Category : Books-Fiction

Sub Category : Romance

Chapter 18
          “……I’m doing this to protect the people I care for.”
          The words that Eric had told him playing on his mind like a broken record. 
          “Even if the person you care for ends up hating you? ” Oliver whispered, to no one is particular. He wanted to laugh but nothing more than a hot breath managed to escape his system as he huffed. How ironic was life, he thought. 
         Oliver's gaze shifted from the abundance of tress to the sky, to the full moon that has risen in all its glory, illuminating its light on the earth. He was leaning against the door of the driver seat of his car that was parked a few feet from the abandoned building with his arms crossed, waiting for John and Eric. 
          He recalled what he had said to Eric before John arrived. Before today, he had never planned to tell Eric about his past but he felt like the boy deserved to know, or at least it felt like the right time to tell anyway. Obviously, he had left out many details that he was thankful Eric didn’t ask. He had left out many tiny information that he believed wasn't the right time to tell, for instance, how he is currently practising medicine under a fake license. He figured that Eric didn't need to know that. 
           A little later, Oliver heard the shuffling of feet, he looked up to see Eric walking out of the building, followed closely behind by John. 
           “Get in, I’ll drive you guys back to the house.” Oliver said to them.
          Eric looked very unwilling but he got in the backseat anyway while John sat at the passenger seat, next to Oliver.
         The moment John had strapped on his seat belt, the man was already dozing off, his head leaning against the window panel. All the stress must have finally caught up to him, Oliver thought. 
          The drive wasn’t long but long enough to make Eric apparently uncomfortable, Oliver could tell because every few minutes, Eric would wind down the window to breath in some fresh air or he wouldn’t stop fidgeting in his seat. Did it make him that uncomfortable to be in the same car with his brothers? Oliver could only frown at the thought. 
          The moment they reached the house and the car was parked in gear, Eric was first to dash out of the car and run into the house. Oliver shook the half-asleep John by his shoulder, to wake him up.
          The first thing John did when he sobered was look at the backseat to find Eric. “Where is the boy?” John asked hoarsely when he couldn’t see Eric.
          “He's safe. He just went inside the house.” Oliver assured John before  exiting the car, leaving John to stretch his arms in the car alone, engine still running. 
          The moment he closed the car door, Richard ran up to him.
          “Young master Oliver, I’m so relief to see that all of you are fine.”
           Oliver frown, reprimanding, “Richard, you aren’t well, you should be in bed.” Considering the time and weather. 
          “I’m better sir, thank you for your concern but the young master’s wellbeings are of far more concern.” Richard bowed, with a hand on his chest.
          Oliver sighed, “I guess there's nothing I can say to get you to take a day off.” Oliver was grateful but he still thinks Richard shouldn't neglect his health for them. But then Oliver wouldn't want it any other way, only someone as stubborn as Richard could ever be the head butler of his father. 
          “Richard, could you go look up on Eric for now.” John asked, when he finally stepped out of the car. 
           “Of cause John, I’ll see to it immediately and make sure all of his needs are well attended to.” Richard promise before leaving the two older brothers outside.
          As soon as Richard entered the house, John thanked Oliver.
          “Thank you for finding Eric, couldn’t have done it without you.”
          “It really isn’t anything." 
          Seeing the exhausted look on John, dark circles that were never there before, Oliver placed a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder, saying, "I talked with Eric, he said he never planed to run away. So you can relax.”
          Placing a hand to his forehead, John let out a long breath of relief. “I  thought I had lost him the moment I received news that he went missing. For a moment, I felt as though history was repeating itself, I saw the past you in Eric.” 
          “I see the exact opposite, actually.” Oliver said.
         “What do you mean?”
          “You and Eric really aren’t that different from each other.” Oliver said as he entered the car and closed the door. He then wind down the passenger’s seat window. John bend to look into the window to look at Oliver. He didn’t quite understand what Oliver meant but he decided to leave it at that.
         'You and Eric are probably the strongest people I’ve ever met. The both of you are willing to suffer alone just to protect the people you care for. Even if it means throwing away your dreams. I wish I was just as strong willed.' Oliver thought. 
         “Are you leaving already?” John asked, fighting back a yawn.
         “The hospital needs me. I assume you’re going to stay?”
         “I’ll stay behind for the time being, I’ll drive Eric back to the school first thing in the morning tomorrow.”
          “I’ll see you another time then. Have a good night rest yourself. ”
          John backed away from the car as he waved. He caught a glimpse of Oliver waving back before the tinted window rolled up, completely cutting off John's vision of Oliver. 
 
