22 : Too much confusion

**Evelyn :**

Well, the situation was quite awkward at this moment because we were both standing a few meters away from each other, and I could only blink my eyes, with a confused expression but at the same time, I was a little scared because I didn't know Raphael's brother that much. Was he really good or bad? And knowing his condition, I didn't know if I should run away or somehow help and keep things clear and bright.

"Yeah, hey..." I waved my hand, in a weak gesture and immediately cringed.

*Awkward as fuck*

Luke just smirked more and made a hand maneuver for me to come to him but I stood there as if I was stuck on the ground, afraid to move. I didn't know what to do but then I didn't have to think about it anymore because something started to smell like burning flesh in the air. My eyes darted to the stove, where eggs with all their shells were cooking.

"Something is burning!" I exclaimed sharply and all the smile disappeared from Luke's face as he made an 'O' face in realization about the situation.

"Shit," the word slipped out of his mouth again. Cursing under his breath, he quickly turned to the stove to flip the already burnt eggs.

I could only shake my head at the absurdity. Trying to calm myself, I took slow steps forward that brought me closer to the intruder in the house. When I got to the counter, which only separated me a meter from him because I was behind it, I watched how the poor guy pitifully looked at the pan, where one side of the eggs was already completely black.

Suppressing the urge to cover my nose because of the smell, I heard him sigh.

"I can't afford to waste more eggs, he'll beat me," he muttered to himself sadly and I raised my eyebrows trying to understand the meaning of his words.

"What are you even doing here?" I blurted out by accident, of course, like every time.

As if he remembered that I was here, he turned towards me and after looking at me for a moment, he started to smile, like when he first saw me enter the kitchen.

"Hey, sugar! You're still here. You are very special to my brother, aren't you?"

Not knowing how to respond, Luke continued to talk, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I didn't see the day when it would come but I see the proof in front of me. What's your name, beautiful?" it was an innocent question and even if he was under the influence of alcohol, a complete stranger to me, I felt that he was not dangerous and meant no harm. I could trust him a little, and I also had the feeling that he wasn't interested in me at all but rather interested in the knowledge that now Raphael has a woman in the house.

"Well... Evelyn," I whispered slowly. At my words, the man's eyes widened for a moment, as if he had heard the most shocking news ever in his life.

As if in a trance, Raphael's brother turned to the stove to turn off the gas and instantly removed the pan from the hot ring. Placing the black eggs on a plate, he then placed them on the counter in front of him and turned to me again but now avoided my gaze.

"Evelyn you say?" he asked again and I heard a deeper note under it but I didn't have time to start questioning what it meant and what he wasn't really telling me.

"Yeah," there was an awkward silence with that but forgetting everything immediately, Luke raised his head and looked at me, smiling.

"Well, I'm glad that my brother has found someone to spend time with. I know that he doesn't see me and we rarely see each other but really I don't want to cause problems, he's just stubborn and doesn't know how to share with me his things," making a sad face, I began to look at him much differently.

What happened between the two of them if they are not seeing each other, especially since Raphael didn't like his brother being around?

"And to your question, why am I here, I just came to visit, I noticed that the master himself was not there, I decided to wait and make myself dinner in my free time," winking at me, he took two slices of white bread, put eggs on them and taking one to himself, biting, the other he offered to me, "Want some?"

Remembering that they contained fried shells, I smiled reluctantly.

"No, thank you, maybe another time," declining the offer, Luke just shrugged his shoulders and continued to chew the bread as if he was eating the best meal of his life.

There was an awkward silence between us again when I felt someone else in the room with us, it gave me goosebumps when the dark presence loomed behind me.

"What are you doing here?" the words were like poison, and the tone was quite deadly.

**Raphael.**

Swallowing hard, I stayed put and saw Luke pale a little at the sight of his brother behind me but trying to play it cool, he gave a weak grin, even if it was rather unsafe for him right now because I felt Phoenix fire already licking my skin because of his anger.

"I'm visiting you, Raphy, can't I do that anymore?"

Silence again, then, "No, I somehow don't remember giving you permission to break into my house, where you can't set foot again. Didn't I warn you the last time?" feeling him much closer, the warmth was greater on my back as a tall silhouette stood right next to me.

A firm arm wrapped around me to pull my body against his. Soft lips touched my ear, creating shivers all over my body.

"And not, even more, when my girl is here, alone," he growled in anger. The sound vibrated from his chest to my form between us and I almost started to tremble in fear.

I relaxed and let myself fall into his warmth, leaning against him because I knew he was much more relaxed with me and wouldn't start a war with his poor brother who wanted to eat his burnt eggs.

"Tell me, darling, did he touch you?" whispering softly, I turned my head to the side to look at him with a racing heart.

Already dressed in black again, his face was covered by a large hood and cape but the flashing eyes could not be missed. Like a black angel of death, ready for war, Raphael waited for an answer and I could barely answer because of his proximity.

"No, he didn't do anything. We just talked," I explained. His head tilted to the side, as if watching me and assessing the situation, whether I was lying or not.

"Is that right?" slowly pulling away, his gaze drifted to Luke, who carefully and soundlessly wanted to bite into his bread again but was caught when his hand froze halfway out of his mouth.

I wanted to laugh at the whole thing, as serious as it was. Maybe this was pretty dangerous because Raphael's reaction wasn't very happy and open for his brother but it seemed funny because one wanted to eat and the other was thinking about killing. Even if I didn't read the Phoenix's mind, I knew that he wanted his brother out of the house as soon as possible, where he shouldn't be in the first place.

*What does he have against him that he does not tolerate his own brother?*

Afraid to say something, I lowered my head and felt the Phoenix's body begin to visibly shake, from anger or worry, I don't know.

"I'll ask again - what are you doing here, in my house, if you know very well that I forbade you to come here? Were you deaf last time that you don't even care?" spitting out the words completely, Raphael's grip tightened around me and I barely caught my breath at it.

Luke leaned back in his chair, put the bread and egg on the plate, and wiped his hands against his jacket.

Yikes, talking about hygiene and cleanliness principles. Not that I care.

"Raphy, you can't be angry all the time about what happened, it wasn't my fault," waving his hands sadly in the air to get his point across, I didn't understand what was going on until my captor's body froze completely.

"You better not start before you know what will happen if you continue," threatening back I shuddered at the threat but his brother must not have been in his right mind because he suddenly laughed and stood up angrily pointing his finger in Raphael's direction.

"You have no right to treat me like that because you know I was there for you when everything went wrong! I was there to protect her but we both failed. You were as much to blame as I was! You pushed me away because you're a coward for not being able to accept the fact that something happened that shouldn't have happened! You pushed me away from that point on and wonder why I'm like this and rarely visit you. At least be glad that I come to visit you at all but it's your fault for making our relationship estranged," the disdain was clear in all the words spoken and I was completely shocked by it. The drunken and happy man was now gone because of his anger towards his brother.

The Phoenix's anger grew even greater, it seemed that he was about to explode. It was also much hotter but at the last moment, his nose touched my neck, smelling my scent deeply and Raphael calmed down a bit.

"I will say it for the last time - get out of my house," the words tasted of death. It was silence before the big storm, but Luke got the message loud and clear when he stood up from the chair.

"Sure, just don't come to ask me for help afterwards when I'll turn my back on you and not help you," with that he waved me goodbye as well and left the room. We heard footsteps in the hallway when the front door slammed shut and the whole house fell silent, only our heavy breathing could be heard.

"That wasn't nice," I muttered. For that, his arms wrapped around me like irons.

"In the bedroom, little one, now," he said in a commanding voice.

I had no choice but to obey.