My Brother’s Best Friend

Alys

ARELLA

“HEY, ARE. How’re you?” Alys’ smile widened as if she saw something funny on my face. “Oh, my god! It’s your turn to spill what’s with the glowing look on your face, bitch! You look stunning!” Alys was the type of person who never filtered-that was why she knew everything about me and knew if I was hiding something from her.

“I’m good,” I immediately corrected it. “I’m actually doing great. How about you?” I was glad they could cam with me today since I couldn’t make it two weeks ago.

She didn’t have any idea what I was about to tell, and that made me nervous. They had the right to know after Brett found out everything I’d kept from my family for over six years. Now, it felt like the whole world was against me. It was even hard to breathe every time I thought about it.

“Who is the lucky guy?” The excitement on her face was palpable. She tucked her chocolate brown hair behind her ear. Alys had an exotic look with caramel blemish-free skin. Her mother had Columbian blood, and it was where she got the large brown eyes with long ebony lashes.

“It’s him.” Then I closely watched her reaction on the screen.

“Who’s him? What did I miss?” Her dark thick brows knitted for a few moments, then her eyes grew bigger than the already big she had. Her hands flew to her gaping mouth. “Holy shit! You’re not kidding, aren’t you?”

“No, Alys. Linton is back for more than a month now.”

“Oh, my god! How can you keep something like this from me, Arella Rogue?” She only knew by Linton back then.

Then I told her everything from how we met, to the disaster that made me cancel our video call, and until I left his apartment this morning. Alys listened attentively until I was done.

“You two need to set aside the past and think about what’s at this moment, Are. This man is all over you. Choose him over your job when he asks you to go with him to London. Your family would understand, Are. Trust me. You can find another job, but there is no other Skip Linton in this world. And it’s been like seven years? Yet, he still came to find you. So, take the risk, please? I can see right now that he makes you genuinely happy. And that glowy thing on your face, it has nothing to do with sex alone. He. Is. The. Right. One. For. You.” The sincerity in her voice seeped through my soul. When it came to decision-making and advice I always asked for help from her.

“How’s sex? Was it awesome, mind-blowing, amazing? Or was he a lousy lay?”

My face instantly heated, not with embarrassment, but how I would describe how great the sex was with Skip.

“Oh, come on, Are.” She was literally grinning.

“It’s earth-shaking.” I laughed, shaking my head in amusement when I saw her reaction.

“I knew it. When I first saw your face appeared on the screen. I knew it! No words in the thesaurus could describe, huh? Was it like you saw stars, space, constellations? Or was it like sex in the spaceship that you both float after orgasms?” She laughed. “Anyway, they will be here in a minute. I came early, and I thought I could have some time alone with you.”

“Thank you. Yeah, it was great.” I ignored the knots in my stomach. “I have something to tell Anna and Ferry, and to you as well, Alys,” I sighed. A chill of apprehension swept over me at the thought of how they were going to take the news. The last thing I wanted to happen was to cut the only communication we had if they were not going to take it well.

“Is it about Linton?”

I shook my head. “No. He doesn’t know anything more than what I told you, but it’s about Brett.”

Her eyes widened, yet a frown puckered on her forehead. “Oh, my God! Is he okay?” Alys loved my brother like forever and never forgot to ask how was Brett every time we talked. Sometimes I thought they both had a thing when we were still in high school. But after what I was about to tell them, maybe she was not going to see my brother the way she used to before.

“He’s fine.” I saw her released a deep sigh. “Alys, he knew everything and threatened me to tell Skip if I won’t tell him myself so soon.” Tears gathered behind my eyelids. I looked up to hold them back. I already thought of the possible scenario if Anna and Ferry didn’t like the idea. We had an agreement, and I had no problem with it until Skip showed up again. They were great people, and I would never intentionally hurt them. Now, I was about to.

“Oh no!” Alys suddenly turned her head back. Then I saw Anna holding the tiny hand of Rynna, her adopted daughter. She wore the butterfly-printed pink dress- my gift on her fifth birthday.

Alys stood in front of the laptop. “Are, I’ll talk to you soon. Love you!” She blew a kiss.

“Is that Are?” It was Ferry’s deep voice.

He appeared on the screen with a few shopping bags in his hands. He was taller than my brother with a body built like a bouncer. His hair was always cut short. Despite him being a not smiley person, Ferry had a heart of gold.

