Enemies with Benefits

enemies with benefits | 23

Chapter Twenty-Three: Special Offers

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Immediately, there were only two possible ideas that hit me about what Alex's brother was referring to - and neither were great, if I'm being honest.

The first was that mentioning me was to rile Alex up, or perhaps refer back to the time where we were kids. During the brief time we knew each other, I never knew of Alex's eldest brother; he must have wanted to keep that a secret, even at the tender age of thirteen. I wasn't sure quite how I fit into that equation, but maybe I was the key to referring to the past? After all, Matthias certainly didn't know we were speaking again.

The second was that Matthias knew something and would hold that as leverage over his brother. From the tone Alex's brother was speaking in, this theory was the most credible in my head - he hadn't come here for a simple visit, that was clear. And surely after being estranged for so long, he knew it wouldn't be easy to sway Alex into any decisions that would be made. Matthias probably knew he needed to encourage Alex to participate in whatever he needed.

I was thankful neither Hale boy spotted me. I was firmly away from sight, I knew that. But just the chance that one of them could turn their head in my direction, peer over the door a little, brought me fear. Maybe Alex wouldn't do anything - maybe he'd pretend I wasn't there. But I wasn't sure about his brother.

It felt like hours until somebody spoke. In reality, it was only a few seconds before the shock wore off Alex, but time has a weird way of warping and stretching itself when things like this happen.

"What exactly do you want, Matthias? You'll gain nothing by pissing me off like that." Alex said, and even without seeing him I could tell his jaw was clenched.

"Calm down. I'm not intentionally trying to piss you off, Alexander. You've always been quick to the trigger, haven't you?" There was a hint of teasing in Matthias' tone. "Regardless, I promise I brought up your precious friend for good reason. You see, word on the street is that you're now... what's the best way to say this... involved. At first, I couldn't believe it - Alexander, my baby brother, the guy who found it so hard to attach himself to any sort of romantic feelings, has found himself a girl! But then, the more I heard, the more I was impressed. From a virgin to a fuck buddy in less than a few hours. Have to hand it to you, Alexander; you've got game."

A jolt went through me as his words rang through my head. What on earth was Matthias referring to? Who on earth had told him all of this? Clearly not everything was correct, but he knew the majority of it. And he seemed to be amused by it all.

Who the hell is Matthias Hale?

"Fuck. Off. Don't you dare pretend you know shit about me." Alex said, and though the majority of his voice was that of anger, I could hear the slightest bit of something else too. But I couldn't quite figure out what. Not before his brother started to speak.

"All right, all right, I'll stop. Should I just ignore my grand explanation and just cut to the chase?" No reply. That didn't stop Matthias. "Okay, I'll take that as a yes. See, I need you to do something for me in return for a favour I know you won't be able to resist. I can't take this to Mom or Dad, and I'd rather not bother dear old Nick with it either."

"But you'll bother me?"

"Of course. You're the only logical one in this family. Aside from me, of course."

Alex scoffed in response. I would have too if it wouldn't have alerted these two people of my presence. The more hidden I was from them, the better.

I should have probably just headed upstairs and waited for everything to resolve itself, but I couldn't help myself. I needed to know, or it'd drive me insane.