crave | 16+

XIX

ELIJAH

I GLANCE AT MY brothers who all look ready to murder me with their bare hands. Okay, I said I wanted Josephine to become COO, not because she keeps my bed warm at night, but because she has an honest talent that I recognise. She's made the numbers go up like crazy alone just this month. A smirk comes onto my lips when I catch Zakaria's clenched jaw.

I'm sure there's nothing more he'd love than to watch Josephine and I flirt all day long. "It isn't normal to just promote a secretary to a COO in a manner of days, Elijah." This is Malik speaking. His name means King, coming from the Arabic word Malik so obviously he'll act like a leader. It'd surprise me if there wasn't a kingdom waiting for him somewhere in the world.

"Why'd you agree then? The both of you agreed, and now giving me shit about it? Please, spare me. If you had any objections, now is definitely too late to voice them. It's done. You both know she's good at her job, so please help me understand why the both of you are bitching?" I say, venom dripping from my voice.

"Zakaria isn't even saying anything!" Malik roars in frustration.

I look over at him and our eyes meet. If looks could kill... "Zakaria bitches in silence like a psychopath," I shrug, trying to provoke my little brother, and to my surprise it works.

"Watch your mouth," Zakaria mutters.

Oh?

"Why? You're now going to act like you'd mind seeing her every day? Or do you want me to recite your love-confession from the fundraiser?"

Zakaria gets up on his feet and I can't help but let a smirk take over my face. Jackpot. He takes 3 long strides till he's standing in my face snarling at me. He may be the youngest of us all, but fuck he can hit hard if he's provoked enough. Now, I don't want him to hit me, but if it's what it takes to remind him where the line is drawn, then I'll gladly take a punch to the face.

"What love-confession?" Malik asks from behind us, but we're both too into this staring contest that we both decide to ignore him. Being the middle child, I've always had to share my fucking shit with Zakaria, who basically lived off the hand-me-downs, but Josephine isn't a hoodie I grew too big in. He's not having her.

From the look Zakaria is giving me, he isn't backing down anytime soon and neither am I.

"She's mine," I sneer, feeling my hands clenching into fists.

Zakaria lets a smirk come onto his lips, that makes him look like an actual lunatic. Sometimes I wonder if my brother had a malfunction in my mothers womb. Like he lacks things that come naturally to the rest of us. Sympathy. Empathy. Normal fucking feelings. He can be so selfish sometimes, and do whatever it takes for him to get what he wants. Right now is one of those moments.

"Feel like making a bet on that?" Zakaria retorts back and if my blood wasn't boiling before, it definitely is now. I grab him by his clothes and before I know it he's flying across the room. He clashes into my desk coughing as he gets up on his feet once more. A sinister laugh escapes his lips and I walk toward him, ready to give him a round two, but my big brother gets in my way and holds me back.

"Khalas! Calm yourself Hulk! He's obviously just trying to anger you," Malik says in a low voice.

"And it's working!" Zakaria laughs again. "Come on, Elijah. We all know she was just using you, to fuck her way to the top and now she's there. On top; pun intended."

I manage to rip my way out of Malik's grip and collide my fist into my younger brother's face. He falls to the ground and I stare as his blood drips onto my African Blackwood floors. Our blood. The same that runs through my own veins. But I don't feel the brotherly connection at the moment, all I feel is fucking rage. I walk up to Zakaria and crouch before him.

"If you as much as look in her direction, Zakaria, I swear I'll–"

"What? You'll fucking what?" he shouts, before spitting his blood out of his mo​uth.

"I'll kill you."

With that, I stand straight and walk out of my office, toward my kitchen. I pour myself a glass of bourbon and down the entire thing. I pour myself a new glass and down that too, ignoring the sound of footsteps coming toward me. It's Zakaria. He stops in front of me, waiting for some kind of reaction from me, but I give him nothing.

"Apologise," he demands.

"Are you mad?" I question him, and his social skills. He clearly doesn't know how to read a room.

"No, I'm not fucking mad. I want an apology," he repeats. I down the remains of the bourbon in my glass, and nod my head. I meet his eyes and stare a bit.

"Go fuck yourself."

He scoffs and nods as well. "You're a fucking tyrant. Does she mean more to you than me? She means more than family?" he asks me, raising his voice an octave. I squeeze my eyelids shut, hoping he takes the hint and fucks out of my apartment. But when I open them, he's still standing there like the annoying fucking brother he always has been, waiting for answers.

"Cry me a river, Zakaria. It's not about family, because you and I both know you don't give a shit about family. You're just pissy about me having her, and not wanting to share. My entire life I've had to share with you, and I've done so without complaining. My clothes? Have at it. My cars? Just be careful. My fucking company? Of course, you're my brother. But you're too much of an egomaniac to let me have this for myself. I won't share this with you."

He smiles at me. "We'll see," he says right before turning around and walking toward the elevator of my penthouse. I pour myself another glass and sip it, in peace. Another pair of footsteps can be heard walking toward me. I meet the eyes of my older brother.

He sighs and looks at me, drinking my anger away. "It's funny how you remind me so much of the man we called our father. The man you hated the most. He's your brother, Elijah."

I watch as my older brother takes his leave too, leaving me alone in my penthouse. He'll get over it. He always gets over it. 

. . . 
help this chapter is so ass
mais, bare with me,  s'il te plaît
i'm a bit rusty - i have a broken thumb 
and haven't written anything since augustt.
i'll try and update more i promise <33