Clink.My Zippo lighter flicks open and shut as I watch our woman.
I draw back the living room curtains to get a clearer view of Harper. She’s down by the pool, laughing with Ally while giving her dance lessons for the engagement party. She must have found my roses. One of the red buds is pinned behind her ear, matching the color of her hair.
So beautiful. So… freshly fucked by my brother.
Clink.A spark of adrenaline runs through my fingers as I flick the lid.
Something feels different within me today. Something I haven’t felt in eight years. A missing piece of me has returned—this sick, depraved, freakish side that is deeply satisfied over how Felix and Harper had sex last night.
I wish I’d been in the room, watching him fuck her. She would have looked so pretty taking his dick.
I wish I’d been in the bed, the two of us fucking her together.
Harperisours, even if Felix pretends he doesn’t want her. She’llalwaysbe ours.
Clink.I often wonder if Felix still has his red poker chip with the engraved quote that matches my Zippo.The house always wins. Except when we play.
I don’t know how to make it happen, but the two of uswillwin again one day, as brothers.
“Tyler. Good to see you, son.” Dad’s voice steals me from my thoughts. What a mood killer. He holds out a hand.
“You too,” I lie, not at all pleased to see him but shake his hand and smile.
“How’s work?”
“Great, as always.” Another fake answer.
Work is killing me. My days are rinse and repeat. Wake up. Spend the day in an office. Sleep. My career has been the only thing I’ve felt in control of throughout my adult life. I’ve poured so much energy into work, using it as an escape outlet. But now, even my job controls me.
My work addiction is a large part of why I’ve lost my girlfriend and why I don’t have friends. Since my breakup with Harper, I’ve cut back on hours, knowing I need to make changes to my lifestyle. But all it’s seemed to do is make more work for me.
As teenagers, Felix and I made a pact we’d go into business together, opening our own speakeasy. The pact was important. It meant more to me than following in Dad’s footsteps ever has. The speakeasy was not only a passion but a brotherhood bond.
But there’s no speakeasy between me and Felix. No brotherhood. Instead, I’m without my brother and closest friend.
I could tell all of this to my father. I’m sure he’d listen. Since marrying Amabella, he’s tried to become a family man and take an interest in my life, but I have so much resentment toward him regarding my upbringing and the way he handled the cover-up of Paul Ferguson’s death. A surface level relationship with him is all I can manage.
“How have you been handling time apart from Harper?”
Jesus Christ.
He’s really pushing for a father-son bonding moment. Should I dive into all the details about how I couldn’t get my girlfriend pregnant? Ask him for advice on how I could have fucked her better?
I often wonder if Harper can’t get pregnant because her body is holding onto too much stress and unhappiness. I always hear stories about couples trying for years with no luck, then as soon as they stop trying, they get pregnant because the pressure is removed.
If that’s the case, Harper will never truly be happy until she has me and Felix back.
Dad is running a charity for families in need. Maybe I should ask if Forever Families will fund therapy for his two sons so we can relearn how to fuck our girlfriend together and get her pregnant.
“The breakup has been challenging but I’m fine. Excuse me. I need to say hi to Dan.” I escape to the back porch before Dad can ask more questions about my life.
Dan is sitting on the porch steps, shuffling a deck of neon playing cards while watching Ally attempt to dance with Harper. He’s smiling, infatuated with his girl.
“Man, you look happy. It’s good to see.”
He laughs, patting me on the back with a quick hug when I take a seat beside him. “Can you believe I’m the first one out of us four to get married?”
“Stranger things have happened.”
