Brothers

Chapter 48

Hardin's POV

I pull up to Novela Café and park the car. I take a deep breath before getting out. I shut the car door and head for the door.

The hostess at the front desk greets me with a warm smile.

"I'm here to meet a Christian Grey." I say to the lady.

"Hardin. You came. I'm so glad you came." Christian comes up to me. I nod at him and then smile at the hostess.

"Our tables right back here. There's a few people I want you to meet if that's okay." He says leading me into the back.

People? I didn't expect to be meeting people here.

When we get to the table, there's about six or seven other gentlemen at the table. They all look up at us and wave.

"Guys this is Hardin. My brother. Hardin this is my AA group." He says going around the table, saying everyone's name.

AA? Christian invited me to his AA meeting?

"Nice to meet everyone." I nod. I take my seat next to Christian.

One of the men at the end of the table stand up, clearing his throat.

"Good evening everyone. Thank you for coming tonight. I would first like to thank all the family members who have come to join us today. It is always good to have family here to support each other. I figured we would first go around the table and check in on how everyone is doing. Christian, would you like to start?" The man gestures to Christian.

Christian stands up and looks around the table. He lets out a deep breath before speaking.

"Hello everyone. My names Christian. I've been sober for six weeks now. I relapsed." He looks at me and looks down, his face saddening.

"As many of you know, I haven't always been the best brother. Or son. I used to do a lot of drugs and drink a lot, kinda ran in the family I guess. I reconnected a few months ago with my brother here, Hardin. It's been... it's been good. I missed him a lot. Hardin always looked up to me when we were growing up. Then I started getting into trouble and I left him." He chokes.

I look down at the plate sitting in front of me as I try and hold back tears.

"I found out a couple months ago that our dad who we grew up knowing as our father wasn't our real father. That was fine, I always had a feeling but I never put the pieces together I guess. But I found out that our real father..." Christian pauses.

I look up at him. He inhales a deep breath and opens his mouth to speak.

"Vance. My father, abandoned me and ur mum when I was born. He wasn't ready to be a father apparently, so he left. He told me at my brothers wedding. I don't know. I just... I couldn't take it anymore. All this stuff was piling up and the pain, the voices in my head kept replaying everything over and over and I just wanted them to go away. That's when I relapsed." He wipes the tears from his eyes.

"I'm sorry." Christian turns to me. "I didn't want to take a drink, I never wanted to take a drink again. I wanted to be better, For you. For Anastasia. For my kids. I just couldn't take it anymore. But I don't want to lose you again. You're the only one that has been there through everything. Everything we had to grow up with. I brought you here today because this right here is important to me. And you are important to me. I want to show you that I'm not a fuck up older brother." He says.

I stand up, wiping the tears from my eyes. I nod my head to Christian and reach out for a hug.

"I'm sorry." He sobs into my shoulder.

"I'm sorry too. I didn't know all that was going on in your head. All this shit got thrown at you, I should have been there for you." I say.

The table claps as we release from our hug. We take our seats, Christian looking over at me and giving me another smile.

"Thank you for sharing all that with us Christian. It takes a lot of courage to share something that personal. I'm glad you deceived to share that tonight and get it out there, and I'm sure Hardin is too." The man, who I'm guessing is the leader of the group stands up at the end of the table.

I reach into my pocket and take out my phone. I rest it on my pocket and check the notifications. There's a message from Tessa. I swipe the phone to unlock it.

The message reads.

Anastasia told me Christian invited you to his AA meeting. How is everything going?

I smile. Tessa always checks up on me. Ever since what happened in London a few years back, she likes to make sure I'm okay. Honestly I appreciate it too. Tessa keeps me calm in these situations. She always has.

I'll tell you about it later. Everything is okay though. Christian and I are okay. Love you.

I text Tessa back and shove my phone back into my pocket, turning my attention to the gentleman next to me speaking.

Everyone goes around telling their progress. One of the men who spoke, Ed I think his name was has been sober for twenty five years. He lost his entire family because of his drinking problem. One of the other men who spoke, George had been sober for ten years. He served twenty three years in the military and came back and suffered from PTSD. As the men at the table shared their stories, it opened my eyes.

There's a story behind every person. There's a reason why they're the way they are. When you face difficult times, know that challenges are not sent to destroy you. They are sent to promote, increase, and strengthen you.