Page 110 of House of Lilith

I turn to look around, making a couple of heads snap back, their owners scrambling not to be caught looking. So that’s what those stares were about. Also, ‘not nicely’, that’s what Nikolay just said. Which means they’re not just saying that I want Max back. They’re saying that I’m begging him to get back with me, or some other stupid shit like that. Shit that would makehimlook good, of course.

I feel myself start to fume. I have to fight not to let the emotion show when I turn back to my brother and say, “Well, the other day, they came out with the revelation that it washimwho broke up withme,not the other way around.” I pause to throw him a frown. “Youdounderstand that rumors don’t necessarily have anything to do with actual truth?”

He impatiently waves a hand, as if nothing I've just said is of any consequence. “Butisit true?” he demands, leaning a little forward in his chair.

His persistence makes me frown. “Of course it isn’t,” I snap at him. Then I squint. “But what’s it toyou?”

Letting out a frustrated breath, he throws himself back in his chair. “The land sale… It’s not going well.”

“The land sale?” I demand, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees, my frown growing deeper. “What do you mean by that? Thereisno land sale anymore.”

I’m no longer with Max, I think to myself, and that was allhisdoing.

Nikolay just clicks his tongue at me. “Oh yeah there is. But ever since you called off the engagement, I’ve only had trouble with it.”

I have to fight not to start yelling at him. “Really? Can’t your buddyMaxhelp you with that?”

“Well, if you hadn’t broken up with him,” he pushes himself up a little to hiss at me, “maybe he’d still be replying to my texts.”

Now, that makes me slump back in my chair. “I see,” I just say, things finally falling into place in my head. When he,my brother darling, told me he supported me in calling off the engagement, he only did so because Max had already broken up withhim.

“Nevermind,” he says as he sinks back in his chair again and leans his head on the backrest, a sour look on his face, “I just thought you might have made all the complications go away. I guess I’ll just have to deal with it on my own.”

For a second, I stay silent, trying to fight off the urge to grab him by the collar, lift him off that fucking chair and start shaking his pouty, whiny ass until he begs me to stop. He’ll deal with it on his own, I think to myself with bitterness in my mouth. If I let him try tosavethe land, he’ll only end up fucking running it into the ground.

So I decide I have to dosomethingto get his mind off it. I take a deep breath and I say, “Hey.”

He doesn’t lift his head off the armchair, but he does turn it a little, to gaze at me from an angle with this sad, grumpy look in his eyes.

It makes me stay silent for a second and my voice soften when I say, “You know, Nick, I realize things are tough right now.” I pause for a second. “It’s just, I’ve never pictured you doing stuff like that. Seems so… trivial for someone such as yourself.”

“Yeah?” he asks, his face lighting up.

“Yeah.”

“Maybe you’re right,” he says as he pushes himself up in the chair, staring at me with unseeing eyes and a slightly manic expression on his face. “Maybe I should be one of those people who make fortunes investing in stuff.”

For a second, I just blink at him, wondering if I should tell him it’s not just browsingstuffwhen you feel like it that that particular job would entail. I decide not to get into it. “Yeah, think about it, sure,” I tell him with a warm smile.

“Yeah,” he replies with a grin, springing up from his chair and leaning to give me a peck on the cheek. “Thanks, sis. Now I have a raid to attend…”

Raid? Ah, video games.

“...but tonight at the party, we can talk about it some more.”

“Party?” I ask, my eyebrows pulling down. “You mean,dinner.”

“No, Howe’sparty,” he says, mouthing the word as if to a half-wit. Then he lets out a self-satisfied little chuckle and turns to walk away.

But I’ve already gotten up and come to block his way. “No, Howe’s not throwing any parties at the moment,” I say as I squint at him. “As Student Leader, I think I’d know about it.”

Nikolay shrugs. “I don’t know,everyonegot the e-vite.”

It feels like a slap across the face.

But my brother’s moving to push past me and I reach out my hand to stop him. “Hey,” I ask, dropping my voice a little, “does that mean you’re not coming to my birthday dinner?”

He throws me a grin. “Oh yes, happy B-day. And sure I am, sis, wouldn’t miss it for the world.” He claps me on the back and then winces a little, apologetically. “I’ll just have to duck out a little early. But you’ll probably do the same, won’t you?” he asks, but it’s not an actual question.

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