33/34
🌼A Wish🌼
Chapter 33
My brows furrowed together at Dad’s statement. Dad? I’m not really comfortable in calling him Dad cause its still new to me and i just met him yesterday.
“Dont take this the wrong way because this might sound weird, but plea-se what is your name?” I asked uncertainly.
Nothing in his features portrayed any signs of anger or hurt, instead he smiled warmly at me. “Alessandro, Alessandro Victor Ross.”
I nodded. “So that is what the R stands for.”
His eyebrows knitted together. “R?”
“Yes, back at home, my b©yfri£ndand i were trying to look up on some information about my real parents so we searched and found a picture of me with some details that had my name written on it. It only showed Brielle Valentina R.”
He chuckled. “Must have been really confusing.”
I smiled. “Yeah, it was.”
“Is it okay if i call you Alessandro?” I blurted out. “Am still not really comfortable in calling you Dad.”
“I un-derstand.” Alessandro said softly.
“So what happened after i got kidnapped?” I asked, wanting to get back to our previous discussion about the fire outbreak.
Alessandro eyes glimmered with anger. “The impact of the smoke made me go unconscious but luckily, help arrived on time before i could have been seriously injured. I woke up the next day in the hospital, my condition wasn’t really serious. The wood did hit me on the head but there wasn’t anything more than a bruise, but i had a broken arm and it was in a cast for months.”
“I’m sorry you had to go true all that pain.” I apologized.
Alessandro gave a small smile. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry about Brielle. Actually, i really didn’t care about my bruises and broken arm. My main concern was finding you. I was devastated, i searched for you but i still couldn’t find you. It was like you suddenly disappeared from existence. I almost gave up in searching for you but then Madison c@m£ along in my life, she encouraged me to never give up on you and was very supportive.”
“Madison?” I questioned. “Your wife who was seated beside you yesterday?”
Alessandro smiled. “Yes, i got married to her a year after you left. We met at a gym. At first we started of at friends but after some months we d@t£d before i then proposed to her.”
“I would love to meet her.” I said, with a smile.
“Madison was surprisingly excited to see you even when our first meet-up didn’t go well.” Alessandro scratched the back of his n£¢k.
“Well i hope to meet her too.” I said, taking a sip out of my coffee. “Since she’s my step-mom, we might as well get along.”
“You’ll love her.” He said, with a small smile. A comfortable silence stretched out between us and i subconsciously leaned against my chair, shutting my eyes for a brief moment.
My eyes sh0t open when Alessandro chuckled. “What?” I asked, feeling my cheeks heat up in embarras-sment.
“That’s what i always do in meetings when am lost for words, lean against the chair and close my eyes.”
“Me too.” I laughed.
“So, Brielle.” Alessandro leaned close to the table, his elbow placed down on his l@p as he stared at me with those pair of identical blue orbs. “So far our conversation has gone well, i answered your questions and i think you should also answer mine.”
Where is he going with this?
“Do you by any chance remember what happened after you were kidnapped.”
I tensed up at his words. It never crossed my mind that Alessandro might also be curious about what happened to me. Beneath his casual stare, i could also see worry and concern pooling in his eyes.
No, i cant tell him or else he’ll blame himself for what happened to me.
“I uh, um the man who kidnapped me was uh a really mean man, he locked me up in his basement but luckily, i found a phone in the basement and called the police. So the man got arrested and i was put into foster care. Um so when i turned sixteen i ran away from foster care. That’s when i bu-mped into Xavier, Damon and Alex. We bec@m£ friends and they took care of me, bought stuff for me and um we pla-yed a lot. So that’s what happened.” I cringed at my choice of words all in the name of a lie. I’ve never been really good at lying. Even little Johnny will know that am lying when he listens to what i just said.
Alessandro stared at me for some seconds, his face blank. He shook his head in amusement and snickered.
I frowned. “What’s so funny?”
“Your mother was always terrible at lying and i can see that you inherited that from her.” His expression suddenly turned serious and stern. “I dont like lies Brielle so tell me the truth, plea-se.”
I glanced down at my l@p and sighed, looking back up to face Alessandro. “Is it okay if we talk about it at some place that is a little more pri-vate.”
Alessandro nodded and stood up, fishing out a few dollars from his pocket and placing it on the table. We both exited the building, walking towards the park with an awkward silence between us.
