Between Brothers

The Week Continues

Wednesday

Christopher

It’s been almost 48 hours since I’ve seen or heard from My Dear Tara, she’s avoiding me. I’ve called, texted, emailed, and even went to the apartment but she’s not there. She’s still at Julians’ who is hiding her from me like I did something horrible. Not anymore, he can either tell me what’s going on or I’ll ruin the f*****g wedding. This leads to other questions because she still hadn’t chosen one of us, what the f**k!

I feel my phone buzz in my pocket, hoping it’s Tara. I grab it and see it’s a text. 

Tara: We need to talk.

That’s all she said, ‘we need to talk’. Yeah, she’s right. I bet her psychopath of a mother told her a lie and now she hates me, it’s days like this where I regret ever f*****g Gloria. The s*x isn’t worth the pain I went through for her, the pain I’m still going through for it. 

I stare at my office door and consider my options, I could go and try to win back my girl. I could stay at work, pretend I didn’t get the message, or I could go find Gloria and kill her. As much as I like the last option, Tara is more important. I leave the office knowing I wont see it again today, flipping off the light it’s like I closed a part of my heart.

I arrive at Julians, it truly feels like a serial killer lives here. Exposed brick, vaulted ceilings, a warm but dark aura looming through the air. This is the home of Julian, my best friend and enemy. I look around and find Tara, sitting on the couch cloaked in a blanket. Cheeks tear stained, she’s been crying. I make a step forward but she puts up a hand to stop me, my chest starts to constrict as the pain of her rejection settles in. 

“Did you do it?” She asks. I’m lost, I’m not sure what I’ve supposedly done but I’m sure it’s not good.

“Tara, what are you talking about? I’ve been missing you like crazy”

“DID YOU RAPE MY MOTHER?!” She yells. Her voice cracks, like it was painful to even say that. I want to be angry, I want to go straight to the culprit and kill her for saying it but I can’t seem to find the energy to be angry. Instead, I started to laugh  because I knew something like this would eventually happen. Great! Now I must disclose this entire mess and call Garrett. 

“Baby, I NEVER raped your mother. Did I f**k her before I hooked up with you? Yes. I was in a dark place and she was there for the murky waters.”

“You… You f****d my mother?” The confusion on her face hurts my heart, I can see the wheels turning. She’s wondering if I was still boning that crazy b***h while I was with her? Hell, she’s probably wondering if I was STILL dealing with Gloria.

“Yes. Am I proud of it? No. The moment I met you, I dropped her. She was pissed, I wasn’t supposed to leave her. She would stalk me at my worksites, text me daily and call, then she found out I was dealing with you and s**t went haywire”

“What do you mean?” She asks, holding the blanket a little closer. I can see she’s starting to believe me but I need to prove it. I smile as I pull my phone out and call the only person that was there for this mess. 

“Garrett, I need your help” I say into the phone. I stand and step away, looking over my shoulder she’s still there. “I need you to talk to Tara with Me”

“Gloria?” he replies, his voice dark and sinister. The real reason I never wanted to hurt Tara, her father is as dark as night. Many people don’t know this but he’s the Boogie man that hides in the shadows and feeds off the souls of the mindless around him. The good Doctor seems like a saint, but the devil has a wicked smile and even worse hands. 

Garrett used to run with the Bianchi family, as a f*****g Capo. He was known as the Good Doctor. He picked his victims apart, separating their flesh from bone. The man is pure sadistic, and for that Julian and I admired him growing up. Admired how he was able to pretend he was normal, settled with life but then still be dark and not a soul knew. I need him to talk to Tara, as he’s the only person who really knows. He’s the friend that made sure I was gone, though little be known he was the one that helped me. 

After an hour of pleading my case, I was getting nowhere. Tara didn’t believe a word I said and was probably believing more of her mother’s lies by the minute. The hard knock on the door let me know he was here, I quickly opened the door and there he stood. To look at him you’d think he was just a normal doctor, glasses that framed his face. Dark brown hair that was slicked back, with silver flecked through. He looked at me as if I f****d up, stepping past me and going straight to his daughter. Who accepted her daddy's love with open arms.

“Garrett, I need your help” I say, shoving my hands in my pocket. I’m sure he’s about to kick me out but I need to voice it. “Tara thinks I raped your wife”

“EX… She's my EX wife. And how does my explanation help you?” He says, leaning back onto the couch, staring through me. This man has always scared the s**t out of me. I learned he wasn’t so bad from the way my mother doted on him, she thought he was too good for Gloria. She will never know how right she was.

