Fake

by D. Breeze

  More scuffles, a shout of pain, a woman’s scream.

  And then a gun-shot.

  Ruben jumped to his feet and swung around. I just managed to sit up in time to watch my brother, who I hadn’t seen in almost three years, fall the ground. There was a puddle of blood growing on the floor by his feet, but I couldn’t see where he was shot so I crawled forward to get to him.

  “Lucas! Oh my god, please be ok.” I begged.

  I glanced around for Freddy who was being restrained by a red-faced Jax. He didn’t seem to be struggling too hard though. Guess it was a waste of time seeing as Jax was a power-house of a man and Freddy only ever had his reputation to go on.

  Looking around at everyone’s faces, the fear, relief, worry...it was everywhere.

  With Freddy restrained and the police on their way, I lay down next to Lucas, hooked my little finger through his and said a prayer.

  He just had to be ok.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Ruben

  We didn’t have to wait long when we reached the hospital. The triage nurse directed us straight through to the accident & emergency ward, where Lucas was apparently being ‘stitched up’.

  “Shouldn’t he need an operation or something?” Lydia whispered and we walked through the curtain.

  I shrugged because I’d never even been around a gun, let alone been shot by one, so I didn’t know the answer.

  “Ow! Motherfucker, be careful!” We heard as soon as we reached the ward. I heard Lydia sigh and I bit back my laughter. Definitely sounded like Luc was going to be fine.

  “Mr Romero, I will not tell you again. Please mind your language, you are not the only patient on this ward.” The nurse said.

  “Well fuck them! You’re stabbing me! I don’t care about my language when I’m being stabbed.”

  We walked in just as she rolled her eyes and patted his arm, like she’d already done it a few times.

  “You are not being stabbed, sir. I’m just finishing your stitches and if you could stop fidgeting for just two more minutes, I’ll be out of your hair. Ok?”

  He scowled but nodded.

  Then his face lit up when he seen Lydia.

  “Hey! It’s my baby sister!” He sang.

  Lydia looked to the nurse with a question in her eyes.

  “Are you family?” After receiving confirmation, she explained. “He’s having a slight reaction to the painkillers. For some reason, they’ve put him in this, shall we say, inebriated state. He’ll be fine after a short while when they start to wear off.”

  I looked him over for his injuries and almost laughed out loud at the small gash on his upper-calf.

  “Oh I was so worried about you!” Lydia cried.

  Lucas made a ‘pfftt’ noise. “I’m fine! Just a scratch, see!”

  He lifted his ‘injured’ leg in the air and the nurse scowled at him. He grinned like a naughty school boy.

  “Sorry! Forgot the rules.”

  Lydia notice the stitches and looked back and forth between them and Lucas’s face.

  “Are you freaking kidding me? I’ve been going half out of my mind worrying about you! Really, you mean to tell me that you passed out and had to go in an ambulance...because of a cut?!”

  It was the nurse who filled us in.

  “The bullet grazed his calf, but didn’t actually embed itself into his flesh so he’s fine. He’ll have a nice scar but nothing more than that.”

  “Hey! Nurse! Did they tell you I was a hero today?”

  She looked up at us for confirmation but Lydia just shook her head like ‘you don’t want to know’.

  “Right, let me just wrap this up and you can be on your way.”

  Ten minutes later, we were leading Lucas out of the hospital in a wheelchair. He didn’t need the chair but it was hospital procedure apparently.

  “She was a pretty nurse. Don’t you think she’s pretty? I wonder if she’d give me her number. I think she would. Don’t you?” He ranted as we left.

  “Jesus Luc, shut up! You have a lot of explaining to do when we get you home.” Lydia said, sounding exhausted.

  In the blink of an eye, just a few feet from the car, Luc jumped up from the chair and ran across the carpark, to a grass bank on the other side.

  I sighed.

  “I’ll get him, you just get in the car.”

  I chased after Luc, only to find him with his face inches away from the pretty nurse who had done his stitches. She was blushing and he had a wicked grin on his face that told me all I needed to know about the things he was saying to her.

  “I’m so sorry!” I apologised, on behalf of Luc. “Come on, Luc. Leave the lady to her coffee, I’m sure she doesn’t want to spend her break being harassed by you.”

  I dragged him away and he limped back. Figures, he could actually sprint across the car-park when he wanted to flirt with the nurse - but could hardly walk when he had to leave her.

  He was asleep on the sofa within seconds of getting him back to Jax’s house.

  I’d never seen him like that. Lucas had an edge, even as a kid I’d always known that. I thought prison would make him darker somehow. I figured we’d find out when he slept off the painkillers.

  *~*~*

  Lydia

  “So that’s it? He’ll be locked up again? And nothing is going to happen to Luc?” I asked, not believing it could be that easy.

  Jax shrugged.

  “As far as the police are concerned, Freddy was automatically going back to jail anyway because he had drugs on him and he was on probation. Add to that the fact that he was carrying a firearm, attempted kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon - he really will be put away for a long while this time.” He explained.

  “But what about Lucas? He had a weapon too.”

  Jax winked and gave me a gentle squeeze on my shoulder as he walked passed. “You’re right, little sister. He did...but the police don’t know that.”

