By the moon, I swear

CHAPTER 3

WILLIAM

William stood there staring in awe as the truth unfolded before him. He remembered the rage that he tapped into when he was taking her to see her family. How he loathed her at that moment because his brother over valued her importance before his. He remembered how rudely he had treated her and felt no ounce of guilt when he broke his promise and left her under the care of another while he headed home to see how his brother was faring. Oh he had been scared beyond measure. He could be swallowed in the earths sink hole or be a victim of tsunami yet none of the feeling could compare to what he had felt when he saw Tristan pale white. Losing him was unimaginable and he knew the feeling too well. Tristan had come close to tripping over to the other side before and he was so helpless not being able to help. That’s why he went looking for her, to bring back his brother who for a while was slipping away from his grasp and today. Today, he overstepped. He knew that at that moment and he just hopped she wasn’t a person to act drastically on wimps because if she left, so will the world lose one of its finest.

‘How long have you been standing there?’ his brother’s question broke through his thoughts bringing him back to reality.

William stared at him for a second longer before his lips broke into a tight smile, ‘Long enough to know that you are not on the road to recovery but have been there for a while,’ he answered taking a step into their house gym. When he got back, even before taking a sip of water to quench his thirst, he had headed straight to Tristan’s room to check on him. To die of thirst was not unphatomable but to die of guilt? That was something not even he, a man who prided himself in immense strength both physical and emotional could withstand. Nana who was then spreading Tristan’s bed, pointed him to the right direction where he saw him practicing, might he add at his ultimate best. It was as if he was never sick nor weak any time before.

‘Well I noticed for the first time that sickness came with its perks,’ Tristan replied pressing his palms to her eyes, allowing the images of that morning to rush back in. not that they had left. It had been a long time since he slept that peacefully. Well apart from the sickness of course. ‘Maybe you could learn something from me brother,’ he continued as he threw a sword dummy to his brother who skillfully caught.

‘Oh yeh?’ William asked his brows furrowing together before he let bare his thoughts, ‘All I learnt was lying can come in very, very handy. You know what I’m saying?’

Tristan laughed sarcastically before angling himself ready to attack. ‘Sometimes you puzzle me,’

‘Of my Wisdom?’

‘HELL NO. Of how blonde you can get. Just when I think there are brains up there, you prove me wrong. You will never get it.’

‘You know Tristan if you want to drive a point home, do it as a man. Don’t be a b***h and hide behind a dummy.’

‘Noted,’ Tristan responded letting go of his sword and charging on him with a fist which by the way landed on his jaw sending him staggering backwards.

‘Cheating as usual? Impressive,’ William commented spitting out the blood in his mouth.

‘Looking for excuses are we? Twenty five freeking years and you still can’t admit I’m better than you.’ Tristan replied in a firm voice though deep down he knew he was grasping straws. Who was he kidding? He knew very well that without his schemes, William would put him down in a second. Yes he had been in the army for four years but so had he. Same training, same teachings and same effort. And for a moment when he though he was better than him, William went and took lessons in Martial arts. Schemes were all he was left with if he had the chance to take him down. His dignity, ego, pride was on the line for Christ’s sake and humiliation never sat well with him. He was born first yet in so many ways than one, William beat him to it.

One moment his eyes were fixed on his opponent, his mind already orchestrated a plan and the next he was flying in the air and landing on the cold floor. William had attacked slamming his fists against his face, unleashing the monster inside him. Tristan slid his eyelids closed for a moment, shutting the world off as his mind concentrated on his greatest source of strength – his lady. All the s**t in his life would have to wait but if there was a fight he was sure he could win, with the right kind of motivation; it was the one before him. He just had to fight with her on mind and both his ego, charms wouldn’t be bruised. With one swift he stood up, stepped up to William who was a few inches taller than he, that he had to crane up his neck but intimidated no more and they both resumed from where they stopped.

What seemed like a few minutes had actually turned into hours. Both of them tend to be carried away when they straightened their thoughts with the only sport they not only knew well but loved. As a matter of fact, were it not for nana, they would still be at it. Plunging into each other. William was more of a mystery.  Letting his opponent land punches at him, learning all his moves as he fed onto his anger while Tristan was more of a striker. Any chance he got he threw his best and if the opponent wasn’t careful, the match would end up with them being only on the receiving end. That’s what made them such good and worthy opponents. Nana of course had never approved of their sport but they showed no intention of slowing down let alone stopping and with time she had learnt to stomach it.

‘Well take a shower then come right up for tea,’ Tristan responded before Nana stormed out of the gym muttering curses underneath her breath. Tristan was on his way out when Williams question stopped him holding him to his roots. ‘Not taking a shower here or is it no longer up to your standards,’

‘Actually, I’m hoping to sneak a peek at my lady first before hitting the tub,’ Tristan answered already playing the various scenarios in his head about how their encounter will be.

