Greatest Love Story

Chapter Four

Exhausted was the only word that truly explained the way he felt. North took a seat at the island in his kitchen and took a sip of his morning coffee, running his rough and calloused fingers through his hair. He'd never catch a break. His bones and his brain and his soul—they all felt weary, like they were centuries older than they truly were. When was the last time I truly got a full night of sleep? Days or years ago? He couldn't remember—a side effect of his tiredness no doubt. 

He really shouldn't have been surprised when one of his employees at the shop called at the break of dawn to inform him that one of North's most vital clients had suddenly crashed into a ditch due to his brakes going out. It had been a day—one damn day—since this specific client's vehicle left his shop.

Hurt gravely with a bruised elbow and a minor gash on his forehead, the client was now filing a lawsuit against Star Automotive. North let out a grunt of pure frustration, and before he realized what he was doing, his coffee cup went sailing across the room and shattered into tiny fragments against the far wall. 

Everything he did, he did for his brother. The long lost brother he never knew about. North had given up the world, the stars, and all the shining planets in the galaxy for him. Plenty of bridges were burned in his wake, so if this was what Karma had in mind for him, he'd gladly take it. If only so he could feel something. Even if that something was rage or anger or unending fatigue. 

Footsteps distracted North from his own destructive thoughts and then, "Whoa, what happened here?"

North smiled the same empty smile he always used when around other people, ignoring the fact that his brother could see it as plain as day—the nothingness. "Not a thing."

"Yeah, okay," Luke drawled and shook his head like it didn't matter, but North could see the worry in his eyes, the worry he always tried to keep hidden. "We both know that's not the truth so why don't we cut the bullshit, hm?"

North growled, "Not today, Lucian. I got enough shit to worry about."

Gabriel scoffed and pointedly gazed at the coffee stained wall with one eyebrow raised. "We can see that. Why don't you explain?"

"Just drop it," he said and clenched his fists on top of the tiled surface of the kitchen island. They didn't need to be bothered by his bullshit when North was perfectly capable of dealing with it on his own. Gabe just scoffed and said, "No can do, asshole. Tell us right now, or I swear I'll search every nook and cranny of this house for those hidden chocolate bars and let Luke devour each and every one of them." 

Luke visibly brightened up at his friend's words, looking about ready to join the search, so North grunted and crossed his arms. "Mr. Lowell wrecked his car and is now suing Star Automotive for damages."

Luke, once he got over his shock, asked, "Is he alright? I'm sure there's a way to get out of this."

Scoffing, North said, "He took a little bump to the elbow and forehead, but he'll be fine. No concussion, no broken bones, not even a pulled muscle. That's still not stopping him from coming at me for over triple the cost of damages." North always wondered how the old bastard had so much money. He was a lying, scheming son of a bitch.

"Well it's a good thing you have a capable and proficient attorney to bail you out," a new voice said. North turned around with his arms still crossed and gave Owen Blackbourne an unimpressed look. The man standing before him was nothing like the stuffy perfectionist he met years ago, now he he was a man of perfection, and only a little less stuffy. It was a big change.

"See?" Luke said, grinning. "What did I tell you? It's nothing to worry about. Owen will come to the rescue and everything will be all hunky-dory."

North grunted again, not deigning his brother with a worded response. He'd been up for barely four hours and his energy was already drained. 

Clearing his throat, Owen fiddled with his tie until it hung loosely from his neck. The townies would have a fit if they saw him in such disarray. "It'll be figured out soon and you'll only be paying a quarter of what Mr. Lowell is asking. As for you two." Owen faced Luke and Gabriel and gave them a steely look. "What is this I hear about you almost running a girl off the side of the road?"

Gabriel audibly swallowed as his eyes darted to and from North's own dark stare, and Luke pointedly avoided looking in his direction. After much nerve gathering, Gabriel confessed, "It was my fault. I was driving fast, and the sunset was out. You know me and pretty colors. I couldn't help but look for just a second, and before I knew it, the damn truck was inches away from hitting hers. I promise—" Owen cut him off by slicing his hand through the air, and North did nothing but sit back and watch.

Gabriel sometimes babbled, but never that much. Not even under the stern gaze of their team liaison. North's brother still avoided his gaze, which told him that something was up with the two of them and that they were very determined to keep it a secret from everyone else. North didn't particularly care. Secrets were their thing, not his. He wasn't born and raised Academy like the rest of them, and he showed no interest in joining their merry band of misfits when he learned of its existence. 

He only wanted his father to go away and for Luke to be freed of that lifestyle—the lying, the scheming, the sneaking. Owen proposed a deal when they first spoke, one North couldn't refuse. He'd get his father out of the picture indefinitely, and in return, North would provide shelter for a team of eight rogue Academy members on the run.

Wayward, Alabama was the perfect hiding spot. With a low population and even lower crime rate, the Academy's crooked council would never find them. North knew that Owen would've helped him with his father regardless of his help in return, but he wasn't about to leave them high and dry. 

The truth was that North didn't have much trust in Luke or the others back then. He would've been stupid to. Putting himself in danger was fine, but putting others in the same position... never. So what did he do? He pushed everyone else away, because with a broken man who grew up around a violent, drunken father, and a group of Academy rogues who had an Academy of trained agents searching for them, no one close to them was safe.

Everything he'd done, everything he'd given up. The world, the stars, and the shining planets in the galaxy. It was all worth it. For Luke, his other brothers, and for Sang, he'd give it all up in a heartbeat.

Again and again and again.