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

Ryan had tried to interupt a few times during May's monolog, but she told him to keep quiet until she finished. When she finally stopped talking for more than five seconds, Ryan gave her a look and she nodded unconvincingly for him to go ahead. 

Ryan had a ton of questions, but asked the one pressing most on his mind and heart. He turned to Jake and asked him how he was able to stand and speak to them after he saw him convulsing that afternoon. 

Jake cleared his throat and looked down trying to hide the guilt he felt. When he spoke to his brother his voice was soft and measured. He pointed to the room on his left and told his brother to look in but not to overreact. Which of course had the opposite effect on his younger sibling.

Ryan gasped when he saw Jake's body lying on the bed, an iv stand was next to the bed, an iv bag dripping a clear fluid into his brothers veins.

May quickly spoke up, telling Ryan that Jake was fine, that the medicine in the drip would keep him stable while he spoke to them. She went on to tell him that the seizure that afternoon was partly her fault, she had not given the medicine at the correct dosages, and when Jake had to astral project again to distract Mason, it took to much out of him and that's why he had the seizure.

Ryan had trouble keeping up with all the new information. Jake was alive, he was fine, but he was unconscious and hooked up to an iv. May had known about their abilities all this time. But what really got to him was the secrets. They had kept all of this a secret from him. He was indescribably thankful that his brother was alive, but he also felt hurt and betrayed. His brother had kept these secrets for almost two years, not once bothering to make contact with him. He tried to supress the small voice trying to remind him that he had given up on their abilities. 

He walked into the room where his brothers body lay and took his hand in his. He gave it a squeeze and let a tear slip down his cheek. Jake sat down next to him and placed a hand on his back. Ryan had a strange sensation as he felt his brothers hand on his back while he held the actual hand in his.

"I'm sorry Ryan." Jake whispered brokenly.

Ryan let his head rest on his brothers hand and just as softly whispered back: "me too".

Jake told him that it would take a while to bring his brother up to speed on everything but he explained that the medicine he was on was amazing and that he felt better than he had in years. 

Ryan listened to his brother speak about the wonder medicine and he had a sinking feeling that it sounded to good to be true. He told his brother as much but Jake disagreed vehemently and tried to assure him that Dr Chambers knew what he was doing. He continued that the doctor had been really good to him the last two years and that they had actually grown quite close. 

Ryan left his brother at May's and as he drove home he had more questions burning in his mind than he had when he drove there in a hurry that afternoon. 

JANUARY 2020

Ryan was up at seven o clock after a fitful night's sleep. He yawned as he sneaked into his parents kitchen, he tried to be quiet, he did not have the energy to deal with his parents.

He felt confused and frustrated. He needed time to process everything he had learned from May and Jake in the last 24 hours.

While he fixed himself a cup of coffee, an idea suddenly came to him. He was going to confront Dr Chambers about the medicine and therapies they were doing on his brother and hopefully he would get a chance to snoop around as well. The files he had copied from Mason's desktop didn't copy properly and the data had corrupted. He had no leads to go on and he was getting desperate. He didn't want to risk breaking into the office again as the security would be hightened after their last break-in.

He considered calling his brother and asking him to go with but decided against it, he didn't like the sound of the medicine Jake was on and didn't want him exposed to it unnecessarily.

He was truly amazed at the progress they had made with Jake's abilities in the last two years. The fact that he could just call his brothers name and Jake would hear him was mind boggling to the young man. Jake had explained that the telepathy only worked with a handful of people. 

May made the two brothers promise to sit down and catch up on each others lives. The session was scheduled for two days later. They had all agreed that it would take the better part of a day to catch up, especially if Jake wanted to illustrate his abilities. 

Ryan sneaked into his dad's office, praying that he would find Dr Chambers home address somewhere between his dad's things. The doctor was not available at the hospital and his receptionist had told Ryan that he had taken a few days off. Finding nothing in the desk, he was about to search the file cabinets when he heard his father approach the office. Ryan quickly grabbed a pen from the desk and turned around in time to see his dad open the door. "Just needed to borrow a pen". Ryan threw over his shoulder as he headed past his father. Before the nineteen year old could make his escape his father grabbed his arm and gave him a sympathetic smile. He told him he was worried about Jake but that he was worried about his other son too.

