Brothers by Elsa Pieterse (best romance books of all time TXT) 📕

6 May 2018

Ryan woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. He tiredly looked at his watch and saw that it was a few minutes after seven. He was going to ignore the call but something told him to answer. Rubbing at his eyes he grumpily mumbled a greeting. The moment the girl on the other side of the call mentioned her name was Lily, Ryan was wide awake. Lily shyly asked if he remembered her. He was stunned silent. She took his silence as a no and started to explain who she was.

This seemed to shake him out of his thoughts and he hastily said that he remembered her. Lily asked him if he could meet her at the diner near the high school around eleven that morning.

According to his brother, the misadventures that awaited him was only that afternoon so he agreed to a quick meeting.

Time dragged by as Ryan impatiently sat in his room, he was too keyed up to play a game on his pc. He stood up and started to pace around the house, memories of Lily flashed in his mind. Lily and Jake were about 5 years old when Lily's family moved in next door to the brothers.

Jake had learned to walk about a year prior to Lily moving in next door. The two of them had an explosive chemistry from that tender age already and seemed to bring out both the best and the worst in each other. Although Jake couldn't speak, Ryan was the only one who understood him better than Lily did. That's why he knew how much pain she caused when she left town and he would not allow that to happen again.

Lily and her parents had decided to move seemingly overnight and Lily didn't even bother to say goodbye to any of them.

At a quarter to eleven, Ryan was on his bike and hastily pulled out of the driveway, he was curious about the reason Lily wanted to see him. He was also determined not to get Jake involved. Ryan sped down the tree-lined street, lost in his memories.

He pulled into the busy parking lot and decided to stop a distance away from the diner, he would use the walk to collect his thoughts.

Ryan felt calmer as he walked into the old diner and had a feeling of deja vu when he saw the petite blonde sitting at one of the booths. He walked over rather awkwardly, she looked up and recognition flashed in her eyes seconds after she saw him. She indicated for him to sit down with a tight smile on her face.

Lily had never been one to beat around the bush and she hurriedly told Ryan that someone had hired her cousin, Leo and his friends to rough him up.

The pieces all clicked together quickly for Ryan, his brothers' vision must have been of Lily's cousin and his friends.

Lily quickly assured Ryan that she had convinced her cousin not to go through with it. He gave her a small smile and shrugged. Pretending not to be bothered in the least, he made a show of waving the threat off. He knew his no care attitude would only add to Lily's worry for his safety, and he would be able to get more information from her if she was distracted by his seeming lack of care.

Lily was practically freaking out, she was whisper yelling at Ryan that he had not changed at all and that his thick-headedness was going to get him in a ton of trouble.

Ryan had to duck his head to hide the self-satisfied smirk on his face. Looking up he gave her a serious look and volunteered to meet with her cousin if it would make her feel better. Lily gave him a sideways glance, she had a feeling she'd just been played.

Ryan gave his watch a nervous glance, it was almost three o clock and he knew his brother would appear at any moment.

Ryan stood across from the diner, he was at the entrance of a small alley between the post office and the internet cafè.

He had asked Lily to stay back while he spoke to Leo and she had reluctantly agreed.

It turned out that Leo was quite an intimidating figure. He was a body builder and he had been working out at the gym when a distinguished looking gentleman approached him. He was looking for someone to handle a problem for him. The problem turned out to be Ryan. The man wanted Leo to beat him up and he promised him he would be well compensated for his efforts.

Leo was also an honest man who told Ryan everything he knew about the man who hired him, unfortunately that turned out to be not very much. The man hadn't paid for the job yet so there was no paper trail to go on. Leo did give a general description of the man and added one final interesting bit before leaving. He told Ryan that the guy had been very specific that they had to beat him up that afternoon. The guy had started to say that they needed to delay Ryan but had cut himself off before giving any further information.

Ryan's meeting with Leo had just ended and he hoped Lily would stay at the diner a bit longer. He couldn't let Jake see her.

Before he could ponder further, his brother appeared next to him suddenly and he gave a small jump.

"Damn Jay, don't sneak up on me like that." Ryan whispered while looking down, very much aware no one else could see his brother beside him. Jake gave a small laugh and told his brother it was quite a new experience to be able to sneak up on someone. They both knew that neither of them were exactly quiet or stealthy individuals.

