DANNY
The door opens and closes with a bang, causing Goldie to lift his head in his crib. “Oh, I guess Arawn is home.”
I gather all my books and notes to stuff them into my backpack quickly before I run downstairs.
Arawn has halted in the entrance hall and is still buried in his phone as I reach him. He lifts his head to nod at me with a smile. “Hey, Danny.”
“Hey, Arawn. Amber said she would be home late tonight. Are we watching the game on the big screen?” I ask excitedly as Goldie barks and jumps around his feet.
He hums, agreeing with me absentmindedly while he still checks his messages. “Did you look for a dog school like she asked you to?”
“No,” I groan, swinging my arms. “I don’t want to go to one. And I’m sure that Goldie doesn’t need it anyway.”
Sighing, he closes his eyes shortly, before he mumbles. “The damn dog needs a better name.”
“I can train him too.”
“You can’t, Deiniol,” he growls.
And how I fucking hate it when he uses my full name.
It always means bad news.
He picks up the dog, who barks happily. “It’s a purebred Doberman. You are not equipped for that. If you don’t find a dog school that you will take him to outside your lessons, I’ll tell Nerthus that she should sell it online.”
“Okay,” I groan.
I know that I should find a school for the puppy, but I keep forgetting to look it up constantly. And I also know that he and Amber love the dog too much to give it away.
As if she would sell him on Craigslist.
Or he could ever tell her to do anything.
I discovered a few days after I followed them to Italy that her real name wasn’t Amber, but she would still remain Amber for me. Her real name is just strange.
He clicks his tongue and looks at me annoyed just as he spots Elia coming from the living room. “What are you doing here?”
“Your wife told me that the restaurant was near, so she chose to go out alone,” Elia answers, and Arawn scoffs.
“She is something else,” he murmurs in response, looking back down on his phone as he walks into the rooms, passing between me and Elia. “Gianni and Vito are watching her anyway, right?”
“Of course, boss,” Elia confirms to him.
Taking a step towards him, I hiss up at him. “Stop calling her his wife!”
Arawn turns around with his brow raised, and Elia just chuckles. “It’s his woman.”
“I thought you loved her,” Arawn adds, gesticulating with his phone.
I nod, straightening my spine. “Yes, but calling her your wife already will take away the effect your actual marriage will have.”
The men laugh as I scrunch up my face. “Why are you laughing?”
“Do you think I am going to ask her to marry me?” Arawn asks, putting his phone into the inside pocket of his jacket.
I look back and forth between the men and nod insecure. “Why? Aren’t you planning to?”
Arawn chuckles, gesturing to me to follow him as he walks down the stairs.
I follow him to a secured room next to the wine cellar and he opens a drawer holding different handguns. Watching him silently, I lean in to look around him as he pulls out a small ring box.
My happy gasp morphs into a bright smile as he plops the box open, revealing its content to me. “That’s a huge rock, dude!”
“Yeah,” he snickers, and I reach out to take it from him. “Do you think she will like it?”
I nod repeatedly as I turn the small box in my hands, “Oh, absolutely. She will say yes just because of this.”
Arawn cracks up and Elia joins him as he stands in the frame of the weapon’s room. “Let’s hope so.”
Looking up at him, I furrow my brows. “Why? Aren’t you sure of her wanting to marry you?”
The men laugh again, and slowly, they are getting on my nerves.
“We will talk about this when you are about to ask your future girlfriend the question,” he says, taking the small box out of my hands.
I don’t get it, but I won’t ask him more about it as I have the feeling they think I don’t get things because I’m too young.
Idiots.
Putting my hands into my pockets, I gesture to the drawer he is about to close. “But isn’t that a little too dangerous? As a hiding place, I mean.”
“Do you think she would come snooping in such a drawer?” he asks amused and I shrug.
“Well, it’s just next to the wine cellar.”
He laughs loudly, hugging my shoulders and we walk out together. “You might be right. I have to find a better place for it. Just keep it to yourself, boy.”
