The Resurrection of Aubrey Miller(28)

My heart thuds because I know what she’s doing before she even opens the drawer. I glance at Kaeleb, who’s eyeing her with interest as she turns with the envelope in her hand, and he continues to do so until she dumps the photos on the bed.
It’s Kaeleb who stands next. The legs of the chair screech along the floor as he pushes it aside and braves his way to the edge of her pink comforter. His jaw clenches tightly as he reaches forward and spreads the pictures across the bed, his fingers trembling. “Quinn…” he breathes.
I raise my head and watch as her chin begins to quiver. She wipes a tear from her eye just as Kaeleb puts his arm around her shoulder and pulls her into his frame. He sets his chin on her head and she circles her arms around his waist before she speaks.
“My parents sent me to fat camp five summers in a row, starting when I was in fourth grade. Being overweight is unacceptable in my house.” I swallow the lump in my throat when another tear falls down her cheek. “After the final summer, when I was able to finally lose the weight, my mother started putting me in pageants to make sure I stayed that way. She was always monitoring my calorie intake, making me get up an hour early to run. I started taking diuretics and laxatives, anything I could do to get the food out of my system.”
She tears her gaze from the photos to look at me. “I hate the girl in those pictures. But no matter how hard I try, she’s still there, in the mirror looking back at me or squatting inside my head. Taunting me. Whispering.” She breathes in deeply. “Size zero or size sixteen, she’s always there.”
Kaeleb squeezes her tighter and she buries her head in his chest. “I hate her.”
My heart breaks for her because I know that hate. It’s possible that a hatred so strong and so tangible will eventually take over her life, and there will be nothing I can do to help her. Except…
“Palmer. Why don’t you talk to Palmer? I mean, it’s just a thought,” I offer. Resting her cheek against Kaeleb, she gives me a weak smile in return. “Maybe.”
I release a defeated exhale because the look in her eyes tells me she won’t be calling on Palmer anytime soon.
Kaeleb picks up on her hesitation as well. “Quinn, you should give it a try. I mean, look at Aubrey. She could pass for almost normal now. Evidently he’s a miracle worker.”
Quinn laughs and Kaeleb just smiles, pleased with her reaction. I let his snarky comment slide, because I figure that’s what he was going for.
After wiping her face, she releases him and steps away, giggling. “True.”
My mouth pinches and I cross my arms, sending them into further laughter.
Once their antics die down, Kaeleb inhales deeply. “Well, since we’re under the sharing tree, I guess it’s my turn.”
Stunned, Quinn and I look at each other before directing our stares at him. “Don’t look so surprised, ladies,” he chuckles before locking eyes with me. “There’s an actual reason that I’m in the Elements of Trust course with you, Bree.”
The corners of my mouth fall, the idea of him having any problems coming as a complete shock to me. He maintains my stare, but the look on his face is no longer one of his usual lightheartedness, but that of pure heartache.
He dips his head and peers at me from under his dark lashes. “I lost my own parents when I was fifteen.” Blood rushes my face and my heart hammers once his admission crosses his lips. Kaeleb lifts his hand to pause my reaction. “But not how you’re thinking.”
He barely speaks above a whisper as he continues. “My sister was a really good swimmer. Very competitive. At only thirteen years old, her times rivaled some of the high school girls’, and some even called her a swimming prodigy.” A breath catches in my throat. His sister. I can’t believe I’d forgotten about Katie. She was the same age as Adley.
His hand raises and he covers his face, his fingers and thumb digging into his eyes to clear the moisture falling from them. His chin continues to tremble long after he drops his hand. “But she was never good enough, you know? My parents constantly pushed her. They made her practice after hours, swimming endlessly day in and day out. Every lap in the pool had to be faster than the last.”
Quinn continues to stare, but his bloodshot eyes remain on me. “I tried to get them to ease up, you know? Because what they were doing was killing her. Mentally, physically, emotionally...”
My lips begin to quiver with the feebleness in his tone as he continues. “I fought them, I screamed at them, I warned them, until they finally ended up kicking me out of their house. Sent me to live with my grandparents and never looked back.”
His eyes break to the floor only to meet mine again before adding, “She had a complete mental breakdown one year later. Had to be hospitalized.”
A gasp escapes me, and I cover my mouth with quaking fingers as he simply shrugs his shoulders. “It was about six months before she was released. She stayed with me and my grandparents for a while after that, but eventually moved back in with my parents. I, however, haven’t spoken to them since.”
He looks back to Quinn. “So I understand never being accepted by your parents and never being good enough. I f*cking watched it happen. Right in front of me. To me.”
His voice builds in volume and then his eyes once again meet mine, his face flushed with anger. I can tell by his clenched fists that he’s trying to maintain his control, but it’s useless. “I was her big brother for Christ’s sake and I couldn’t do shit for her!” His arms fly into the air and Quinn breaks into sobs.