Reminisce With Me

Chapter 24: Oh Brother

"Brother?" I whispered to myself, looking at both Aiden and Julian. 

My stomach was in knots and I held onto a tree, afraid I would faint. I didn't know what was worse: Aiden being Julian's brother or the fact that he was the boy Heather referred to as Older-Hot-Stuff.

I leaned my forehead against the tree trunk, attempting to take even breaths, but each one came out shaky instead. I always knew Aiden seemed familiar when I first met him at Black Onyx, but it never once occurred to me it was because we had met before I travelled back in time. I didn't understand how I missed the resemblance, how I didn't catch it on the first glance.

You never really looked at Older-Hot-Stuff like that, my mind reminded me.

I wanted to throw up.

"I remember you," Aiden suddenly said and I kept my eye closed, my heart beating fast. "I accidentally pushed you down a few months ago near Clair Avenue. Sorry again about that."

That wasn't what I wanted him to remember.

"Aubrey?" I felt Julian's hand on my shoulder and I shook it away, turning to face him again.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked him, the tears stinging my eyes.

Julian was taken aback. "What?"

I pointed at Aiden, unable to look him in the eye. "Him, why didn't you tell me he was your brother?"

Before Julian could even react to what I said, I ran right by him and down the pebbled hill. Julian called after me, his voice getting louder. As I was about to turn onto another trail, he had an arm around my waist, pulling me in.

"Aubrey, wait!" he said, turning me around. I backed up against a tree, the tears streaming down my face.

"Please leave me alone," I sobbed, no longer able to control my emotions. 

I thought seeing Aiden would make me feel whole again, but I felt even more empty inside. Julian brought me closer to him and hugged me as I cried into his chest.

"Hey, it's okay," he whispered, stroking my hair. "Tell me what happened? Did my brother say something to you?"

I cried harder. "I don't understand how you're his little brother," I said, but my words were unclear since I couldn't stop crying. "Aiden's brother is JV, not..."

I stopped, thinking about the initials. "Julian Vanquel," he said slowly. Julian tilted my head up so he could see my face. "Only my family calls me JV. How did you know that?"

I could feel the heat rush to my cheeks. I stepped away from Julian and dropped my gaze at once. "I, I don't know," I lied.

"Aubrey," Julian said, his voice now stern. "Tell me how you know Aiden and about my childhood nickname. No one in Lewiston calls me that."

"Julian, I can't get into this right now," I rushed. "I need to go."

He cornered me. "Who are you?" he asked and I flinched, remembering Aiden once asking me the same question when he found out I had lied about my identity. 

"Julian," I dragged and he shook his head, refusing to drop the topic.

"Don't lie to me. Where were you for the past few weeks?" Julian was quick to connect the dots. It made sense, he was a Black Onyx member after all.

Even though I was watching him, my mind was elsewhere. I was struggling to accept the fact that Julian was Aiden's brother. I also couldn't shake the image of Aiden looking at me with unfamiliarity. The truth was, he didn't know who I was. To him, I am the seventeen-year-old he bumped into.