“I love her. I never meant to hurt her, it was a miscommunication” I ramble, trying to explain. He raised his hand and pointed to the door, I didn’t try to argue. I glanced back and closed the door behind me, this was a mistake.

***

Tara

Why did he call my Dad? What does my father have to do with any of this? The way my dad shut him down and sent him packing, I guess he does know something.

“Hey pumpkin. How’ve you been?” Dad says, placing his hand on my leg. He’s smiling but there’s a disconnect somewhere, there’s no happiness in his eyes, just sadness. 

“I’ve been ok, I mean I’ve had to deal with a few things but nothing I can’t handle. Why’d he call you?” I ask, searching his face for answers but Dad has this way of staying stoic even in the most dire of events.

“Because he’s hoping I can help him. I’ve never cared for the Blanes, starting with their father. Jules was ok, a long time ago maybe.”

“Dad! Why did he call you?”

“Pumpkin, tell me what’s got you so upset? Did he do something?” He asks, completely ignoring me.

“Mom said he raped her and I’m conflicted”

“As you should be. Truth is he didn’t rape her, she’s loose and stupid.”

“Daddy, I don’t understand.”

“Just listen. Your mother should’ve NEVER been a mother, she’s childish and hungry for things that aren’t hers to have. Starting with a broken and damaged teenage boy, the fucker standing in the hallway. I found out he was f*****g my wife after seeing him stumble out of the house on a night I was working late, walked into the library and she was pulling her damn panties back on. The little s**t knocked her up because apparently they didn’t know how to use condoms, I wasn’t reacting how she thought I should so she got an abortion like the b***h she is.”

“Oh my god”

“It gets worse. When the little s**t realized who I was, and what I meant to his life he broke it off. Went straight, I even invested in his hustle but your mother wasn’t having it. She went nuts, started stalking him. And when she learned of your two being a couple, she flipped. Drinking every day, stalking and wasn’t even hiding what she did. She took all of her anger, anguish, pain, she took it all and gave it to you. And I’m sorry baby. I’m sorry that I let her ruin your life and didn’t try to stop her. You deserve better”

“She was in love with him?”

“No. Dear God, no! Your mother is incapable of love, she’s obsessed. That’s how I got started with her so long ago, she followed me like a puppy dog and at first I thought it was cute, until she got pregnant with you and things changed. She became possessive, obsessive and just flat out crazy. When she found out you were a girl, she would ask daily if I would still love her.”

“So… she lied?” I ask, Dad smiles and leans back onto the couch.

“She doesn’t know the difference between truth and lies anymore sweetheart. She’s just in her own world, after you were born she suffered from postpartum bad and I don’t think she ever quite healed.”

“Do you regret it?”

“Being with your mother, no. She’s insane but hell I had great s*x and got you.”

“Ew Dad.”

We laughed and I felt like a weight had been lifted. I now know that my mother is crazy, my father would never lie to me. But there’s another question I have, I guess I’ll have to wait for that answer. 

***

Thursday

Tara

The day is dragging on as I make sure the measurements are correct but the only thing I can think about is how my maid of honor has been MIA for the past few weeks. Marisol has been ignoring my calls, texts, emails, hell the b***h even pretended she wasn’t home and I heard her through the damn door. She’s not the only one acting odd either, Daniel has been sneaking around and being strange. The only solution is to approach this with tact, and catch her when least expected.

After the dress fitting, I made a special trip to her favorite restaurant. I ordered her Chicken Taco Bowl and had them call her and tell her she won it in a contest. The stupid b***h believed it becasue she walked in ready to eat, but she wasn’t alone. She was with no one other than Daniel. I knew it.

“Hello Danny and Marisol, surprised I bet.” I say, stepping around the wall and watching their stunned faces. 

“Tara, oh my god. It’s not what you think” Marisol says, trying to create space between us. You’d think I would be mad, you’d think I’d want to punch her in her sneaky face but I don’t. The only part that makes me upset is the sneaking, why couldn’t they have been honest?

“Are you two serious?” I ask, genuinely wondering if they had something more serious going on.

“No. We’re just fucking.” Daniel says, the son of a b***h speaks! Miraculous. He remains indifferent, hand still on the small of her back. 

“I’ve known for a while now believe it or not, just don’t care” I say, my expression becoming pliable. Marisol looks confused and Daniel starts to laugh, like he’s been waiting for that omission.

“How’d you figure it out?” He asks, already knowing the answer.

