Groom Wars

24. Pride and Punishment

Later that night, Leandro sat on his bed, thinking. Some of the players gathered by Leandro's bunk, poking Adriel's poisonous bear, trying to figure out how it could hurt them. One person picked it up by its leg and shook it. When nothing happened, the boys tossed the bear back and forth, then laughing, returned the bear, and moved away. Leandro found it hard to believe that Adriel could sleep through something like that. But even if he were faking it, he stirred not. And so, the minutes dragged on endlessly, people moving from one room to the other, chatting, laughing, breathing.

Close to midnight, Ebony and Ivory entered the room. At the sight of them, Steven rose from where he reclined on his bed and went to meet them. Ebony and Ivory were brothers. Ivory, or rather, Mike had been adopted by Luke's parents when he was eight. The pair had bonded over video games and candy and had been together ever since. They had first met in elementary school, and after learning about Mike's mother's suicide and his father's abandonment, Luke had begged his parents to adopt his best friend. The parents who owned a convenience store had been strapped for cash, but they couldn't say no to their little boy's pleading eyes, and so the family of three had turned into a beautiful family of four. The brothers referred to themselves as twins with different birth mothers. They seemed trustworthy so far, but only time would tell. All three met at Leandro's bunk.

Mike studied the Valente brothers quietly. His blonde hair was in a bun, pulled back to reveal the chiseled contours of his face. He was, by all accounts, a young Adonis that rivalled Leandro. Mike yawned as if he was ready to sleep. Unlike the Valente brothers, he could be relaxed as he was safe from the upcoming elimination.

Luke was more stoic. He had unblemished dark skin and a lean build with well-defined muscles. Leandro noticed that the man was wearing blue contacts as his eyes that had been dark brown before but were now a bright, refulgent blue. The contact lens gave him the appearance of something otherworldly.

Luke said, "Lord Columbia has been talking about throwing the two of you in, and we owe you one for helping us with the challenge earlier, so, in the event you are thrown in, we wanted to know who you wanted to go against."

Steven muttered, "That bastard."

Lord Columbia, or rather, David, hated the Valente brothers. Whether it was murdering someone in front of them or sending them into an elimination round, he seemed set on harming them mentally and physically. Leandro told Luke, "We would prefer someone weak."

Luke said, "We'll see what we can do; we'll survey the house and pick the weakest for you."

"Thanks for sharing this with us," Steven said, shaking Luke's hand.

Luke glanced at Adriel's bunk, then at Leandro.

Leandro said, "Not him."

Luke said, "If you got rid of him, people would be less likely to assume something was going on between the two of you."

Leandro repeated, "Not him."

Luke sighed, then jerked his head towards the door, and he and Mike went out.

When they were gone, Steven told Leandro, "I warned you about being too friendly with that kid."

"You and everyone else are making a big deal over something that doesn't exist."

"If multiple people are saying something, there's probably some truth to it that you don't want to see." A pause followed, and Steven's expression softened; he added, "Forget about him for the moment and get up; it's time to talk to David."

Leandro was frustrated about the situation with Adriel, so he welcomed the distraction and followed his brother out into the hall.

They found David in the common room, sitting on the sofa, surrounded by his growing posse, laughing and red-faced, maybe even drunk. Steven stood in front of David, and Leandro flanked his brother. David's smile faded; disgust crossed his features. Next to him, Johnathon squared his shoulders and prepped for a fight. Steven bowed and held out his hand, saying, "Lord Columbia, it's an honour to see you again."