“Of course, but please make her include me in the marriage ceremony,” I say lowly, making him squeeze my shoulder and shake up my entire frame.
“She would do that anyway, believe me.”
Smiling happily, I have no other choice than to just believe him.
In the end, I’m still her baby.
And something good has to come from that!
***
About half an hour later, we are sitting on the large couch in the movie room, and watching the game on the big screen.
The couch table is full of snacks and I even got permission to drink a beer as we are staying at home.
I chuckle to myself as this is just a normal occurrence to me, but I’ll let him have his moment.
Arawn groans as he leans back into his seat, “What losers.”
“Yeah,” I agree, taking a sip of my beer.
We watch the game more or less silently.
Well, actually, it’s just me commenting on the game who disrupts the silence from time to time.
Arawn is rarely known to comment on anything emotionally.
In fact, before Amber, I have never seen him show any emotion at all.
As the first quarter ends, and he suddenly shifts in his seat, I already have a bad sensation.
He rubs his hands together, propping himself up on his knees. “Listen, Danny. There is something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“What is it?” I ask worried as I don’t like the tone he announced it to me with.
Turning his head, he looks at me with an expression that definitely matches his tone. “It’s about your father. I thought about it for a long time, but Amber has convinced me to not keep it from you any longer. You deserve to know the truth and you are old enough to be able to handle it.”
“What truth?” I scoop towards the edge of my seat as I whisper my question.
But as soon as he takes a deep sigh and starts talking, I regret that I even asked. “Carwyn is not your real Dad.”
My vision gives out shortly before refocusing as he closes his eyes, rethinking the way he puts his words. “I mean, he is not your biological dad.”
I just continue to stare at me as he starts putting word after word in a line to form a sentence while I zone out.
The words and letters dance around my head as he continues to drag me into a deep pit, drowning me in information that I really don’t want to know.
A lump forms in my throat as the letters form a part of the information that should make me happy.
He is my brother…
Should it make me happy?
I open and close my fist as I take a deep breath, confirming to me that my body has turned numb.
Why is he telling me this?
Suddenly, my heart starts racing, and I can’t keep listening to it anymore. I have to get out of here.
Holding my hands onto my ears, I lower my gaze as I start singing stupidly.
The worst thing is that he doesn’t get angry, but reaches out to hold my wrist and tilts his head to get into my line of sight.
He continues to talk, saying how Amber and he would always be there for me and asking if I needed a break.
Or something to drink.
But it isn’t Amber!
It was never Amber!
And it was never my Dad!
And never the love of my Mom!
I don’t have a brother!
I only have half brothers!
My heart squeezes as I’m having a panic attack as my world crashes down around me, taking everyone who lied to me with them.
Leaving me all alone.
“Don’t touch me!” I shout at him, making him jerk back.
Before I can feel bad because he is actually the only one who ever looked out for me, I skyrocket out of my seat and run back up the stairs.
The men positioned in the house watch me cross the rooms with heavy steps, but just as I’m about to stomp up the stairs to get to my room, I decide otherwise.
***
“Oh, dear boy!” Amber’s old neighbor exclaims worried as she opens the door.
As I forgot to even take a jacket or put on shoes, I am shaking by the time I stand in front of her door.
But thankfully, the City is full of mentals anyway.
“Hi, erm…” I stutter as I point to Amber’s door. “Do you still have a key to her apartment? I lost mine.”
She nods, eyeing me up once more but she doesn’t say anything as she takes her key and opens the door. “Thank you,” I tell her. Just before she closes it back again, taking her key with her.
I don’t know if she will inform Amber, but at this point, I don’t care.
I don’t even know why my first impulse was to come here, but I guess I just always felt at home here.
The first place I really felt safe, and cared for.
Sighing, I slump into the couch, rubbing my face.
A scratching noise rips through the silence, and I look up to see where it is coming from.
I don’t see more than a shadow, my eyes too slow to adjust to the fast movements in the dimly lit room as I get hit by something heavy.
And get knocked out immediately.