To Live Is To Fight (#2)

Chapter 11

I fiddled with my fingers as I told him everything that's happened. I never had this problem before probably because he scared everyone that came too close away but I couldn't blame him for not seeing this one since it was a shock for me too. I would never have thought that the one person we saw as family would develop these absurd feelings for me.

It could be the heat of the moment but we could never be 100% sure.

"He told me he loved me and made it very clear that he means it way more than in a sibling way, Bry," I stressed out. Bryant frowned at that. Our families have always been a close knit so to have Dom confessing out of the blue like that was beyond shocking. He knew that I don't like anyone that way and have never bat an eye for any guy before.

"Don't worry, I'll deal with him," Bryant assured me and I could feel all the color leaving my face the second those words coming out of his mouth and immediately turned to him. Anyone who knows Bryant well enough would know that he never excludes violence whenever he feels it's necessary. I don't exactly fancy the idea of losing a friend because of some silly crush they apparently have on me. It was the dumbest way anyone could lose a friend that might as well be family.

"Bry, promise me you won't do anything stupid. No matter what he does, he's family," I pleaded with my brother. I don't want him hurting anyone and no matter how repulsed I am with the thought of having Dom as a boyfriend, I don't want any of my friends getting hurt even if they were acting extremely stupid.

He shook his head at me. "I won't hurt him, sis. I'll just talk to him, I swear." I took one look at his face and sighed. I guess I'll just have to count on his word now. There's nothing I could do to stop him if he was to beat Dom up anyways. He's twice, possibly thrice, my size.

"I don't even know why he would like me in that way. I'm no one special, just plain old Casey. I don't have the beauty of all those girls in school and I don't have the charm, so why me?" I muttered under my breath. I didn't mean it to be so loud but obviously, I wasn't subtle enough because the next second, Bryant was already kneeling before me with a scolding expression. He cramped himself into the small space between the coffee table and the sofa.

"Hey, what did I tell you about beauty and people?" He asked seriously, probably sick of hearing the same rant over and over again. I veered my eyes away, avoiding his. I felt bad for making him hear the same rant and causing him to recite the same speech he has told me a million times before.

"Beauty lies in the inside," I begun, starting before he has the chance to.

"-where the heart is," He finished for me and smiled softly while keeping two of his fingers right above where my heart was. He's been telling me this every single day for the past year and I'm starting to suspect that he was trying to brainwash me or something.

But if we were to be honest, we all know that deep inside, we're human and we're bound to forget that inner beauty affects how people look. We just need that one person to remind us that beauty isn't just on the outside and Bryant is that someone for me. I wouldn't be able to imagine what I'd do without him. He is my rock.

"But do I really have that too? I mean, seriously. I have murderous and such vengeful thoughts about those girls at school. Would I even have purity in my heart then?" Tears were gathering in my eyes by then and I was ready to let go of them. I was never one to hold back when Bryant was the person there with me.

I could tell that he chose his words carefully. He knew that I was in an unstable moment then. "That only proves as you being human because it's just how we are. We all have our demons but it's our choice to listen to them or fight them. And you, little sis, is the strongest fighter and the most beautiful girl I have ever met," He told me genuinely and I let a few tears slip as his words hit me. I reached out and pulled him into a hug.