“I was abused.” I blurted out. “I was abused physically and verbally for nine years.”
Alessandrol-ips p@rted in shock, his features clouding with different emotions. Pain, anger, hurt and guilt.
“I dont really remember much. But when i was young, i woke up in the hospital and saw a man, he said he was my Dad and i believed him. At first he was really nice to me, he was a loving and caring man. He then started abusing me when i was only eight. I thought it will st©p but it continued and got worse day by day. He would call me names and hit me. He always said i was a mistake and that i deserve to die. I never allowed his words to get in my head, the stars made me believe that one day i will be with people that l will love me and it happened. I have friends i consider as brothers, a best friend and an amazing b©yfri£nd. They showed me love with the short period of time i’ve been with them.” A smile made its way to my face at the thought of the people who showed me love.
Alessandro had a small smile on his face but his expression was clouded with hurt and pain.
“My stepfather abuses got worse day by day.” I continued, causing the smile on Alessandro face to falter. “I was not only abused by him but i also got bullied in school. Xavier, Damon and Alex were the one’s who defended me and after that we bec@m£ friends. I never told them about my stepdad but they got suspicious when i c@m£ to school with a bruised cheek.”
I inhaled and exhaled, wiping my teary eyes with my sleeve. I didn’t flin-ch or move backwards when Alessandro held my hand as he gently stro-ked my palm with his thumb, instead i relaxed at the simple gesture of affection.
“Xavier, Damon and Alex were there to help when it got worst. Liam took $1000 from one of his friends just so that his friend, could… Just so that he c-could r-r@p£ me.” I was sobbing uncontrollably when i said the last words. That day was really horrible and i dont think i will ever forget it.
Alessandro re-leased a shaky breath and he took a step closer to me. He slowly wra-pped his arms around me and that only made my cries increase. I was not crying because he’s hvgging me. Am crying because the hvg felt so warm and comforting. I’ve yearned for the hvg of my father for so long, that right now it all feels like a dream to me.
I wra-pped my arms around his torso, feeling warm and protected in his arms. I felt him k!ssthe t©p of my head, letting it linger there for a few seconds. After a minute or two, we both re-leased from the hvg.
“But now.” I continued, letting out a shaky breath. “He’s in jail, with his moronic friend that tried to r@p£ me.”
“What is your step-father’s name?” He asked, his eyes showing nothing but anger.
“Liam, Liam Johnson.”
Alessandro closed his eyes and suddenly kicked ha-rd at the tree in front of us. “Liam, i thought that bastard will finally leave me alone but clearly i was wrong about it.”
My eyes wi-de-ned. “You know him?”
“Liam was my step-brother. He was always jealous of me because my Dad favours me over him. He isn’t even blood related to my Dad, but was still jealous. He always saw me as a competition. Liam was really jealous and angry because your Mum preferred talking to me back then in high school. He fli-pped when we started d@t!ngand tried to occasionally set things up that will end me and your Mum’s relationsh!p, but our love was stronger. Liam later did give up in trying to ruin your Mum and i relationsh!pand i saw it as a sign that maybe he was finally changing for good.”
“When my Dad wanted me to be the next CEO of our company business, i’ve never seen Liam so pissed off. He tried to steal a hvge amount of money from the company and got caught. He was suppose to be in jail for some months but we heard news that he escaped. When Liam didn’t show up for long, i was at ease because i thought that he finally gave up and left for a change. But no, he set a fire and almost killed me. Worse p@rt of it all was that he took my child, he kidnapped my precious daughter and abused her.” Tears were alre-ady streaming down his cheeks.
“I’m sorry Brielle.” He whispered, wra-pping his arms around me. “I wasn’t there to protect you. plea-se forgive me.”
I pu-ll-ed back from the hvg and stared up at him, wiping the tears off his cheeks. “Dont put the blame on yourself Dad, it wasn’t your fault. Its all in the past and i’ve forgotten about it. Right now am focusing on the future and am really happy that you’re p@rt of it.”
Dad smiled. “Hearing the word ‘Dad’ from you makes it sound so beautiful.”
“Calling you by your first name sounds really weird and you’re my father so, Dad, is more preferable to me.” I said, grinning.
“My little bambina.” He leaned in and k!$$£d my forehead, wra-pping his arms around me.
“Dad?” I called.
“Yes principessa?”
