SOUL TIES (The Sánchez Brothers Series, Book 1)

CHAPTER 27 : ANDRE

I went to business school in Harvard so obviously I didn't know a lot of shit about medical psychology and clinical psychopharmacology, but I was quite familiar with drug withdrawal symptoms. Not from personal experience, but a lot of the rich kids back in Harvard were junkies so I'd seen enough. Nausea, depression, mood swings, diarrhea but the most conspicuous characteristic was the exhaustion. Exhaustion from trying to keep away. 

For the first time in my life, I was experiencing that 'exhaustion'. Even though it was only going to be momentary, it still didn't feel good one bit. Being without Sky was point blank exhausting. But there was nothing I could do about it, she went with Mikayla to her parents' which was about 3 states away from California. According to her, it had been a tradition to spend her Christmases with her folks since the demise of her husband. That was cute but it had a downside. I hadn't seen her since the Christmas gala at WeCare Inc, which was 2 weeks ago. Imagine a crack addict staying away from that drug for two whole motherfucking weeks? Yeah, that was similar to how I felt at the moment. 

The sudden rattling of metal pots and pans cut into my thoughts and reminded of the presence of my somewhat parasitic brother. José had practically been living with me since the Christmas party Mom threw. You see, my dad wasn't so sociable so the only time Mom got to throw the type of parties she wanted was during festive periods. So needless to say, the Sánchez parties were grand and superfluous. During those periods, Mom needed as much as help as she could get, so apart from the paid workers, she always engaged her children in the work. Except for me though, I was her favorite child. For some weird reason, staying with me saved José from Mom's claws. So yeah, he was staying with me till after Mom's New Year party. Which meant he had just one day left to sleep under my roof. 

As payment for my generous help, he was obliged to cook during the period of his stay. When I told Sky that I knew how to cook, I wasn't fibbing, I really was a good cook. But José? José was an exceptional one. As much as Mom hated to admit it, her eldest son was a better cook. So to be honest, he was doing me a favor by agreeing to do the cooking during his stay. 

"Whatchu tryin' to eat, Vidy boy?" I was too tired to glare at him for that annoying nickname. Today was not the day.

I shrugged and shielded my eyes with my forearm. "Anything you want to cook."

"What's wrong with you?"

I removed my forearm and lifted myself a little from my lying position. "Excuse me?"

The shirtless man walked towards me and started touching my forehead, neck and face. What the fuck was going on for Christ sakes? "Are you sick? But you don't have a fever though. Maybe we should go to a hospital." I scrunched my face in confusion and he continued touching my face gingerly. "Cos you never ask me to just cook whatever. You always choose the most time-consuming dishes, so believe me, I'm worried."

I slapped his hands away. "Man, leave me the fuck alone. I'm not in the mood today, for real. Besides it's way too early for this, it's barely 8."

"It's good to start the day bright and early." José was an early bird, I was not. The only reason I'd wake up early is cos of my new CEO job at WeCare Inc. José would wake up early everyday just be a prick. "Whatchu so down about? It's New Year's Eve, you should be twerking around the house in joy."

I hissed in mild frustration. "Just go away."

"You're literally PMS-ing right now. Your man period came out today?" He chuckled a bit at his own awful joke before his face took on a more serious note. "Why do I feel like whatever you're going through is woman related?" My sigh confirmed his speculation and he threw his head back in laughter. "Damn, I always knew that woman was a lot to handle. What's up this time?"