Chapter 36

CHAPTER36

“That went well,” Jonathan murmured, sounding thoughtful.

“I will kill you,” Sebastian bit out as he rubbed his hands roughly down his face, wondering why it felt like he just made everything worse.

“Fair enough,” Jonathan murmured, sounding thoughtful as Sebastian dropped his hands away, only to find his sister staring at him in confusion.

Jessica didn’t say anything as she shared a look with Mathew, drawing Sebastian’s attention to find the same confused look on his little brother’s face and-

“How much longer are we supposed to pretend that we don’t know what’s going on?” Jessica asked, followed by Mathew muttering, “It’s getting sad,” as he dropped down on Braxton’s bed.

“What are you talking about?” Sebastian asked as he reached for the folder Mrs. Blaine gave him after the last board meeting only to go still when Jessica said, “Mikey.”

Clenching his jaw, Sebastian looked at Jonathan and-

“I didn’t tell them,” Jonathan said, sounding bored as he gestured for Jessica to grab a book off the nightstand for him.

“He didn’t have to,” Jessica said, shrugging it off as she reached over and grabbed the book on the French Revolution that Sebastian finished last night and handed it to Jonathan.

“That’s because there’s nothing to tell,” Sebastian said, refusing to talk about this with them.

He knew better.

God, did he know better than to tell any of his siblings or cousins how he felt about Mikey. They’d torment him every chance they got and enjoy every minute of his downfall, which was the reason why he refused to confirm Jonathan’s suspicions about Mikey. As long as he didn’t admit how he felt about Mikey, Jonathan would be satisfied with silently mocking him in front of her and bugging the hell out of him every chance he got, but the moment that he knew for sure…

Jonathan would make his life a living hell.

“Are you sure about that?” Jonathan asked casually as he watched Sebastian while he absently turned the book over in his hands.

“Positive,” Sebastian muttered absently, making sure to sound bored as he shifted his focus to the file in his hand, knowing that the only way to get Jonathan to drop it was to ignore him and he’d eventually grow bored and move onto something else.

“Then, you don’t mind if I talk to Mikey about this instead, right?” Jonathan drawled, making Sebastian’s stomach drop as he slowly looked up and-

Oh, god, no…

-found Jonathan holding his phone.

“Don’t,” Sebastian bit out, never taking his eyes off his brother as he tossed the folder back on the desk.

“Don’t what?” Jonathan asked, blinking. “Help you?”

“I’m not kidding,” Sebastian said, moving to get up only to end up swallowing hard as he watched Jonathan absently scroll through his phone.

“I didn’t think you were,” Jonathan murmured as Sebastian slowly stood up.

“Give me the phone, Jonathan,” Sebastian said, nervously licking his lips as he watched his brother.

“If I do, will you ask her out?” Jonathan asked, stopping mid-scroll to shoot him a questioning look.

“I will beat the hell out of you if you don’t give me my phone right now,” Sebastian said as he took a step towards the bed just as Braxton walked into the room and-

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’,” Jonathan said as he tossed the phone across the room to Braxton before Sebastian could grab it.

“Give me the phone,” Sebastian snapped as he moved towards Braxton only to have the little bastard toss the phone over his head, forcing him to turn around just in time to see Jonathan shoot him a wink as he raced out of the room.

“This isn’t going to end well,” Braxton said, shrugging it off as Sebastian moved his ass.

“Come and get it!” Jonathan said tauntingly as Sebastian raced out of their bedroom, only to curse when he spotted the little bastard grinning from the safety of the bathroom as he closed the door. Trying not to panic, Sebastian made his way to the bathroom door only to feel his stomach drop when he heard the unmistakable sounds of the lock clicking into place.

“Open the door,” Sebastian bit out quietly as he threw a panicked look over his shoulder towards the stairs as he tried the doorknob.

“Shhh, not while I’m helping,” came the reply that had Sebastian frantically trying to open the door.

“You’re not helping, jackass. Open the door,” Sebastian hissed as he gave up trying to open the door and began a frantic search for the key.

“I really don’t think that would be in my best interest.”

“Open the door!” Sebastian bit out as he reached up and ran his fingertips over the top of the doorway, frantically searching for the key so that he could stop Jonathan before he could ruin everything.

“I really don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Jonathan said with a heartfelt sigh as Sebastian gave up searching the top of the door frame and tried the doorknob again.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Sebastian said, trying the knob again as he shoved his shoulder against the door and pushed.

“I might consider opening the door…” Jonathan said, letting his words trail off as Sebastian stood there, swallowing hard as he considered his options, try to break the door down or…

“What do you want?” Sebastian asked, sighing in defeat as he dropped his forehead against the bathroom door.

“Besides, for you to admit that you thank God every day that I’m your brother?” came the question that had Sebastian’s hands clenching into fists against the bathroom door.

“Besides that,” Sebastian bit out, willing his brother to get to the point.

“First, I’d like you to admit that you like Mikey,” Jonathan murmured, sounding thoughtful.

“She’s my best friend. Of course, I like her,” Sebastian said, hoping beyond hope that his brother took pity on him and let this go.

“That’s really not going to work for me,” Jonathan said with a heartfelt sigh.

“Jonathan,”Sebastian bit out in warning.

“Tell me why you’ve been working so damn much.”

“I’m saving for something,” Sebastian said, praying that was enough to get his brother to let this go.

