“That’s mighty big of you. You looked in the mirror lately? You’d be nothing without your brothers, Finch. Your big empire, the shiny gold castle that you hide away in? Those walls rest on the backs of your brothers.” My neck clicked as it whipped to the side. The force of his hand against my cheek had blood rushing to the area. The taste of copper started to pool on my tongue causing the realization that I must’ve bitten into the soft flesh of my cheek. That had been a fucking hard hit, but still, I couldn’t help myself. After all, he had cut me off - I still had more to say.
“If only they could all realize what a waste of breath you are. You’d have nothing, you’d be the no one that you’ve been all along. I understand why you hate me, Finch. I’d hate me too because I can see through all of your bullshit. In fact, you should be scared.”
He moved very quickly, I stumbled back as fast as I could, but he was faster. With two hands, Finch reached out and shoved me back. My head thudding against the wall while my body took the brunt of the force. My eyes were locked onto Finch, I would not back down. I would not let him see me tremble. His hand raised for the second time. I braced myself for the hit, clenching my teeth and straightening my shoulders.
A cough to my left made me aware that Finch and I were no longer alone. “Finch. Outside, now.”
Somehow, someway, Nikolai had heard my thoughts, my silent cries for him. I didn’t want to admit it, but I wasn’t as strong as I wanted to be. I was a chaotic mess on the inside, just a damsel begging to be saved because at the end of the day, I didn’t want to be hit. Who did, it was fucking painful.
His voice made a shiver run down my spine. A jolt of pure relief shocked my body but I did my best to keep my resolve as Finch glared at me.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You have no idea what it takes to survive in this world. My brother won’t always be around to protect you.” His words could’ve easily been brushed off as an empty threat. He wasn’t the first thug to have threatened me - but he was the first to have scared me. Ice ran through my veins, fear staking my heart by the look in his eyes. He threatened me but I got the feeling it meant more, that this ran deeper than I was seeing.
After a moment he stepped back, his eyes finally dropping from mine. The front door slammed shut behind the brothers as they left me to my thoughts. I’d met a lot of bad dudes throughout my life, none of them had dressed as nice as Finch King. None of them had blended into society as well as him either. He was normal, and then he suddenly wasn’t.
I waited a minute to see if anything could be overheard but all I could hear was silence, and my own shallow breathing. Instead of hanging around, waiting for Nikolai, I climbed the stairs and made my way to my bathroom. I froze upon catching my reflection in the mirror. I moved closer to inspect the damage further, gently prodding at my skin. I could already see signs of my left cheek starting to swell. In only a few hours the cheek would be completely swollen, even possibly purpling.
I sighed at the state of me. I didn’t know if it was only because I felt like a pile of shit, but I looked like it too. My hair was a mess, blood had started to dry on my lips, my complexion paling.
I had barely stepped outside when I told him, “You’re no longer welcome here.”
“Nikolai.” This face took on a confused twist and it only made me angrier...like he didn’t know what he did. Impossible.
“Don’t.” I flew off the handle. I was sick of this… “I don’t want to hear your excuses. There’s no way for you to weasel your way out of this one.”
I paused as I caught sight of the man before me. When had my brother morphed into this monster?
“Nikolai, I can’t believe you’re going to let some woman come between us.”
“You know very well that Anastasia is not just some woman, Finch,” I spat. My fury was empowering me, emanating from my every word.
“Even still. I am your brother.”
“Not anymore.” My words shocked him. He hadn’t expected me to go there, to go that far. But the more I thought about it, the stronger my resolve was. “After everything I’ve just seen, I don’t know who you are. But you’re certainly no relation of mine.”
I would’ve thought that our parents would be infuriated with him as well but I wasn’t sure. Maybe he turned out to be the golden boy that they had wanted all along.
While I didn’t claim to be the most upstanding citizen there ever was, I still liked to believe that my conscience was clear and my moral compass pointing in the right direction.
“Everything Anastasia said in there was right. You’re nothing but a petty man that’s done nothing but hidden behind your brothers. Reaping the rewards that we handed you. You’re nothing without us.”
I stared at him as if staring at a stranger. I was disgusted by what I saw, but more so, I was disgusted by how long I’d let this go on for.
I didn’t know whether I was kicking him out of the family, or if I was abandoning it. I would let time tell.
“Nikolai, you can’t just disown me. What about all we’ve been through? All I’ve done for you?”
“I don’t owe you shit.” I turned. This conversation was over. “We’re done.”
I stopped at the guard who stood by at the front door. “Finch King is no longer to be allowed access to the property. Please promptly escort him off the premises.”
Todd nodded before moving towards Finch.
I ran inside and climbed the stairs two at a time, in a rush to get to Anastasia. I needed to check on her, to know that she was alright. She needed to know that Finch wouldn’t be a problem from now on. He was so far out of line that I’m still reeling from the shock of it. If he thought he could get away with that behavior, he was wrong. If it had been anyone else, they would’ve had to be dragged from the property.
All of this was my fault though. I let him come around, I left him to show himself out. There was more I could’ve done to protect Anastasia, and I didn’t. I had been blindsided by the love I had for my brother.
That wouldn’t be an issue anymore.