“Do you and Madison have kids?” I asked.
Dad pu-ll-ed back from the hvg and smiled brightly at me. “We have two sons. Our first son, Antonio, is twelve years old. He’s really smart and intelligent, a comic lover and a computer genius. Then our second son, Angelo, just turned six. He’s a little goofball who loves to pl@yaround. He will do anything to put a smile on your face. He’s a competitor and loves challenges. Most of his teachers say that he’s really smart for his age.”
“I would love to meet them.” I said, with a genuine smile.
Dad’s hand leveled down to my head and he gently stro-ked my hair. “I told them about you, they were both shocked at first but gave it a second thought and now they also want to meet their big sister.”
“Really?” I asked excitedly.
“Yes, princess.” Dad said softly. “We can go meet them now if you want.”
“Of course!” I held his hand and started dragging him. “Let’s go!”
I st©pped when i realised that i have no idea where he lives, i dont know what his car looks like nor do i know where it is parked.
Turning around to face my Dad, i smiled sheepishly. “I have no idea what your car looks like or where it is.”
Dadl-ips curled up into a sm-irk. “Its parked where other cars are parked, at the right corner of the cafe.”
“But i dont know what it looks like.” I whined.
Dad chuckled and ruffled my hair causing me to shoot him.a pla-yful glare. “Just kidding princess, its over there.”
“Well come on.” I managed to drag my Dad towards his car. “i cant wait to meet my step-mom and step-brothers.”
~*~*~
The mansion looked so luxurious and grand. The marble porch almost looks like glas-s. I had not interest in taking a peek at the compound. Hi Ishmael on+233544142683 to he added to his WhatsApp and telegram page. The compound is really big but the mansion is eye-catching. I was overwhelmed with how big the mansion is, if i thought Emily mansion is a like a castle, then my Dad own is definitely a castle itself.
Holding Dad’s hand, we walked side by side towards the front door.
“Angelo give me back my comic book.” A voice demanded.
“No!” Another voice exclaimed. “You wont pl@ywith me so you dont get to re-ad your comic book.”
“Angelo i swear to God if my comic book is in anyway torn, am never talking to you again!”
“That’s mean.” A voice said quietly. “Mummy! Anty is being a big j£rk!”
Dad sighed. “Those boys.” He opened the door, letting me step inside first.
I didn’t have enough time to admire the house cause immediately locked eyes with a tall boy, who was almost my height but i was three inches taller than him. His eyes were identical to mine and he had wavy brown hair.
I glanced down at the other small boy. His eyes were a pair of beautiful Emerald green colour and he had blond hair like mine.
“Daddy!” The little boy, who i guess it Angelo, ran to Dad. Dad picked him up and placed him on his h!p.
“Daddy, who is she?” Angelo whispered, not so quietly.
Dad chuckled. “I’ll introduce you and Antonio to her.”
“Welcome home Dad.” Antonio greeted, ma-king his way towards us. His eyes met mine again and he stared at me curiously.
“Hey, son.” Dad ruffled his hair and Antonio sh0t him a glare.
“Who is she, Dad?” Antonio was really straight-forward.
“Boys, remember i told you guys about my daughter?”
“Yeah, you said you and Mum met her yesterday.” Antonio said, his eyebrows crea-sed together.
“She’s our stepsister and her name is Brielle.” Angelo chimed in.
“Yep, so i want you guys to meet your sister, i mean step-sister, Brielle.”
“Um, hi.” I gave a small wave at the two boys.
“You’re going to be our big sister?” Angelo asked innocently.
I sh0t him a genuine smile. “Yes, Angelo.”
“You know my name?” He asked, grinning wi-dely.
“Dad told me.”
“I like her, Daddy and am happy that she’s my big sister!” Angelo exclaimed.
“That’s good to know, baby boy.” Dad ruffled Angelo hair, setting him down on the floor.
I turned to Antonio who was awkward scratching the back of his n£¢k. “Hi, am Antonio, nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, Antonio.” I said, with a smile.
“Well, um Dad told us about you and i hope we get along really well. And am happy that you’re our sister.”
“Uh, is Antonio shy?” I cooed, pinching his cheeks.
Antonio glared at me and swatted my hand away, his cheeks turning crimson red. “I’m not.” He muttered.
