Free End Game by Vanessa Waltz

backwards from the wrath radiating from his pores. I can almost smell it—a harsh metallic smell that reminds me of blood. “She has just as much of a stake in this company as I do.”
    My stomach hardens. “She’s never had the slightest interest in the company. You’re trying to bend her ear. What kinds of promises have you made her? This is our legacy, and I’m not going to sell!”
    His lip shakes. “Correction, it’s your legacy.”
    I recoil from the spite in his voice. “It’s not my fault Dad chose me. It hasn’t exactly been a picnic, you know.”
    “Oh, next you’re going to say that I should be glad Dad didn’t make me the owner? Fuck him and fuck you!” He yells in my face, flecks of spit spraying me.
    I look around. People are gathered down the hall, watching us. My cheeks burn and I tug him into my office.
    He slams the door shut and rounds on me, and I have a vivid, visceral recollection of him just like this when we were younger. Nausea creeps up my throat as he approaches me.
    “Give me your shares, and I’ll let this go.”
    My heart lodges somewhere in my throat, choking me. “N—no! I’m not going to do that!”
    “Then we’re going to have a fucking problem. I deserved this, not you. I worked for this, not you! It should have been me!”
    The volume of his voice vibrates the walls of my chest. It’s like a force exploding outward, and I flinch from the waves of destruction, but I hold my ground, however shakily. “I am not seven years old anymore. You can’t bully me. Dad found me a better candidate for the job, so just deal with it .”
    “I will fucking kill you!”
    Nothing could have prepared me for the mad look in his eyes, his cool hands suddenly attached to my throat, slamming my body against the wall with a deadly confidence as if he had done it hundreds of times before. I look into his eyes, pleading for him to stop, to remember that I’m his sister, but there’s nothing but hatred inside them.
    There’s a loud noise and suddenly Nathan’s hands fly off me as if he was burned. He holds his hands up as Joe stands in the doorway, his eyes wide with shock.
    “I didn’t do anything—just—I didn’t mean—” The babble of excuses I’ve heard a million times before rattle from his mouth. Nathan tries to smile at Joe, to win him over like he won so many others, but Joe isn’t buying it.
    The door slams and I grasp my neck, rubbing my sore throat. Nathan attempts to leave the room, but Joe grabs him by his blond hair and slams him face-first into the wall.
    “What the fuck—ah!”
    I’ve never seen this violent side of Joe. His whole face contorts with fury and he looks at Nathan as if he is the lowest form of life on Earth, like he’s subhuman. He grinds Nathan’s face into the wall, pinning his arms behind him.
    “You think you’re fucking slick, don’t you?” he growls near Nathan’s ear. “Beating on your own sister?”
    “I didn’t beat her! Get the fuck off me!”
    “Joe, stop it!”
    “Do it again, and you’re dead.”
    “ Joe! ”
    He lets Nathan go with a shove, who glares at both of us with deep disgust.
    “Who the fuck is this?” His voice shakes with betrayal and outrage.
    “I’m the guy who just stopped you from strangling your sister.”
    Nathan regards him for a moment and then turns his back and leaves out the door. Joe grabs the handle and opens the door to run after him, but I slam it shut.
    Joe’s face turns towards me, hissing. “Marisa—”
    “Please.” I take his hand and yank him away from the door. “Please, don’t. He’s my brother.”
    I don’t know why I’m defending him. Maybe I’m fucking terrified of him, I don’t know. Maybe I don’t want to see any violence inflicted on him, even if he’s a prick who deserves it. Already, my mind is making excuses for him. He didn’t mean it—he was upset. Anyone would be upset. I squeeze my eyes shut as tears build up inside them and Joe’s hand turns in mine so