Forever And Never

SEVENTEEN || DIEGO

I peek out the window. Alexander is finally home, but he looks distressed. The car is unfamiliar to me; no one drives around those nice vehicles in our neighborhood.

My eyes scan over to the front yard, to the street, then to the houses. A small smile grows on my lips.

The stalkers finally received my letter.

I hear the creaking noise of the doorknob before Alexander steps inside. He sniffles and I let the smile fall from my face. Is he crying?

"Alexander," I say as soon as he sees me. His eyes are bloodshot and look as if he has been wounded. Turning away, my brother begins to walk upstairs.

"Wait, what's wrong?" I ask him frantically. Rushing over, I grab his sleeve and pull him back. "Alexander, what the hell happened? How did you get out?"

He snaps him arm away from me, giving me a cold glare. "Fuck off, Diego. Why can't you bother someone else for once?"

I back away in alarm, growing nervous at how aggressive Alexander is. He has never sworn at me like this before, not even in the worst of situations. To say that I'm appalled is an understatement.

Alexander seems to notice how hurt I am. He lets out a tired sigh and rests his hand on my shoulder. Through the material of my shirt, his hand feels too cold.

"I'm just stressed out about work, alright?" Alexander mumbles to me, his tone quieter and calmer. "I'm sorry I swore—"

I remove his hand from my shoulder. "It's about those two girls that keep following you around, isn't it?"

The scowl on his face disappears and he stares at me in confusion now. "Two girls? What are you talking about?"

I walk over to my backpack at the coffee table and pull out the photographs. Alexander slowly takes them from my hands and looks at them as I explain, "For the last two weeks, I noticed the same two girls following you home and taking pictures of you. At first I was gonna call the police, but then I realized that they were sneaky—sneaky enough to erase their tracks."

Alexander turns to me, pointing to one picture. "Are you sure this woman followed me back home?"

I nod my head confidently. "I sent her a death threat once I learned that she just wants to get rid of you."

"What?!" Alexander looks at me in horror. "Diego, you sent Brynn a death threat?!"

My eyebrows barely raise. "And?"

Groaning, Alexander sets the photos down and pulls out his phone. "I can't believe this." He begins to dial a number and presses his phone against his ear. His eyes continue to scan the photos as if he's memorizing every detail on it. I can hear the line continuing to go on until the voicemail message replies. My brother curses under his breath before shoving his phone back in his pocket.

"Who are you trying to call?" I ask him curiously. "It's not the police, right?"

Alexander shakes his head, his brows furrowing in concern as he paces the room. "Why would Brynn follow me around?"

I carefully place the photographs back into my backpack. "She wants to get rid of you from the company."

My brother inhales sharply, pinching the bridge of his nose. The stress lines on his face are prominent. "Okay, I'm going to handle this on my own. You stay out of this now." With just those words, he turns away and begins to furiously text on his phone.

"That's it?" I retort, giving him a scowl. "I have done all this work and you tell me to back out?"

He stops texting on his phone and looks down at me, a cold look in his eyes. "This is getting dangerous. I'm not going to let my fifteen year old brother try to handle a crime here."

My eyebrows raise. "Holy shit, is it that serious?"

Alexander groans and turns away, facing his back to me once again. "Thanks for everything, Diego. Good night."

"Wait!" I hiss at him as he makes his way up the stairway. "Are you sure you know what to do?"

Alexander glances back, a hint of a smile playing at his lips. "I know everything."

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okay wow i thought my book was gonna die completely by the end of the last chapter but suddenly people started reading more and honestly it's made me so happy and motivated (:

please leave a vote or comment if you enjoyed this chapter! thank youu

-e