 
was trying to get away from them, but they kept bringing me back.  That incident with your 
girlfriend was the final straw.  Last night, while they were sleeping, I left and bought some 
nylon rope from a nearby hardware store.  When I got back, they were gone.  So I left again and 
came here.  Jared was leaving, carrying Jamar, when I came to the store.  So I found a place and 
hid until this morning.  I was waiting outside, trying to build up my nerve and knock on the 
door, when you knocked me out."  He looked around nervously and stared straight into Jay's eyes.
  
	"We must leave before nightfall, because if we don't, the whole tribe will be here to try
 and capture you or one of your family members.  They want this war, Jay.  Jamar and Jared know 
I've switched sides.  They will take this as an insult and try even harder to destroy both you 
and me."