The Arrangement (unenhanced Edition) by AnnaRCase (good novels to read TXT) 📕

                Amberleigh felt like the scum of the earth, like she shouldn’t be eavesdropping on such a private moment between Grayson and his dead brother, but at the same time she couldn’t pull herself away. Like driving by a bad auto accident and knowing you should look away, but not being able too. She knew it was a fucked up thing to do as she crouched down beside the mausoleum and watched the billionaire apologize to his brother for not being to his grave for a month.

                “Dad is really on my back and micromanaging every fucking thing. We can’t have the investors lose faith in us and the company has to stay in the family and all the usual shit,” he reached forward and touched the stone and chuckled, “Bro you know this was supposed to be you. You had a head for the business shit.  You bastard, I was supposed to be the freeloader, the black sheep.”

                He laughed again, no doubt trapped in some memories Amberleigh wasn’t privileged to. But she wanted to be. She was an only child, well to the best of her knowledge anyway, so could only try and imagine what he must be feeling right now. To lose a sibling and one you were obviously very close to, if the shrine in his loft was any indication. Not to mention Adam Godwin had only been nineteen when died.

                For months after his death, the tabloids had speculated Adam was just a rich, privileged kid drunk or high on drugs driving a fast car he couldn’t handle.  A boy who finally had the ultimate consequence. But when the toxicology report was finally released to the public, no traces of alcohol or drugs were found in his system.

                 The Godwin’s successfully won several lawsuits against the media who slandered their son so brutally after his tragic and untimely demise. They donated the money they won from the settlements into a foundation they created in their son’s name. The Adam Godwin Foundation provided scholarships and resources to at risk youths to help keep them off the streets and out of the prison system.  Before she gave up her son and became addicted, Amberleigh had applied for one of those scholarships and hoped to attend college. But her life took her down a far different path.

                But perhaps this was where she was meant to be?  Perhaps everything in life did have a purpose and reason after all. But it was hard to see the purpose of a young man with such a promising future at his feet, die before the age of twenty.  And it seemed that Grayson was still struggling to find that reason as well, as the smile fell from his face. The next tone of his conversation wasn’t so light and cheerful.

                “He’ll never say it Adam, but I know he thinks it. It should be me in that grave. It’s like some sick fucked up cosmic joke that his healthy heir died while here I am. What are the fucking odds man? You dodged the bullet and you still died young brother.”

                Amberleigh’s chest grew tighter and she leaned closer towards the grave. A part of her didn’t want to hear this, to just stay in the dark, ignorance is bliss and all that shit, but she had to know.  Had to know the truth no matter how ugly or heartbreaking.  Her eyes were already burning by his confession.

                He drew in a deep breath, “It’s getting worse man. I know it’s not all in my head. Dr. Gainey has already upped my meds and I’m great at hiding it. But the tremors still come no matter what the fuck I do. And that’s not all. I know they keep telling me it’s early in, but sometimes I get so fucking angry Adam it scares me. Like a burst of anger out of nowhere and it’s only going to get worse. How long before I’m no longer myself at all?”

                His last question lingered unanswered in the air. So, he had some time of mental disorder then it seemed. Was the billionaire schizophrenic or bipolar? It seemed something with a genetic component with the way he talked about his brother not being afflicted.

                 But then it had to be something that could be concretely tested for.  She just didn’t have enough information to go on just yet. She hoped he would say more. She needed him too. Needed to know what was wrong with the man she was starting to have real feelings for even as her heart beat against her ribs so hard it was painful.

                “I mean Leo made me a promise to do it when I’m too far gone, but I don’t think it’s something he can actually go through with.  And I feel like a bastard for asking him to do it. But he’s the only one I trust to do it Adam. But if he can’t, I swear to God I’ll put a bullet through my own fucking skull if I have to rather than live like that.”

                This wasn’t the first time she’d heard him mention about this mysterious promise. Was it only this morning, she’d heard those drunken words tumble from his mouth? But now she was starting to learn the context behind them. Grayson must have asked his best friend to kill him when whatever disease he was inflicted with got in its end stages. Oh God. It must be something awful to ask for a promise like that. A mercy killing. Or to vow to kill himself.

                “Dad was fifty before he started showing symptoms and got diagnosed, but brother I don’t think I’ll see thirty-five at this rate. I’ll probably be in a wheelchair by thirty. It won’t be too much longer before Dad has to use his cane outside of the house. He fell a couple times last month and of course Mother hides it well, but she’s beside herself. I feel so fucking bad for her and there’s not one fucking thing I do or say to make it better. She’s going to have to bury her whole fucking family. I mean how fucked up is that?”

                Amberleigh didn’t realize she had bitten her lip until she tasted the bitter tang of blood in her mouth. She was leaning more heavily against the mausoleum to keep herself from falling.  This couldn’t be real right? Like some fucked up nightmare. She tried to breath. Tried to think.