Spectrum

Prologue

I lifted the bottle of sprite to my lips as I watched my brother Mason’s friends having the time of their lives. The music booming loudly as the DJ bumped his head to the beat, the walls moving steadily to the bass of the music. 

People were downing liquor and beer by the litre as the crowd raved on. Couples making out on the white walls of my father’s favourite house. The once prestigious mansion now looked as run down like any other shack.

I loved to see it.

I was merely minding my business when my brother’s friends had come up with an idea, dragging my hazy brother along with them.

Earlier that year, Katie, an associate of mine had been cheated on by Bradley Mews, an all-round playboy and jerk but she had chosen to look past all of that and had refused to see the red flags raised high. 

We had all watched Bradley walk around the school halls with various types of girls on days Katie had games outside of school. The whole school had watched him break Katie and all that she had been known for piece by piece and no one made the move to tell her.

Personally, it was none of my business but even if I did try to tell her I would be a victim to her hateful stares and words of denial. Other, her friends specifically just didn’t care and to me, it was her dose of karma for helping Bradley cheat on his long term girlfriend at the time.

It is what it was said to be, you lose them how you get them and I had harboured no feeling of sympathy for her as she had cried her eyes out after she had gotten the news of his infidelity and I would be a fool to label her as a victim. She had known what it was about and what she was getting into.

So, initially, I was against the idea of egging his house, standing my ground as I was not about to leave the house because rich people were the most notorious thieves of all. 

As much as I wanted to stay, I couldn’t let my brother go by himself, I didn’t trust his friends and I was sure that they knew that too, hence the remark from Noah as I had said no for the fifth time of the night and they knew, the Knox siblings always stuck together.

“ You wouldn’t want your brother out there by himself with no possible ride home, would you? “ He smugly said to me.

My brother was 18, a year older than I was, he could take care of himself but he was my own flesh and blood and in his current state, I would never forgive myself if anything were to happen to him while out with people I myself did not trust in the slightest bit.

So, I pulled the keys to my Evoque out of my pockets forcefully pushing his friend out of the way as I had gone to talk to one of the house guards letting them know that I was leaving for a bit.

Going back inside I gently wrapped my brother’s arm around my shoulder leading him to the car. My brother got worn out easily and was what had happened leading him to this state, no doubt his friends were behind this and I wasn’t happy in the slightest way.

Starting the engine, I watched as Noah’s SUV which was carrying his six other friends retreated down the long driveway of the Washington DC mansion and through the tall intricate gold and black gates.

We had driven all the way to the other side of town to where Bradley’s house laid on a private lake and soon everyone was piling out of the cars even my brother who was now sober enough to slide out of the backseat of my car.