  I stood speechless.

  He’d called me little sister.

  And they’d lied to the police to protect my brother.

  I grinned. I really was one of the family.

  Finally!

  I sat alone in the kitchen, staring off into space and wondering how my life had done yet another complete turn in the space of a few days.

  Honestly, part of me was waiting for the next thing to blow up in my face and there were still a hundred and one things I needed to know, questions that needed to be asked. But in that moment, I felt nothing but peace.

  “Morning, baby sister.” I heard behind me, so I swivelled on my stool to face Lucas.

  I told him to ‘sit’ and he did, but with a scowl on his face.

  “What are you doing here? Not that I’m not grateful of course, but you stopped writing months ago and you were supposed to get five years minimum.”

  He lifted the leg of his jeans. Thankfully, it was the opposite leg to the one that was ‘injured’, because he had an attractive grey contraption locked around his ankle.

  “I’m on tag,” he said, then explained. “I can’t be out past ten pm. I can’t go certain places. I have to check in with my probation guy twice a week and if I’m caught with any drugs on me in the next five years, I’m straight back inside. I can barely take a piss without them checking up on me. I think I actually had more freedom being locked up.”

  He sounded so put out about all of it. I thought about pointing out the fact that he wouldn’t have had to do any of it if he hadn’t have gotten himself involved in that mess. Probably not the wisest decision though, so I shut up about that.

  “But why didn’t you tell me you were out?”

  He closed his eyes like he was in pain. He was a bit of a fuck-up and he made bad decisions, but he was still my brother and I hated that look on his face.

  “I wasn’t sure I was ever going to tell you,” He admitted and I gasped at the pain of his words. “I got out just three days after Freddy did. I followed him, tracked him and kept an ey
e on his every move. You’re my baby sister, I had to know what he was planning when it came to you.”

  “Ok, but that still doesn’t tell me why you couldn’t tell me that.”

  He licked his lips nervously.

  “Because I didn’t plan to get him sent back to prison, Lydia,” He paused, making me brace. “I planned to kill him.”

  My mouth dropped open and my eyebrows shot to my forehead. He had to be joking, he just had to be…But he didn’t look like he was going to laugh.

  “Are you crazy?!”

  His face darkened and I took a step back. Realistically, I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, but that look was so dangerous, my body reacted on instinct.

  “I’m not crazy. That fucker doesn’t deserve to breathe. He’ll be out again one day and what’s going to happen then? Even if he doesn’t come back for you, he’ll go after someone else just for one of his sick games. The world will be a better place when he’s dead.”

  “Um, you sound a little bit like you’re still planning on doing something stupid.” I replied.

  He just stared at me, no words came out of his mouth.

  I took the opportunity to really look at him. His face had lost all of that youthful innocence he used to have and his body had filled out so much that it was hard to believe he was still the same guy.

  He looked more like Jax. His muscles had muscles. I had to admit, he looked good and I was happy that he’d clearly looked after himself in prison.

  But it was the inside that had me worried. Normal people didn’t plan murders.

  “Lucas, please don’t do anything stupid. You’ve been given a second chance now. We are not those people anymore and you have no reason to go back to that.”

  He scoffed, “Second chance? People like me don’t get second chances Lydia. You’re fooling yourself. All this,” he gestured to the house around us. “Is not real life. People with money, they don’t mix with the likes of us.”

  I actually laughed in his face.

  “I hate to break it to you Lucas, but those brothers had the exact same upbringing we did. I’m not sure where all this is coming from, but you’re just pissing me off now. And I’m telling you right now, Jackson won’t put up with you being disrespectful in his house.”

  He stood from the stool.

  “I’m not staying anyway…”

  He didn’t get to finish.

  *~*~*

  Ruben

  I’d left them to talk, thinking maybe it would be good for them to reconnect on their own. But when I heard Lydia start to get worked up over the stupid shit that was pouring out of Luc’s mouth, I had to interrupt.

  “Morning baby,” I smiled at Lydia, then turned and gave Luc a nod. “Luc.”

  Sliding my arm around Lydia’s waist, I pulled her into my side and watched Luc’s eyes fall to watch the move. He knew, just as I did, that I’d claimed her.

  And he wasn’t happy about it.

  “That’s just fucking weird. Can you not at least wait until I’ve gone?”

  “If you’re going to be around at all, you’re probably going to have to get used to it.” Lydia advised, but he didn’t listen.

  “When did you get so fucking bossy, huh? I’m sick of this shit already. I fucking saved your ass yesterday and all I’ve heard out of your mouth this morning is bitching and whining.” He went to continue but there was no way I was going to let him.

  “Hey!” I snapped. “Don’t ever speak to her like that again. She’s my fiancé and I won’t stand by and let you do that. More importantly, she’s your sister. For someone who claims to have done everything in their power to protect her, you’re sure doing a pretty shit job of showing her you care.”

  “Care? I care. Why do you think I don’t want her anywhere near you? You won’t stick around. She’ll get all comfortable in this bullshit world you’ve landed yourself in and then you’ll fuck off and leave her with nothing. She’s already clearly too comfortable because the Lydia I knew would never have allowed herself to get fat.” He nodded his head at her tiny baby bump. Lydia gasped and I jumped in to defend her but she beat me to it.

