♦♦♥April♥♦♦

Gracie loves my brother. I repeat the sentence in my head several times as I look at her. She may be our cousin but a distant one, still she came, leaving her hometown Willet, New York just for us. I thought it was because she was different from our other relatives who didn't offer us anything except  judging eyes and following whispers after mom died. I thought she cared about me that's why she came. But it was strange, her coming to live with us. We met just once when we were kids at someone's wedding. Why didn't I realize this before?

"Well, do you realize it now?" She asks, her neatly manicured eyebrow arched at me. Does she read minds?

"But that's not explaining why the hell you tried to..." I pause swallowing hard "strangle me to death."

She lets out a small laugh but it quickly dies down. She steps towards me and I freeze. What is she going to do? I gulp trying not to look at her as she slowly approaches me. She stops an inch away but leans forward to erase the distance between us. "Because you are in the way. Austin loves you too much to give another girl a chance. That's why I need you to be out of our lives." I shudder at her words. She doesn't sound like a teenager at all. 

"Our lives? Austin will always be a part of my life Gracie!" I shout back as anger consumes me. How can she think that she can just throw me out of the way? This is my house, my family, my brother!

"Not for too long." She gives me a smug smile before disappearing in the living room.

What the hell does that mean?

My phone vibrates in my pocket and I remember I had it in this mode today. Pulling it out I see Jayson's name flashing on it. My eyebrows join in confusion. Jayson and Leah were supposed to be at a party tonight. That's why I haven't called any of them yet.

I press accept button but before I can speak Jayson's voice comes shrieking in. "APRIL ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" I get that he's at a party but that doesn't mean he can destroy my eardrums!

"I'm...." I can't speak at all as tears decide to come up. My heart ache as I remember what happened today. I could tell the world I was fine but not to Jayson. We've been friends since kindergarten and knew each other too well.

"Hey what's wrong?" I hear his voice without any background disturbances now.

"Leah actually wanted to call and ask whether you talked to Austin or not but she's wasted now so I called instead, tell me, is everything okay?" I press my lips tight in a attempt to suppressing my sob. After a minute I somehow manage to control and push it back and find my voice to talk.

"I'm fine."

"April you don't sound fine to me. Tell me what happened please. Do you want me to come over? I was actually planning to leave." I smile hearing that he can come over and wipe my tears.

"Come over" that's all I sat before cutting the line.

***

I sit at the table staring at my dinner, which included tuna salad and a glass of orange juice. I feel hungry, but cannot eat a single morsel of food because everything just happened keeps playing in my head. I feel sleepy but I doubt I would be able to sleep tonight.

Certainly not with Gracie in the same house.

The door opens with a click and I feel delighted, expecting to see Jayson but Austin walks in with Christian behind him which makes me even more confused.

"Is everything okay?" I ask hoping that they didn't fight. My eyes quickly roam up and down their bodies.

Nope. No new injuries found. 

"Yeah, we don't always fight April." Austin says before gesturing Christian to come further inside. I spot my mother's scarf tugged at his hand.

"Look who's talking, as long as I know you two can't stand in the same room without throwing a punch at each other's faces so it's obvious of me to worry." I say darting my eyes between them.

"We need to talk, sit down, both of you." Austin stands in front of us like he is our Dad and we are his children who need some lecture.

We obey and sit down beside each other. Christian passes me my scarf mouthing Thank you to me and I simply nod in reply.

"April, Christian and I made an agreement." Austin says. "It's for the well-being of everyone including he himself."

I glance at Christian whose eyes are glued to the floor, his face is expressionless.

"What is the agreement?" I ask breaking the unbearable silence

"You can tutor him as your teacher has instructed you, you can hang out with him anytime you want." My jaw drops in surprise and my eyes feel like they can burst out of their sockets now.

Why the hell everyone is acting so unusual and different today?

"Are you serious?" I don't mean to shout, but in surprise and shock and a bit of happiness spreading in my heart I can't help my voice as it rises. "Austin? Like really?"

