I swirl my spoon around my oatmeal bowl when my brother walks into the kitchen and rummages through the cabinet for his cereal.
"Good morning, how was your sleep?" He asks grabbing his cereal and pouring it into a bowl.
I eye him closely "Good morning, it was ok. How was yours? "
He moves to sit across from me, smiles, and tussles my hair " It was good. I don't have work today; do you want to do something together today?" he takes a spoonful of his cereal
"Let's walk to the park together" I answer
"Sounds good!" He response
"I got a job at The Chef" I continue
" Congratulations! It's a good place to work. Me and a few friends frequent there before. We should definitely celebrate then" my brother grins
The image of him seating across from Logan Godson in the cafe crosses my mind.
I want to ask.
" You're frowning. Don't like celebrating?" He asks
" No, I was just thinking," I reply
My brother run his hand through his hair taking another spoonful of the cereal " How's your stay at the Godson?" He tries to sound casual, but I know him.
It's eating him inside, his shoulders bunch up a little higher. His hair falls slightly over his forehead he runs his hand over his hair once more.
"I'm adjusting. They invited me to join their family dinner a couple of weeks ago to celebrate Logan Godson's visit." I said carefully
"Is that so? Be careful with them, they're like snakes hiding in the grass. They think they're above everything." He said
Then why were you having coffee with Logan Godson? I wanted to ask, it's at the tip of my tongue.
"Do you know Logan Godson?" I chance it
My brother looks at me, his eyes sight directly past me for a split second before returning " I don't know the guy, but I know of the guy. He's arrogant and thinks he pissed out holy water." My brother said with a hard look in his eyes.
I chose my next words carefully " Have you met him?"
I keep my eyes level as my brother looks back at me. His blue eyes get brighter with the sunlight rising through the window, they're so clear I can see my reflection staring back at me.
"No." He answers
My breath hitches in my throat; I grab my water to cover my movement.
My brother goes back to eating his cereal.
"Let's go for that walk after this?" I ask returning my attention to my oatmeal, emotions swarm all over the place.
" Let's do it," my brother said as he continues eating his cereal.
My mind fires in million directions as we walk into our neighborhood. " We used to walk these streets all the time as kids to the park" my brother suddenly says.
I smile at the memory " We did. Mom would take us, and we would spend hours and hours there. You like to play tags."
" Yeah, it's cuz I'm really good at it. I outrun every kid in that park." He chuckles at the memory
"I remember one of the girls got so mad because she can't catch you so she started crying. And you came back to her " I look at him with a somber expression " You came back to her and told her you'll be It."
" It's cuz I know I wouldn't be It long. I had a better chance at getting out of It than her." He replies
We both keep our gaze ahead as we continue our walk to the park.
"We met Griffin at that park as kids." My brother suddenly said I turn to look at him, but he keeps his gaze ahead.
" He was on that swing alone. You insisted on inviting him to play with us. He told you no and you wouldn't have any of it. Man, you were so bossy." My brother chuckles, I push his shoulder " I was not!" I defend myself.
" You're right. You weren't." He smiles playfully at me
"That kid followed you around everywhere eventually though. Now, he's just a little shit like the rest of that family." His tone becomes dry
" What mom and dad are doing to you is wrong. I lost respect for them the moment they let this fall onto you." He looks at me then
"You shouldn't have to take any of this all by yourself. You can leave, Elena. Go and have a life of your own. Let them deal with this bullshit curse on their own. If it's even real!" His said angrily
I look at my surroundings to calm my heart.
"I can help you. I started saving up and I'm looking at apartments. We can stay together there; we don't have to rely on anyone." His eyes shine with hope.
I know he'll sacrifice anything for me. That's what scares me, I don't want him to have to sacrifice anything. I want him to live his life.
"I want to stay, Elric," I said
" Why?" He asks
The image of Abeila Godson's lifeless body in the tub comes to mind.
Because I get the feeling tragedies will follow if I don't.
"Because if this curse is real, I think I can end it once and for all," I reply.