Love Me Badly

nights like this | twenty-four

The night is chilly, the wind softly blowing in the north direction as the two people continue to stride along the cobblestone footpath that lays amidst a wide lake, the flapping wings of the little ducks swimming in the water distinct in the late evening.

Kelliana silently thanks herself for bringing her cardigan as she wraps the red fabric around her shoulders and arms like a blanket instead of wearing it properly, the cotton material doing it's best to warm her.

They are at the Primrose Reserve Park that she remembers coming here all the time when she was in middle school, memories of her PE classes using the huge grassy fields for some outside games. The both of them weren't hungry so unknowing of where to go, Uriah surprised her when he pulled in to the reserve, the gates still opened.

Now here they are walking along the footpaths that surrounds the calm lake that beautifully reflects the rising silver moonlight on them, just basking in the cool weather and the comfortable silence that falls upon them.

Her mind drifts off to the odd occurrence of him dragging her out of his house and she starts off their conversation as she lets her curiosity get the best of her.

"I've actually", she starts as Uriah's attention turns to her. "I've actually already spoken to your brother", she cautiously says, her eyes on the path before her.

He comes to an abrupt stop as his calm composure shifts into a rigid one, his muscles tensing as if the thought of her talking to his brother agitates him extremely, his unlit honey eyes fixing onto her face in bewilderment.

"When? How?"

She pauses in her track as well, twisting her neck to see his alarming gaze concentrating on her, her throat swallowing the lump inaudibly. "On the phone... I called you but he picked up. Said you went on an errand", she recalls simply as his eyes grow distant.

"What else did he say?", he continues to press her.

"That was it. But he creeped me out", she shudders at the cold and the remembrance of his gnarly tone on the phone that night.

Uriah exhales a deep breath of disgruntlement, his bottom lip sneaking it's way between his teeth as his feet continues to move forward, Kelliana begrudgingly trailing behind him as she can sense the tension that's emitting from his mood. She suddenly feels a bubble of regret in the pit of her stomach at bringing up his brother until he hesitantly speaks again.

"Kaleb.. He's my oldest brother", he says to her, who's eyes remains on his back, her attention solely on him as they continue to walk.

They find a bench and Uriah heads towards it, sitting down on the wooden chair as Kelliana follows suit, making her way to sit beside him as his eyes wanders across the lake in front of them, the night growing darker as the lantern lights on the paths start blooming their warm golden colors, making it easier to see the family of ducks in the murky waters.

"He can be creepy, and fucking rude and arrogant. But he's not really like that when you get to know him. It's just that he needs to get his priorities and morals fixed", he says with a disappointing tone.

Finally putting together the missing pieces about his brother, she nods, satisfied with him telling her more about his personal life.

"What about your other brother?"

"Seth? He doesn't live with us anymore", he grunts as his tone appears to tell her that he might have a tough relationship with this one. "He's the most successful out of all of us. And the smartest", he went on, his tone light at the end where she can see his lips curving upwards. "I envy him sometimes", he admits, his eyes glancing at Kelliana briefly then back to the lake.