Anguished (Crimson Elite 2)

She looks everywhere but at me. I can tell she’s nervous, my mother’s hardly ever nervous. “You must promise me your best behavior tonight, Echo. This night is important, so don’t do anything stupid.”

Hello, my real mother just showed up. Yep, this is the woman I know. The one who warns me to not be stupid and fuck everyone’s shit up. The one who thinks I can’t possibly be as good as Mike, the prodigal child. I’m used to it though, so I pat her shoulder as she looks up at me.

“Best behavior, Mom, don’t worry. I wouldn’t ruin your perfect son’s night.”

She doesn’t say a word as I walk away looking for Mike. I spot my father talking to someone. Dad’s dressed in a suit. He is also a lawyer, so he’s exactly like Mike in every aspect. Sometimes I see myself in him, only every now and then when he lets his guard down, never around Mother, though. He nods his head at me, a worrisome look adorns his face as he turns his attention elsewhere.

That’s when I see Mike, dressed much like he always is. Walking over to him, there’s a woman’s hand on his shoulder. I can’t quite see her because the man standing in front of my brother is blocking my view. He spots me, his posture straightens, and he looks at me with hard flinty eyes. Then a slow smirk creeps up over his face as I get closer and I see who’s touching him, holding his shoulder as if he’s hers, while she looks at him longingly as if she loves him. That stare was once reserved for me. What a lie she must live. She can’t love us both, so she’s lying to one of us, and I doubt it’s me considering she was with me for many years.

When she sees me the smile on her face instantly disappears, and she drops her hand from Mike’s shoulder. He notices too and looks at her touching her waist. As I take a step toward her, I remember what my mother said. I look over my shoulder to see Mother watching me, waiting for me to react. She knows I’ll lose my shit, but I don’t think she warned me to protect me, it was to protect him.

“This is new…” I say looking at both of them.

My brother excuses himself from his friends and walks to me pulling Selena with him. She comes, but her eyes look to the floor unable to make eye contact with me.

“It isn’t actually, but I’m sure you knew that.”

“I didn’t.” I glance at Selena waiting for to her to look up, and when she doesn’t, I say her name, “Selena.”

“I tried telling you.” Those eyes, the same ones I love, don’t look at me with love anymore. They look at me as if I’m a stranger and she doesn’t want to be near me.

“You didn’t. But I see you’ve obviously downgraded to fucking my brother.”

She gasps loudly, and Mike looks around to see who heard me. A few people did, but I don’t really care, it’s not as if he fucking cared when he decided to fuck her.

“Tell me, how long?”

“Now isn’t the place, Echo,” she says looking around. The room’s gone silent, but I wait knowing he will tell me. He can’t resist rubbing everything I don’t have in my face.

“Four months.”

Bubbling out of nowhere, I start laughing, and it won’t stop. I regard her then chuckle again shaking my head.

“That’s why you always came home so desperately wanting me. Wasn’t my brother fulfilling your needs sexually, Selena? You couldn’t say no to how I fucked you could you because I can fuck, and I’m guessing my brother here only likes it one way… doggy. That’s the kind of man he is.” She doesn’t say a word because I know it’s true.

“She wasn’t with you,” Mike replies.

So, she lied to both of us.

Waiting for her to speak, I search her face. She doesn’t say anything, so I look at my brother and smirk.

“She was, four weeks ago. I fucked her on the floor then in the bed. She screamed my fucking name so loud that she couldn’t control the scratches she left down my back.” Glancing at her, I watch her face turn beet red so I continue, “And every day before that. Tell me, Selena… are you being fulfilled? Or do you want one last ride on the Echo train?”

“Fuck off, Echo. Leave my house.” Now, he’s angry. I see she kept that little cherry of information to herself as well.

“Tell me, Mike… what’s it like having my seconds. It seems all your good at is going after what’s mine.”

“Echo Brown, you need to leave, now.” My father’s hand touches my shoulder and I shake him off.