Reflections of Shadows

Chapter 7

Warning: Not editted very extensively, may be recalled for edits then reposted

SEVEN

My heart stopped beating the moment he said it.

"Erik was my half brother."

Erik.

The flashback began, coming in only pieces like it always did.

"....I'm sorry."

"I hate you!"

Door slams.

Running fast.

Screaming loud.

Blood splattered.

No pulse.

I'm sorry.

Too late.

I felt as if someone had stabbed me in the heart.

After all this time, I had tried to live with it. And it was back to haunt me.

Not in pictures.

Not in memories.

But in an actual person who looked just like him.

In that moment, I decided, in that one milisecond, I knew I couldn't let Luke know about this. His brother, his legitimate brother was dead. That sucked a lot more than what Erik and I were if we were anything at all. I needed to respect his feelings and not let my own show.

Conceal don't feel, don't let them knowwwww..... 

Sometimes I really hate Frozen

I gulped back my emotions. I had to be strong. I was strong. Right?

"You were his half brother?" I asked, trying to sound interested.

"Yeah, half brother. By eighteen months. We lived in different states, but we talked a lot. We moved back here after Erik died to be with his siblings."

I paused a moment before responding. "You're parents divorced?" I said.

Luke nodded. "Obviously my Dad got over it pretty fast." He smirked a little, and motioned to his body. "And here I am!"

I paused. "I'm really sorry."

He shrugged. "It's okay."

Luke looked at the ground. Now that I knew he and Erik were related, I could see everything similar. They were clones practically. The features were all the same, except Luke's dark hair and eyes differed from Erik's sandy brown and green ones. But the shape of the head and jawline, how he was built, his nose and mouth and cheeks and everything, was exactlly the same.

"I'm sorry about what happened." I said. "About Erik and all."

He smiled. "Yeah, he was a good guy. I think he had a good run, even if it was short."

I nodded.

He paused. "I know you two were really close."

My eyes looked at the ground. "We were. He was......my best friend."

"I'm sorry."

I looked up.

Gosh, he looked just like Erik.

I fought my emotions. "It's cool. I'm, er, I'm over it, mostly."

"That's basically how I knew you." He said. "Erik showed me lots of pictures on his phone of you. He talked about you a lot."