The Brother I Was Never Supposed to Want

Chapter 1 The door wasn’t supposed to be unlocked. That was the first thing she noticed. The second was the voice; a soft , careless feminine giggle then his voice; calm, but light saying sweet nothings. She felt her chest tighten as if something was pressing her down. She stood still in the hallway, her fingers tightly grasping her handbag. Her mind screamed for her to go back, but she didn’t. Instead she stood in front of the slightly opened door of her boyfriend’s house with his favourite takeout box clutched tightly in her other hand. ‘’Boyfriend’’ The word sounded foreign to her now, she scoffed and pushed open the door and it came into her view, the living room. Her boyfriend snuggled up close to a familiar lady’s chest. Betrayal hit her hard , her vision turning blurry. She clearly her throat loudly interrupting the lovely atmosphere. Her boyfriend turned to the door; face blank, then almost immediately he turned back trying to protect the lady in his arm from her view but she had longed recognised her, her half-sister ‘ Amerie Carter’ wrapped in his arms. They were half- dressed, too close and too intimate for an replanting, but then he looked up at her, and that was the part that broke her the most; his unapologetic gaze but protective hands over Amerie. “Oh” he muttered, just that no other explanation, not that she needed it. Her gaze flew to Amerie who was looking at her triumphantly like she had just won the lottery, but she couldn’t be blamed, her boyfriend Ethan is the richest conglomerate younger son. “ You should have knocked,” he added. That was it, the last straw of her sanity breaking. She stepped forward once, then back again because there was nothing left to ask nor understand, she didn’t want to humiliate herself more than how he had done to her. She restrained herself and walked out of the room throwing out the bag of takeout on the floor in front of the two of them. No crying, nor shouting, just the sound of the door clicking shut behind her like a close of a chapter. ... She didn’t remember how she got home, just that the world wad the same despite what had collapsed in her life. Even her apartment was the same just that it felt empty, empty in a way that let her collect her thoughts. She dropped her bag by the door, stood still for a long time staring into nothing. She then collapsed into her bed curled up like a ball, she started sobbing quietly, as memories started flooding in, where she had to put him first and inconvenience herself because of him, each painful than the last. A call came through her phone, she hurriedly looked for her phone hoping it was Ethan, but it was only Chloe, her best friend. Disappointed she didn’t pick it up. Hours later she sat at the edge of her bed, minutes passed then hours. She didn’t feel interested in time. For the first she didn’t call or text him as always, after crying she understood something: People don’t behave like that accident. ... The first few days were the hardest, she didn’t leave her apartment just sulking and feeding her cat, she didn’t eat much herself. She heard her front door opening and closing, her best friend, Chloe came into the room where she was. “What the actual f**k, Everywhere is messy, girl” Chloe commented. Trying to put things in order. “I was of town for a care hearing, and you were not picking calls”. Then looking straight at her friend, “They don’t deserve this reaction, babe”. Everyone keeps saying, "She's your sister." Like that makes this hurt more”. “Doesn't it?” “Not really. We were never close. We barely tolerated each other”. “Then what hurts the most?” “ Him. He was the one I loved. She didn't steal my sisterhood, we never had one. He betrayed my trust”. “That's fair”. “Honestly, if it had been some random girl, I'd still be devastated. The fact that it was her just makes it messier”. “And now everyone's acting like you're supposed to mourn the relationship with your sister”. “What relationship? We shared a father, not a bond”. “So what happened when you confronted them?” “I didn’t. He shrugged and didn’tsay anything meaningful. Like it was nothing. And she just stood there looking pleased with herself. “That's disgusting”. “The funny thing is, I don't even think she wanted him. I think she wanted to prove she could take something that was mine”. “Some people don't want what you have until they see you happy with it”. “Exactly. That's why I'm done with both of them”. “Good. Let them have each other. You don't owe loyalty to people who never gave you any”. “I just wish it didn't hurt this much” “It hurts because you're a decent person. Their actions say everything about them and nothing about your worth”. “ Thank you, love”. “Let’s go out later tonight, you know to wash away the breakup drama and stuffs”. “I’ll pass today, I have to go to work the day after tomorrow, you know after wasting away my weekend”. “Okay, no problem.” After Chloe left, she had space that she didn’t know what to do with it, She cleaned out her apartment, moved furniture slightly and started dressing up for herself, laughing loudly not trying to please anyone. Even her neighbours noticed and commented about it. ... The flowers started on a Monday at exactly 7:20am. She noticed the time later, at first she thought it was a mistake, a delivery meant for another apartment, the kind of thing that gets corrected within minutes, but they didn’t take it back. White lilies, one of her favourite flower, perfectly arranged. No card at first glance till she saw a tiny card peeking out of it at a very awkward side. She pulled it out hoping to locate the right owner opening it, she saw it had her name written neatly in perfect strokes not the type written by the delivery company. Ava Carter. She stroked the flowers confused but since she was in a hurry, dumped it in one corner of her apartment