5. Crossroads
946 Words
“So what you going to do now?” Sarah asked, looking at Brian.
He had a conflicted look on his sharp features and his upper jaw seemed to be working overtime, grinding over the lower jaw. His knuckles had whitened due to his tightened grip on the steering wheel.
“To be honest, I have no f*****g clue,” he admitted, sighing in helplessness. He hated not knowing what to do.
“Don’t worry bro. You can always count on us for support,” James, who sat in the backseat with his twin brother, peeked his head between the front seats, tapping Brian’s shoulder lightly as a sign of comforting him.
“Right now, my priority is protecting Meredith. I know Ace will stop at nothing to hurt me by hurting her,” Brian stated.
“We will take turns watching her,” Ryan suggested.
“I really appreciate your help so much but this is my burden to bear. Yet I have no idea what I’d do without you guys,” Brian confessed, a light smile playing on his lips.
“Well, you’d probably be dead,” Sarah joked as they all chuckled. Deep down Brian knew that was a fact, especially when Ace happened to be in the middle of it.
“Well, see you guys tomorrow at school,” Brian said.
“Aren’t you picking us up again?” the twins questioned at the same time.
“No. Some other day maybe. Now get off my car,” he ordered, trying to sound as commanding as he could but as usual they all ended up chuckling.
“See you tomorrow then,” The twins chorused in unison and Sarah had the urge to roll her eyes at that.
“You too cousin,” Brian pointed out.
“Okay, okay. I’m out,” she stepped out of the car and walked over to his side.
“Be careful Brian,” she said, in an unusual quiet manner.
“I always will be careful Sarah. Don’t worry,” Brian smiled kindly.
“Of course you will,” Brian watched her walked towards her mansion.
Sarah and the twins lived closed together while Brian’s home was some miles away. As he drove home, Brian couldn’t stop wondering why Ace had chosen this exact moment to come. Yes, they were brothers by blood but they could not be any more different. They were as different from each other as dark and the light. As he pulled his car in the driveway, Brian could feel anger and fear rising deep from within him. As usual his parents were not home and the deathly silent was unsettling enough. He poured himself a glass of scotch from his father’s study and took a seat in front of the fireplace in the living room, watching the flames crackling.
“What are we drinking for?” Ace’s voice cut through the silence and on impulse he threw the glass at him but Ace was quick to dodge it. He had known Ace was too fast but it was still worth a try.
“Surely you didn’t think I was that slow, did you?” Ace chuckled, standing in front of his younger brother.
“Why are you here Ace?” Brian grinded his jaw, as Ace’s smirk grew wider.
“What do you think? I’m here to give you comfort from whatever is bothering you,” If there was one thing he loved, was watching his younger brother grow restless and bothered by his presence.
“Nothing could be as bothering as you being here. So I’m going to ask you again, why are you here Ace?” Brian inquired edging closer.
“I’m still figuring out. And now if I may be excused, I have a town to explore. I heard, it has exactly what I’m looking for,” in an instant he was gone.
Pulling a black jacket on, Brian took his car keys rushing out of the house only to run into their parents. His father was carrying groceries while his mother was locking up the car.
“Where are you going son?” His Dad questioned.
“I’m going out for a drive to clear my head. I’ll be back before dinner,” he promised, already making his way to the sleek, black Lamborghini.
“Where is Ace?” His mother questioned.
“He is scouting the town,” a look of horror crossed his mother’s eyes.
“Does he know about Meredith?” His mother inquired yet again.
“He doesn’t. I’ll see you at dinner,” he sped out of the gate before his parents could detect his was lying.
He waited till darkness had fallen over the small town of Dragon Street before he drove to Meredith’s house. Luckily there were no street lights on this part of the town. He pulled up a few paces away from Meredith’s house and watched the house. After a while he saw Meredith walk into a room that he assumed was hers. She peeked her head out of the window and for a moment, he was scared that she could see him. But her focus seemed to be somewhere else, somewhere in the stars. He spent the night watching over her and when two weeks elapsed without Ace doing anything, Brian grew even more anxious. He hated not knowing.
- Writer