“I already know that. For what?” Jonathan asked, sounding thoughtful.

“Are you going to open the door?” Sebastian demanded only to have his brother counter with, “Are you going to tell me what I want to know?”

“It’s none of your business. Just open the damn door,” Sebastian said as he slowly exhaled and-

“I would, but I’m kind of busy asking Mikey out and all.”

* * *

“Stupid teenage boys,”Mikey muttered as she made her way upstairs, grumbling every inch of the way as she debated going back across the street and beating the hell out of Sebastian with a pillow until he told her what he was hiding from her and there was absolutely no doubt in her mind that he was hiding something from her.

Once upon a time, Sebastian used to tell her everything, but that all changed a few months ago. Now, she barely saw him and when she did, he was usually too exhausted to do anything more than pass out and-

She missed him, Mikey thought on a pathetic sigh as she walked into her bedroom to find Sebastian tearing her room apart.

For a moment, Mikey considered asking him what he was doing, but…

She wanted to see where this was going.

With that in mind, Mikey closed her bedroom door behind her as she watched Sebastian frantically search under her pillows, only to toss them over his shoulder seconds later so that he could run his hands over her sheets. When he didn’t find what he was looking for, Sebastian ripped the sheets and blankets off her bed, released a muttered curse, looked under her mattress, under her bed, and behind her nightstand.

“Where the hell is it?” Sebastian muttered, ramming his fingers through his hair as he looked around her room.

“Where’s what?” Mikey asked, only to watch Sebastian’s gaze turn panicked when he saw her standing there.

She watched his mouth work soundlessly for a moment before he finally managed to get out, “Your phone.”

“Right here?” Mikey said, pulling her phone out of her back pocket.

“Oh, thank god…” Sebastian started to say, only to curse when she moved to check her messages and-

“Umm, what are you doing?” Mikey couldn’t help but wonder as she pulled her hand back when he went to grab it from her.

“Nothing,” Sebastian said, blinking down at her.

Slowly nodding, Mikey said, “Okay. I guess we can get back to that in a moment. You want to tell me why I found you in my room having a nervous breakdown?”

“I wasn’t having a nervous breakdown,” Sebastian said, swallowing hard as his gaze flickered to the phone in her hand.

“What would you call it?” Mikey asked as she raised her phone and watched as his gaze tracked the move.

“Enjoying the benefits of having a twin brother,” Sebastian said, swallowing hard as he moved closer only to have her step out of the way.

“You’re fraternal twins,” Mikey pointed out as she moved to the side and backed up, watching the way that his eyes stayed locked on her phone as he followed her. “What exactly is it that you don’t want me to see?”

She watched as he sent a panicked look towards her phone as he muttered, “Nothing.”

“Then, you don’t mind if I check my messages?” Mikey asked, watching as a muscle in his jaw clenched firmly.

“Not at all,” Sebastian said, shrugging it off like it was no big deal, but it was that panicked look in his eye that had her lips pulling up into a smile as she took a step back.

“What don’t you want me to see, Sebastian?” Mikey asked in a teasing tone as she took another step back.

“Nothing,” Sebastian said as he matched the move, only to swallow hard when she took another step back.

“It doesn’t seem like nothing,” Mikey said as she kept moving back.

“It is,” Sebastian said as he kept following her.

“Then, I guess there’s no reason why I shouldn’t check my messages,” Mikey said with a heartfelt sigh and a sad shake of her head as she lowered her phone and-

“Don’t,” Sebastian said, reaching for the phone just as her back touched the wall.

“Don’t what?” Mikey asked, moving the phone behind her back as Sebastian took the last step, bringing him the last few inches and forcing her to tilt her head back to look at him.

“Give me the phone, Mikey,” Sebastian said softly, his intense blue eyes locking with hers as he placed his hands on the wall above her head.

“Tell me what you’re hiding, Sebastian,” Mikey said, watching a muscle in his jaw clench tightly as he kept his gaze locked with hers.

For a moment, Sebastian didn’t say anything as his gaze flickered to her lips and had her swallowing hard as she watched his gaze soften and-

Found herself slowly exhaling when Sebastian turned his head as he pushed away from the wall and walked away, leaving her standing there, watching him ram his fingers through his hair as he said, “I’m not hiding anything.”

Yes, he was.

She knew him better than anyone, which meant that she knew better than to push him about this. If she kept pushing him, he would shut down and pull away from her and that was the last thing that she wanted to happen. She’d considered asking Jonathan what was going on, but…

He would only screw with her head. She could ask Braxton, but he had enough on his plate right now. That left Cole, but something, mostly the way that he’d been glaring obsessively at Chloe for the past three months, told her that he probably wasn’t going to be that much help.

So, instead, Mikey slowly exhaled and told herself to let it go as she pulled her phone out from behind her back and-

Frowned when she saw the message waiting for her.

“You want to take me to a movie to get my mind off everything?” Mikey asked, watching as Sebastian turned around only to curse under his breath when he saw the phone in her hand. When he went to grab the phone from her, Mikey pulled it away as she asked, “Are you really trying to get out of spoiling me?”

Swallowing hard, Sebastian asked, “Is that what you want?

Nodding, Mikey said, “I deserve to be spoiled.”

Slowly nodding, Sebastian said, “Then, I guess that’s what we’re doing.”

“Where are you going?” Mikey asked when Sebastian made his way back to her bedroom window.

“To kill someone.”