Her Substitute Groom

Connor Hughes

“This is what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it? You’ve always wanted him dead, and now that you finally got what you want, I’m sure you’re happy, right?” Mom snapped at me with resentment, pain written all over her. She had veins popping out at the side of her head, a pool of tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Mom…” I paused and bit my lip because I didn’t have anything to say to her. There was obviously nothing I could say to her at this point than to just keep my mouth shut and watch her. She just lost her son and is still in pain, so it’ll be better if I just kept my mouth shut and watch her curse at me.

“You all are happy now, aren’t you? This is what you all have always wanted. I pleaded with you to forgive him… There was nothing I haven’t done just so you could reconcile, but this is what you’ve always wanted. For him to disappear,” Mom broke down in tears, sinking into the couch and burying her face between her palms. She flew back here immediately after she heard the news, and as we speak, Dad is also on his way back here. He should be here in three or four hours. It’ll be over for every one of us then.

I glanced at Claire who was just sitting there like a log of wood. If guilty was a person, then it would definitely be her. Chase was just sitting there looking sad too. Janice wasn’t an exception, anyway.

Mom’s phone started to ring, and she excused herself to go answer the phone.

“What should I do, Connor? Should I tell Mom that it was my fault?” Claire rose to her feet and asked me, but there was no way I was ever going to allow her to take the whole blame on her. Mom already believed that it was my fault he committed suicide, so we should leave it like that, right?

“Don’t say anything to her. I’m going to take care of it,” I shook my head, but she scoffed.

“You are going to take the blame for me and have Mom and Dad hate you forever?” She raised her eyebrows.

“Don’t worry about me,” I smiled at her, and she embraced me, crying on my chest like her life depended on it.

How time flies? It was already over four hours, and Dad’s driver has just driven him in. I watched through the window as the man walked toward the entrance door, so I braced myself for the hell that is about to let loose on me. I needed no one to tell me that this was going to be tough, but fuck it! I would face anything. I already deleted the text from his phone and had Claire delete hers too.

The waiting was soon over as the entrance door opened, and my heart froze for a moment as I waited for what was going to happen.

I was the only one in the living room. Chase and others were upstairs.

I didn’t know what to say when he walked inside, so I just threw my face away, my heart beating rapidly against my chest. This was going to paint me as a murderer for the rest of my life, but I was ready to take the risk for my sister. I would be able to take the pain of being hated by my parents, but it’s going to hurt me to see her relationship with our parents fall apart.

“How could you, Connor? How could you have done this?” The pain was evident in his voice, and raising my gaze to look at him, all I see was rage, his eyes were glistening with tears, and they soon found their way down his cheeks. It was the first time I was seeing him crying ever since I was born.

“Dad… I…” I paused because there was nothing I could say. I couldn’t even make up something to say, I couldn’t construct a single soothing sentence that could defend myself. Not that he was ever going to believe me, anyway.

“I don’t want to believe that this is the same little boy I gave birth to. How did you become this monstrous to the point of pushing your own brother into committing suicide? Didn’t you think about us at least?” He yelled at the top of his voice, and I lowered my gaze. I guess Mom and the others must’ve heard what was happening here, because, at that moment, I heard footsteps descending the staircase really fast.

“Honey…” I heard Mom call him, going to stand beside him.

Tears brimmed in my eyes and found their way down my cheeks. Slowly, I clenched my fingers tightly beside me and tried to hold in the pain even though it was hurting like hell. It felt like a lump of hot red coal was placed on my heart because it kept burning. I hated being called a monster, that’s what I’ve always hated the most.

“Dad…” I paused, then fell to my knees.

“Forgive me… I’m sorry,” I pleaded with them, hoping they’d forgive me, but deep inside me, I knew that I was deceiving myself. This was something beyond forgiveness.

“Today… I cut ties with you, Connor. You shall never have anything to do with this family. You are going to take whatever belongs to you here and get the hell out of my house. You have been banned from coming to this house or bearing the family’s surname…” My heart dropped when I heard that, but I was expecting it, anyway.

“Dad, you can’t do that…”

“Stay the hell out of it!” He scolded Chase that tried to defend me, and he stepped away.

“Henceforth, my company shall stop partnering with yours, so we won’t ever have anything to do with each other. I’m going to sue you if you ever bear the surname. You are no longer my son,” Following his last word, a drop of tears slid down my cheek again, but I quickly wiped it off because there was no point crying my eyes out.

“Honey… You can’t do…”

“That is my final decision, and anybody that is not fine with it is free to go with him,” he cuts Mom off.

“I’m going with him… I’m going with Connor,” I snapped my head up when I heard Chase’s voice, and my eyes slowly narrowed in shock.

“Chase… You can’t come with…”

“You are my brother, and anywhere you go, I’m coming with you. If he’s sending you out of here, then I’m coming with you,” he cuts me off, and my jaw dropped.

“Fine then. If you should step out of that door, then it’ll be the last time you’ll be allowed here, and let this be the last day you’ll bear the family’s surname too,” I didn’t know Dad could be this mean, but I couldn’t blame him. This was practically all my fault. Who knows, maybe if I hadn’t started this in the first place, or if I had just forgiven him then, maybe this would’ve been avoided.

He finally walked away, and Mom followed him, probably to go talk to him to change his mind, but that was the last thing he would ever do. Once Dad sets his mind on something, it’s always hard for him to change it.

I finally stood up to my feet and turned to face Claire who was standing with tears in her eyes.

“Connor…” She broke down in tears, but I pulled her into my arms instead, stroking her hair.

“Shhhh! Don’t cry. Everything is going to be fine,” I assured her, even though deep inside me I knew that this may be the last time I would come here, which only meant that everything may never be fine.

I soon pack up my things and left with Chase and Janice, saying goodbyes to the family of Hughes and even the surname…