The Hart Game

Chapter Thirty-Six

LUKE

Cassie has another brother?

How the hell haven't I known this?

"Cassie?" I whisper closely to her ear, as she squeezes my hand. I don't say anything. Just stand by her side. I can see the tension she had when her father walked in. But she became a statue when her brother walked in. I've never seen her like this. My mom came back to the dinning room with plates and silverware in hand.

"Hello, Miss Emma. It has been a while, hasn't it?" I turn to see Cassie's brother grabbing hold of my mom's hand and bringing it to his lips to kiss it after she puts down the plates and silverware. Mom just smiled politely and answered.

"It has, Julian. How are you?" That's when I realized that they didn't need an introduction. My parents and Cassie's family. They knew each other. I furrowed my eyebrows. How did my parents know them? And if my parents knew them, did that mean my parents knew who Cassie was before I introduced them to her? Suddenly I felt a headache coming on.

"Mom? You know them?" I ask turning fully around to face everyone in the dinning room. Cutter was already seated next to Bryan, I can see Bryan already talking away like he already knew him.

"You haven't told him?" Cassie's father speaks up towards my parents. I could see my dad physically tense. And my mom looked worried enough for everyone in the room. "I thought by now you would've told him about your familia, Robert."

Familia?

"Family?" I say voicing what my thoughts have turned to. "Are we related to them?" Okay, this is all kinds of messed up.

"No! No. We are not related to them. You think we would let you be with Cassie if we knew you two were related?" My dad interjects, before I could think that far. Thank God!

"Be with Cassie?" Cassie's dad snaps his head towards me. Either he just realized that I was holding Cassie's hand, or he just didn't really care because I was likely nobody to him. "Your son? And my daughter?"

"Rodrick." My dad says, putting a name to the face. "Yes." Rodrick was basically an older version of Christian. The only difference were the eyes. While Cassie, Christian and Bryan had deep emerald eyes, their father had steely grey eyes. The same with Julian. Everything was getting so confusing. I knew Teddy was their half-brother. But what of this Julian?

Julian didn't look like any of them. But for sure he had the same steely eyes as Rodrick. But his eyes were colder and a bit more focused and alert. While Julian had favored more of their father, he looked nothing like his siblings. Hollow cheeks, brown hair lighter than the siblings. But what really stood out, was the scar crossing down his right eye. Almost resembling Scar from the Lion King. But Julian makes Scar look more like a kitten than a lion.

"Did you know about this, Cutter?" Rodrick asks out loud to Cutter who was sitting beside Bryan. He was silent for a moment, as if deciding to speak the truth and say what Rodrick wants him to say.

"You know where my loyalty lies when it comes between you two."

"Always so loyal to Abigail." Cassie's hand tightens at the mention of the name, Abigail. I'm pretty sure that the circulation of my hand has been cut off for good, but for some reason I find that I don't mind.

"I'm loyal to my Goddaughter." Cutter said in monotone. Looking at Cassie with a expression I'm too tired to decipher.

Goddaughter?

I tense. I've known Cutter for a few months now. He would come and have dinner with my parents and me. The times he and Cassie have been in the house at the same time and both hadn't said anything? And my parents knew and they didn't say anything either. Slowly, my anger was wearing thin. And I knew soon enough, I would need answers. To Everything.