                    XXXXXXXXXX
         Eric ran up the flight of stairs. And dashed into his room. He didn't even bother to wonder why the door was wide opened and the room lights were already on and face planted right on the bed. He groaned into the mattress. 
          Before Eric had the time to even relax, there came knock on the door.
           “Young Master Eric. I’ve brought you some refreshments .” 
           Eric's ears perked up at the voice. He peeled his face then upper body up from the bed and sat upright, his legs touching the ground. 
           Eric cleared his throat before saying, “Come in. The door’s unlock. ” 
          Eric watched as the door opened and Richard strolled in, a tray carrying a glass jar and a glass cup balancing on his right hand. Not closing the door behind him, Richard walked straight to the table and laid the tray down. 
          “Pardon my intrusion." Richard said. 
          “Richard, you are not feeling well, you should sit.” 
          “I’m humbled by your kindness, but I assure young master that my health has never been at it’s best as of right now. There is no need for your concern.” Richard politely declined Eric before picking up the glass jar and pouring the water in the glass. 
          Eric wanted to protest but even he knows better than anyone to argue with Richard, the man holds policy above everything else. 
           “Oliver told me that he once ran away from home, is that true?” Eric asked out of the blue. He wanted to make sure, Oliver's story was so flawed, there were so many holes in it and Eric was pretty sure his brother left out many things. 
           Richard flinched upon hearing that, he stopped pouring water abruptly. 
           “Does young master Eric believe it?” Richard asked as he laid the jar and glass back on the tray. 
          “If it really happened, that must mean he ran away before I arrived in this household. Since I have no recollection of him every running away when I got here.” Eric said as he got up to retrieve the glass of half filed water from the tray. He was so thirsty he would have rather dranked from the jar itself, but that probably wouldn't end well with Richard here. That man was a stilker for etiquettes. 
           “Young master Oliver did run away from home a year before you came.” Richard said, clearing every suspicion Eric had.
           “Why did he run away?” 
            “I’m sorry young master Eric but I was instructed to never talk about the past.”
            “Huh? But you just told me that he did run away.”
            “That’s because you have already heard it from young master Oliver himself. Anything more then that I can’t say.” Richard made a point.
           "Figured." Eric said before gulping the water down in one go. 
           Many years have passed, yet Richard was willing to take Father’s orders to the grave. Irritated, Eric said, “I don’t understand anything anymore, I hated the both of them.” Just earlier, he was about to witness his brothers on the verge of tears. 
            “Please excuse me for saying this young master Eric but you don’t know anything about the young masters Oliver and John before you came.” Richard said, he retrieved the empty glass from Eric and walked back to the table. 
           Refilling the glass, Richard asked, “Will you allow me to tell you something?” 
           “Sure.” Eric answered. All too eager to hear what Richard has to say. 
          “Both Young master Oliver and John were home-schooled until their university days. They were almost never allowed to go out or make any friends.” Richard said.
          Eric was intrigued yet scared. He has knowledge that his brothers were homeschooled but this was the first time he heard of them not being able to go out. Compared to them, Eric had a life of freedom, being allowed to go out whenever and wherever he wanted to. 
          “Young master John never wanted you to go through the same lonely youth he did, he managed to persuade the master to allow you to attend a public school.”
          “Wait, so you're telling me that....... ” Eric asked wide eyed. 
          “Young masters Oliver and John did everything they could to ensure you would be able to experience a normal youth they couldn’t have.” Richard said with a straight face but Eric could see the emotions seeping through the poker face that Richard wore when he talked about his brothers. 
          “……What did they do?” Eric asked nervously, he had no idea that his brothers had to fight for his freedom, had he misunderstood them all these while?
