Loving My Brother’s Best Friend

A month passed like this. Cole didn’t leave Reyna’s room even for a second in that one month. Without her, one month felt like a thousand years. He didn’t feel like doing anything; he just talked to her, took care of her, and read her diary. He was yearning for the day when she would respond to him.

He already knew she was crazy for him, but after reading all that crazy stuff, he fell even more in love with her. He read about how she used to covertly protect him, cook his favourite meal, and take care of him in hard times.

One day, when he had a high fever, at night she came to the guest room where he was sleeping. He was weeping in his sleep due to a high fever, and she brought his fever down by placing a wet cloth on his forehead, and she had cried so much that night for him.

He didn’t even know a few months ago that she was secretly worshipping him, and he was always so rude to her. He was glad that she had never given up on winning his heart. She was the angel of his life, who had now become a dead soul. It hurt him a bit more every day, seeing her love in a coma. He was yearning to listen to her euphonious voice, to get drowned in intoxicating brown eyes and to feel her touch.

He had a long beard, hair, and nails because he didn’t shave, trim his hair, or cut his nails for a month because he wasn’t in his right mind. He was counting every second as if he were paying his debt because she was his sole reason for living.

Sometimes he used to dream about her with open eyes; his condition was deteriorating by the day, but the possibility of reuniting with her and her diary kept him alive; they were like his oxygen mask.

The same was Ethan’s condition; he spent most of his time in his office because his sister’s memories haunted him at home. Those lovely and endearing memories with his sister, which he once treasured, were now tormenting him because, upon remembering them, he missed her even more. This broke him because he couldn’t relive those moments again.

Ethan didn’t return home and had been working nonstop twenty-four hours for three days, so he didn’t have time to think about his sister. Everyone in the company was witnessing a different side of him that they had never seen before, as he was becoming arrogant and losing his temper over minor issues and yelling at staff for small mistakes.

When Ethan was engrossed in his laptop, the door of his cabin burst open, and Ella stormed inside.

He raised his pale face to look at her. “Ethan, get up right now. We’re going back home.” She ordered him, standing in front of him, and he stared at her with his slumberous eyes.

“I’m not going anywhere, I have work.” He replied to her sternly before again moving his eyes back to his laptop. He glared at her as she shut his laptop.

“Ethan, just look at yourself. You haven’t shaven in days, and you haven’t slept in days. Please stop doing this to yourself. Reyna never wanted to see you like this.” She stared at him pleadingly.

“You know very well why I avoid going back home, Ella. Her memories didn’t let me live in peace. It is impossible for me to stay there without her.” He shook his head. She approached him and sat down on his lap.

“But Ethan, you have to accept the reality. For how long will you avoid this? You have to face it sooner or later. I’m with you, baby. We’ll go through this arduous time together, and please don’t lose hope, she’ll be fine one day.” She explained to him, caressing his beard.

“I just want to keep myself busy at work. Don’t force me for anything.” As he rudely replied to her, throwing her hand away from his face, she felt a sharp pain in her heart and mechanically a solitary tear trickled down her cheeks because this was the first time he behaved curtly with her.

“I beg you to stop hurting yourself, Ethan, because I can’t see you like this. I’m missing you. Please come back, for me.” She begged him, sobbing.

She was trying her best to stay strong on these hard days for him, but she was becoming weak because of his condition. She felt like she was losing her Ethan a bit by bit every day.

Seeing tears in her eyes, he realised that he was doing so wrong to her. He stopped spending time with her and detached himself from this whole world. The only person who could give him peace on difficult days, he stayed away from that person.

He apologised, wiping her tears. “I’m sorry.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to compose himself while she just stared at him helplessly with her moist eyes. He continued, “It is getting harder with each passing day. I’m losing my mind, nothing is helping me out.”

“Then let me help you out, love. I’m with you, everything is gonna be fine.” She reassured him and placed a kiss on his forehead.

“Help me, Ella, please help me.” He begged her to help him out and cried, burying his face in her chest.

She embraced him and murmured in his ears, “I’m with you, Baby.”

***

Finally, Ella succeeded in bringing Ethan back home. She shaved his beard, sitting on his lap while he just gazed at her with adoration. He was grateful to God for providing him with a life partner like her.

After showering him, she laid him down on the bed with his head in her lap.

“Now sleep, baby, you need it.” She lovingly commanded him to sleep, running her fingers through his wet hair while he was just gazing at her with profound love in his eyes.

“I love you.” He clasped her hand and kissed it.

“I love you so much, Ethan.” She leaned in and kissed his forehead.

He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep, resting his head on his favourite pillow while she continued to caress his forehead and pray to God to return her love’s happiness to him, gazing at him.

***Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“It has been a month passed, Kiddo, since you haven’t talked to me. How can you stay angry with your hottie biker for so long? Please come back.” Cole was sitting, holding Reyna’s hand beside her on the chair and conversing with her while stroking her hair.

“Cole.” As Ethan called him, stepping into the room, Cole looked at him.

Ethan looked at Reyna with sorrowful eyes and immediately looked back at Cole because it hurt him immensely to see his sister like this.

Ethan said, “I need to talk to you.”

“Say.”

“Not here. Come outside.”

Cole stood up after properly tucking her in the duvet. “I just come, Love as your brother wants to converse with me in private.” He went outside with Ethan after kissing her forehead.

“Say, Ethan.”

“Move on, Cole.” Ethan’s statements caught Cole off guard. He didn’t want to say this to Cole, but he had no choice because he couldn’t see his best buddy in misery and living his life like that.

“What exactly do you mean, Ethan?” Deep down, he knew what he was talking about, but his heart wasn’t ready to accept that Ethan advised him to move on from his sister.

“I mean to move on from Reyna. For how long will you wait for her like this, Cole? I can’t see you spoiling your life like this for my sister,”

Cole’s brows furrowed in anger and he yelled, “Just shut up, Ethan. Who told you I ruined my life? I’m living because I have hope of getting my love back. I would have died long ago if I hadn’t had this hope. I have learnt to live within this one month with this hope because it’s the only thing that gives me strength. Moving on from her is never going to happen because she is my life and I’m never going to give up on her. I’m ready to wait for her till my last breath.”

Ethan just stared at Cole in disbelief, seeing his undying love for his sister. He just hugged him, becoming speechless.

“Why isn’t God listening to our prayers, Cole? Why can’t he see our love for her?” Ethan questioned Cole and before he could answer him, Ella approached them.

“God will surely listen to our prayers, Ethan, but in this difficult time, we have to become each other’s strength and stick together like Reyna always wanted. If one falls weak, we have to support him. God is just examining our patience and making us strong.” She uttered confidently and blinked at them, clasping Cole and Ethan’s hands.

Cole entwined his free hand with Ethan’s and agreed to Ella. “You’re right, we won’t let each other fall weak in these arduous days. We’ll fight this together and patiently wait for our joy to come back. It’s enough of shedding tears. I don’t want my kiddo to feel sad after seeing our condition when she wakes up.”

They hugged each other and closed their eyes, praying to God to give their peace and happiness back. During these trying times, they became each other’s support system.

***

At night, Ella was sitting on Ethan’s lap and lovingly feeding him. The door of their room burst open and Cole stepped inside with a broad smile on his face. His sparkling eyes and wide grin were enough to tell them that the day they had all been waiting for a month had finally arrived.