Page 71 of We Are Yours

“I’m serious. I’m exhausted and I can’t handle any more disappointment.”

Insulted, he spewed, “I’m a disappointment now?”

“You can be, Kraven. Sometimes you make it really hard in a situation that’s already hard enough on me.”

“And what?” he argued. “You think you’re the only one who this has been hard on? I lost them, too, Julius. She walked out on me just as much as she did you. I think you forgot that.”

Zeroing in on him, I placed my hand on my chest. “I forgot that? Why do you think I bust my ass for you? I’m trying to make things better for you because of all the trauma we went through.”

“I never asked you to do that!”

“You didn’t have to!”

I stepped away, trying to control my temper. My brother could always get the best and worst of me in a matter of seconds.

“I didn’t come out here to fight with you.”

I faced him. “Could’ve fooled me.”

His expression hardened as he stated, “Whatever, man. We’re good, right?”

“What about Isla?”

He shrugged. “What about her?”

“What happened there?”

“We hung out,” he simply stated when it wasn’t so simple.

“Is that it?”

“She told me the truth you’ve been too big of a pussy to ask her about. If that’s what you’re referring to.”

“And what truth is that?”

He shook his head. “I’m not going to play telephone. You want to know, grow some balls… and just ask her. It’s really that simple, Julius.”

My jaw clenched, and his hands shot to the air in surrender. “Don’t shoot the messenger, Prince Charming.”

He turned and left.

That night, I slept on the couch. I sat for only a minute before I passed the hell out and didn’t wake up until the smell of bacon and coffee the following morning. I quickly showered, then found Isla sitting at the table with my breakfast in front of her. We ate like this every morning.

Right when I sat down, she beamed.

Her hair was flowing across her face from the window being open, the wind softly blowing it through the room. The scent of her shampoo assaulted my senses, stirring my reaction to her. She was barely wearing any makeup, letting me see the real her.

I knew she did that on purpose for me.

This was where I surrendered, but only with her.

My brother was another story.

She was mine.

* * *

No matter how hard he tried.