“I’ll leave you kids to hang out for a while then i’ll get your Mum, cause she too is also excited to meet Brielle.” Dad said, walking towards a blue marble staircase.
“So what do you two wanna do?” I asked. A tug on my p@n-ts made me slightly jump and i glanced down to see Angelo, grinning up at me, his arms stretched up.
“He likes to be picked up.” Antonio muttered beside me, a grim expression on his face.
I shrugged and picked up little Angelo, setting him on my h!p. He was pretty light.
“Let’s watch a movie?” I suggested.
“Yes!” They both exclaimed happily.
I chuckled. “Okay, what movie do you guys wanna watch?”
“Let’s watch the flash!” Antonio said excitedly. Wow his mood changes quite fast.
“No i wanna watch SpongeBob.” Angelo complained.
“How about we watch the flash first, then we can SpongeBob.”
“Sounds fair to me.” Antonio said, with a small shrug.
“Its a deal!” Angelo grinned.
~*~*~
“Bye Dad.” I k!$$£d his cheek.
“See you tomorrow princess.” He said, with a smile. I waved him goodbye till he was out of sight.
“I can see that you had a great time.” I screamed and whirled around to face Ava, who was seated on the front porch, drinking a strawberry smoothie.
“Dont scare me like that.” I puffed out a breath and plodded towards the porch. “And you’re right i had a great time. My Dad and i talked and he took me to his house. I met my step-brothers and step-mom. Antonio and Angelo are really cute and friendly kids. Madison, they’re Mum is really kind and cheerful. She is a fashion designer and i got to see some of her beautiful and latest designs!”
Ava smiled. “I’m glad to see you look so happy, you finally found your family, but what about your Mum? You didn’t mention her.”
The smile on my face instantly vanished. “She’s dead. Tomorrow, Dad promised to take me to where she was buried.”
I brou-ght out the golden locket in my pocket. “He gave me this, Mum wanted me to have the locket when am a teenager.”
Ava smiled softly. “Its beautiful.”
“It is.” I whispered, sitting down beside Ava and staring up at the evening sky. “Dad told me some stuff about my Mum. How she always loves to sing to me when i was still in her stomach.”
“I know that she is proud of you and will always watch over you.” Ava placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.
“Thanks for being my best friend, Ava.” I said, giving her a warm smile.
“Hey, i dont nee-d a thank you. Best friends always comfort each other and talk about things together. You’re not just my best friend Brielle, you’re also my sister.”
I pu-ll-ed her in for a hvg. “And you’re my sister too.”
“Hate to interrupt the lovely moment but Aunt Emily wants all teenagers in the house to head up to the libr@ry for a pri-vate meeting.” Ava and i pu-ll-ed away and turned to face Alex.
“Help us up.” Ava and i said simultaneously.
Alex sighed and used both his hands to pu-ll me and Ava up.
“Ouch, you’re really strong.” I ru-bbe-d my wrist and dusted my backside.
“He’s been working out a lot.” Ava said smugly.
“Any pretty girl you’re trying to impress?” I asked, wiggling by brows at Alex.
“Shut up you two.” He gro-an ed.
“We’re only complimenting you.” Ava said to Alex, with a large grin plastered on her face. “Since you’ve been working out, give me a piggy back ride!”
Alex let out an ‘oof’ when Ava suddenly jumped on his back.
He sighed and adjusted her on his back before walking towards the libr@ry, me and Ava teasing him about his workouts.
🌼A Wish🌼
Chapter 34
“Is this some kind of prayer circle?” Ava asked as Alex set her down on the floor.
Emily, Xavier, Jordan and Damon were all seated on carved wooden chairs. The chairs were all set to form a circle.
“No, Aunt Emily wants to talk to us all.” Jordan replied as he to-re open a piece of bubble gum and popped it in his mouth.
“Hey.” Xavier said, wra-pping his arms around my shoulder when i took a seat beside him. “Did you had any trouble or arguments when you talked with your Dad?”
“No.” I said, smiling. “I’m really happy i got to meet him, he’s really nice and un-derstanding. His wife, Madison. She’s beautiful and kindhearted. Do you know she’s a fashion designer? Her designs are so fabulous and amazing! Madison also showed me her latest designs. And i found out from Dad that i have two step brothers! Antonio and Angelo. Antonio is twelve while Angelo is six. They accepted me as their sister. They two are so adorable and cute. I was kind of worried that they will see me as an outsider but instead they like me and accepted me as their big sister. We hanged out a lot, watched movies and cartoons, pla-yed monopoly with Dad and Madison. Can you believe that my Dad also showed me my room, its been kept for me since i was a baby and its so cute!” The large grin never left my face as i rambled about how much i enjoyed talking to my Dad.
