The Lunar Destiny Series

Chapter 25

After a few days had passed since meeting my brother, I arranged a day for us to spend some time together. Iericho, Celeste, Lio, and myself went out to the Harmony Bar downtown. Local bands perform every night and the food isn’t too bad either. I’m not much of a drinker but I do love live music. Celeste and Iericho seemed to get along pretty well. It turns out they’re both quite the heavy drinkers. We took seats at the bar and while Celeste and Iericho took shots, Lio sat next to me with a pitcher of beer.

I watched Celeste and Iericho slam their shot glasses down at the same time; both of them had a nice collection of empty ones in front of them. Typically bartenders will take the empty glasses the moment they notice them, but those two asked them to refill them all instead.

“You two are going to end up flat on your faces if you keep going the way you are.” I said smiling.

“Who me? Not a chance, but I can’t say the same for your friend though.”

Iericho said with a grin. I looked over at Celeste who now showed signature signs of being drunk; eyes half closed, slightly swaying off balance, and of course not realizing how loud she was talking. She was the loudest one at the bar; we had no trouble hearing her over the band.

“Oh you just wait and see! I’ll drink you under the table pretty boy!”

Celeste shouted while pointing at Iericho. Pretty boy? Iericho was painfully masculine.

Yup, she was drunk.

“Celeste, Shhhh! You’re going to get us kicked out!” I yelled at her. She turned towards me looking around my brother to see me.

“Way to be a killjoy Astraia! You’re the only one sober here!”

She slurred her words as she went on. I shook my head, what else could I say to her?

I looked back at Lio who was staring down at his half empty pitcher of beer intently. He didn’t even seem to notice Celeste’s drunken behavior. I placed my hand on his arm and he looked over at me with a faint smile.

“I hate to ask this of you but, can you give Celeste a ride home? I really wanted to spend a little more time with Iericho.”

I could see the smile on his face wilt a little, like watching a rose dry up in real time.

“What?” I asked.

“Astraia, I know how much bonding with your brother means to you but it isn’t going to happen all in one week. Besides, I don’t feel like I can trust him as easily as you do. I definitely won’t trust him with you.” Lio said looking in Iericho’s direction.

I frowned and crossed my arms.

“Lio, he’s my family. You have to stop treating him like an outsider. If he wasn’t trying to be a part of our family, do you think he would have made such an effort to find my mother?”

I couldn’t figure out what was getting Lio so worked up over my brother. He never did tell me what was bothering him so much when it came to him.

“That effort you speak of is exactly what concerns me. At every opportunity he’s looking for a chance to spend time alone with you.” He said with the beginnings of irritation in his voice.

“So what? Isn’t that what you would do if you found out that you had a sister you never knew?” Lio smoothed his thick mass of curls back from his face.

“Does he ask you about your mother at all?” I nodded.

“Yes, sometimes.” I said.

“At any time has he mentioned anything about his adopted family? I bet he asks a lot of personal questions about me more than you think he should right?”

I took a moment to think about it and I started to understand Lio’s concerns. It was true that Iericho never seemed to feel comfortable talking about his adoptive parents. He would change the subject when I brought them up. When it came to asking about Lio, he couldn’t seem to stop asking questions. I felt like I was being interrogated sometimes but I just figured he was developing an overprotective brother complex. The more I thought about it, it was strange.

“Alright, your point?” I said finally.

Lio looked me in the eyes sternly.

“My point love, is that he is still a stranger to you. Do not trust him so easily before you know everything there is to know about him. Start by figuring out what his hang-ups are concerning his parents, and what his interest is in me besides the fact that we’re engaged. If it turns out to be simple curiosity then I’ll say no more. However, if he’s hiding something that could endanger you…”

Lio paused, his mind seeming to go somewhere else. I leaned in towards him and kissed him on the cheek making him smile suddenly.

“How sweet you two are.”

The tone of Iericho’s voice didn’t match his adoring words. We both looked over at him, a little caught off guard. He must have walked up behind me not too long ago and I hoped he hadn’t heard our conversation.

“Ah little sis, what is it that a smart, beautiful, exceptional woman such as yourself sees in a man like this one? Sure, he’s easy on the eyes if you’re into that sort of thing. I really think you could do much better though.”

Where the hell did all of that just come from? I thought to myself. My lips slightly parted in shock.