“Her perfume. She’s been wearing the same scent since college, smells like dead roses” I reply laughing. Marisol is still confused at why we’re laughing, now crossing her arms because we’re clearly laughing at her. 

“Excuse me, I do not smell like dead roses” She pouts, I’d like to smack her until she spins on one fuckin’ foot but I wont.

“Yes the f**k you do love, but it’s ok. Daddy likes it” He growls in her ear, her eyes go wide as she stares at me. I guess she’s hoping I didn’t hear it, oh you stupid girl I heard it and I don’t care. “Why don’t you give me a minute?” He says, it’s more of a statement than a question. 

We sit at the closest booth and stare at each other for what feels like an eternity, then when we start we end up laughing because we interrupt the other.

“Look, I don’t care that you’re f*****g Marisol. Why didn’t you tell me? I thought no more secrets. You put me in the hospital for f*****g Christopher and then you go behind my back and f**k MARISOL? I swore you hated her, what changed?” I say, watching him mentally retreat. Whenever he knew the answer wouldn’t make sense, he’d retreat to the dark that swirls within him. He never told me why he left Cambridge or what happened to his ex-girlfriend Lillian, these are facts I had to learn on my own. 

From my understanding Daniel was dating Miss. Lillian Cromier, she was the daughter of a Bank Owner. She apparently liked to party, alot. The little spit fire was a redhead with a shape from the gods donning a big bust, small waist, and thick thighs and ass to match. And she chose my dear Daniel. Can you picture it? He’s tall like his father, with beach blonde hair and brown eyes. I bet they were beautiful together, from the article I read it didn’t end so well. She overdosed at a party and everyone blamed him, because they got in an argument and told her to kill herself or so people claimed. 

He’s still searching for the right thing to say, but I guess the words aren’t coming together. 

“Daniel, tell the truth”

“Look, I was mad. f**k furious was more like it, I saw her at the gym and I figured some angry s*x would quench my thirst. But the downside is, I thoroughly enjoy f*****g Marisol like I hate her. She’s not so bad once I shut her up, usually with my d**k in her mouth”

“You could’ve told me”

“When exactly? While you boned Julian or Chris?”

“Are you seriously jealous? You f****d both of your assistants, and ones a dude!”

“Hey! A blowjob is a blowjob. Don’t judge” He says, showing me that pearly white smile he has. His satisfaction couldn’t be more evident, there’s the asshole I grew up with.

“Oh god! You’re an entire mess. Does your mother know you’re horrible?” I say, laughing at him.

“She swears I’m a sweet boy, let's say we agree to disagree.” He says, stretching. Those abs I’ve become accustomed to watching flex while he spread me open like a banquet dinner, peek under his t-shirt. “So I guess since the cats out the bag, the wedding is off?” He asks, he’d like that. Our wedding was pushed by his and my mother, a union that probably brought my mother additional income since she traded me like cattle. 

“Nope, I’m getting married. I might even marry myself”

“Chris would never allow that, he’s always been in-love with you”

“I guess we’re back to being friends?” I ask, reaching my hand across the table. He takes my hand in return and brushes his thumb across my knuckles. The smile he wears grows on his face like a morning erection as Marisol slides in the booth next to him, he whispers in her ear and she peeks at me. I smile faintly and slide out of the booth, looking back at the man I was supposed to marry and the sneaky hoe that stole him away. 

I’ll deal with her after Sunday, there’s so much more to deal with right now. 

***

I sit in my empty apartment, this place doesn’t feel the same without Daniel. If these walls could talk, I wonder what they would say? Would they tell me to leave the past in the past? Or would they say be with the man that has my heart? Which man would I choose? Would they tell me to push past the tears of a broken heart dealing with my mother? Or should I let the bridge between us burn and I rise from the ashes? 

I have two nights left to make up my mind, yet I feel like my heart has already made its choice. 

I sit here lost in thought, lying across the couch. I let the TV play in the background like a noise machine to drown out the sound of my tears falling. There’s a knock on the door, hopefully, it’s the pizza I ordered. Blindly opening the door I turn to find myself staring down the barrel of a loaded gun, held by my f*****g mother!

She pushes me back into the apartment and closes the door, making sure to put all the locks on to keep me in. She smells of dead grapes and despair as she points the gun at me, hands shaking like she’s nervous. Her mascara ran down her perfectly brown cheeks, eyes wild like the final thread holding together her brokenness. I go to try and grab my phone, but I feel the thickness of metal crack me across the face and all I see is black. 

Not again!