Chapter 448: On my tails.
Caelum
As I watched Leilani walk away, disappearing into one of the corridors, I couldn’t help but feel... jealous.
Yes, Jealous. You heard me right.
I was mad that sometimes I wasn’t as courageous as Zevran, because come to think of it; if I was as courageous as him, then I would’ve said exactly those things he had said to her a long time ago.
I wouldn’t have been just a mere spectator but an active participant, and most importantly, I wouldn’t be standing here, with my chest burning with absolute jealousy simply because my brother had decided to use the same words I have always wanted to say but could never bring myself to.
So yes, I was jealous...
’And a coward’ my wolf chirped in, managing to infuriate me even more than I already was. If he was someone I could see right now, then I would’ve turned to give him the stink eye but I could not, so I settled for ignoring his ass.
"Do you think you were too hard on her?" A voice said from beside me, snapping me out of my daze.
I blinked just in time to see Kael move away from me towards Zevran. His poise was the usual stoic one with an air of authority surrounding him, but I couldn’t help but notice something strange...
And it was the uncertainty in his steps. It was in the way his voice trembled so slightly— almost unnoticeably that I wouldn’t have been able to pick it if I didn’t know him like I did the back of my palm.
"I don’t know," Z answered, his voice stern. "All I know is that I am done playing this game of hide and seek with Leilani. I am done standing in the shadows like some ostracized lad and waiting for her to notice me for once... and most of all, I am done with all these petty misunderstandings that has been hanging between us like a fucking pest. And do you want to know why?"
"Because they aren’t worth shit?" Kael drawled, sounding almost uninterested. But I of all people knew that he was very interested.
Zevran snarled; "No. I mean yes to that... but it’s mostly because I love her. Because I know I love her and I am not willing to lose her."
As soon as he said those words, silence settled between us.
And while Kael was obviously shocked that he would say something like that, I, on the other hand, was quiet because he’d just made a statement that I haven’t been able to bring myself to say out loud. Because he had come to terms with his feelings... not like I haven’t. But I have never been courageous enough to be so open about it.
I gulped and turned away from my brothers just as Kael continued to make his way up the stairs. When he arrived on the same ground as Zevran, he clapped his shoulder gently and walked past.
But before he also disappeared into one of the two hallways, he drawled; "You did what I couldn’t do."
Zevran stopped, his face scrunched up as he snorted; "Huh?"
"Yes, you have told her the things I stay up at night wishing I could say to her. And now, you’ve just told us that you love her when in truth, I love her as much as you do if not more—"
"I love her more than you ever could." Zevran hissed, interrupting Kael who simply rolled his eyes and shrugged.
"Do you imagine yourself dead if you do not end up with her?"
"Yes."
"Does the thought of her disappearing into thin air make you forget how to breathe?"
"Yes." Zevran answered again and I couldn’t help but feel a headache begin to brew at the back of my skull just by watching and listening to them bicker over who loved Leilani more than the other.
"What was your first thought when you thought she died in the fire?" Kael snapped, pulling me out of my thoughts and subconsciously, I rolled my eyes.
"I thought it was the end of my world."
"Then maybe you love her just as much as I do." Kael shrugged nonchalantly. "But that aside, what I am trying to say is that you have been able to come out and be true to your feelings while I haven’t—"
"...I think you have." I cut in, interrupting him. "You just said exactly how you feel about her approximately thirty seconds ago; and if you ask me, I’ll say that was a love confession."
However, it wasn’t until I said this that my brothers finally realized that I was still there. And I say this because I saw the shock on their faces when they turned to look at me.
Kael paused his lips, his eyes finding everything but my face as he slowly turned away from me. And then he hissed; "It doesn’t matter. She wasn’t even here to hear it."
"But we were." I answered stubbornly. "It is no longer a secret because I now know about it. Zevran also does."
Normally, Kael would’ve argued with me but the man standing in front of me right now was nothing like the usual Kael I knew. He simply let out a sigh, shrugged again like it wasn’t worth shit and said;
"Maybe."
My eyebrows raised.
So now, they were both owning up to their feelings? They were both deciding to be true while I could only hide behind my cowardice?
However, I was just about to say something concerning that when suddenly a loud crash echoed throughout the house, disrupting the silence that had settled between us like a dark cloud.
At the sound, I turned to my brothers and then to the direction in which the sound had come from, then I whispered;
"Did that sound just come from Leilani’s room?"
My brothers froze. They looked like they were physically in pain.
"Is she trying to hurt herself?" That was Zevran, and as soon as I heard those words, my heart dropped into my stomach just as panic rushed up my spine.
I do not know when or how my phone slipped out of my hands and crashed to the floor, but at the moment, it was the least of my concerns.
Hell, it wasn’t even part of my concerns at all.
I staggered up the stairs before anyone could say anything to me and began to run to her room like the devil was hot on my tails.
And yes, he was.
He really was.
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