Brothers

Chapter 8: The Ex-Wife

Chapter 8

"I don't want to do this." I said, crossing my arms.

"Don't be a baby, the rest of us do it every year." Alex rolled his eyes as he turned onto Jane's street. "You can manage."

The houses had only been getting bigger and bigger as we got closer to the richer part of town.

Alex was driving with James in the passenger seat. Mark and Wesley were sitting in the middle section of the car, leaving me squished in the very back with Michael and Justin.

"Aw come on you look cute." Michael nudged my side with a laugh.

I stared straight ahead, feeling a pit of dread in my stomach as Alex pulled into the long, winding driveway leading to the damn castle that our mother lived in.

"Is her family going to be here?" Wesley asked as we got out of the car.

"Probably." Mark replied, glancing back at me.

I didn't react to his questioning stare, I kept my focus ahead as I followed my brothers up to the front door.

They were all dressed in khakis and nice shirts. I was wearing a black skirt and a plain white v-neck on top, a loose beige sweater over it. I had black heels on, so I was the same height as as my brothers.

"You okay?" Mark asked quietly, standing behind the group with me.

"I'm fine." I said, quickly putting on a smile. "Just ready to get this day over with."

The door opened, revealing a smiling blonde woman.

"Hey!" Jane said excitedly, stepping back to let us into her house.

I made sure to hang at the back of the group, as if hiding behind them would make it not real that I was here.

"You're all so big!" She laughed, pretending to be flustered.

I smirked, loving the way that everyone but Alex was giving her the same judgmental look. Alex is the only one who really remembers her. She left when he was 6, and he has no hard feelings. The rest of us however, we're a different story.

Jane gasped as her eyes landed on me, making me extremely uncomfortable.

"Look at you... You're all grown up." Jane said, stepping towards me.

I managed to crack a smile that didn't reach my eyes, my arms folded across my chest.

"You have your father's hair..." She laughed, looking at the messy bun that I'd managed to force the curls into.

I didn't reply.

She wasn't allowed to fondly talk about my dad's hair.

She left us.

She left behind her rights to be loving towards us.

I just shifted my weight on my feet and awkwardly looked around the big marble front hall.

"Right, well should we head down to the sitting room? Henry will be back with the girls around noon for lunch." Jane said as she walked towards the big staircase, her heels clicking on the floor.

The girls. Her daughters. Her new family.

Michael whispered something to Justin as we followed her around to the living room behind the massive staircase. Justin laughed and nodded, turning to say the same thing to Wesley.

Wesley, like me, had absolutely no memories of my mom. But it wasn't as hard on the other guys, considering the sort of life she chose to have.

She's got two daughters now.