“Yes, it’s me. I’m sorry if I made your shopping time short, guys!” I yelled so that they could hear me.

Suddenly, Anna’s body tensed. I watched the whole time she talked to her daughter. Like the sweet girl she was, she nodded to her mom and walked away.

My heart sank. No doubt, they already knew. I wanted to hate my brother, but I couldn’t do so.

Taking a breath, I wiped the tears before they saw me being helpless and weak again. I was the one who decided and arranged for this. Now I regretted every bit of it.

Speechless, I looked at him when he took the place of Alys. His face wasn’t angry, but not happy either. “Hi. Sorry, we’re late.”

“It’s okay, Ferry. I’m glad you give me time to see all of you even it’s not supposed to be today. It’s just something came up-”

“Do you wanna talk to your doctor?” he asked, smiling timidly, and he was referring to his wife. He worked as a consultant at one of the government agencies. He didn’t talk much about his job, so I suspected it was classified. He traveled a lot too-that was why when they had Rynna, Alys needed to stay with her sister.

“Thank you but I’m good. I was actually hoping if I can talk to both of you.” My pulse sped up.

“Of course, Are,” he quickly replied without a second thought. He then called his wife.

“So, how’s a job?” he asked while waiting for Anna to come to appear.

“I was fired before I finish my training. But I got a new job though. It’s an exclusive three-year contract from a famous brand. You probably heard about the Everly.”

“I guess, I did.” He nodded. “It sounds familiar. So, how did you lose your job when you’re one of the best they got?”

“It was my fault-” Before I could continue, I heard Anna yelled for her husband’s name.

Ferry stood up quickly and said, “Talk to you soon, Are. I’m sorry.”

I sighed and slummed my back to my headboard in defeat.

* * *

THE COFFEE shop Maj chose for us was like transporting back to the ’80s where comic books were popular. It had cozy couches, vintage car decor, and classic coffee machines which should be displayed in the museum instead. The aroma of lattes, sugar, roasted hazelnuts, and coffee beans made the place more we were like in the street of Paris or Italy.

I chose the table near the glass window where I could see her immediately after ordering my white chocolate latte that cost a quarter of my apartment lease.

“Are!” Maj arrived before my butt reached the chair.

“Hey! You look gorgeous.” We kissed each others’ cheeks and a warm hug. She wore a pastel blue lace dress and her fringe bangs made her effortlessly stylish.

“Not as gorgeous as you.” Maj winked. She probably heard the reason why I lost my job. “My god, you are glowing, girl!”

Rolling my eyes, I called the waitress and asked Maj even though I knew her favorite-a dark mocha latte.

“I can’t say I’m glad you get fired, Are, but you worked harder than the regular chemists,” Maj said, and I stayed silent for a while.

“You deserved a permanent job with a better salary than a trainee. You were his best shot, and he used your skill for his benefits.”

Maj was my closest friend in the lab. I told her once when Duke Mackenzie asked me out on a date when my divorce was finalized. I declined because I didn’t want to date my boss or a co-worker. I couldn’t mix my work with pleasure.

He then asked me again a month before Skip showed up. That time I thought about it because he seemed to be a good person and always complimented my work. Then when Skip came to the picture, he pushed me to work harder than other chemists. Did he know something between Skip and me before that thing happened?

“I heard something at the lab, but whether it’s true or not I don’t care, Are. And I’m not judging you.”

“What it is… that you heard?”

“Duke only wants to date you for his social purposes since your family has a well-known business. And your ex actually a former actor?” She looked surprised. “And how come I never heard about that? You married an actor?” Maj swiped her finger on the whipped cream then licked it until it was all gone. She liked doing it, and I found it amusing.

Dominic had a few appearances on investigative and crime shows, and a few minor roles in action movies, but then he suddenly lost an offer when I filed the divorce. The hearing was closed-door and didn’t even come out to the media. It was just me and him, and our lawyers.

I swallowed, unable to talk. Maj didn’t have any idea Dominic had been locked up until now unless someone had told her. And we never talked about my ex-husband, and what I liked about her.

“Did he now?” I asked sarcastically, sipping my latte.

“You did the right thing in turning him down, Are. He was a total asshole?”

“Who’s a total asshole?”