The young man gave a shrug and was about to duck out when a thought occurred to him. Giving his dad the most pathetic puppy dog eyes he could muster, he asked if he knew where Dr Chambers lived. He told him that he needed to talk to the doctor about Jake's disappearance, explaining that he needed to feel like he was doing something to find his brother. When his dad suggested he try the hospital he quickly said that the doctor had taken a leave of absence.

Stan gave his son a frown but proceeded to take out his phone. Ryan let out a small sigh of relief when he saw his dad forwarding the doctors address.

Shouting a thanks over his shoulder, Ryan rushed out the front door before his father could say anything.

Stan was left speechless as his youngest son sprinted from the house. He knew how worried Ryan must be and he wished he could tell his son everything he knew, but he was scared for both boys safety and decided to keep the little information he had to himself for now. He hoped that Mason was not available to talk to Ryan, he didn't know how much the doctor knew but he was afraid of what the man might tell his youngest. He quickly tried phoning the doctor but his phone went straight to voicemail. 

Ryan parked his car around the corner from Mason's house. He surveyed the doctors house, there had been no movement yet and Ryan wasn't sure if he was home or not. The garage was locked and he didn't know if the doctors car was in there or not. The house had a typical white picket fence and he rolled his eyes at the cliché.

Ryan determinedly made his way down the picture perfect walkway to the impressive wooden door. He would talk to the man and hopefully he would get an opportunity to look around for information. He held his breath as he rang the door bell. After two minutes he rang it again. Another five minutes later Ryan decided that the doctor was not home and glancing around he quickly walked around the house, looking for a way to gain entry.

There were a few open windows but Ryan tried his luck and, not expecting the door to be unlocked, half fell into the kitchen at the back of the house. Chuckling to himself he quickly closed the door again and set about searching for an office.

Dr Chambers was running late. He had an important meeting but he forgot his notes and as he rushed home he was sure he would be getting a few speed fines in the next week or so. 

He blamed his hurry for not noticing Ryan's car parked around the corner. 

He was however not surprised when he found the young man in his office, searching through his files. 

Ryan stood frozen behind the doctors desk, he had been caught red handed. He was already rehearsing the story he would tell at the police station. To his utter surprise, the doctor gave a chuckle and invited him to sit down. 

Having no other choice he did as he was told. The doctor asked him what he knew about the Mentalite program. 

Ryan tried his best to keep his expression neutral but he was sure he was failing miserably. 

Dr Chambers took pity on the young man and told him that he was the one who sent the nurse with Jake's file and notes to May. He told the nurse to tell May to disappear with Jake. 

He went on to explain that May and Jake didn't know about his involvement. Ryan looked at him scepticaly. The disbelieve was evident on his face. 

Mason ignored him and went on to tell him that they had isolated a gene mutation in some of the patients at the institute. They called it the Mentalite gene. 

Mason paused for a second, then softly added that Jake had the gene mutation. 

Ryan's head was spinning with the new information. He had a lot of questions for the doctor, but after an unwelcome thought crossed his mind he had only one. He asked the doctor if May and Jake knew about the mutation. 

Mason had been studying Ryan's reactions closely while he told him about the mutation. He probably knew what Ryan was going to ask before he did. Mason kept his features carefully blank when he answered Ryan that as far as he knew they did. 

Mason knew that he had to be careful with the manner he used to break the next bit of news to the young man. 

Schooling his features to concern he told Ryan that the mutation was degenerative and that Jake would deteriorate faster if he used any form of enhanced brain activity. He knew he was probably overplaying his hand but he decided that now was as good a time as any to place some of his cards on the table. 

Ryan was caught of guard for a second but quickly recovered and told the doctor he had no idea what he was talking about. 

Mason gave an impatient shrug and stood up, saying he was late for a meeting. The doctor basically dragged Ryan to the front door and told him that he was available any time if Jake needed him. Mason left a shell-shocked nineteen year old on his front porch as he sped away. 

JANUARY 2020

Ryan wasn't sure if the ability showcase his brother had planned was a good idea. He had said as much to Jake, but his brother gave him a hurt look and Ryan quickly gave in.

He now stood in May's small garden at the back of her house. He was watching as Jake made a small red ball roll from one side of the garden to the other side with his mind. He was honestly impressed but also growing more worried as every ability his brother showed was more intense than the previous one.

He glanced into the window of the room his brothers body was lying in and watched the iv stand apprehensively.

Ryan's attention was drawn away