Chapter seventy right

Oliver

The colors drained from my face and I turned stiff as the memories rushed into my head.

The stench of burnt skin hit my nostrils and I'm transported back to the warehouse

Blood…so much blood. Fire…. Gunshot… Dad!!!

The image of her…

Suddenly, there was not enough air. It became really hard to breathe. The images rushed into my mind, though not as clear as they used to be, but they still had the same horrible impact.

I felt bile rise up my throat and the sudden urge to throw up hit me. I curled my fingers into a fist and forced myself to remain still. I'm not going to show my weakness in front of an enemy. I strolled to the floor to ceiling window as casually as I could without giving Alberto any satisfaction that he got to me.

I shut my eyes tight and took a few discrete breathe to calm my racing heart. I let the gentle breeze hit my face and hoped they would push the nausea back. I fought hard to clear the images from my head.

I had done such a good job not thinking about it for so long that it hurts more than it normally does. And Dallas wasn't here to make them go away. This is bad. This is really bad.

“I bet you're reliving the memories in your head and questioning yourself right now. You're probably wondering if your miserable nanny left a clue and you missed it. Maybe your father's death wasn't an accident after all. Maybe…”

The sound of bones crunching filled the air followed by Alberto's cry of agony. I turned around to see Ethan driving his fist into the old man's face. His eyes were red with fury and he didn't stop despite how loud Alberto's cries got.

Mason screamed and tried to get Ethan to stop hitting his father, but he got hit on the nose. He decided to keep his distance, but kept hurling curse words at my cousin.

This was the side of Ethan not many people see. The exact opposite of his usual playful and flirty behavior. He had that unhinged look in his eyes. The one he always had when people try to talk me down because of my allergy. I've always held my own and made everyone who dared to look down on me pay, but Ethan made it personal mission to hunt them down and hurt them.

And right now, it really looked like he was going to kill Alberto if I didn't stop him.

Honestly, I didn't exactly want to stop him. I don't trust myself not to kill Alberto myself for daring to talk about my father like that.

Xavier wasn't here to stop the both of us from turning murderous, although I doubt he'd be any civil about this. He'd be more than glad to finish him off and even help hide his dead body.

But killing Alberto would create more problems not solve them.

Mason turned to me and screamed,
“He's gone crazy! Stop him before he kills Papa!”

The little Castillo looks like he'd burst into tears soon. I shook my head.

“You made it sound like I care if he does.” I tilted my head to the side and narrowed my gaze on him to make sure my words sink in.

It was almost comical how his face turned white with fear. He began trembling.

“Pl..eas..e, don't k..ill him..” he stuttered.

I threw a quick glance at Ethan. He hurled Alberto up from the couch and threw him on the floor. Alberto looked like he'd pass out any time soon. His face was bloodied and I'm pretty sure his nose is broken. Ethan didn't seem satisfied with the sight. He made to deliver another punch to Alberto when I placed a hand on his shoulder.

He stared at me for a long time before his gaze leveled into a glare.

“As delightful as this scene has been, I'm really not in the mood to see another dead body today. If you kill him, I'll have no choice but to kill this one too.” I pointed at Mason.

The man slumped to his knees and sobbed. What a big baby. I wonder how people deal with him.

I tore my gaze away from the crying Castillo and faced Ethan. The anger slowly dissipated from his eyes. His lips tilted upwards into an almost smile, his eyes still on me.

“Is there a reason you're staring at me in such creepy way?” I arched an eyebrow.

He didn't say anything. He simply dropped his gaze and I realized I was still touching his shoulder. I removed my hand and shoved it into my pocket. Ethan's smile only grew wider.

If I didn't know my cousin better, I'd think he really didn't know what to say, except smile

Mason's sobs grew louder and irritating with each passing minute.

“Oh! Shut the fuck up!” Ethan snapped at him.

He marched towards him in what was obviously an attempt to scare him. Mason scrambled to his feet and bolted into one of the rooms, a lock clinking into place.

Ethan and I let out a sigh simultaneously. I turned around to see that Alberto had passed out on the floor, his blood staining the tiled floor.

“Well, that's unfortunate.” Ethan muttered.

“You hit him too hard.” I argued.

“He deserved it.” He simply said. He crouched down and wiped his bloodied hands with Alberto's shirt.

Well, hard to argue when you think the same thing.

“How are we supposed to question him now that he's passed out?” I let out an exasperated sigh.

“We come back another time,” he shrugged as if it's not a big deal. “Besides, I don't think he knows anything judging by the nonsense he was spewing.”

I nodded. There's a possibility he was simply trying to antagonize me. I didn't let myself dwell on the possibility that he was pointing out the truth.

“Let's go. Surely, Mason can take care of his own father.”

I strolled towards the door, both my hands shoved in my pocket. I could feel Ethan on my heels as we walked to the car. He was still throwing occasional glances at me.

“What?” I said as we settled in our seats.

“I didn't say anything.”

I glanced at him and narrowed my gaze.
“You've been throwing me weird glances since we left the Castillos. Something is clearly up,”

He opened his mouth to speak but I interjected, “And don't you dare deny it.”

He sighed, defeated.

“You touched me.” He said simply.

Oh! I didn't even realized I touched his shoulder until I was doing it. And it had felt…so normal. It was only a slight touch and there were layers of clothes between us but I might as well be roaming my hands over his bare body.

It was odd, considering I've only felt comfortable touching Dallas. Maybe she really did cure me and made me tolerable to other people's touch.

“I've only ever seen you touch Dallas since–” he paused, probably searching for a better word. “-the incident. This is the first time you're touching me in years.” He finished.

“Yeah.” I said simply.

“How?” he stared at me in utter disbelief.

I returned his gaze, my lips curling into a smile.

“Dallas happened.”