The Colours of Us

Chapter 2

Friday 13th of October 2023

Sloan had taken my number some time yesterday, saying that it would be useful for the project. I hadn't thought he would use it so much. He sent me messages about everything, as if we had been friends for a long time, which we weren't. Of course we weren't. I would have died if he had considered me his friend, for I didn't have any. And my brother never missed a chance to remind me.

"Who're you always texting?" He asked as I stopped eating to answer yet another text from Sloan.
"None of your business," I answered, sending the message.
Sloan and I were supposed to meet later in the morning in front of the university's library to look for the book. I could only assume that Juliette and Martha would be here too, but, deep inside of me, I was hoping they wouldn't be.
My phone wrang once more, seemingly awakening the wrath of my brother. He grabbed my phone before I could and sent it flying against the wall.
"What the fuck, Ian?" I screamed, rushing to get it. The screen was cracked and there was a dent in the wall.
I barely had time to turn to him before my bowl of cereal hit me in the face, splashing milk and wet cereal all over me.
"Don't speak to me that way," he grumbled, pushing me out of his way to go to his room.
Had I had a choice, I would have lived far away from my family, especially from my brother, but he was the older one, and his choice went. He had chosen to go to the university of London, and I had to follow. He had chosen to live off campus, and I had to follow. He had decided to become friend with my ex-best friend, and I had to take it and shut my mouth. Ian was only a year older than me, and, even if I had been smaller and weaker once, I was now bigger and stronger then him. People would often take him for the younger one, because he was slim and smaller than me. I suppose it had made him hate me even more, for now his hate was stronger than ever. I was sure that had he asked our parents to have his own place, he would have had it, but he probably loved to torture me too much. He had even allied with Ugo to torture me outside.
"Get out of the fucking way," he ordered me, pushing my shoulder hard enough for my back to hit the wall. I was lucky I hadn't stepped into one of the pieces of the bowl, shattered on the floor.
Ian left, slamming the door shut behind him.
I took my phone and typed a message for Sloan, but deleted it before sending it. He didn't need to know why I would be late.
I took too long to take another shower and get dressed, too long to get the milk off the floor and the pieces of bowl regrouped with the wet cereal.
When I finally left my apartment to go to the library, I was twenty minutes late. And when I reached the library, my heart broke a little when I saw Sloan sitting on a bench in front of the library, hugging a woman next to him. He seemed to be reassuring her. I had never seen her in my entire life, yet there she was, against Sloan's chest. I hated her.
I turned around and left before he could see me. What a shitty day.