Page 31 of Ever Dark

My brother, Felix, has made her cry enough tears over the years. There is something wrong with the Crane men. A wild abandon that shatters our need for safety and comfort. That fear that most people have, the healthy fear that keeps them from doing dangerous things… Yeah, we don’t have that.

I still throw some caution to the wind, but I don’t want to send my mother into an early grave.She’s already lost so much… So, I have to focus on staying in control. Felix became a professor, soaking up his pain with poetry and college pussy. And I work on my bikes. I ride, I fight, and I drink.

Then there’s Lettie, who is perfect. She’s a good student, dutiful daughter, and has never brought a piece of shit boyfriend home. She’s our angel, the only good that came from my mother’s womb.

Sweat drips down my back despite the cold. My energy is chaotic, erratic, as I think about tonight. A ride before a fight is the best kind. It gets me out of my head and in sync with my body. Week after week, it still surprises me that dudes are willing to go up against me. I keep the Ever Graves ER extremely busy. I even heard that they add extra staff on Friday nights just because of me.

This puts a shit eating grin on my face as I spin around and head back to the garage.

But as I pass the cemetery, a chill snakes up my back, hampering my mood like it always does. I purse my lips and hit the throttle, speeding up so I’m not tempted to look. It was a long time ago, but it still feels fresh. Luckily, it happened before Lettie was born, so she doesn’t have to bear the burden that Felix and I do.

Fuck.

I grip the handlebars so tightly that I pop open the cuts on my knuckles. My stomach knots in remembrance.It’s my fault.

When I’m finally out of the woods and back on the main road, my chest loosens again. I slow my bike and take a deep breath. I shake it off, leaving the pain back there in my baby brother’s grave. I have to. If I take it with me, then I’ll for sure find myself lying in the dirt next to him. No one wants to talk about it, but that’s why Felix left this town. The darkness was suffocating him.The guilt.

But I don’t have anywhere else to go. This is my home, my heart, even as it breaks all over again every day. For that moment when I first wake up, that split second, I forget that I only have one brother now instead of two—it’s almost euphoric. Then reality sinks in, and I remember it all over again. Like it just happened.

When I get to the garage, Aries is already inside, waiting to help me warm up. Dressed in a black tracksuit, he looks like a rich white guy who’s watchedTheGodfathertoo many times.

“You’re missing a couple of gold chains,” I taunt.

He snickers and slaps the focus mitts together. “I left them in your mom’s car, asshole.”

Oh, hell no. This fucker. I don’t even bother with gloves or wrist wraps. I take a swing for one of his mitted hands, knowing he’s not ready. His wrist snaps back, and the mitt hits his cheek. “Never talk about my mother like that, pendejo.”

Aries laughs as we square up. “Yeah, get fired up. Give me all that aggression.”

I shake my head and throw a combination so fast that he almost trips over his own feet keeping up. “You’re getting soft on me, Ries. My abuela moves faster than you.”

He cocks his head to the side, his ego bruised. “All right, let’s make it interesting then.” He grabs a vial of nightshade from his pocket and drinks all three ounces of it. My adrenaline spikes as his blue-green eyes glow, a ring of gold light circling his pupils.

I bounce on the balls of my feet, shifting from left to right as I ready myself. He shoots toward me at full speed. His right arm swings at my head, and I duck, bending down then popping back up to land a hook into his waiting mitt. His left hand jerks toward my ribs, and I drop my right arm, hugging it to my side to block him. I dive toward him, getting into his space, and throw an uppercut into his other mitt.

Sweat drips down my back as we dance around the garage in a rhythm of punch, block, duck. I grunt through shallow breaths, fixated on Aries’s every move. It’s a rush, a high like no other. But nothing compares to the feeling of connecting with bone and teeth and soft flesh. To watch blood spurt out of your opponent’s mouth, their eyes glazing, knowing they’re about to tap out.Or get their ass knocked out.

We go until the poison wears off, and Aries throws in the towel.

“Thanks, bro. I needed that.” I peel off my shirt and use it to wipe my face.

The vein in his neck throbs as he struggles to steady his breath. “You know I got you.”

“I’m gonna jump in the shower. Stay as long as you want.” I snatch a bottle of water out of the mini fridge and offer it to him.

That devious smirk of his takes over his whole face. “Want some company?”

“You know I don’t like to cum before a fight. I gotta save up all that energy.” My cock tents my pants, contradicting my words.

He shrugs. “After then. A celebratory fuck.”

I nod as I readjust myself. “See you tonight, Ries.”

We’ve been playing this game with each other since we were fifteen years old. But it’s always surface level. Nothing deeper than exploring our carnal desires. Our attraction for each other is chaotic. In between the girls and the booze, we always find our way to each other’s beds. If Draven knows, he doesn’t let on. It’s just something we don’t talk about when he’s around. I don’t think he’d give a fuck. It’s just something that we keep between us.

The only person I want to defile as much as Aries is Mia. And the thought of her positioned between us makes my dick so hard that I almost break my rule and jerk myself off in the shower.

Fuck. I need to get my shit together.

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