1. Diablos #2
As we grew up, we drifted apart. One of us was always busy that day and missed our plans.
First, it was Dagon. Gradually, he stopped coming, and I couldn’t deny I felt his absence, even if all he did was glare at me.
Andras showed up on and off. Because of his work, Wild couldn’t come every time, either.
That left Bren, Luc, and me. Mostly, it was only Bren and me, though.
Luc refused to join if there were only three of us.
That could be one of the reasons Bren and I became so close.
Glancing at Bren and seeing the hope in his eyes that we could have this again tonight, I smiled and agreed. “Yeah, let’s do this. It’s not like anyone can dodge if we all sleep under the same roof.”
Wilder chuckled, but Bren and I didn’t. Maybe because we knew what it was like to wait for all of them. Only Bren, Luc, and I lived in our father’s house. Everyone else had their own place.
“Hey, you okay?” I asked Bren.
“I’m fine, don’t worry.”
“Let’s go! We have things to do.” Wild ushered Bren, and they left without saying another word.
I smiled to myself because fuck if I didn’t miss these times too. But then my mind went to why they were all staying home. Trying not to panic again or spiral into worst-case scenarios, I went straight to my car. I didn’t have time to grab a cab, but I also didn’t want to drive. Shit.
I hated driving. I usually had Bren drop me off at my classes.
The idea of driving sent cold shivers down my spine.
I used to panic and thought I would hit someone or cause an accident.
Worse, sometimes I felt like I wanted to hit someone or jerk the wheel and hit a tree.
Honestly, I still felt this way. There was also this one time when I was sure I’d hit a dog, so I had to go back there and circle several times to realize that, in fact, I didn’t.
“Hey, Di. Is everything alright?” Wild’s voice broke through the memories. He was standing next to his car.
“Do you mind driving me to class?” I blurted out.
“Not at all. Get in.” I sighed with relief. I knew I could always count on Wild.
Bren played his favorite music and kept talking about tonight. It distracted me a bit, but I knew it would be a long, long day.
***
When Wild parked the car, I looked around the parking lot. Students were frantically heading to the main building. It was chaos. This was the reason I hated going to classes so much. Crowds, me, and anxiety didn’t mesh well. Never had, and I doubted they ever would.
Grabbing my backpack, I said goodbye to my brothers and joined the never-ending jumble of students. I played with my ring, twisting it left and right, counting four times. It was supposed to help me. It was fucking supposed to, but it only made things worse.
My brain scrambled in a poor attempt to alleviate the crushing weight of my thoughts. I stared at the ground and chose where to step while trying my hardest not to draw attention.
While I was consumed with thoughts about my family and distracted by my compulsions, Thaddeus popped up beside me, pulling me out of my head.
“What’s up?” Thaddeus, or as I call him, Tadeo, wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Why are you looking like someone pissed in your coffee?”
“First, because I don’t have time to grab coffee. Second, because it’s Friday. Third, family drama, do not ask me.” The words came out harsher than I intended. I took a deep breath and apologized, “Sorry.”
“No need.” His expression turned serious, and I started feeling awkward. Luckily for me, he removed his arm from my shoulders. “What family drama? Is one of your dick brothers saying shit or bothering you?”
“You know very well that the only asshole of a brother I have is Dagon. But no, it’s not that. It doesn’t matter.”
We kept walking toward the main door of our building in silence. Tadeo gave me a look that said, "I don’t believe you, but I won’t bother you for now." He was a good friend, but it didn’t change some facts. I didn’t feel comfortable sharing some parts of my life.
My walls were high. They always were. It was safer this way.
“Why are you sulking because it’s Friday? We should celebrate. It’s the end of this week’s torture.” He pointed at me and said, “And most importantly, we have only two classes today.”
“Because one class is Psychoanalytic Approaches to Literature, and the other is Mythology with Professor Rayson,” I groaned. “God, I hate the Mythology lectures.”
We were majoring in Literature, and I loved it, but these two classes were tough.
“Hate the class or the professor?” Tadeo smirked, and I narrowed my eyes. Hell, I was turning into Dagon.
I didn’t hate the subject. It was one of my favorites. The professor, though? Yeah, he was the king of dicks. Eww, no. Why the fuck did I think this? I shuddered at the revolting images my mind played.
When we finally reached our classroom, Tadeo greeted everyone, and we sat in our usual spots. I was more introverted and not close with our classmates, so I only said hi. I relaxed in my chair and did my best to focus on what Mr. Rayson was saying for the next two hours.
Success score? Around 10%.
Yep, I wasted two hours of my life. But how could I focus when my mind was somewhere else?
Some of my peers were chatting and weren’t paying attention (not that I was much better in the attention department). Why didn't our professor say anything to them? Oh, yeah, maybe because he was evil and took pleasure in giving us stuff on the exam when he saw some of us weren’t concentrating.
After two painfully slow hours, the class finally ended. The next one wasn’t better. By the end, I was ready for this week to be over.
I grabbed a cab back home. My racing thoughts were calmer now. Like always, I tried to distract myself with something. That something was music in the car. When I arrived home, I couldn’t wait to shower and get some sleep. But my fantasies turned to dust immediately.
Opening the front door, I came face to face with Dagon.
“Get out of my way,” he snapped. He pushed me, and I stumbled, barely managing not to fall.
Dagon could be an ass, but he never used force with any of us. What was happening? Was he okay?
Andras ran after Dagon, not paying me any attention.
The air in the foyer was thick with stifling tension. I turned to my right and saw our father. He was furious, and I flinched from the intensity of his anger. Under it, worry simmered, and I wondered what had happened.
“How were classes?” Dad was trying to rein in his anger and mask his feelings. His voice was ice-cold, with a note of desperation.
I examined him more closely, trying to gauge his mood and understand a possible reason why Dagon was so enraged. Our father had light brown hair and pale blue eyes. He was well-built, and his daily training helped him stay in shape. King was in his fifties, but he looked way younger.
Instead of their usual calm sky-blue color, his eyes looked like the sky before a storm. There was fury in them, like watching flames burning around you, too paralyzed to move. The fire paralyzed every cell in your body as you stared into it.
I jumped when he asked the same question again.
“Uh, yeah, good.”
“I’m glad to hear that. You’re in your last year.” I tried not to flinch at his words. Hopefully, my expression stayed serious. “Dagon told you about the family meeting?”
My heart started galloping in my chest. “Yes. Is something wrong?”
“No need to worry. I’ll tell you more tomorrow. I want you all to be in the meeting room at 8 am sharp.”
I nodded and watched him retreat to his office. It was apparent he was pissed, and judging by how Dagon had greeted me, I’d bet all my books it was Dagon who pissed off our dad.
My head was killing me, my father was angry, Dagon was acting weirder than usual, and my classes had taken all my energy. Then there was also the meeting tomorrow. What a freaking day.