‘She’s not here,’ William whispered already preparing himself to face his brother’s wrath. He had promised his brother that he would never lose sight of her and will be by her side till they got back home and he had broken that promise. Tristan was never one to sit well with people who went around his back so William opted to let it all out before Tristan tapped into his anger. ‘I was worried sick about you so I came home but don’t worry I left her in safe capable hands,’

‘With who?’ Tristan asked and thought he intended to sound calm the strain in his voice could be noted even from a mile away. Hell, even his features which were now tense sold him out. It’s just that when it came to her he could no longer take chances and losing a grasp of things that early in the game was doom to failure.

‘She’s with Gabriel. You know he will take care of her.’ William answered reassuringly before taking off his slick shirt and headed for the lockers to pick a towel. When Tristan was thinking it was always best to leave him by himself and William more than anyone else knew that best.

It took a couple of minutes really before Tristan joined him and both got into the separate showers to clean up. They then changed into cleaner clothes and were ready to be on their way out before Tristan asked what had been making him toss and turn at night the last few days. ‘Why doesn’t she remember me?’

Taking in a deep breath, William replied his heart skipping more than a bit, ‘She will Tristan just give her time. She has been through something traumatic and probably needs time to pull through but she will. I promise.’

‘Have a seat and tell me all about it,’ Tristan responded his eyes commanding as he tapped onto the empty space on the bench next to him. If he was to ever have a chance at winning her back, he had to know all that had been going on in her life.

‘But Nana…’

‘Well I guess you better get started then. We don’t have time to waste.’

Shopping had never been her strong hold. Hell neither she nor her sisters had gone shopping before. Without Gabriel they would all be nothing but lost. After an hour of going to several clothing stalls and getting her sisters their dream clothes she finally understood the pleasure of it all. The glimmer in her sisters’ eyes each time they purchased something they wanted was priceless. After shopping they went to a restaurant and while her sisters ordered their dream food she settled for a simple meal. Guilt already taking toll on her. Gabriel was already spending too much on them and she didn’t deserve it. She had done nothing to earn his generosity and though it meant the whole world to her to see her sisters happy she still felt as though she was taking an advantage of him. Whenever she got a chance she mouthed a thank you to him but he shushed her off saying it was no big deal. After the meal, they went to the circus where her sisters had immense fun playing with kids their own age.

By four in the evening when they were heading back to the hotel, her sisters fell asleep in the car. The fun day must have been exhausting for them. Before turning her eyes to the road, Amber found herself wishing that that was their daily life was going to be from then on. If only she had enough power to make their lives better. With the current turn of events though, she had hope that all would change for the better and the miseries they encountered would be nothing but a bad memory.

After tucking them in, Amber looked at them at how peaceful they looked before turning her face around to meet Gabriel’s intense gaze focused on them. With his hand he ushered her out and she willfully obeyed. He had been kind to them the whole day and a little chatting won’t hurt. Besides, so long as they were in the hotel her sisters were safe even from the wretched woman that called herself a mother.

‘Let’s go for a walk,’ Gabriel implored as soon as she skillfully tiptoed out of the room and closed the door behind her.

‘I don’t want to leave them behind. Not for a second,’

‘I know that. They are safe here besides what are you going to do? Watch them sleep till tomorrow? It’s not like if you need to cook or anything,’ Gabriel insisted as his hands drifted to her shoulders to caress her softly. She had been through a lot and trust didn’t come easy to her. He didn’t blame her for it though. His brother had filled him in on what she had been through and even he was not a man enough to cry in his heart. Sobs and whimpers of pain escaped his mouth more times than he could count accompanying the tears that already flowed freely. Amber had experiences no love or support from others and a tender age she had learnt to carry more than a child should. No one deserves what she had been through not even the worst people in the world. Scratch that, her parents deserved more than that. Their cruelty knew no bounds. Had her father been alive, he would have currently been spending the rest of his life in jail for strangling him to death. No strangling would have been an easier way out. He would have shredded him into pieces with a blunt knife torturing him for days and treating him so that his stupid heart would not give in easily. Not until he was done with him anyway. Her mother on the other hand was one lucky b***h. His brother had talked sense into him making him realize being in jail won’t help Amber. What she needed was someone to make her happy and not to be left alone in the world again. His brother promised to deal with her legally.

Pushing his thoughts aside, he watched the various expressions running through her face. It was obvious she was battling with her mind taking his idea into consideration. Looking into her eyes he sensed her fear and immediately provided a possible solution, ‘I will assign someone to watch over them and call us as soon as they wake up. Will that put you at ease?’

‘Yes it will. Thank you,’

‘Not a problem.’

............................

Tristan felt his whole boy stiffen before it turned into stone. His eyes filled with hatred and pain. His hands were balled into fists on his laps and it took everything to remain still. Somehow William had cornered him into going down for a meal first. He then kept on dodging the subject but finally Tristan managed to trap him in his room and hid the key. William had no choice but to spill it all out.