My cheeks heated up in embarras-sment when i noticed that everyone was staring at me.
“Its nice to know you had a good time with your Dad.” Xavier said softly as he leaned forward to k!ssmy forehead.
“Well.” Emily cleared her throat. “I called you all here cause i’ve observed that you six dont usually talk to each other like before.”
We stared at her, confused.
“None of us are fighting with each other, Aunt Emily.” Xavier said warily.
Emily shook her head. “Yes i agree that you’re not fighting, but when was the last time you sat down to have a brothers moment with your brothers, Micheal?” She asked sternly.
Xavier looked down at his l@p and glanced back up at Emily. “I’m sorry, i’ve been so focused on Brielle, that i completely forgot about them.”
“I’m sorry too.” I said apologetically. “I didn’t realise that i was keeping Xavier all to myself only because he’s going to college. Damon and Alex are his brothers and i completely forgot about that they’re also going to miss their eldest brother when he’s off to college. They haven’t been spending much time with each other because of my selfishness to be with Xavier. Its all my fault if Xavier doesn’t spend time with Damon and Alex.”
“You’re not selfish Brielle.” Alex said as he stared at me with a stern expression.
“And its not your fault.” Damon interjected. “I will really miss my girlfriend, here.” He wra-pped his arms around Ava and she snuggled up closer to him, interlacing her f!ngerswith his.
“When am in college.” Damon continued. “So i also spent more time with her. Aunt Emily, Xavier isn’t the only one to be scolded for not spending enough time with his brothers. I ignored them too, so i deserve a good amount of scolding because i was a j£rky brother to them.”
Ava muttered something and stared down at her l@p. Damon leaned in close to her ear and whispered something to Ava that made her giggle.
“You can scold me too, Aunt Emily.” Alex said shyly. “When we all went to the beach, i met a really pretty girl and she took an interest in me. She’s really energetic and cheerful. Her name is Arianna. We’ve been hanging out a lot that’s why i’ve been abs£nt for the past days. So i deserve to get scolded.” Alex cheeks was bright red when he was done talking.
“I want her name, address and the school she goes to.” Xavier said in an unwavering tone.
“What? Why?” Alex asked, confused.
“We nee-d to know the girl who is interested.in d@t!ngour baby brother.” Damon replied coolly.
“Baby brother? You’re only a year older than me dumbas-s!”
“Even if you’re forty, you’ll still be my baby brother so shut up and be a good boy.” Damon scolded sternly.
Alex huffed and turned to Xavier. “I’m not a baby, wont you at least defend me.”
Xavier sm-irked. “You’re not allowed to d@t£ until you’re eighteen.”
“Unbelievable!” Alex exclaimed. “plea-se tell me you’re joking.”
“Do i look like am joking?” Xavier deadpanned.
“Auntie.” Alex whined, turning to Emily who had a smile on her face. “Wont you punish them, they’re being mean!”
“No, they’re just being protective of you.” Emily replied, with a smile plastered on her face.
“Quit whining.” Jordan said, a small frown on his face. “If you know what i go throu-gh at home with the rest of my brothers, you will gladly run into your brothers arms.”
“They’re protective of you? I dont see anything wrong with that.” Ava chastised and Damon nodded his head in agreement.
“They baby me a lot!” He exclaimed. “When i sneak out of the house to go to a late night p@rty, Elijah takes my phone, reprimand me of television and he makes me wear onesie to sleep.”
Me, Xavier, Damon, Alex and Ava bur-st into fits of laughter, ma-king Jordan glare at us.
“What’s so funny?” He demanded.
“The m-mental image of you wearing a onesie is really hilarious.” Xavier said as he wiped a tear that streaked down his cheek.
“Its not funny.” Jordan grumbled.
“I think it is.” Xavier taunted, shooting a mocking sm-irk at Jordan.
“Oh you think that’s funny, well Damon used your toothbrush to wash the toilet sink.”
“Dude!” Damon exclaimed.
“Wait, Damon did what?” Xavier asked angrily.
