The Wrong Brother

Chapter 24

IRIS

I won’t dare tell my mom that she was right, but when Monty and I sat down with Nia that night and told her we loved each other and that Monty would be spending more nights and he wouldn’t be in the living room anymore, Nia didn’t see bat an eye. She’s a smart girl and probably saw it coming. I guess I just overthought way too much. Since that night a couple of weeks ago, Monty has spent more nights than not here at our place. He worked seamlessly into our daily routines, even with his full-time job and Nia heading back to school. Every night I’m tempted to talk about moving in, but it feels like we’re moving way too fast.

A few nights ago, Jade told me that her real estate developer boss offered her a promotion. He just purchased a condo complex that is being renovated. He needs somebody on-site to handle the day-to-day operations. The promotion comes with on-site living in one of the already-updated condos. She was nervous to tell me about the position, knowing that I depend on her for finances. While I could probably make it swing without her contributions, it would be tight. I’m not sure how we’d be able to afford Nia’s softball expenses and now she’s interested in playing basketball too.

She understood all those concerns, telling her boss she needed time to consider it. If Monty did move in, that would relieve some of the burden. Not that I want him to move in for financial reasons. I love him and I miss him those nights that he isn’t here. Nia has thrived having him around as well. Even after a long day at work, he will help her with homework, ask her about her day, and play video games. Since she got the green light to start being active again, he took her over to the community park to play basketball while I was making dinner.

The doorbell rang while they were gone, which was surprising because I wasn’t expecting anybody, especially anybody who would ring the doorbell. I took a glance out the side window and gasped when I saw the person standing on the other side of the door. For the first time, I wished it was one of those annoying solar panel salespeople.

“What are you doing here, Maddox?” I only opened the door wide enough to be able to see my ex standing there. 

“I need to talk to my brother, Iris, tell him I’m here, please.”

I cross my arms over my chest, “He isn’t here right now. How did you even know where I lived?”

“Please, Iris,” he scoffs, “It’s not that hard to find out where somebody lives these days. It’s called the fucking internet. Just tell Monty I’m here.”

“So what you’re saying is you could have gotten in touch with me all these years if you wanted to man up?”

“I didn’t come here to listen to you bitch. My brother and I have some shit we need to talk about. Don’t fucking lie to me either, I see his car in your driveway.”

“Yeah, his car is there, but he isn’t here right now. I’ll let him know you stopped by and he can reach out to you if he decides it is something he wants to do.”

“Don’t fucking lie to me, Iris.” Maddox grabbed my wrist and pushed me into the house, almost causing me to fall backward. He slammed the door behind him and then shoved me out of the way and started yelling through the house. “Come on out you little bitch. I know you’re here, Monty, no reason to keep hiding.”

“God damnit, Maddox, I told you he isn’t here. You need to leave.” I tried to grab his shoulder, but he shook me right off. “This is trespassing! If you don’t leave, I’m calling the police.”

He spun around and stuck his finger in my face, “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? You’d like to call the police and get me arrested. Always playing the victim. Poor little, Iris. Is that why you had to go find my brother and convince him to come play Daddy?”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” I swat his finger out of my face and shove back against him. “Your brother reached out to me and why does that even matter? You made yourself clear a decade ago that you wanted nothing to do with me. Jesus, Maddox, I haven’t even seen you since that day at the lawyer’s office. Do you honestly think I haven’t moved on all these years?”

“Damnt, Ris, just tell me where my brother is!”

It is at that moment I hear the side door open and realize nothing good can come from this. Maddox hears it too, taking his attention off me and into the kitchen area where Monty and Nia appear.

“Mommy?” Nia’s shaky voice says. 

I move past Maddox and into the kitchen pulling Nia into my arms, “Everything is okay, sweetheart. I just need you to go to your bedroom right now, okay?”

“Who is he?” She asks, looking over my shoulder. I follow her eyesight and see that Maddox has moved further into my house. The anger in his eyes softens just a bit as he takes a look at his daughter for the first time.

I kiss the top of Nia’s head and direct her down the hallway, “I promise that we will talk about this, but right now just head to your place, okay?” Nia nods her head and moves down the hallway to her bedroom. I wait until I hear her door shut and then spin back around to the boys. Monty has positioned himself as a buffer in front of me. I may only be able to see his back, but I can tell he’s worked up. “Maddox was just leaving.”

“Is that her?” Maddox asks.

“It’s none of your fucking business who that is,” Monty snarls. “You have three seconds to tell me what you’re doing here and why you were up in my girlfriend’s face before I shove my fist in yours.”

His brother’s aggressive words put Maddox back on edge, “That’s a tough guy act coming from the guy who had to slip in on his brother’s sloppy seconds rather than finding his own woman.”

“Oh fuck you, Maddox. Green isn’t your color baby brother. Now I’m going to ask again, why are you here?”

“I wanted to see it with my own two eyes. Maybe I should be asking you what you’re doing here. Did she sell you on a sob story? I know her pussy’s not that great.”

I gasp and Monty moves forward, grabbing his brother’s shirt with both his hands. “Watch your mouth, Maddox. You can talk shit to me all you want, but I won’t let you come in here and disrespect Iris, especially when our girl is right down that fucking hallway.”

“Our girl? Maybe you forgot how DNA worked, but she’s my daughter, Monty. This is my fucking family, not yours.” Monty pushes harder against Maddox, but I grab his arm and pull him back to me. He protectively holds onto my waist while the brothers still stare each other down.

“Your daughter?” I seeth. “You spent a year denouncing her as yours. You made it quite clear that you want nothing to do with her. Don’t you dare think you can waltz back into her life almost 10 years later just because somebody else decided to step up with you didn’t want to.”

“What if I changed my mind?”

I shake my head, “You don’t get to change your mind.” I refuse to let Maddox see me cry. I kiss Monty on the cheek and ask him to take this fight outside. Before making it to my bedroom, I knock lightly on Nia’s door, wanting to check on her. “Nia?”

I wait for a moment, not hearing anything so I knock again and then open the door. “Hey sweetheart, can we talk?” I expect to see her curled up in bed, maybe even crying, but her bed is empty. Panic sets in when I pull back the covers to reveal what I already know. I even checked under her bed and opened her closet, but she was not here. When I feel a breeze coming through her room, it hits me that something is very wrong. When I pull back her blackout curtains, the blinds are drawn up and the window is open. The screen that normally sits in the window is on the ground outside the house.

“No, no, no! Nia!” I yell her name out the window, looking both ways, but seeing no sign of her.

I rush out to the living room where Monty and Maddox are still arguing by the front door. “She’s gone!” I yell. I shove past Monty and start banging my fists against Maddox. “She’s gone and it is all your fault. I hate you!”

This time it is Monty pulling me off his brother and spinning me around, “What do you mean she’s gone?”

“Nia’s window is open and she’s nowhere to be seen,” I cry. “We have to find her, Monty, we have to find my baby girl.”