I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what changed with him, but something did. I’d watched it happen slowly, the transformation from the brother I knew to the brother I had trouble recognizing. Somewhere between starting high school and graduating, he stopped becoming everything I idolized, and I saw him for what he really was.
What’s that saying? Rose-colored glasses, or whatever? Well, I’d finally taken them off. Whether it was Brent who had changed or me, I still wasn’t entirely sure, but somewhere along the line the other shoe dropped.
To put it bluntly, Brent was a fucking dick.
And so was I, but I knew how to be respectful.Whento be respectful. I could distinguish the line and know when not to cross it. That was an attribute Brent lacked, especially with women.
When he started bringing Rose around, I couldn’t figure out their connection. She was fiery and stunning. Dark hair, bright eyes, pillowy perfect lips, and tattoos galore. I wanted to lick every single inch of ink on her body. Trail my tongue over each line until I reached her lips.
And her personality. God, her personality was the icing on the cake for me. She wasspicy. Rose had a lot of attitude and put up a challenge at every turn. The push and pull from her was exactly what I craved in a woman.
She was an absolute fucking dream.
Mydream.
But she was with my brother and I had no choice but to stand there and witness them together at every turn. Keeping my mouth shut like a goddamn monk while I watched their toxicity flourish.
Rose and Brent together were like oil and water. They didn’t mix. She constantly gave him grief and attitude—fought him tooth and nail on everything. The complete opposite of what he typically went for. Brent liked his women to be compliant. Easy to manipulate and control.
That wasnother.
I couldn’t figure out why she put up with his shit, or why he put up with hers, and when I asked him about it, he told me to shut the fuck up and mind my business.
So I did. I watched from afar, observing and biding my time. I learned her mannerisms, figured out what made her tick. And when I finally saw her frustrations with my brother shine through, like a moth to a flame, I gravitated to her and became someone she could vent to.
Was it a little manipulative? Probably. But I wanted her to see what she was missing by being with him and not me. Along the way, though, she somehow became my best friend. Which eventually led me to catch stronger feelings, and those feelings turned into an avenue Ireallywanted to explore.
But again, like a good, loyal brother, I never laid a finger on her. Never did more than talk to her, even though it took exceptional restraint to not rip her clothes off and show her who the better man really was.
The night I called her damaged goods and ruined my connection with her was also the night I willingly severed ties with my brother. She didn’t know it then—hell, she may still not know the full story—but when Rose left, speeding off in her car, I watched until it was out of sight completely. My chest felt like she had left behind a gaping hole from ripping my heart out and taking it with her.
But in reality, it was my own actions that ripped my heart out that day. I could have gone with her, but I chose my brother instead.
Loyalty.
What a joke that was. The second her car disappeared and I turned back to him, we snuffed out the lingering pieces of our relationship completely.
“You fucking my girl, Cain?”
“No, I’m not fucking your girl, Brent. You think I’d do that to you? To my own brother?”
“Sure looked like there was something between you two just now. You want to chase after her? Be her prince charming or some bullshit? Go ahead. Go get the slut. We both know you’d happily accept my sloppy seconds—you always have. Bitch isn’t even that good in bed.”
I stepped toward him, bumping my chest against his. Though he was older, I was at least three inches taller and about thirty pounds heavier than him in muscle.
“Shut your mouth, Brent,” I growled as my hands balled into fists at my sides. The ligaments in my joints strained from how tightly I curled my fingers. My nostrils flared as I tried to keep my cool. I was about four seconds away from punching my brother in his smug, unscarred, pretty boy face.
Feeding off my anger, Brent puffed out his chest and purposely bumped into mine as he attempted to assert his dominance. What he didn’t realize was over the years, I’d become the alpha in our brotherhood. I’d just let him continue thinking he was.
“What are you going to do, Cain? You gonna hit me? You wouldn’t dare to hit your big bro. What’d you say I was? Your idol?”
“I called you that when I was ten.”
“Yeah, and you’re still actin’ like a little kid now, Cain. Nothing’s changed. Now, back the fuck up. She’s not worth it. Plus, she’ll be back within a week, sucking my dick like she can’t get enough. That’s what whores do. They come crawling back out of their hole once they realize no other dude wants damaged goods. I liked that term too, bro. Good one. Damaged goods. Totally describes that b—”
A deafening crack permeated through the air. Blood gushed and covered my fist, rushing from Brent’s broken nose as I hit him not once, but three times in the face.
I wasn’t even a little sorry.