“He used your toothbrush to clean the toilet and he gave me $5000 to keep quiet about it.” Jordan said innocently.
“No wonder it tasted so weird.” Xavier wrinkled his nose and got up, cracking his knuckles.
“Damon, i’ll give you five seconds headstart to run.”
“Five seconds?” Damon questioned. “That’s too small!” He exclaimed.
“Start running stupid.” Ava sl@pped him upside the head.
“If i dont make it babe, just know that i used your favourite t shi-t to wash my car.” Damon gave Ava a quic-k k!ssand ran off before she could say anything. Xavier rolled his eyes before running after his brother
“Did he just..” Ava drawled out, her brows knitted together in confusion.
“Yep.” Jordan said as he to-re a candy wra-pper open and popped it in his mouth. “He used your favourite t shi-t to wash his car.”
“Oh. He. Did. Not!” Ava nostrils flared up. “Damon you big j£rk! When i get my hands on you!” She got up and stormed outside.
“Where are you getting all the candies and sweets from?” I asked Jordan when he to-re a chocolate wra-pper open.
“That hvge glas-s bowl over there.” A big round transparent glas-s bowl was beside a shelf, full of different varieties of sweets and chocolates.
“I’ve been in this libr@ry more than ten times.” Alex said as he got up and walked down to the stand. “How did i not notice this.”
I walked down to the shelf and shoved my hand inside the bowl, counting six sweets.
“Why haven’t you said anything all this while?” I asked Emily as i sat down.
“Yeah Auntie, you’ve been pretty quiet.” Alex added.
“I wanted you all to have your friends and siblings moment.” Emily said, herl-ips tugging up into a small smile.
“And it worked.” She said and at the same time we heard yelling followed by a loud splash.
“Oh it really worked.” Jordan agreed ma-king us all chuckle.
~*~*~
Xavier pov
“I didn’t know you put Aunt Emily words into thought.” Damon said as he threw a crumbled up paper on the floor.
“You’re giving the maids extra work and to answer your question, i did a little recall of the last time we all hanged out and its been so long so that’s why i want to hang out with my brothers, besides, Brielle and Ava are also having a girl’s time together.”
“Okay, i get that you want to spend time with me and Damon but why am i on your shoulder?” Alex asked, squirming to get down from my shoulder but i only ti-ght£ñed my grip on his th!ghs.
“I wouldn’t have to throw you over my shoulder if you didn’t try to run away when i called you both.”
“And you were going to sneak out of the house.” Damon chimed in.
Alex gro-an ed. “Put me down Xavier, this is so humiliating.”
“Nope.” I said, popping the p. I opened the door to my room, letting Damon walk in first before i entered and closed the door.
Damon threw himself on my be-d and reached his hand out towards my drawer, pu-lling it open and taking out some pictures.
I sat Alex down on the be-d, ignoring his death glares. Taking off my shoes, i sat down beside Damon and Alex scooted over so he was sitting between me and Damon.
“Remember when Alex got one of his teeth re-moved?” Damon asked, showing me the picture of Alex. He was grinning wi-dely at the c@m£ra, with both his arms crossed in a weird pose. The grin he had on was fake, our Mum f0rç£d him to grin and threatened to take away his video game if he refuses to do so.
“He was a candy add!çt before.” I said, sm-irking at Alex who just rolled his his at me.
“I was not.” Alex grumbled.
“You ate twenty candies a day, Alex.” Damon pointed out.
“Fine.” Alex picked up another picture. “Maybe i was a bit obsessed with sweets.”
“Hey guys look at this.” I peered over Alex shoulder to see him holding two pictures. In it was me, Damon, Alex and our Mum. I was at Alex right side, my arms around Damon shoulder as we smiled at the c@m£ra. Mum’s hands were on Alex shoulder, a beautiful smile on her face. Alex was holding a piece of his birthday cake, grinning up at the c@m£ra.
Alex f!ngersmoved up towards Mum’s face. “I miss her.” He whispered, drop of tears falling down on the picture.
Damon rested his head on Alex shoulder. “I miss her too.”
“Xavier, remember when you were five? You told Mum that when you grow up, you want to become a baker because you loved how her homemade cake tastes.” Damon said as he picked up another picture of our Mum.
“I still do.” I whispered, trying to blink back the tears that brimmed my eyes.
