Coerced

Chapter 2

Shannon POV

The alarm rang beside my bed at exactly 5:30 in the morning.  Rubbing my eyes I get rid of the remaining sleep and walk to the washroom to fresh up.  Within half an hour I was ready on my track pants and shirt to hit the gymnasium of my penthouse with a bottle of water in my hands. Yes I'm a gym freak because a healthy mind vests in healthy body. So I try to keep my mind and body healthy as much as I can. Once I get home, I don't take any calls regarding work no matter how important they are and vice-versa. My family got used to my rules and thus they only call me in my non-working hours.

Thinking about mom, here she is! The phone in my pants pocket vibrates and I connect the earpiece walking on the treadmill with a smile.  "Good Morning Mom. How are you?"  But within a minute of connecting to the call the peaceful features on my face transform to annoyance. Nevertheless my tone was established with control because I was speaking to the lone woman I love in the complete universe.  "What did he do?" 

For the next half an hour she kept crying which got me to an exclusive abhorrence for my brother. Anybody who messes with my mom is my best enemy. Adam is saved because he is my brother. "Don't worry, I will handle him."  I assure my mother and ended the call. 

Adam had been the spoilt boy, a black mole in our family.  Being the younger among the two of us, he had been the pampered little lad of our parents since he was a kid. And the consequences are that, today he is beyond control. Partying, drinking beyond limits, girls and motorcycle races have become his lifestyle over the years.  Mom is always worried about him concerning the upshots of his reckless actions. 

The present worry of her is that he is booked in a hit and run case for rash driving and consumption of alcohol beyond the limits.  "Hello Mr Harris, I hope you will take care regarding the case filed on my brother."  It wasn't easy to appease Mr Harris, the police superintendent. I never beg anybody. But today I had to do it only because of the impropriety of my brother.  

To say I was angry is an understatement. Had we not born to a same woman, I would have abandoned him long ago. It is only the tears in the eyes of my mother that still helps him to live on this earth.

Opening the call list of my phone, I dial his number.  "Adam” my voice resonates in the silent walls of the gymnasium like a devil’s impregnation. 

He was crying on the phone like a little boy seeing my fury. I hate him for his untrustworthy nature. "Shut the hell up. Your crocodile tears do not work anymore. I need an explanation. Do you have an idea about how serious is this issue? What happens if the relatives of that family you drove upon like a road, file a case on you? I had to plead that police superintendent, a man worth two mollusks to save you. You make me feel guilty before the people who are not even worth standing before me. This is the last warning I am giving you. Else, you wouldn't wish to hear what I am going to do next." My face goes red transpiring to an untameable fury. 

For a few seconds there was a pin drop silence at the other end and then I heard his trembling voice no louder than a whisper.  "This will not happen again big bro."

An hour later….

Dressed in a sky blue shirt and navy blue pants I prepare my usual breakfast, a toast with eggs and a glass of orange juice.  "Hi baby, are you up early?  When are we going to meet again?"  The girl from yesterday night called me from the stairs of the spare bedroom. "Never" I answered her evenly while sipping on my juice. 

"A complimentary gift would reach your address before this evening." I tell her sparing no glance checking the mails on my phone. 

In a blazing anger the words fall out of her lips like pelting stones.  "How dare you...."