The rage that consumed him was enough to even stop an incoming tornado. How could someone heartlessly heart his Angel like that? No wonder she couldn’t remember him. To start afresh her mind had probably blocked the past. And there he was in his house wallowing in misery while he could have prevented it all from happening. What kind of a man was he if he couldn’t even protect his own woman? Was he even worth being called a man at all? His pretty flower was tarnished and there he was thinking that she left him again because of that excuse of an ex-boyfriend. Who was an excuse of a man now? How stupid could he have been? He should have gone after her as he usually had when she strayed back to her old addictions. But no, he left her alone to drown thinking she would eventually come back to her senses and run back to him with an apology. What was his ego compared to the hurt she had gone through? As a man it would have hurt to go after her and be rejected again and with time he would have gotten over it as before but now it was too late. The damage was already done.

Unable to control his rage, with one swift he tore from the chair and ran into the bathroom as he threw everything he could get his hands on against the wall in rage. Glass shattered everywhere but he didn’t give a damn. It could all be bought but no matter what he did, her virtue was already compromised. No wonder unknowingly she rejected to sleep beside him. Her mind might have locked away her tragedies but her body remembered. He wailed a toured cry before breaking into sobs. His knees weakened and he slumped onto the bathroom floor accidentally opening the shower. Not even the cold water calmed down his rage.

William went and sat next to him cursing himself for opening his wide mouth. He shouldn’t have opened his mouth knowing how much she meant to him but they both needed to heal. His arms tightened around Tristan trying to offer his support. It tore his heart seeing his brother’s wild eyes, heaving chest and unstoppable tears. It was a good thing he had refrained himself from telling the whole truth. Who know how Tristan might have taken it. No doubt he would have seen suicide as his only way out.

Breathing deeply to control his emotions, Tristan lifted his head to face his brother. ‘Thank you for telling me at least now I can help her.’ Having contained his emotions, he rose up from the floor went to his wardrobe picked a cloth and changed before walking out.

The look in his brother’s eyes shook him to the core and a feeling deep down warned William not to let him out of his sight. Luckily, he caught Tristan just in time in his car before he drove out. He climbed to seat next to his and Tristan fired the engine and drove off without saying a word. What was left to say anyway?

If Tristan was disgusted before the sight before him did much worse. The woman was lying on the floor half naked laughing on her own. Not only did she stink but the house looked like a real dump that he wondered how she and sisters survived the environment. From the remains of cocaine on the table it became obvious what she was high from. There was no window open to let fresh air come in which made the whole place look dark. To add insult to injury on seeing them she opened her legs wide showing off her mound as a sign of invitation to take her.

Tristan had visited with the sole purpose of seeing the face of that despicable woman but with the sight before him he felt something nudge him to do more. Trying to compose himself, he threw down the cash he had on him next to her with every intent of riding a hard bargain to keep the children for good.

The woman knowing no shame got up from the floor got rid of her excuse of a skirt leaving her bare before she glued herself to him. Tristan tried to control his rising fury to no avail. The woman obviously knew no bounds. His late mother, May the Lord let her soul rest in peace had taught him to respect women. Grabbing her hips he tried to swiftly push her from him but the woman clung to him like a spider. William who was still in awe burst out in laughter watching his misery though his eyes spoke of nothing but loathe for the woman. Tristan’s voice rumbled through the room, ‘Let go of me you disgusting woman before I make you regret even looking at me.’ Instead of letting go, she just smiled and ground her hips against his groin.

‘Come on my…...’ she stumbled trying to find the right words, ‘my prince err…err I can feel you want me too.’ With that she somehow managed to stand on her toes and force a quick kiss on him before she licked her lips and hugged him.

Tristan growled obviously still in shock of what just happened. This time he tried to push her with force only for her to wrap her left leg around him. ‘O hell no,’ he heard his brother say when he saw the woman had no intention of un-plastering herself from him. Tristan might have a problem man handling a woman but he did not. Before Tristan blinked he pushed her away from him with so much force that she stumbled a few steps before falling to the ground in a thud.

‘I will never give them to you for good now,’ the woman spat her words in fury. No man she very approached had ever denied her. Who the hell did they think they were to refuse such a goddess like her? If they thought with their actions they would intimidate her, they were wrong. They did not match even to an eighth of her husband who was the very definition of what a real man should be like.

Seeing a panic on the handsome man’s face who she had just kissed, she immediately added, ‘of course I like you so two weeks is all you get and not a second more. If you trick me I will call the authorities and file charges for kidnapping.’

‘Works for me,’ Tristan responded turning to leave when the woman spoke again holding him to his tracks. ‘We could also reach an agreement and you could keep them for good,’

‘How?’ Tristan turned sensing not all hope was gone. No matter the amount of money he was ready to pay even if it would deem him broke.

‘Make love to me every night baby and those brats are yours to keep,’ she spoke her voice full of flattery as one finger went to her mound stroking it while making pleasure noises.

Unable to contain their fury the two men stormed out ignoring her loud voice booming the entire house on how she was going to have them both and that the next time they met, they would be the ones begging to suck her c**t.