𝐒𝐲𝐧 ┃𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

68. 𝑀𝑦 𝐹𝑎𝑡𝘩𝑒𝑟 𝑇𝘩𝑜𝑢 𝐴𝑟𝑡 𝐼𝑛 𝐻𝑒𝑙𝑙

Syn

She looked at me for a long moment and her words slowly began to sort themselves out. She was desperate to die. And although desperation was a disgusting thing, I could understand. There were times I wish I were dead rather than spend another moment in this place. She was an old woman. I didn't know how long or why she was here but she had to have been stuck in this place five times longer than my own life span.

If death was what she wanted and her only condition was for me to wait until I was older- stronger...I couldn't see why I couldn't oblige. Besides, judging from the tiredness in her eyes I was sure she'd be dead long before I was out of here.

I gave her another single nod and she smiled before signaling for me to join Felix. I walked out of the room and the door quickly closed behind me, leaving me alone with my older brother...if I could even call him that. I hadn't seen him in a while.

Without saying a word to him, I walked down the hall in the direction of the stairwell and he rushed beside me. "Hello to you too, little brother."

"What do you want?"

"I can't say hello? You're my brother."

"Well, your version of brotherhood got me stuck in a shed with fireworks last time. I'm not interested."

"I've apologized to you," he said. "I didn't know my friends would do that."

"You didn't stop them when you did know though."

"Well, people think you're a weirdo. They wouldn't have hung out with me anymore if I freaked out."

Right.

"What did their opinions of you have to do with you lying to your father about what happened?"

"My dad would've killed me, Syn," he said lowly.

"Okay." I nodded, continuing my steady walk through the halls and avoiding the cracks in the marble tile on the floor.

"What? Lord knows you can handle it more than I can. You're my brother. You've been taking the beatings for me all this time, what does it matter now? You're used to it."

I could've easily reminded him that I was his brother too, but I would've been lying. He and I shared nothing. I used to think of him as maybe an acquaintance in this palace. The both of us were stuck here, but we weren't the same. He liked the privilege he received from his father and his status, I didn't even have a say in where I slept. I could try all day to explain this to him but there would be no use so all I said was:

"Okay..."

"It's not like you can feel-"

"I can still feel it, Felix. Don't be obtuse." I rolled my eyes.

"What would you have me do, Syn?" He asked. "Shouldn't at least one of us be happy? And maybe it should be the one of us who knows what that feels like." I ignored his statement and eyed a painting of Julius in the hall, cringing as I saw his and my mother's stone faces.

"I am getting older, brother," he said. "I may be married in a few years. What woman would find me attractive if I had scars all over my body? You don't plan on getting married-"