Chapter Eighteen: Theo

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Disclaimer: All characters and settings are purely fictional. If there are any similarities to real people or places, it is merely coincidental. The plot is written by me and not copied from any other writer.

***WARNING*** The following chapter contains mature content. If you are not interested in that content, please go to the next chapter.

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Promise to Forever
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       It was a regular day in the Bradshaw house. Zaria and I were watching Tatum's college football games. The games were live, but we promised to sit down and watched them after I came from the barber. Our family was small; Bradshaws didn't have a lot of kids. Two kids were usually the maximum. Tatum's an only child. Zaria and I were the closest he had to siblings. We supported him with any opportunity we had. He was like the older brother I never got, and another younger brother Zaria didn't want but loved.

"He's gotten better," Zaria comments. It was true. Even his physique was different. The University of Wilcaster took football seriously. I knew Tatum wanted to go pro. It was always a dream of ours. We would play professionally for a few years before settling down and taking over Brad & Co.

"Yeah, Uncle Lee was spazzing over one of his games he flew out to watch," I replied. Our Uncle Lee was probably Tatum's number one fan. He supported his dreams to play ball, and if it was up to him, Tatum would play football for the rest of his life. He never missed one of Tatum's high school games, and if not for the company, he probably would fly to all of them.

"Tatum's lucky he has Uncle Lee. Dad doesn't fail to mention how football is not your end goal after every game," Zaria comments, a bit of malice fuming from her words. Our dad is the eldest son, so his focus is always on the company. It took some time to convince him to let me play football. Uncle Lee managed to persuade him. Even though he knows my goal is to play professionally, he never fails to remind me that this dream will be short-lived.

Even though Zaria's statement was right, something about how she said it bothered me. My curiosity about why she was here nagged at me. It's been a little over a week. Zaria has never visited this long, at least not without Dean.

"Why are you here?" I ask. Zaria's head snaps at me, and she looks surprised by my question.

"I'm watching Tatum's videos with you, T," she responds, laughing nervously at my expression. My sister, no matter how much older she is, will always be like a little sister to me. I knew something was wrong, and it bothered me that she didn't trust me enough to confide in me.

"No, why are you here, Z. What's wrong?" I inquire, my voice a bit softer after seeing the change in her expression. She played with the popcorn in the bowl we made earlier to snack on while watching the videos. Even with her head hanging low, my sister's beauty radiates. She's always been the better-looking sibling, but I could be a bit bias.

"Dean's cheating on me," she whispers, her voice cracks. A single tear drops from her eyes. She wipes it away quickly as if she's terrified someone might see. She turns to me and hides the hurt with a smile, "It's fine, right. It's the price I pay for being Dean Winston's wife. At least that's what mom tells me," she continues. She laughs, the tears falling more. Immediately, I embrace her. She falls into my arms, her resolve crumbling. The sound of Tatum's game is drowned out by her sobs. I comfort her.

"That's bull, Z. You don't have to accept anything less than what you deserve, and Dean's cheating is not what you deserve," I state, trying hard not to upset her further. Because I wasn't calm. I was upset. I wanted to beat him to dust for hurting her. The desire to ruin him for choosing someone else over her course through me. My sister was a goddess. She was the kindest person I knew, and she was the standard I kept for any girl I liked growing up. She was the reason I cared about Rylee so much.

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