I sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. Anthony and Antonio were doing something private in one of the other rooms and apparently I wasn't allowed to know what they were talking about, though this was all about me.
I shifted channel and ended up in the middle of the local news. The news lady was just finishing something about a new road there was soon going to be made in downtown. As I was about to shift channel, the lady spoke.
"Not long ago, our towns own lawyer Charlotte Watson's husband John Watson was arrested at his own house and taken away by the police. It's heard that Mrs. Watson what present at the time the police arrested Mr. Watson, however, the reason of this sudden arrest is still unknown and I'll return with more details as soon as we get them. Now, let's go over to you Jennifer and hear about the weather."
The lady smiled and quickly the picture shifted to another smiling lady, but before she could say anything, I turned the TV off and leaned back on the couch totally stunned.
Now everybody knew. They knew how wrecked our family was and the endless stares would become even more endless. However, I had done this for a reason and I knew this was the consequence, but that still didn't make it less painful.
I shook my head and buried it in my sweaty hands.
What would happen when Liam discovered this?
My head snapped up and looked out the window. Liam. He didn't know. What if he heard it from some person there wasn't me. That would hurt him.
I stood from the couch. "Anthony!" I yelled and walked through the corridor him and his brother disappeared down minutes ago. "Anthony! Antonio! I need your help!" I walked around and yelled their name, but there came no response. I came back to the kitchen and leaned against the sink.
What was I going to do? I had to tell Liam. He deserved it.
My gaze traveled over to the door with the pain stained door handle. I slowly walked towards it, keeping my eyes on the handle. What was behind?
When my hand touched the cold metal I jumped a little back. What if I wasn't allowed to be in there. What if Anthony will get mad?
I took a deep breath.
It's just a room.
I laid my hand on the handle again and slowly opened the door wide. The room was dark, with all the curtains covering the windows and the light shifted off. I stepped in and half closed the door after me. My hand traveled along the wall to find the light switch and as soon as it found it, I turned on the light.
Every wall was covered in different sizes and colored paintings. Each and everyone had a name placed right under them and in the corner of the paintings, two letters were written.
A.M
In the middle, a painting setup was placed and shined in the light from the lamp. A small wood chair was in front of the half-finished canvas. Everything smelled like chemicals. Cleaning chemicals, paint chemicals, and even a plastic smell reached my little nose. With wide eyes and mouth, I slowly walked towards the painting. The paint clutter stuck underneath my shoes, but I still didn't bother to watch where I was going. Not even when it began to feel slimy.
As I came closer I could slowly see what it imagined.
I stood in front of it and briskly clasped my hand over my mouth.
In front of me, on the canvas, a half-finished portrait of me sitting on a bench was painted. I looked beautiful and every stroke was so gentle, with a curvy yet straight look to them. The strokes were a little smudged as if he also had used his hands to gently give them a more blurred look. They seemed stable on the surface but broken between the lines; like me. Actually, just like me. I smiled a fine, small, white smile. I didn't know how he could make it look so real, but it was amazing. It gave me hope. Hope that one day I could smile like that in real life. Hope that my life was more than chaos and dark shadows.
"Wow."
That was my only words, though I described it in a million others in my head.
Was this really Anthony?
"Nina?" Antonio called from another room and I quickly found myself returning to the reality. I rushed to put the room and remembered to close the door after me. Right as I turned around, Antonio and Anthony came walking into the room.
"I need to tell my brother. They've shown it in the news and if he finds out that way, he'll... he'll-"
"Easy, we are going to find your brother." Antonio came over and laid a hand on my shoulder. "Do you know his number?"
"Number?" I looked up into Antonio's asking eyes.
"Yes, his phone number."
I shook my head, "no, but I know another way." I peeked over Antonio's shoulder to look at Anthony. "I have to talk to Tony."
"Oh shoot!" Anthony said and kicked the air. "Not that idiot!"
I twirled around Antonio and walked towards Anthony. "Please! He's the only one who has been in contact with my brother. I think he knows where Liam is."
