Conflicted (Brothers Conflict)

Chapter Sixteen

           

I woke with a start as I felt like someone was watching me. Ema was sound asleep wrapped in my arms atop Natsume's bed. I turned and smiled as I found Natsume on the floor next to the bed. He looked like he'd just woken up, his hair was a tousled mess, sticking up in various spots as if he'd gotten in a fight with some balloons in his sleep. His breathtaking violet eyes were glued to me.

               Gently, I released Ema from my hold and gingerly slipped from bed before tucking her in. Natsume headed for the kitchen, stretching as he walked drawing my gaze to his taut muscles. My heart fluttered unsteadily in my chest as I followed after him. He turned to me with a smile that could cripple, making me weak at the knees.

               "Let's go for a run." He suggested, "Your clothes should be dry."

               "You don't want me to run in your clothes?" I surmised as I motioned to my current attire.

               "Looks like a tripping hazard." He chuckled as he pointed to my feet. His sweatpants were way too long and flopped over my toes and were dragging on the floor behind me.

               "You know I like to live on the edge." I giggled.

               "I'd rather not see you eat pavement today." He said with a shake of his head.

               "Alright, whatever." I shrugged and stepped out of the oversized sweatpants.

               "Evie!" Natsume scolded me and hurriedly shoved me into the bathroom as his face flushed scarlet.

               I couldn't help but laugh as he scrambled to throw my clothes at me and shut the door to hide my half naked body. He was far too easy to fluster. After changing, a quick mouthwash rinse and running my fingers through my hair to get out the tangles, I swept my hair into a loose bun and stepped out of the bathroom. Natsume went into the bathroom to change and fix his hair while I left a note for Ema. A thought crossed my mind, a thought that made me somewhat sick to my stomach. I had to at least text Dad and tell him he had some shit to explain to Ema. He owed her that much, she was the good, caring sweet child, she deserved the truth. This wasn't something he could get away with not dealing with.

               E: Ema found out we're adopted, she's really upset, she feels unwanted, I think you have to explain some things to her... and this warrants more than a phone call, so hurry back.

               My phone started to vibrate in my hand as Natsume stepped out of the bathroom. I chanced a glance down at the screen, Dad was calling. I sent it to voicemail and turned off my phone before setting it on the table.

               "Ready?" I asked Natsume with a smile.

               "Everything okay?"

               "Yep, let's run. I'm kicking your butt today." Mainly because I had a lot of rage to work out.

               Natsume decided not to press me further on the issue and smiled, "We'll see about that."

               We jogged to the park, and the moment we stepped foot in the park, we took off simultaneously. Rage bubbled up inside of me, inconsolable unbridled rage. Rintarou was always gone, even now after getting married, he was gone with his new wife, he chose her over Ema, he always chose everything over us. I didn't care if he left me behind, we'd been out of sync since I was in middle school, but it hurt Ema. She felt unwanted because he always left us alone, work was more important and now Miwa was more important. How could he make Ema feel unwanted?