Paper Lanterns

Chapter 18 Φ

Chapter 18 Φ

Five years ago

"Yo, shithead!" called a voice, as Eric placed back the pitcher of water in the fridge. The stench of alcohol got more pronounced as he was getting near.

"What do you want?" Eric turned his head back, keeping his temper. However, being tolerant with this guy was hard, especially for someone like him who had been his shadow for the last two years.

"Come with me," Jared told him. It was not a request.

Letting out an undermined sigh, Eric asked, "Where?"

"It's pretty far, two hours of driving. You come with me to Averns Creek," Jared said, throwing the car keys to the floor where he was standing.

"What are you even going to do there?" Eric asked. He wanted to go to Averns Creek, but not with this person.

"It's none of your business," Jared answered.

Eric declined, "It's already late, and you look wasted. I'm not driving you there."

"Do I look like I'm asking?"

"Take one of Dad's drivers," Eric replied.

"I like you, shithead. Now hurry up and get the keys," Jared said, before leaving the kitchen. Eric stared at him, watching as he disappeared when he turned across the hall. They were half-brothers. Jared was three years older than him, supposedly the adult.

But he was far from being that—anything that involved having a sense of responsibility and acting like a grown-up. Jared had been a drunkard and the life of the party ever since he had first met him.

Nevertheless, when it came to Jared, their dad let him do whatever he pleased. Mr. Davis had long given up on him. At the end of the day, Mr. Davis would just expect Eric to bring him home.

It was him, always him. The clean-up guy. The one who fixed the mess. The person Jared would leave behind as a collateral in order to get out of the trouble he'd made. It was him, the one who never got a say on anything in his life.

But even if this was the case, Eric had already accepted it. Ever since he had forced himself to reveal who he was to his father, Eric resolved not to let himself feel entitled to anything, despite getting legally adopted and taking the surname Davis. Before anyone could say a word, he would take the short end of the stick without any complain. This was the role he had played for the last two years while staying with the Davis. It was all about compromise.

After all, Eric's father had only known about his existence when he was seventeen, knocking on their door and announcing that he was Aurora Baker's son. His mother used to be Mr. Davis' secretary. They had dated in secret before Mr. Davis had formally announced his engagement to the one who would later on become his second wife.

The first time Eric's mother had learned about Mr. Davis' engagement to the daughter of a business partner was when she had been fired from her job and was transferred to one of Mr. Davis' clothing factory in a remote town. Accompanying this news was a letter that informed her about the multi-millionaire's engagement in a few months and his wish that she would never come back in order not to stir any trouble.

What Mr. Davis didn't know was that Aurora Baker was pregnant with Eric when he had chased her out of his life. Instead of taking up the job at the clothing factory, Aurora went back to her hometown and raised up Eric on her own.

Eric was mostly left in his grandmother's care while his mother was working different jobs. He was sixteen when his grandmother had died after suffering a heart attack. A few months later, his mother had encountered an accident at work. She overworked herself to the point of exhaustion, losing consciousness and hitting her head on the metal sink. The hospital had been her home ever since that day. And with the hospital bill piling up, Eric had no choice but to seek help from this family.