Ryan gave a snort in response and made a show of turning his back to the street and entering the alley. Before Jake could object Ryan whispered to him to follow him. Out of the direct line of sight of the diner, Ryan quickly explained that the guys were not going to jump him anymore. He told his brother that Leo had recognized him and that they were friends at school so they didn't go through with the job. Ryan had fabricated some of the story, in hopes of protecting his brother. He comforted himself that most of the story he gave his brother was the truth, he just left Lily out of the details.

He did tell him that the guys were hired by someone to rough him up specifically before the Roseville heroes ball that night.

Jake had a feeling that his younger brother was holding something back but before he could press he felt the pull of his reality in his mind. The brothers had hypothesized that while Jake was with Ryan in spirit, his body was left vacant, probably just staring into nothingness. He was pretty sure their hypothesis was correct as he not only felt the pull this time but also started to fade out of existence.

Ryan turned to face his brother, surprised that he hadn't pressed for more details, just in time to see a confused looking Jake start to fade from existence. He heard his brother's words as he vanished though: "I guess our hypothesis was correct".

6 May 2018

It was half-past four when Ryan met up with Lily outside the diner. He knew that if he hurried he could still help Jake get ready for the ball. He really wanted to check up on him after the afternoon's events. Lily, however, looked at him with such sorrow in her eyes he couldn't leave without finding out what had caused that look on her face.

He suggested a walk to the park a few blocks away to give her a chance to talk to him.

As they walked Lily told Ryan about her little sister. Ryan was taken aback as the last time he saw her she had been an only child. Lily didn't seem to notice and continued that Amy was 4 years old and had epilepsy.

She told him that her sister was not doing well and that her parents were hoping Jake's doctors could give her a better chance at a normal life.

Lily took his hand in hers and broke down crying. She told him through hiccupy tears that she felt terrible about being back after the way she had left things between her and the brothers. Lily avoided looking at him as she told him that she hadn't been able to accept the fact that his parents had sent Jake away.

She couldn't bring herself to visit Jake at the institute and she avoided Ryan at school. Lily confessed that she felt relieved when her parents told her about their sudden move.

Ryan was quiet while Lily spoke. When she was finished, Ryan put his arm around her as they sat on the bench in the park. He didn't really have a response for her, therefore, he settled for moral and physical support.

Ryan was sure that he would never fully accept the fact that his brother didn't live with them. He did however have a theory that the trauma from that horrible first night the brothers had spent together in the institute had triggered the brothers abilities. And he couldn't hate a situation that had started their special connection.

Jake meant the world to him and he didn't know what he would do if he lost him.

Thinking about Jake, he gave a yelp as he remembered the dance. Apologizing to Lily he hurriedly ushered her back to the diner, explaining that he had an important event he was now late for. He promised her that they would meet for a proper catch-up. He left his bicycle in the alley, praying it would still be there in the morning. He called his mom and winced at the screaming voice on the phone.

As Ryan waited for his lift he mentally prepared himself for the lecture he knew would come as soon as his mother picked him up.

He glanced at his watch and winced again when he saw it was already half-past five.

Ryan finally saw the car approach and opening the back door he heard his mom telling him to hurry up. As expected Ryan had to listen to his mom berate him on his brotherly duties the entire five-minute drive to the institute. The car had not yet come to a stop when Ryan jumped out and ran for the white building his brother was in, he couldn't stay in the car for a second longer.

As he entered the ward, he could hear a commotion coming from the direction of his brother's room. Sprinting the rest of the way, he entered Jake's room just in time to see his brother's hands start to shake and hear his distressed mumbling. Ryan knew that he had seconds to calm his brother before the stress would take over and Jake would have a meltdown. With a death glare at the staff in the room, he ordered all of them out. The staff at the Roseville institute knew Ryan very well and most of them knew not to stand in his way. The room was empty within seconds, except for the two brothers.

May was watching the younger brother carefully the whole time and dutifully went out with the rest of the staff as ordered. She however slipped back and was watching through the window in the door as the young man figured out the problem in minutes. It had taken the staff almost 30 minutes of attempting to dress Jake and it had almost pushed him over the edge.

As Ryan surveyed the room, his eyes landed on the suit lying innocently on his brother's bed. He knew in that