Lio’s eyebrows furrowed and he got up from the barstool. Lio was about three feet taller than Iericho but my brother stared up at him as if he were the same height. Celeste stumbled over to me, her eyes widened when she saw the aggressive display.

“Lio take it easy, he’s clearly drunk.” I said.

Lio shook his head with a cynical grin on his face.

“Oh I disagree, he’s very much sober. Don’t you think it’s odd that he drank just as much as Celeste and yet he’s not even the slightest bit tipsy?” I looked over at Iericho curiously.

Lio was right, he looked absolutely sober. I know there are people in the world that can hold their alcohol like champions but no one was this good. His eyes weren’t slightly red like

Celeste’s were.

“Well maybe I can hold my alcohol better than most people. Not that it’s any of your concern.”

The bartender came over towards us looking none too happy. We were starting to get attention from the other bar patrons too.

“Hey! Take that bullshit outside of my bar!”

Everyone close to the bar stopped what they were doing and their eyes became fixed on us.

“Lio, please take Celeste home and meet me back at my place. Iericho you come with me, NOW…” I said getting up and shoving Iericho through the crowds of gawking people.

“Astraia!”

Lio called after me but I didn’t stop. The only thing on my mind was to separate them as quickly as possible.

We had driven to the bar separately. Lio had his car, Iericho in his. The conversation on the way back to my house was…Heated to say the least.

“What the hell is wrong with you!? What made something like that come out of your mouth!? You’re obviously sober enough to know what you were doing!” I shouted at him.

Iericho was visibly trembling with anger.

“I have my reasons, Astraia. you couldn’t possibly understand even if I told you.”

I shook my head in frustration.

“You’re right, I don’t understand! I’m trying to make you feel like a part of the family and here you are causing fights with my fiancé! What is it about him that you dislike so much!? Why do you insult him whenever you get the opportunity?” He sighed heavily.

“For the first time in my life I have a sister and I want to protect her. Lio isn’t suitable for you, not in my eyes. He’s got something inside of him, something vicious that could hurt you one day. I won’t let him put my little sister in harm’s way.”

I felt my heart skip a beat when he said that. Did he know what Lio really was? Then again how could he know? Iericho is human as far as I could tell. I was very careful not to mention anything by accident. I didn’t know exactly what he meant by what he’d said, but I grew weary. I looked ahead to see that we had turned onto my street. He slowed to a stop in front of my house.

“Look, I don’t know where all of this is coming from but Lio wouldn’t hurt me. So, you can stop worrying. I won’t have you around me if you keep acting this way.” I said looking over at him.

He blinked as though I had said something in a foreign language.

“I’m sorry Astraia. I just want you to be safe.”

I shook my head almost laughing, he was beyond ridiculous.

“Don’t say you’re sorry if you don’t intend to show some decency around Lio. Both of you need to give each other a chance before deciding to hate each other. Goodnight, brother.”

I got out of the car before he could say anything else and went inside of my house without looking back. I heard him drive off not long after I locked up.

The house was quiet. Complete silence after so much drama was pure bliss. I went straight to my room to take a shower. As the steam from the hot water began to fog up the bathroom, my thoughts became clouded as well. I was haunted by one particular comment Iericho had made. ‘He’s got something inside of him, something vicious that could hurt you someday…’

Iericho hardly knows Lio, why would he say such a thing? I couldn’t think of anything that would lead him to think that way about him. I closed my eyes tightly and wrapped my arms around myself, trying to put it all out of my mind. I was confident my brother had no idea what Lio’s true nature was.

My mind was so occupied that I didn’t hear someone come into the bathroom until it was too late. I felt my hands on my shoulders and I went stiff. I gasped and my eyes sprung open, my heart raced with fear and I started to shake.

“Relax, it’s me. I’m sorry I frightened you…I should have announced myself.”

Lio’s voice came over me like a wave of calm. I’d given him his own set of keys a few days ago; Sometimes I forgot that he could let himself in. I felt him mold himself against me, his arms embracing me tightly. A sigh of relief escaped my lips.

“I’m embarrassed about the way things happened tonight. I’ll try to be more civil with Iericho for you.” He whispered against the back of my head.

“It’s not just you that needs to be more civil Lio; my brother has to meet you halfway. I don’t know what the deal is with you two but you have to lay it to rest. If you don’t, he at least has to. I did tell him as much.”

I felt him nod against me.

“I understand. How can I make you smile again? What would make you happy right now?”

I smiled, and even though he couldn’t see it, he soon found several ways to keep me smiling.