By the time I changed the settings on the phone back to normal from silent, I found myself outside of the building. Vivi and I had arrived there by use of a public bus. I didn’t want to inconvenience her parents by asking for a ride back, so I decided to walk. As I turned the corner of the block, I realized that my brother’s work building was in the same area. That meant that Seth’s house was around five minutes away by car. Granted, that meant I had to walk around half an hour to get there on foot, but it was better than trying to go back home, which was much further away.

I frowned most of the way there. My intentions really had been to allow Liam and Seth privacy for their remaining time off. But, I didn’t want my parents to see me dressed like a girl, and I knew I had a change of clothes at Seth’s place. Vivi had left me with few options.

When I finally reached the edge of the street of my brother’s neighborhood, I let out a sigh of relief. Though I was wearing flats, they hadn’t been broken in. I was sure to have odd marks on my feet where the material dug into my skin. I was still about ten houses away. As I paused under the shade of a tree, I shot a glance towards Seth’s house and immediately tensed at what I saw.

As my brother nonchalantly walked over to his mail box and carded through the envelopes, the unsavory figure of Kris Locklear crossed the street and headed straight for him. For a moment, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. But, as soon as I saw him grab my brother by the hair, I dialed 911 on the phone.

I lifted my shoulder to hold the phone in place as I dug through my side bag for my tablet and turned it on. “Yes, I’m reporting an attack on my brother,” I informed the operator. I set my tablet to record as I rushed over. “Forget assault, it’s downright ‘battery’ at this point!” I cursed as I saw him punch Seth, who didn’t dodge fast enough and took the impact on his shoulder. “2420 Lemongrass Lane!”

“Ok, I’ll stay on the line, just hurry,” I hissed into the receiver as I struggled to keep my hands steady as the ipad continued to record. “This is Kris Locklear,” I narrated as he knocked my brother down and tried to kick him, though Seth started blocking his blows. “The guy on the floor has a restraining order on him. He’s clearly violated it.”

I was out of breath by the time I got within hearing range of them. “Seth! Hold on!” I called out, which immediately drew the attention of Kris. I stopped and saved the video and began to e-mail it to myself.

“Michael?” Kris asked, looking properly confused at my attire.

“Yeah, take a good look,” I scoffed as I hit the send button and lifted both arms up in a thuggish gesture, which must not have been the slightest bit intimidating considering the fact that I was wearing such a feminine blouse. “You’re not gonna have much to smile about in prison, now are ya?”

“I’ve had enough of your blackmailing bullshit!” Kris growled as he made his way towards me. I quickly shoved my phone and ipad in my bag and took off.

“Mike!” I heard Seth cry out. But, I knew I had to keep the crazed man on my heels if I wanted the police to get there in time. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to allow him to continue beating on my brother.

Kris had definitely seen better days. The hair he usually had styled to his shoulders had been cut short, emphasizing his big ears. He also wasn’t wearing the fancy modeling clothes he used to in the past. I kept having to glance over my shoulder just to see if he was catching up to me.

I felt the air knocked right out of me as I was tackled to the ground. I let out a groan when my back hit the sidewalk. As the corset dug into my back, I realized that it didn’t matter how loose or tight it was, it was an evil article of clothing. I didn’t even have time to dwell on how I even managed to land on my back in the first place because the next thing I felt was the force of his fist against my thigh.

“Ow!” I growled.

Naturally, I went and kicked him on the side of the head. He managed to clamber on top of me. I blocked my face with my arms and waited for the blow that I expected to come, when I felt his weight off of me. I hadn’t even heard the sound of the police sirens when they arrived.

“Ma’am are you hurt?”

I slowly lowered my arms and found an officer hovering over me while another placed Kris in handcuffs and ushered him into the back of a car. I pulled myself up to a sitting position and glanced around. One of the neighbors had a phone in her hand and was describing what she saw to another officer across the street. She must have tried calling 911, too. Seth seemed to have good neighbors. I wonder if she liked donuts. We should gift her donuts.

My rambling thoughts were once again refocused as the police officer tried to gain my attention again.

