Chapter Ten — His Brother
925 Words
I didn’t sleep well that night.
Damien’s words kept replaying in my head.
She doesn’t know.
Who was he talking about?
What didn’t I know?
And why did he look at me when he said it?
By morning, I had convinced myself to stop thinking about it.
That lasted for exactly thirty minutes.
I was walking toward the lecture hall when I saw Damien standing near the entrance.
He was talking to someone.
A man.
He looked older than us, probably in his mid-twenties. Tall, well-dressed, with the same dark hair and sharp features Damien had.
They looked related.
Very related.
I slowed down.
The older man noticed me.
His eyes moved from me to Damien.
Something about his expression changed.
Damien followed his gaze.
The moment he saw me, his conversation stopped.
“Amara.”
I walked toward them.
“Morning.”
Damien nodded.
The older man smiled politely.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
Damien looked uncomfortable.
That alone caught my attention.
“You’re not going to introduce us?”
He hesitated.
“This is my brother, Adrian.”
Adrian held out his hand.
“Adrian Carter.”
I shook it.
“Amara Williams.”
“I know.”
I froze.
“You know me?”
Adrian’s eyes briefly moved to Damien.
Then he smiled.
“Damien has mentioned you.”
I looked at Damien.
“You have?”
Damien gave his brother a warning look.
“Adrian.”
“What?”
Adrian looked amused.
“I was only answering her question.”
I crossed my arms.
“What exactly has he told you?”
“Nothing important.”
Damien stepped between us slightly.
“We should get to class.”
Adrian smiled.
“Of course.”
As Damien walked away, I followed him.
“You’ve mentioned me to your brother?”
“No.”
I stopped.
“He literally said you did.”
“He misunderstood.”
“How do you misunderstand something like that?”
Damien sighed.
“Adrian talks too much.”
“He seemed nice.”
“He’s not.”
I laughed.
“You sound jealous.”
“Of my brother?”
“Maybe.”
He shook his head.
“You’re impossible.”
We entered the lecture hall.
But I couldn’t concentrate.
Adrian knew my name.
Not just my name.
He had looked at me like he already knew who I was before Damien introduced us.
That wasn’t normal.
After class, I caught Damien before he could leave.
“Wait.”
He turned.
“What?”
“Your brother.”
“What about him?”
“How long has he known about me?”
Damien’s expression became serious.
“He hasn’t.”
“Then why did he know my name?”
“He’s heard me mention you.”
“How many times?”
He stared at me.
“Why does it matter?”
“Because you’re acting weird.”
He looked away.
“Amara…”
“What?”
“Just trust me.”
I laughed.
“That is the one thing you should never ask me to do.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Damien said quietly,
“Fair enough.”
He walked away.
I watched him go.
I hated how much I wanted answers.
⸻
That afternoon, Maya and I sat in the cafeteria.
I told her about Adrian.
She immediately leaned forward.
“Wait. Damien has an older brother?”
“Yes.”
“And he knew your name?”
“Yes.”
“And Damien looked nervous?”
“Very.”
Maya’s eyes widened.
“Girl.”
“What?”
“This is getting interesting.”
“It’s not funny.”
“I didn’t say it was.”
She lowered her voice.
“Do you think Adrian knows something?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then find out.”
“How?”
“Talk to him.”
I shook my head.
“That would be weird.”
“Not if you ask casually.”
Before I could answer, I noticed Damien across the cafeteria.
He was sitting alone.
And he was looking at us.
More specifically, he was looking at me.
Our eyes met.
He immediately looked away.
Maya followed my gaze.
“Oh.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
I frowned.
“What?”
She smiled.
“Nothing at all.”
I knew that smile.
She was about to say something annoying.
Thankfully, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I stared at the screen.
My heart suddenly tightened.
I answered.
“Hello?”
Silence.
“Hello?”
A voice finally came through.
“You should stop asking questions about Damien.”
I froze.
My grip tightened around the phone.
“Who is this?”
The caller hung up.
I stared at the screen.
Maya noticed my expression.
“What happened?”
I didn’t answer.
Across the cafeteria, Damien was already standing.
His eyes were fixed on me.
And somehow…
I knew he had seen my face.
He walked toward us.
“What happened?”
I looked at him.
For once, I didn’t have a sarcastic answer.
“Someone just called me.”
His expression changed.
“Who?”
“Unknown number.”
“What did they say?”
I hesitated.
Then I whispered,
“They told me to stop asking questions about you.”
Damien went completely still.
The color seemed to drain from his face.
And that scared me more than the phone call itself.
Because Damien Carter looked like he knew exactly who had called.
And he was afraid.
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