          “They……” Richard was about to explain when he was interrupted by John. Who was currently standing at the opened door.
          “You’re awful talkative today Richard.” John walked in. 
            Richard immediately straightened up and excused himself, leaving the two younger brothers alone.
           “I heard that you promised father that you’ll be first in the upcoming exams.” John asked when they were finally alone. 
          Eric nodded. “If I become first, according to father’s orders, you’ll have no choice but to ask me to join the event. Please stop pestering Bea to participate. ”
           “You know that is just as good as playing right into father’s hands?” John never asked Eric about his sudden secret visit to their father but seeing how their conversation was heading, he could guess Eric's objective. 
           Eric was silent for a while, deep in thought, he spoke up eventually, “I know but that’s the only way I can think of to protect her.” 
           “She won’t think that way.” John said, and with that, he physically felt the temperature in the room drop a few degrees. He didn't mean to dampen the already sour mood but he had to say it, he needed to know that Eric is aware of his actions. He didn't want his little brother's efforts to go down the drain. 
           When John received no response, John asked, “I’m sure you’re familiar with the names Bea and Chris?” 
           Eric was surprised to hear the names of the two come out of John's mouth. “What about them?” He asked. 
          “They were the ones that came to me to get your address when they couldn’t find you anywhere in the school and you weren’t picking up your phone either.”
          “They did……?” Eric suddenly felt a wramth in his heart in the cold night. 
           He then remembered he had his phone on airplane mode this entire time. He fished out his phone from his pocket and after reviving his almost dead phone, notifications of missed calls over the day filled his screen.
          “You have great friends, you have to cherish them.” John said.
           “I know.” Eric didn't need to be told that. That's the entire reason why he's here at the first place. 
           Eric let his phone fall from his hands onto the bed and he himself fell back on the bed, suddenly feeling very tired. He never thought that his sudden disappearance would cause so many people to worry. Even after the lengths he went to make Chris hate him. And Bea....... Especially Bea. 
           “……I’m sorry.” Eric uttered an apology. 
           "What for?" John asked, taken aback by the sudden apology. 
           "For worrying everyone." Eric carried on. 
           “Don't worry about it. I should have just left you to your own devices when I heard that you were at the house. And yet I insisted on coming.” John tried to comfort Eric, he admits that he might have overreacted a bit. He knows it's not Eric's fault, the boy must feel so bad, seeing how he is beating himself up about it. 
          Eric remained silent. And John thought that he had fallen asleep. Eric had his right arm draped over his eyes, apart from the faint rising and sinking of his chest, the boy was completely motionless. John decided to leave. He turned to walk out of the room. 
           "...... Thank you." Eric whispered, which didn't go unnoticed by John. 
          John halted his step and turned to see Eric no longer in his earlier position, his legs were on the bed, his body curled up in the bed, facing the wall. 
           This time Eric didn't wait for John to ask, the moment he felt his brother's gaze on him he spoke, "Thank you for fighting for my freedom from Father. Whatever you and Oliver had to sacrifice for me, I'm thankful." 
          John felt his chest tighten at Eric's words. He never thought he could feel so touched at those simple words. Suddenly he felt like he hadn't done enough. 
           John couldn't contain the smile forming, he let the feelings of happiness settle in. “Rest tight. We’ll be leaving tomorrow at 6.” John said before switching off the lights and closing the door behind him.

All Rights Reserved @ 2018 by Anne Teng

Author's Notes. 
Any of you guys ever forget how old you are? I recently went to the government department to get my identification card renewed and the lady asked for my age and my mind just blanked out. I literally started counting with my fingers. 😂😂😂 Fair to say, she had a good laugh and I wanted to dig a hole and bury myself in embarrassment when she easily pulled up my data from the computer system. 
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