Anthony placed his hands firmly on his side and looked away from me for a few seconds. "Fine, but I don't want him near you!" I smiled, but it disappeared quickly when Anthony turned around and walked towards the door. "Come on! We don't have all day!"
I blinked a few times before his words made sense. I followed him out the house and into his car. Antonio hadn't said anything to stop us, so he probably didn't have anything against it. Anthony turned on the car and looked over at me. "Seatbelt."
I raised my eyebrow and looked down my torso. As he had said, my seatbelt was missing and I quickly took it on and as I clicked it in, Anthony drove out the driveway and onto the silent road, towards Tony's shop.
"What if he isn't working?" I asked and turned my gaze to the window.
"He is. Trust me."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
"Trust me."
Though my heart knew what I felt for him. Trust was still a problem. If I gave it away, it could be crushed and shattered by simple actions. What would happen if it broke? Would I break too?
We drove in silence, Anthony hadn't even turned on the radio as he used too. Every time I would look at him, his jaw would be clenched together with his hands on the wheel, which made his knuckles white. He turned a corner and the familiar buildings came into view and soon we stopped in front of Tony's pizza shop.
Anthony left the car first since I hesitated. What if he couldn't help. What if I never got to see my brother again.
Anthony opened the door for me. "Come on, Princess." He gave me a hand and helped me out and together we walked into the shop. My hand slowly crawled down and took his. He didn't shy away, but he spun his fingers around mine and tightened his grip.
Just as we walked in, Tony came out from behind. As he discovered us, his eyes widened and he blinked several times. "Nina? What are you doing here? With him?" he asked and looked at me to Anthony.
"I-"
"Do you know where Liam Watson it?" Anthony asked and stepped forward.
"Don't cut her off!" Tony barked and pointed at me. Anthony's hand slipped out of mine as he took another step forward and slapped Tony's hand down.
"Don't tell me what to do! Just answer my answer for Christe sake!"
"What do you want with Liam?"
"Just answer the damn question!" Anthony closed in on Tony, who defiantly looked a little scared, but hid it pretty well compared to what others would have done in that situation.
"I don't know where he is!" Tony yelled right into Anthony's face
"Don't lie to me, little boy. Tell me!"
"I've no idea! and I'm older than you!"
"Tell me! Do you really think I want to find Liam? I'm fucking doing this because Nina fucking needs him. Do you understand that!" Anthony clenched his fist.
"I-I don't know where he is."
"Bullshit!"
I gulped and swung my arms around my body as I watched the scene before me. Why did Anthony have to do this?
"You. Know. Where. He. Is," Anthony said calmly and took a few step away from Tony, who breathed out in relief.
"No. I. Don't."
"Fuck!" Anthony kicked one of the tables and made me jump in terror. I saw Tony's eyes flicker to mine before they returned to Anthony's wild ones. Tony's face was unreadable, no fear, no smirk or anything. He just stood there and watched Anthony get closer and closer.
"Have you seen the news?" Anthony asked, trying to sound calm.
"What?"
"Have you seen the news?"
"No, why?"
"Great! You don't even know how bad this is. You're just thinking you're doing everything right by hiding your BFF, however, Nina's father just got-"
"Stop!" I yelled at the top of my lungs as I covered my ears. "Please stop! Both of you!"
They both stopped right in their motions and turned to look directly at me. "Tony, I know you don't trust Anthony, but I need my brother right now and your the only one who has had real contact with him these past five years. I've never asked anything else from you! Not even when you gave me those letters. I've never asked about it, but now I am asking. I am asking about my brother. My brother. Please tell me where he is."
"What happened to your fa-"
"Tell me!" I yelled as the tears streamed from my eyes down my chin. "I need to know. Right now! He's my brother!"
Tony ran a hand through his hair and pulled a chair over for him to sit. "Shit!" he burst out and bent his head back. "I told him I wouldn't say anything. I came him my word!"
"Please, Tony. For me."
I took a silent step forward. The another one and then one more.
"Fine... he's here."
"What do you mean by here?" Anthony asked before I could. Tony looked around and took a deep breath before he opened his mouth to speak.
"Here. Here in this dear old town."
...
Have a nice day!