Brother After Dark

Chapter Fourteen

Blaire.

Zachary used to love me. He would do anything for me. But now, he was making me miserable. Even when he’s not around, the fact that I knew he was going out his way to avoid me was killing me. When he did speak to me, he had to be so damn insensitive and harsh! It was like he lived and breathed his hatred for me, and he was not shy about it. Or he touched me in appropriate ways, making me want him so badly I was close to forgetting who he was or where we were.

I fell asleep crying, like I always did in the past two months.

***

Monday morning, I dressed up in a royal blue skirt that ended a few inches above my knees and a tucked-in white chiffon turtleneck with a white tube underneath. I completed the ensemble with a pair of black boots. I was wearing a pair of black boy shorts under the skirt as a backup for any wardrobe malfunction. I curled the ends of my hair and put on a blue hairband. I didn’t put on makeup, just red lip gloss. I took one last look at myself in the mirror, paying attention to my neck to make sure that none of Zachary’s marks were showing.

Damn! I bruised easily, and the last time, his kiss marks took almost a month to clear out.

When I came down to the dining room, my father was there, reading the newspaper. Zachary was having breakfast. He looked up from his plate and looked at me from head to toe. I could feel the weight of his stare on me, and I suddenly felt self-conscious.

“Good morning, Dad,” I said, trying to infuse a little cheer into my greeting.

“Good morning,” my father greeted without even looking at me.

I sat opposite Zachary and quietly had my breakfast. I couldn’t wait to finish it and get out of there. The silence was far too uncomfortable, too deafening to contain.

Zachary’s face was stoic, like nothing would ever affect him. He always was good at hiding his emotions. I just hoped he knew how to hide his passion marks too, because I was beginning to hate turtlenecks!

But just before I could drink my milk, Zachary stood up from his seat and bid our father goodbye. He didn’t say anything to me, didn’t even look at me.

“Wait a minute,” my father said. “I’ll need the car and the driver. For today, you drive your sister to school.”

“What?” he asked.

“What?” I asked at the same time.

Our dad looked at him and then at me. “You go to the same school. I don’t see why you can’t ride together. And it’s just for today.”

We were silent for a moment. When I stared up at Zachary, he was staring at me with a stone-cold look on his face.

“Change your clothes,” he said.

My father stared back at him curiously.

“What?”

“Your skirt is too short. I’m not going to drive you to school dressed like that.” His voice was firm, and he sounded dead serious.

“It is decent!” I argued.

“You and I have very different definitions of what’s decent and what’s not,” he said firmly.

“Apparently! We also have different definitions of what a slut is and what’s not!” I said under my breath.

He raised a brow at me and said, “You seriously want to have that conversation right now? Because, hey, I’ve got all morning.”

He was bluffing, I knew. But unfortunately, I also knew that between the two of us, my father would believe everything my brother would say, no matter if it was the truth or not. The look on his face told me he wouldn’t hesitate to mention anything about the concert, even if our father was in front of us.

I put my spoon and fork on the side. Then I turned to my father and said, “Dad, it’s okay. I have something else to do,” I said. “I’ll catch my own ride.”

My father nodded slightly. “Okay.”

I stood up from my chair and gathered my bag and books and strode off without another word.

As I got out of the house, I felt Zachary hot in my tracks. When we reached the front door, we were greeted by dark, stormy skies. There was about an 80 percent chance of rain.

“Did you bring a jacket?” he asked.

“Do I have a jacket?” I murmured.

“Good luck with your outfit then,” he muttered.

“I’m a big girl, I can manage.”

He shook his head, then without warning, he took my hand and pulled me toward the red Aston Martin sports car.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Driving you to school,” he replied. “Didn’t you hear your dad?”

“Our dad,” I corrected him, stopping on the side of his car.

He opened the door for me. “Technically just yours. Legally and biologically, my father is somewhere in Seattle getting wasted twenty-four-seven. Now, get in!” There was so much authority in the tone of his voice. It didn’t make much room for argument.

As soon as he got into the driver’s seat, he sped off, driving like a professional racer. I had to hold on to my seat.

“Jesus! Can you slow down?” I asked.

He looked at me sideways, and then he stepped on the breaks gently, slowing down.

“Do you always drive like a maniac?” I asked him.

“Only when I’m bored,” he replied.

I rolled my eyes. “Thanks!” I muttered.

We rode in silence for the next five minutes. I looked away from Zachary, watching the view from my window, trying my best to look disinterested.

The skies above us were getting darker. “You should have changed your damned clothes,” he murmured.

“Why do you care? Besides, I told you I can catch my own ride!”

He smirked. “Yeah, right.”

I glared at him. “What? I’m not entirely hopeless. I can find somebody to pick me up.”

That was a lie. If I didn’t get a cab, I would most likely walk to school. Aside from the occasional company I get from April, I was pretty much a loner. I didn’t have plenty of time to hang out with friends. Guys pretty much stayed away from me. In the last two months, I had been assigned three partners for school projects and papers. All of them guys, and somehow, all of them requested to either drop out of the project or switch partners. Guys tended to not like the new girl from London who went to school with a chauffeured Bentley. Even girls tended to be shy or awkward with me.

Zachary, on the other hand, transferred to the school, and in two months, he was a hit with the girls, and every guy thought he was cool. They instantly want to be part of his circle. He was easily one of the most attractive guys in the whole university. He drove a luxury sports car. He was a graduate of two majors and now a master’s student, and so far, he’s been acing all his subjects.

I heard many girls talk about him. I couldn’t blame them. If I hadn’t found out Zach was my brother, I would have fallen for him already. I knew by firsthand experience that he was an amazing guy.

But sadly, I was forbidden to fall in love with him. And unfortunately, our relationship as brother and sister had been severed by our momentary indiscretion at the Red Festival.

He parked in front of the gates. He rounded the car and opened the car door for me. As if I needed another reminder of what a gentleman he was.

Lightning struck above us, followed by a soft roll of thunder. I stood frozen in my place, my hand immediately reaching out for my locket. It had been a habit over the years. If I heard a thunder roll, I would reach for my locket. It had been the only one that brought me protection.

I felt Zachary’s arm around my waist. “Hey…” he whispered. He pulled me toward his body. When I looked up at him, he looked worried. “You all right?”