Be Without You

17: Plans into action

James

After what felt like hours of silence,he finally talks back.

"Hey,brother!"

His voice loses its gruffness and I begin to calm down. I unfold my legs from under the table, (something I do when I'm nervous) and carry on with the conversation.

"Where have you been?" I ask him,for old time's sake. He disappeared and left me with our parents. I had no role model because our father wasn't exactly "father of the year".

What,with him beating mother whenever he felt she was "crossing the line". Before Daniel left,he'd always been the one to defend our mum. But when I was all alone,it was just the two of us against that monster.

Then he started beating me too,when I talked back. At some point I started thinking about running away from home because mom wouldn't leave him. She said she loved him when I asked her once.

"But how could you love somebody like that?" I asked.

She had simply looked at me and carried on reading her book.

And that was just the beginning of my neglection . It went from being ignored at home,to being ignored and bullied at school.

Which is why I don't mind helping Miranda. She loves Terence. And I've seen what a broken marriage does to people. I'm the result of one. But Miranda and Terrence never had kids.

Which is a relief. Imagine bringing a child into this world,when you still have unresolved issues with your partner.

"I've been around..."he responds.

Great. He's being vague again. But he always does that. I loosen my tie,slowly getting frustrated and take a deep breathe in.

"You know you can tell me anything,right?" I ask him,sounding like our mother.

It always used to irritate us when she asked us that.

I hear a sigh from him,before he clears his throat up.

"I'm on the run,James."he says.

My heart sinks to the bottom of my chest. What has he done now? The last time he did this,he promised me he'd turn over a new leaf.

Look at where he is now.

He's turning into our father.

"What the hell happened?!"I shout,pacing my office.

"Life happened " he says,nonchalantly.

But I know he's just as scared as I am.

"Do you know what this will do to my reputation,if people find out that I have a criminal brother?"I ask him,panicking.

News headlines start flashing through my head.

TROUBLE IN PARADISE

CELEBRITY CRIMINALS

I see it sprawled across newspapers and magazines,in my head.

This cannot happen.

"It's always you and your fucking reputation!"he shouts.

I can just imagine his face going beetroot red. Dan always had a temper. Part of why he left. Mom and dad couldn't take his angry outbursts anymore. 

Sometimes he'd break things or say hurtful things to all of us. But we loved him still.

"Don't you dare speak to me that way. You're the one I should be angry at."I say.

Just as he's about to say something,I cut him off and finish.

"You may not have been the best brother in the world,but I needed you. I fucking needed you and you just left. Our crack father left mum for some bartender woman down the road."

I can feel Daniel's sadness. I know that he's either got his head in his hands or he's crying. And that says a lot, because guys like Dan hate appearing weak, so they never show emotion in public.

"But she stayed. For us. But what did you do? You went on and walked away. I suffered. For many years. So excuse me for wanting to protect a name I've spent years trying to build! Unlike you,I've actually got something worth protecting."

Hey says nothing.

I wait for about 10 seconds for his response but when I check my phone, it shows my call log.

He hung up while I was talking.

Why are you surprised?

In rage, I take the iPhone 6 and throw it to the nearest wall.  It shatters into small pieces.

Just like my heart...

*

*

*

*

*

A/n: DRAMA!!!!!! I needed to show you guys why James is the way he is and also show you his past. I also introduce his brother,in this chapter,who will have a significant role in this story.

Thank you so much for your unwavering support,guys!

While writing this book,I'll also be carrying on with Take Me Back on the side (also empire fan ficion,but it's at a time when Lucious and Cookie were teenagers). You can expect it to be out when I finish this one.

Love ya'll  ❤

Xoxo

Oakenoaklots888