  “You’re right, Lucas. You do need to leave. I don’t know you now, and I definitely don’t like you. When you decide that you’re going to drop this hard-guy act and be the brother I know and love – then you know I’ll welcome you back with open arms…” she looked like she might cry, so I stroked her waist with my thumb in a comforting gesture. “Oh, and I’m not fat, you utter bloody idiot. I’m pregnant.”

  I was too busy looking down at her with pride in my eyes…

  That I didn’t see the first punch coming.

  *~*~*

  Lydia

  “You’re both ridiculous.” I stated.

  “He started it!”

  “You knocked up my sister!”

  “I fucking love her and we’re getting married! Why do you even care?”

  “You knocked up my sister.” Lucas repeated.

  “Oh my God! Would you listen to yourselves?!” I screeched, having heard differing versions of the same argument constantly for ten minutes after Jax had finally ran down the stairs to split the two idiots up.

  Fighting.

  Seriously. Rolling around on the kitchen floor taking swings at each other. It was horrific to watch, but it was all I could do.

  Well, that and scream for Jax at the top of my lungs.

  Then he’d literally picked Lucas up and dropped him like a sack of potatoes, on the sofa. I’ll be honest, considering Lucas’s size, I was pretty impressed with Jax’s strength.

  Yummy.

  Ruben followed, wincing when he touched his split lip.

  Then the arguing had started and it seemed like it would go on forever. They both sat at opposite ends of the sofa like sulking, naughty school boys.

  “Look,” Ruben sighed. “Whether you like it or not, we’re happy, we’re having a baby and we’re going to be a family. You can either go away and spend some time sorting your head out or you can just go away, and stay away.”

  Lucas stood from the sofa and walked over to me. I straightened from the wall and noticed Ruben sit up further too.

  He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in the top on my hair with a sigh. I heard him whisper ‘I’m sorry’ but then he released me and walked straight through the front door without looking back.

  And without limping.

  I couldn’t tear my eyes from his retreating form. My lip trembled and my eyes filled with tears. I was quickly pulled into Ruben’s arms and I sobbed into his shoulder. It felt so final, I had him back for less than twenty-four hours and he just walked away from me again.

  Would I always be so easy to walk away from?

  “He’ll be back, babe. He’s probably just finding it a bit hard to adjust to being out of prison. He loves you. Even if he acted like a dick, he does love you and he’ll want to be around.”

  “H-h-how can you be so sure?” I asked hopefully.

  He smiled down at me, “Because I love you too. And I know I could never walk away from you again. Just give him some time.”

  I nodded. I actually wanted to chase Lucas down the street and beg him to try and get himself sorted but Ruben was right and I needed to give him time.

  Being responsible sucked.

  “And anyway,” Ruben added. “Even if he’s not happy about it right now, that idiot looked after you when you were kids. It’s in his bones to take care of you. You can’t honestly think he’s not going to want to be around for our baby too? He will, and he can…providing he gets his act together obviously.”

  “You shouldn’t have fought with him.” I scolded.

  “I wasn’t going to let him beat the shit out of me in my own home – or ever. But damn he can throw a punch,” he winced. “He’s packing some strength in those muscles these days.”

  He sure was.

  I just hoped he used it for something good.

  I hoped, I prayed, one day he’d come back
and make everything better. I believed Ruben, that Lucas had the role of ‘protector’ in his bones. My only doubt was whether he could swallow his pride enough to come back and apologise, maybe admit he was wrong.

  Time would tell.

  But that was something we had now. We had the time to do things right.

  And more importantly, I had hope. Hope for the future. Hope for our family and hope that I would finally have everything I’d always dreamed of.

  Thanks to one man.

  The man who still stood with his arms around me and his body heat warming my heart.

  He’ll make mistakes and so will I, but we fought hard for what we had and I knew right down to my soul that I’d never let it go. It was too important to me. He was too important to me. And we had forever to make it perfect.

  His arms loosened and he stood back to look at me, but kept his hands on my hips.

  “I’ll love you forever, you know that?” He declared.

  I felt my face light up and I giggled.

  “I’ll love you for eternity, Ruben.”

  Epilogue

  Ruben

  I’ll spare you the details, but watching your woman give birth is not pretty.

  It’s also not beautiful or precious or any of the other bullshit they tell you in the books.

  I felt helpless, terrified, useless…you name it.

  And I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

  The day Isla May Brent came into our world was the best day of my life – and she’s been making life more and more interesting every day since.

  I moved Lydia in with me at Jax’s straight after all the drama. Surprisingly, she didn’t argue, but I think she loved being around my family, our family, as much as I loved her being there.

  That arrangement didn’t last long though. No matter the size of the house, three couples under one roof was never going to work – we had our own house a month before Isla was born.

  It’s nothing flash or fancy, because that’s just not who we are. But it’s our home and we’re happy.

  I guess that’s all that matters really.

  I wish I could tell you more, but that would mean giving away all of our secrets and hey, there’s only so much I’m willing to share.