“Mum will be really proud of you and if she were alive, she would tell you how great your baking skills are.” Alex said as hisl-ips broke into a small smile.
“She will be proud.” I took both their hands in mine. “Of us all.”
“We always had each other backs no matter what, we told each other everything and we supported each other.” I said, smiling at my brothers. “Mum is watching over us and she is proud of us.”
“We still have to thank you, you know.” Damon said, with a warm smile on his face. “You acted like a parent to us even when we got angry and yelled at you to st©p treating us like you’re our Dad. You made sure Alex nightmares were gone. You helped me with my fears. Xavier, you are really amazing and deserve so much happiness in your life.”
“I couldn’t have asked for a better big brother.” Alex said, a genuine smile tugging up on hisl-ips.
“You guys are ma-king me get really soft now.” I said as i wiped my eyes with my handkerchief. “I love you two.” I pu-ll-ed both of them in for a hvg.
“Love you too big bro.” They said simultaneously.
I withdrew from the hvg and rolled my eyes. “St©p doing that, its creepy.”
“Do what?” They asked simultaneously.
“Guys!” I exclaimed. They both chuckled and Damon gathered up all the pictures and put them back inside the drawer.
Alex was b!tt!g down on his lowerl-ip, his face looking a bit uneasy.
“We promised to always tell each other everything and i broke that promise.” He blurted out, nervously fiddling with his f!ngers.
“What’s wrong Alex?” I asked worriedly.
Alex took in a de-ep breath and re-leased it. “Back at home, i received a letter from Dad.”
“What?” I was shocked and surprised. Why will Mason s£nd Alex a letter? God, am usually not the violent type but plea-se give me enough self control so i wont lose my $h!t and storm up to that jail and slam my so called father head against the wall.
“How could you keep something like that from us? Your brothers!” Damon glared at Alex, who was looking down at his l@p.
“What did the letter say? Tell me!” Damon demanded.
“Its n-nothing important.” Alex stuttered.
“St©p lying to me Alex and tell me the truth.” Damon gr@bb£d Alex arm in a ti-ght hold.
“That’s enough Damon.” I yanked his hand off Alex arm. “You’re suppose to protect your younger brother not cause him to feel pain.”
Damon’s eyes was instantly swirled with guilt when he saw the red mark on Alex arm.
“I’m sorry Alex.” Damon apologized. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“Its okay, i deserve that for not telling you guys before.” Alex said, his f!ngersru-bbing circles on his arm. “Dad, i mean Mason. The letter Mason s£nt was not an apology letter or anything like that, instead it was the opposite m. He told me how much he hated me and why he hates me and blames me for Mum’s death.”
“Why did he blame you for what happened to Mum?” I asked carefully.
“The day Mum had that accident, i told her to get me a toy and because of that, she died. Mum was determined to get me the toy and ignored the fact that it was raining heavily and still drove to the sto-re. She didn’t notice the trailer headed her way and it..” Alex choked on his words, tears streaming down on his cheeks.
I pu-ll-ed him close to me, placing his head on my che-st as i gently stro-ked his sift hair. “Its not your fault Alex, you were little then and you weren’t even in the car with her when the accident happened. Mason is really dumb and stupid for using that to make you feel guilty for all these past years.”
“Yes little bro, he’s a $h!tty father.” Damon added, his hands ru-bbing Alex shoulder.
Alex chuckled softly. “You guys dont nee-d to baby me, i know that Mum’s accident was not my fault.”
“Aw, our little Alex is all grown up.” Damon tickled Alex ma-king the latter laugh.
“Xavier, h-help!” Alex said as he laughed again, trying to kick Damon off him.
“Incase you’re forgetting, you’re literally hvgging me so am at the upper hand to tickle you if i want to.” Alex eyes wi-de-ned at my words.
I brou-ght my hands up to his armpits and started tickling him. Alex laughed, trying to squirm away from me and Damon
“You look like you nee-d a bath.” Damon said, gr-abbing Alex legs and holding them firmly together.
“Whatever you two are going to do isn’t fair.” Alex said as i gr@bb£d his hands and walked backwards towards the door. Damon and i carried Alex to the indoor swimming pool before swinging him up in the air five times, and throwing him inside the pool.
Alex resurfaced and sh0t death glares at me and Damon. “You two are j£rks.”
“We know.”
Tbc