He nods and I clap like a small girl who just got her favorite doll on her birthday. "Thank you brother!"

"But there is one condition." Austin says and I pause my happy dance. I knew it. How can he possibly let us hang without some damn conditions right? That's my cunning brother for you!

"You can't be more than friends. I don't want you to get involved in him or develop feelings for him and same goes for him as well. As long as both of you are just friends I don't mind." He pauses looking hard at Christian.

"But, if you unfortunately you develop feelings, any of you." He looks between us. "Christian will pay the price."

Pay the price? Like in cash? I doubt he will have a problem with that though.

"What? How exactly?" I ask curiosity dripping from my voice. Actually I think Austin just wants another chance to beat him again.

"You don't know him April, he has done some things in his past from which he is still trying to escape. Unfortunately, I know what he has done. I can make his living here, difficult so he better obey me." 

That's it!  Enough of these secrets! 

"Brother if you don't tell me how do you know him and his past I won't listen to you! I'm fed up with this creepy secrets! You two know each other and it seems like something has happened between you that you're trying to hide but your anger gets the best of you and whenever you get the chance you keep beating each other up, isn't that right?!" I huff and then breathe deeply.

Both of them stare at me, their jaws slightly parting. Well did I surprise you?  That's what you get for trying my patience.

Austin roughly moves his hand through his hair before speaking. "April, you're better off not knowing that's all." I roll my eyes at him.

"I want answers. Now." I eye both of them angrily as they keep looking at each other. Great ,now I'm the one who's looking like a parent.

"Alright but I can't tell you the whole truth because I don't want you to get more involved with this guy." Austin states making me frown. Well at least I'll know something. I nod in response.

"Okay so, we know each other since I went to Amsterdam  for my studies, his brother was the first friend I made there."

Christian's brother? Wait a minute..

"You mean Christopher McDermott?" I ask  and Austin looks at me his eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"You remember him?" His astonished voice asks.

Of course I remember. Christopher McDermott was always there in his mails. He told me that he was glad to meet Christopher and that he was cool and rich as fuck. I even remember Gracie asking Austin to send his picture once. But when Austin sent his and Christopher's picture she was madly staring at it. Now I know she wasn't looking at Christopher at all.

"Yeah so everything was fine at the beginning until I got to know these two better." My eyes shift to Christian and he's staring at me as if he's seen a ghost.

"What's wrong?"

He continues to stare at me as if he can't hear me anymore. Seriously what's gotten into him now?

"Chris. She doesn't know him personally." Austin says and instantly Christian relaxes. Why was he so tensed? Is knowing his brother that dangerous?

"Wait did you just call him Chris?" I say can't help but let my lips form a small smile.

"Yeah, well we were close before and...that doesn't matter does it!?" Austin suddenly snap making me jerk back.

"So the point is something happened. Something which was so cruel and gruesome that I can't talk about it. It involved three people. Christian, his brother and Emily, Christian's girlfriend."

Christian's girlfriend?

I take in his words and let them sink in. I knew in my mind that Christian might have a girlfriend but now that it is confirmed I'm not sure why I feel unhappy about it. That girl on his Facebook wall, the one with long blond hair and baby blue eyes pops in my head suddenly making me uneasy.

"So..." I trail off failing to say something. My thoughts are filled with Christian and the fact that he has a girlfriend.

"So it's better for him not to have a girlfriend again and especially not you because being his girlfriend means being in danger." Austin says letting out a long sigh. 

"Why?" I ask.

Austin's stare moves to Christian whose face has gone pale as a grimace cover his face.  

After a minute of pause he finally looks up at me, sorrow glossing his eyes. "Because my girlfriend Emily, she's... She's dead." 

*****END OF CHAPTER*****

Hi guys! I'm sorry I totally forgot to update on Monday but here it is :) Hope you like it!

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P.S. This chapter is dedicated to ElleLeeLove ! Thank you for the love you are giving to my story!