The Mafia Leaders Brother

Chapter 6- Down In The Dumps

Picture of Brooks above⬆

Jace~

It's been two days since I last saw Ariel which has me seething. The last we've heard of her was when she left a voicemail the following morning saying she was heading back to her dorm earlier than usual.

Jules was so sad the next day because she got to miss the only time she had with her little sister. Ace and I kept trying to cheer her up, but with her pregnancy, Jules tends to have mixed emotions.

As for today, I didn't get the chance to see Malia at all. I would have if I attended second period, but I had to skip to deal with some issues concerning Cole.

This is what Titus and I were quietly discussing as we sat in our usual spots for fourth period when the door flew open to reveal an angry Brooks.

"Mr. Hoffman, you're late-"

"No shit," he snaps, ignoring his glare as he makes his way to the seat beside us.

Mr. Fitch, our Government teacher, decides he doesn't even want to bother punishing him because he knows what we'll do, so he turns to continue teaching.

"Hey," Titus calls out to him. "You okay?"

"I don't wanna talk about it," he mutters angrily, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.

Titus and I share a look, wondering what has him so pissed off. He was the sarcastic one in our small band of friends. To see him like this is very rare, considering the last time he was this passed off was two years ago when...

My eyes narrowed in on him. "Rachel."

I didn't need to say another word because the way his posture went stiff just from her name, I knew it had to do with her.

Two years ago, Brooks had been in an accident that was caused by a couple of hitmen from a part of Russia that disliked my family very much. They were sent here to take out my closest friends and family, putting Ace and his family in danger.

I had been with them, waiting for the Russians to burst in our front door. Unfortunately, I hadn't known they'd go after my friends first. Me thinking they could handle themselves, I underestimated how much they knew about us.

Brooks had been driving home from a party with one of his close friends at the time when they hit. Immediately, Brooks went into a temporary coma as his friend died on impact.

Facts about the crash have been missing. Even Brooks himself never told us the identity of the boy he had been with. He even asked us not to watch the news about it, and because we were his best friends, we complied.

Two days later, we saw Brooks and Rachel having a heated argument under the bleachers. It ended with Rachel walking away a mess and Brooks standing there in anger.

Just months before that happened, Titus and I started to see a change in him. He was happier than he'd ever been before, always smiling and cracking jokes. When we asked him about it, he told us he'd tell us soon.

But after that day, he recoiled in on himself. He didn't leave his house for a week until Titus and I had to beat some sense into him. He was starting to worry us and his family.

A few days in letting his anger out on a punching bag, he was actually beginning to look alive.

But not as alive as he was before.

Nowadays, he hides behind his jokes and sarcasm. But if you look close enough, you could see the sadness he still held. It hurt.

"What happened with Rachel?" Titus asks, a frown of confusion on his face as he leans over.