“Are you alright?”

I finally focused on the man’s face and was surprised at how young he appeared to be. Subconsciously, I reached out for the hand he gave me to help me up and instantly regretted it. The soreness in my thigh made me stumble against him. It did, however, allow me to see the name printed on the pin above one of his breast pockets.

Meza?

He had green eyes, brown hair, and bronze skin. I was fascinated with the small dark mole he had just next to the corner of his lip. I myself had a few moles here and there, but none were a near-perfect round “dot” like his was...

“Damn it!” I heard the familiar sound of my brother as he rushed over. “Are you ok?”

I then felt a sharp sting on my ear as he sharply twisted it. “OW!”

“Don’t you ever do something like that again!” Seth hissed in the most fatherly tone of voice he could muster. “Do you have any idea how badly you scared me?”

“How badly I scared you?” I practically squeaked. “What about when I saw you on the ground about to be kicked around by that asshole? You didn’t think I was scared for you, too?”

There was a moment when we stopped and glared at each other before we both moved in for a tight hug. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“I’m sorry, too,” Seth responded. “When I saw him tackling you to the ground…”

“I think it was officer Meza and his partner that pulled him off me,” I realized as I turned towards one of the men in question. “Thank you.”

“No thanks are necessary, ma’am. I’m just going to need you and your husband to give a statement.”

“Wait, husband? Ma’am?” Seth responded. “This is my younger brother.”

When officer Meza turned to gave me an incredulous glance, I felt my face heat up. I just knew that I must be red all over in embarrassment. “I never wear these kinds of things,” I explained. “But, that’s a whole other story. Seth! The restraining order papers!”

“Right! I’ll bring those right out,” Seth replied as he rushed back into the house.

“That guy you caught was my brother’s crazy ex,” I told officer Meza as I pulled out my ipad from the bag once again. In the fall, the tempered glass broke, but the screen itself wasn’t even scratched. “He violated his restraining order and I recorded it all on my ipad.”

“That was some quick thinking on your part, Mister…”

“Michael,” I replied as I extended my hand. “Michael Slater.”

“I’m officer Marcos Meza,” He said as he shook my hand.

“Marcos…” I mused aloud as I tried not to stare too hard at the taller man’s green eyes.

“Here they are,” Seth announced as he caught back up to us.

I didn’t realize I was still holding onto officer Meza’s hand until I felt him stiffen at Seth’s return. I quickly pulled my hand back as I fought down another blush. The look on my face drew Seth’s attention, but I diverted it back to the subject at hand.

“What’s our next step, then?” I asked Marcos. “To ensure that Kris won’t have another chance to terrorize my brother?”

::::

“And he…” Seth recounted as he paused to take a breath between his laughter. “He kept calling him ma’am and swore that we were husband and wife.”

I let out a sigh as I fought down a blush. As much as I wanted to blame Vivi for my brother having ammunition to use against me, I couldn’t. Had it not been for her crazy scheme in deceiving her parents, I would have never been there in time to help out Seth, and I would have never met Marcos.

He helped us every step of the way until we were able to ensure that Kris was sent to prison. Liam was a great help in helping Seth deal with the after effect. He supported my brother just like Marcos supported me.

The two of us had been dating for two months before I found the courage to bring him to see my family. It wasn’t that I was ashamed of him or our relationship. It was that I knew my siblings were going to take every opportunity to get me back for all the times I teased them about their relationships.

“I was stricken by ‘her’ beauty,” Marcos added, causing my blush to darken. “Imagine my surprise to know that not only was she not married, but she was really a he.”

“Why don’t you tell them, Marcos, the one about the Halloween party?” Liam urged.

“I think we’ve heard enough,” I interceded.

“I, for one, have been dying to talk about the Halloween party,” Cara instigated. “Marcos, would you like to tell us more?”

“Yes, absolutely!” Marcos immediately responded.

I rolled my lips in until they were a thin line, much like my brother Seth did whenever he was aggravated, but couldn’t do anything about it. Then, I let out a sigh. My brother really got me back, just as he promised he would.

I still loved him, anyway.

::END::