Metanoia

Chapter Ten

"You've got to be kidding me."

➳༻❀✿❀༺➳

Rindou looked away from me, his hand on the back of his neck. It was as if he was embarrassed. A faint blush pink tinted his cheeks, it was cute. Turning my head to Dylan, I sighed deeply. "Ca--"

"I will cover for you," Dylan said in a songlike tone.

As I lifted my hands in prayer, I mouthed a thank you to him. With his hand, he shooed me. "Here, come on," I said to Rindou.

I made my way back to the office. Why did he have to fight? That's what being in a gang is all about, fighting all the time. I thought to myself as I stepped into my office. Though I wanted to rip into him for showing up at my work, I guess I had to get used to it.

At the same time, I had to figure out my way home since Mom had put the car in the shop while I was at work. The money I received from them would be used to fix it, but Mom would be asking questions. As a result, I huffed. I didn't know how I would explain to her why I had the money. I had to figure out a way to explain the situation without getting into trouble.

I stepped aside to allow Rindou to enter. "So, what happened this time?" I could see that my nonchalant tone had thrown him off. It was no longer surprising to me. After sitting down on my chair, Rindou tossed his head back against it.

"I got into a fight, what else is there?" he scoffed. Something deeper was going on, and it was hard to miss. Grabbing my bag, I set it on the counter.

"Is there anything else? What caused the fight?" I asked. He didn't lift his head to look at me now that I had directed my attention to him.

"Someone was talking shit; do you have to be so nosy?" Rindou glanced at me. I furrowed my eyebrows. Looking at my face, he knew he had to fix his attitude quickly. "I felt belittled."

"You?" I asked. "Feeling belittled? Give me something better than that." I reached for his hand and picked it up. I sat down on my desk and began treating his busted knuckles. I took his hand in mine and examined the wounds. His knuckles were swollen and bruised, so I started to massage them gently. He winced in pain, but I kept going. I put a healing balm on him with my go-lucky Q-tips.

"I'm tired of living in Ran's shadow. I'm known as the weaker brother. By beating the fuck out of them, I proved my point." Rindou hissed through his teeth at the sudden burn he felt. I tossed the Q-tip away then grabbed a cotton ball, I dabbed the ball on the ointment packet and refocused on his hand. I carefully applied more ointment to Rindou's hand and gently massaged it in. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, clearly in pain.

The weaker brother...Those words were stuck in my head.

Initially, I thought they were all the same, but then again, everyone has strengths and weaknesses. I drew in a sharp breath, "you didn't prove anything," I said while dabbing Rindou's knuckles. "By falling into their words, you proved their point. Why would you go as far as beating them if you knew it wasn't true? In other words, you are sensitive and believe in other people's opinions rather than your own."

This is calling the kettle black.

Immediately, I lectured myself before speaking again. "It's fine to be sensitive, I'm sensitive myself, but it's also okay to take criticism. If you think that's how people really feel about you, the best way to change their opinions is to become stronger mentally and physically, but do not allow it to become an obsession. You will be consumed by it and then you will be the weak brother they claim you to be. Everyone has the right to have an opinion, but it's how you take it that defines the strength of your character. Find a way to use the criticism you receive as a tool to make yourself better and prove them wrong. Let it motivate you instead of breaking you down."