Chapter 240 Brothers [2]

Caleb scoffed, snapping the cylinder back in place and dropping the gun beside the board.

"Is that what you think this is about? I already told you I was bored. And Jacob? Well, he was a good time for me. I helped get the information he needed for his ultimate revenge, and I was ecstatic as I watched you debate where your destruction came from."

He made the first move on the chessboard, and I knew how this was gonna end. I came here knowing only one of us was gonna walk away from this alive.

Caleb hated me for the way I treated him... If the twins or Elliot had been in his shoes, they wouldn’t have considered going to such lengths. But Caleb? He was different, and he reacted to every single thing in a different way.

Which meant the years I neglected him felt like I had forsaken him. And I did forsake him. I never knew how to handle Caleb, and like the coward I was, I turned my back on him.

While I practically raised my brothers, Caleb was raised by the nanny. The years he spent looking at my back, hoping I’d turn to him, but I didn’t.

And when he saw me giving more attention to Elliot and the twins, he may have started to think there was something wrong with him.

I have spent days thinking about why Caleb would go this far, but I already had the answer to that question.

"Your move now," he said, pinning me with eyes that held so much resentment.

I made my move, and then he did, taking one of my pawns. He grabbed the gun and pointed it at me, and without batting an eye, he pulled the trigger.

He released a breath when the hollow click filled the air, then dropped the gun and said. "Your move."

I played, taking one of his pawns, and it was my turn, but I didn’t aim it at him.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a frown when I pressed the muzzle to my head.

I pulled the trigger, but the hollow click made him gulp.

"That’s not the rule."

"I made the rules, and the rule is to point the gun and pull the trigger," I stated.

Caleb fist clenched tightly as he eyed the gun on the table, and I could tell he was close to taking it and ending this before the game.

Instead, he played again, and I followed suit. The game went smoothly for a while until he took my pawn again.

However, this time he hesitated before he pulled the trigger.

Another hollow clicked.

I played, taking his pawn and pointing the gun at my head.

"Stop it!" he seethed, but I pulled the trigger either way.

"This is what you wanted, isn’t it, Caleb?" I said, setting the revolver down. "Own it."

His chest heaved. "So this is it then, you came to die. What will your wife think when she finds out you went suicidal?"

My jaw tightened. "There’s no one else to blame but me."

He narrowed his eyes.

"I should have tried my best when it came to you. I should’ve known the impact it would cause."

Red blurred his vision, and he turned the table upside down. The chess pieces and board crashed onto the floor.

"It’s been a while since I have seen you stand on your own two feet, little brother."’

"Shut up!" he roared, pointing the gun at me.

"Why don’t you admit it? You were never bored. The only reason you aided Jacob was because you were angry at me. Instead of being a coward and staying on the sidelines as you watched everything unfold, you should have thrown everything you got at me."

He inhaled sharply as I rose to my feet, and the revolver trembled in his grip.

"Dante didn’t deserve what you did to him; neither did my wife!" I boomed. "I’m the one you’re angry at, not them!"

"You weren’t just their father. You were mine too!"

I nodded. "And I get that, alright? Curse me all you want, hate me as much as you fucking want, but do not bring anyone between us. You understand me?"

I took a step closer and he took one back.

"I was the one who didn’t stay in your crib because I was too busy shooting my enemies down. I was the one who left you in the care of the nanny like you didn’t matter. I was the one who told you to stay away while your brothers were with me. I was the one who made you feel unwanted. I was the one who made you race cars and got yourself injured!"

He drew in a sharp breath and pointed the gun at his own head.

"It doesn’t matter now. I don’t care anymore. This was meant to end with one of us dead."

Bang!

~☆~

I pressed my thumb against the wheel and brought the lit flame to my cigar.

I took a deep drag before exhaling the smoke into the air. The sun was setting, and it gave the skies a warm orange hue.

I heard the car drive by, parking close to the fountain. I took the cigar from my lips as Elliot stepped out of the vehicle.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw me, then hurried over.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, taking another drag from the cigar.

"Ana."

I snapped my gaze to him.

"I came here in her stead. She wanted to leave the hospital by any means necessary and come after you, but I couldn’t let her do that."

"I see..." I mumbled.

"You found Caleb, didn’t you?" He sat next to me on the stairs. "I knew there was something fishy."

"We played a game." I began. "Chess roulette."

"Chess roulette?"

"It’s what we call it. Then we used a toy gun, but this time we used a real one."

"Is he..." Elliot gulped. "Is Caleb dead?"

The only response I gave was running my finger through the bloodstained piece of cloth around my hand.

"He was gonna shoot himself in the head, but I stopped him. The bullet ended up grazing my hand. As much as I want our little brother to pay for what he did, I couldn’t do it. I pity him. He’s just a troubled little boy and all he wanted was his big brother."

"I wronged him, Elliot," I continued. "I should have been there for him, but... I couldn’t handle him, so I ran from that responsibility."

"You were just a boy, Zade. A boy bringing up other boys. You can’t blame yourself for something that wasn’t your fault."

"Yeah? But he blames me, and in the process of his resentment toward me, he betrayed this family."

"What are we gonna do about him now?" Elliot asked, sounding exhausted.

"I don’t know..." I shook my head, closing my eyes. "But I can’t abandon him now. Not after everything."

I held the cigar out to him, and Elliot took it, drawing in a slow drag.

"This family is so fucking screwed up."

I let out a light chuckle. "Yeah... it is."

For a moment, neither of us said anything. I looked up at the sky, and Elliot followed my gaze.

We simply sat there in silence, side by side. After everything we’d been through, somehow, we were still here. Still together. Still brothers.