Carry that weight (Fruk)

23 (final)

"Why? Why did you call me away?"

"Eh? Figured you could use some backup...especially after being called away so much. Now, let's see...who do you think will crack first? My money is on Francis; he looks stressed," Antonio joked. I rolled my eyes at him, crossing my arms. "Everything will be fine! I got this all under control!" I smiled. I nodded, pleased with myself.

Everyone knows not to say anything! We are good!

"HE WHAT?!"

"Oooh, come on! I wanted to bet!" Antonio spoke. However, I felt terrified hearing Alistair call out in anger. "ARTHUR!" Everyone shouted. It caused Antonio and me to straighten up, rushing to the main dining area.

I rushed to the dining area, and everyone turned to me. "What?" I asked, trying to play dumb.

"Alright! Gather round, Gather round! It's another wheel game, the game of who said something!"

Cheers erupted in my mind.

"Alright, Arthur, you know the rules; you spin, and it gives us a lucky answer! Are you excited?" The copy of me spoke. He shoved the microphone toward my face, and I shook my head. "No."

"Love that enthusiasm! Now! SPIN! THAT! WHEEL!"

I did...I closed my eyes, spinning the wheel...till it landed on the name. The name of the person I thought couldn't keep their mouth shut.

"Arthur! You and Francis are having an affair?!" Alistair asked. Lucile looked shocked, my brother Alistair was angry for some reason, Dylan looked relieved that he didn't have to say anything, and then Conner...he looked mortified.

"Arthur, you like men?" Conner asked.

"Christ's sake, yes..."

"Who cares what he likes? I could give less of a damn if he liked the bloody tooth fairy; he cheated with my husband!"

"Whoa! You cheated first! We can call it even!" Francis snapped. It made Conner look at everyone as if they were not the family he once knew. He held his hand on his head, confused. Even if Francis made it sound like he only did it to spite my brother, I didn't really care, honestly.

Alistair looked at me angrily but stopped after what Francis said. "You knew? Arthur? You told him?!"

"Yes! I knew! But I knew before he told me! I got it out of him! I knew he was hiding something! I knew you...and my sister were hiding something! So I just put a bit of pressure on him!" Francis defended.

"Ah, I should have brought popcorn," Antonio laughed. I could only give him an annoyed side-eye. Unbelievable.

"Arthur! I told you to get him to cheat! Not to be the one he cheats on me with!"

"What? You tried to get him to make me cheat? Arthur? Is this true?"

Everyone stopped to look at me.

God fucking damn it.

"Ugh... Yes... but I never planned to go through with it. So, when the thing happened between us...it happened by sheer luck. Luck for me...I wasn't doing it for my brother; I was doing it because I..." I stopped what I was going to say. Francis was giving me those lovestruck eyes again. I was sure he understood what I was getting at.

"Alistair, I want a divorce! And if I ever find out you are still trying to sleep with my sister, we will have some problems!"

"What? And you can have my brother? He helped me with my affair...his being with you? I asked him to do that so you can be away for a bit!"

"Well...so be it...I'll have a few words...and possibly a physical altercation with him later."

What? He is going to kill me; I know it!

Francis suddenly stood up, and everyone watched. "I don't want to talk about this anymore...I'm leaving...right now..." Francis started. He began walking away, and I couldn't help but stare, shocked. "AND! I'M TAKING YOUR BROTHER WITH ME! ARTHUR! You are my driver!"

"Me?"

"Yes, you stupid idiot!" He snapped. Everyone was still too stunned to speak. I looked at Antonio, confused, and all he could do was shrug so much for a friend. This guy stinks.

I nodded at Francis and gestured for Antonio to come with me. We followed the pissed-off Francis outside until we reached my car. "Antonio, drive; I don't need Arthur getting into an accident because I hit him!"

"Yes?..."

"WHAT?!"

Francis shoved me into the back seat of my car and immediately started hitting me. "Hey! Calm down!"

"YOU ASSHOLE! You helped him!"

"SORRY! I didn't know what to do at the time!"

"Hey, so, am I taking you to your place?..."

"JUST DRIVE!"

"MINE! TAKE US TO MINE—OW!"

So Antonio did.

And it was a long...and painful ride to my home.

~

"I can't believe you! This whole time you knew!"

"I'm sorry...everything got out of hand..."

"Damn right! And here I thought you were the smart one between us two. I can't believe you! I'm going to be upset with you for a really long time."

Justified.

"Words can't explain how upset I am right now!"

Fair.

"And now! You won't even respond to me other than..." he paused, looking at me. He genuinely looked heartbroken. He didn't look this heartbroken for my brother, yet he did now. "Other than..'I'm sorry'...honestly...it's hard to be upset with you. Sadly, I don't entirely blame you for any of this. I know things got out of hand quickly, and I may have made it worse with my confusing feelings...and I'm sorry too."

Francis sat on the sofa beside me, leaning his head back. It would take a long time for him to recover from all of this emotionally. "It's okay to be mad at me... you deserve to be angry with everyone... but I don't mind being it for now... I was trying not to be selfish, and I second-guess so many things. In the end, it backfired. So, I don't think you should try and pursue me. I love you, and I always will, but I'm worried about you right now."

He looked at me, understanding, and I was relieved. I was worried he was going to fight me on it. "Well, I don't need long. Maybe another day... I don't care about being a couple with you. I want my best friend back. The one...who I will love for the rest of my life. You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders for no reason. You try and deal with all your problems alone, and I want to help. Well, you will have to help me first, but once I pick myself up, I will help you too," he laughed. His laugh was sweet, filled with defeat.

We both turned our heads to look at each other. I felt defeated, he felt defeated, and there was still so much to worry about. "How about we forget all about this today? Worry about it tomorrow? We can go to bed or something for now," he suggested. It made me laugh. He was always the type to try and sleep off his problems.

I loved it.

"Alright, fine, but please don't talk the entire time," I smiled. I reached my arm toward him, and he used the moment to put my arm over him; he placed his head on my shoulder, snuggling close to me, as I pulled him close. "Thank you...but I'm still mad!"

"That's okay; you can be mad at me for however long you want."

"I know this is a weird thing to say. But I'm glad everything worked out the way it did. If I didn't tell him right then, I don't think I would have been able to do it later on. I was too scared. So...thank you...for being a pain in my ass."

"You're welcome..."