My Brother's Brother

Chapter One: The Arrival

I miss him. Though he crushed my little heart and murdered my childhood dreams, the memory of his ocean blue eyes never fails to drown me in nostalgia and agony. His soft words tumble into my mind leaving me with shivers of sorrow and anxiety. My father left us when I was only ten. When I was about to hit puberty and needed him most. But he couldn't stay. He couldn't wait for me to mature and understand his reasonings. So one day, I woke up to a house, that was once my home, with no sniff of his strong perfume and no trace of his loving voice.

I couldn't blame him. I couldn't imagine looking into his eyes and getting mad over his abandon. My mother and I were strong though. With embraced hearts, we appreciatiated our company, our love, and our strength. However, two years later, my support wasn't enough for her anymore. She was ready to move on. And so she did after my multiple rebellions and stubbornness. I'm glad she did because my stepfather Daniel turned out to be a true angel sent from above. He loved my mom, he appreciated her, and most importantly respected her.

To be honest, after my dad had left us, I was never genuinely happy until Jacob arrived. Jacob bloomed in a real family. My little brother never urged me to scold him. He has always been a perfect boy. Overloaded with cuteness and innocence, he found the fastest way to the depths of my heart and reignited the life from within. My mother and Daniel ensured our comfort and peace at home through mom's hard work and Daniel's great communication skills. And so four years passed in a blink of an eye, with my father roaming around my thoughts and my new family occupying my heart...

I've always known that Daniel had an older son from his previous marriage. And though I never got the chance to meet him, I expected him to be the finest gentleman, a reflection of his father. Unfortunately, he wasn't.

Everything was clear from the moment he stepped into the airport. Towering over his father with an athletic physique that creeped yhrough his tight shirt, he ran a hand through his dark black hair liberating his honey lusty eyes from the shades of his sunglasses with the other hand. I have to admit, I felt self conscious for a second. I had just woken up with a messy bun crowing my chocolate locks and blue rays shooting out from my pupils through my oldest glasses before we all rushed to his greetings.

His name is Colin, they say. I honestly hoped for the best, but that personality he owns shocked my brains out on the day of his arrival.
                                                                   ~.~.~

" Oh Colin! We're over here!" shouted Daniel.
He ran towards his son at full speed with so much glimmer in his eyes; I swear I've seen such a scenario in one of those "I'm Coming Home" videos. Surprisingly, Colin didn't budge as his father choked him with hug. He maintained a flat, expressionless face with his eyes staring at no one and nothing. Daniel, the poor thing, covered his pain with a smile. Then, my mom decided step in.

"Welcome home Colin. I'm Rachel." She extended her hand sweetly. But Colin rejected her kind gesture and didn't shake her hand back. Now, he was crossing the limits. Just as I was about to blurt out my "emergency" swears at him, mom sensed my attempt and glared at me so intimidatingly that her eyes burnt holes in my skull. She and Daniel masked up their disappointment and led us all to the car.

  The car ride was quiet for the most part. With Daniel behind the wheel, mom in the passenger seat, and Colin and I on opposite sides of the back seat, Jacob was the only one speaking to himself , occasionally humming the tune of the Shark Do Do song that he listens to daily. On the other hand, I was trying to take in the shocking situation at the airport. "Why is Colin doing this? Wasn't he the one who wanted to see his father and meet his family?" my mind pondered, reaching no conclusion...

Entering the house, I rushed into my room, then into the bathroom. Excuse my bladder for not holding it in anymore. A little after a couple of minutes, I was ready to get back to sleep considering that sacrificing my morning sleep to meet that bustard was definitely not worth it.
I was almost out of my mind when I found a giant, repulsive creature on my bed.
" Get the HELL out of here!" I screamed at Daniel's son.

"Well sorry for not being able to keep up with all this family's crap and entering your oh so precious room by mistake." Colin said calmly as if it's a matter of fact and jumped to his feet.
His chilly voice drove me up the wall.

"You know what? Fuck you! I'm in no way obliged or ready to be patient with you! I'm not mom and Daniel, so you better keep your mouth in check when you're around me!" my voice was all over the place this time.

  In a matter of seconds, my room was beleaguered by everyone in the house.
"Colin, son, please be tolerant with your sister. I'm sure you'll get along pretty well soon." Daniel interfered, walking slowly towards Colin to pat his shoulder.

"Stop it, okay? This girl is not my sister! For God's sake, I barely consider you my father. I'm not here to mend bonds, I'm here for business. If you weren't so disturbingly insistent, I wouldn't be here. Stop playing games, I'm not a kid anymore! You can have your fake family all to yourself." Colin's bitter words struck the father with the hatred underneath.
I almost saw tears in Daniel's eyes before he stormed to his room; mom following suit. By then, it was only me, Colin, and Jacob in the room. I glared at Colin intently, wishing that looks could kill. He rudely glared back at me, until he slipped past Jacob and out of the room...

   For the rest of the day, Colin was out of sight. This whole dramatic speech didn't slightly affect my determination to go back to sleep, although it did keep me up thinking for quite a long time.

I don't  exactly know what happens behind closed doors, but for some reason, Daniel came out of his room as if nothing had happened, and he made his way to work. Mean while, I woke up from my usual three-hour nap and decided upon doing my homework. Being a senior at Charlotte River School, I had to maintain some good grades to enter my dream college.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not the "all nerdy" type of girl, but you can say that I try to get the best grades I can with minimal effort. As usual, studying took me more than four hours because of my "5-minutes study, 15-minutes phone" technique. The rest of the day went smoothly despite the morning's discouraging events.

                                                                    ~.~.~
It was three past midnight when I heard weird shuffling by the window. I was wide awake at that time per usual, but I was never that creeped out my whole life. Yet, curiousity got the best of me, and I peered through the curtains to see Colin, in his glory, sitting on the door steps, cupping his head with both hands. Afraid that the neighbors would see him, I slowly managed to go downstairs and open the front door.
"Come on in! Our neighbors might call the cops if they see a stranger on our door steps at three AM." I frowned.

" I am a stranger"; he said. And suddenly, Colin vibrated with laughter waking up the whole neighborhood. "Oh wait! Are you drunk?". His continuous chuckles proved my theory. Shaking my head, sighing, I took him by his arm and led him in.

He proceeded to laugh as we made it to his room. Carefully,  I left him at the door and went back to my room to catch some hours of sleep. I was strangely proud of what I did, though annoyed, for I was certain that Daniel would be so disappointed to find his son drunk on fury on the day of his arrival.
                                                                    ~.~.~

Please don't forget to vote and comment :)