Best Friend's Brother

- 6 -

MY HEART STARTED RACING AT THE knowledge that Christian was about to tell me something Amara has never told me before. Knowing that Amara had kept something big from me, something about why Richard Thompson disliked his youngest son Henry Allen, who was nothing less than an angel sent from above, really concerned me. What else could she be hiding from me? What other secrets are there in her heart that have been unsaid to me? But here were other concerning questions: Why was Axle telling me first? Why did he even bring it up? What does he want?

   Axle took a deep breath, as if preparing himself for what he had to say. It seemed painful for him to recall the reason, as if it were a thorn in his side. He readjusted his grasp on me and pulled me closer that our bodies could not be separated. I felt his heart race beneath me and the heat from his body radiating off of him onto me. It didn't bother me—keeping me in suspense that is. It must've been something serious since he was having a hard time trying to tell me. I was sitting in suspense as my heart was racing like a racecar in the Daytona 500 Race.

   He sighed before speaking, as if it pained him to reveal this truth. "My dad isn't Henry's biological dad. Mom had a fling with someone—I'm almost positive she still loves the man too—and then she was pregnant." I felt myself gasp at this new fact. Adele Thompson, a righteous woman, having an affair with another man. It seemed so wrong but I knew what kind of man Richard was and I knew better than to call Adele the bad guy in the story. "Dad hadn't touched her for years. Like I was eight when he was born, Amara was only five—maybe that's why you never knew. Just look at how different Allen is from us. He's the mirror image of his father with some of Mom's features, but he's different. Allen isn't a Thompson and I know deep inside my kid brother just knows it."

   My jaw fell in astonishment. Henry wasn't related to Richard, that son of a bitch who was always in the mood to ruin someone's life, save for Amara. "I cannot believe this. I always knew Henry was different from you guys but I thought—I don't know, genetics? This isn't right."

   "Mom adores Allen. Hell, I do too. He's my kid brother. I remember how painful it was for Mom to call us down after we brought Al home and she told us he was our brother but he wasn't our dad's son. She said we had to love him the same because he deserved it. Henry was going to be such a good boy and us helping him would be great for him."

   I pictured Adele, seating a little Amara and a young Axle down at their dining room table with baby Henry Allen in her arms. Her voice so sweet as she explained to her children that he wasn't their father's son but he was their brother. That they had to love him just the same. Her apologizing for bringing a bastard into this cruel world, betraying their father's trust, and whatever else she thought she had done. There were tears falling down Adele's face onto the small and fragile baby with hair so fair, he looked like an angel. She'd plead for her children to keep the secret in between them because Henry had to be raised as a Thompson, just like her children. The picture hurt me like splintered ice in my side.

   "Just seeing him, hearing him on the phone, or whatever about him makes me happy." Axle continued, trying to smile to ease his pain. "He's such a good kid. He's not responsible for anything that happened. Mom has been trying to make up for it these past twelve years and that jackass won't let her. But he hurts her and let's her cry when she hasn't done anything wrong." His fists clenched, probably as he recalled his mom in tears after getting beat by her husband. "When I graduate college, I am taking Mom, Amara, and Allen with me far away from him. Mom can call her old lover and have him meet his son, Amara do whatever she wants. Henry can run around whenever he wants. And you. . ." He paused and smiled. "I can bring you with me. Mom loves you—"

   I thought about it. I couldn't help myself think about it. A reality where Christian could take me away with him and his family, a family I considered my own and loved more than my own. He'd bring me as the girl he wanted to be with. I'd watch Henry Allen play in a fenced backyard with a dog—something he has always wanted but Richard refused to get him—with a beautiful blue A-line dress and beautiful sandals, showing off my perfectly pedicured toes. Axle would be beside me, caressing my hand and smiling his award-winning smile in a pair of jeans, a button-up shirt with a blazer on top. Amara would be running behind Henry Allen, her giggles echoing in a romper with Converse (I saw her beat up Converse Chuck Taylors on her feet). Adele would be sitting on a picnic bench, admiring her family and her rose bushes, also looking beyond gorgeous. Her lover from back then would be beside her, admiring her and their handsome son. . .