The Drowning Man by Sara Vinduska Read Free Book Online Page B

brain couldn’t quite process everything he’d been through. And now, after all that, he was going back home, back to his life. Whatever was left of it, anyway.
    None of it seemed possible, let alone real.

Chapter 13
    Nathan was afraid to get his hopes up. All he knew was that his brother was awake. He just had no idea if Trent would be the same brother he'd known his entire life. His heart surged when he opened the door and Trent was sitting up in bed looking at him, this time with recognition in his eyes. “Goddamn it's good to see you,” he said.
    “You mean now that I'm not catatonic.”
    “Well, there is that.” Nathan forced a grin.
    “What'd you bring me?” Trent nodded at the paper bag Nathan had under his arm.
    Nathan smiled. “I snuck in pizza and beer.”
    “Sausage and mushroom from Franks?”
    Nathan nodded.
    “Now that's worth waking up for.” Trent grinned. The same smirking grin he’d always had.
    This time Nathan's answering smile was real. He leaned back in the chair. “The Chiefs are kicking ass so far this season,” he started, cracking open a beer.
    “Yeah?” Trent asked
    Nathan would not bring up what had happened. He didn’t want to take the chance of Trent regressing, so he stuck to safe topics like football. He updated Trent on how his new job as assistant principal was going, and he continued to joke around like they always had.
    The truth was, he was afraid to find out what had happened to make his brother so traumatized, and Trent didn't bring it up. There would be time for that later, when Trent was fully recovered. They were close, but had never been guys who got into emotional shit with each other. Now was certainly not the time to start.
    Trent fell asleep after one slice of pizza and half a beer instead of his usual half a pizza and half a six-pack. Nathan looked down at his younger brother and felt a wave of protective emotion. He and Trent hadn't had the best childhood. Their mother took off shortly after Trent had been born. Their old man came home from work at 5:30 every night, fed them dinner, then drank beer and watched TV until he passed out on the couch. Occasionally, he'd smack them around a bit. He'd died of a heart attack two years ago. Neither of his sons had attended the funeral.
    It had always been he and Trent against the world. And that was just fine with him, Nathan thought as he quietly cleaned up the evidence and went to find Dr. Hender.
     
    The two cops came into Trent’s room as soon as the nurse cleared away his breakfast tray. The first, was a tall stocky dark-skinned man on crutches, the second … Trent took a deep breath as the images rushed back. He remembered her face but when he looked at her, he saw the tank, saw the water enveloping him, swallowing him, suffocating him. He couldn't breathe.
    Lora looked at her partner, then at the bed where Trent Barlow had his eyes closed as if in pain. “Mr. Barlow?” she asked. “Are you okay?”
    Trent forced his eyes open, forced air into his lungs. That face. It was burned into his memory, flawless peach skin, delicate eyebrows, pale green eyes surrounded by strands of auburn hair. He couldn't look directly at it. “I'm fine,” he lied, rubbing his forehead.
    “It's okay,” she said quickly. “I'll go and let Detective Woods handle the interview.”
    “Shit,” Trent said after the door had closed behind her. “Tell her I'm sorry.”
    Woods waved him off. “Nah, usually the guys fall all over Tatum, it's good for her to be put in her place once in a while.” He paused, smiled. “Detective Justice Woods,” he said, holding out his hand.
    Trent shook it. “A cop named Justice. Now I really have heard it all.”
    “Yeah, Dick Justice, that's me.”
    Trent gave a half-smile and asked the question he'd been afraid to even think about since he'd come out of it. “Where's Caroline?”
    “A mental institution, being evaluated.”
    Trent nodded. “Let's get this over with.”
     
    Lora read