Guilty

Andrew sat on the couch, he was a bit lost in thoughts and he was blaming himself for what happened to Kylie.
He hadn't told Pearl yet about what he did to Dimitri and he reasoned it was not wise to tell her for now. Even though he made Dimitri lose everything which was just payback for the humiliation Jennifer and he gave him, the pang of pain they left in his heart couldn't heal without him getting his revenge for all they did.
They rubbed his circumstantial poverty in his face, so when he had wealth he decided to show Dimitri who was in power and maybe he made a big mistake, just maybe he was wrong for doing that. He should have probably let bygones be bygones.
"Fuck" Andrew cursed under his breath and ruffled his hair in frustration.
The most confusing aspect was he claimed to be Pearl's brother or rather a dead brother that came alive. How could the man that caused him so much heartache and pain become his brother–in–law, it was crazy and not worth thinking about, he told himself.
Pearl held the sketch pad in her hand and looked at the image. The eyes look so familiar but not the face and she wasn't going to fall for the sibling trash thing, she was determined to put him behind bars.
"He is the one who kidnapped me and I think we should believe him" Kylie interrupted her train of thought.
Kylie knew it wasn't right to defend a criminal who put her through a few minutes of knowing what hell felt like but in the end, he stopped himself when he found out that he was her brother. That tells a lot about the situation, only if others could believe it as well.
"I should believe a criminal? are you being for real?" Pearl inquired with an angry look on her face.
Kylie sighed "B–but it didn't seem like he was lying and I saw the evidence right in front of my eyes, he had the same birthmark on his shoulder"
"Blue, did your brother ever have a birthmark on his shoulder?" Andrew asked in between the conversation.
His hand was stuck to his chin that had some spiky but well-trimmed beard on it as he stroked it gently waiting for an answer.
Pearl frowned and faced him.
"Yes, he had a birthmark on his shoulder but he died, I felt no heartbeat in his chest, there was no breath. I can assure you that Kelvin died that day" Pearl yelled, her eyes getting teary as the memories of the awful night came back.
Even though it happened a long time ago, the pain was still there. He fell ill, they were just orphans who had nothing to eat or anyone to be with them. They were physically abused at the places they worked, they were given crumbs and sometimes spoiled food to eat and that killed Kelvin. It all started with mild stomach pain then it transited to something more severe, it was painful to watch him go through that. Pearl recalled her little self trying to find drugs for him but those pharmacies slammed their doors in her face.
They didn't believe she was an orphan even though they saw the poor condition she was in, some even mocked her parents and her looks. It got so bad that Pearl couldn't take it anymore. Kelvin was getting worse by the minute and little Kylie wasn't having it easy either and she fell mildly ill as well. Pearl wasn't able to get a drug through legal means therefore she decided to steal them but it was too late because Kelvin wasn't breathing anymore.
'Pearl, Kelvy isn't shaking anymore' She recalled Kylie's voice in her head, she thought it was a good thing but little did she know that it was the end of his journey in life.
Pearl wiped away the stray tears that fell from her eyes before she knew it, Andrew was already by her side.
"Kelvin died years ago, this guy isn't our brother, he's just a big liar!" Pearl yelled while pointing at the sketch pad in hatred.
"But Pearl –"
"Don't try to convince me about anything. Andrew, this Dimitri is going to face the law and pay for his crimes. I will make sure he spends the rest of his life in jail for kidnapping Kylie " Pearl yelled. They knew that if she set her mind on something, it was going to take a whole lot to convince her.
"But, what if he is our brother?"
"He is not our brother, we have no brother who is still alive. Dimitri is going to jail where his kind belongs!" Pearl said firmly and threw the sketch pad on the floor.
She stepped over it with her black heels and walked away.
*****
Joan woke up in the hospital, he was exhausted and felt weak because of the sedative that was still in his system.
"How do you feel?" the nurse who was checking his blood pressure asked.
Joan knew they were not going to discharge, so he had some ace under his sleeves.
"I feel suffocated in this room, please Beautiful. Can you take me to the garden?" Joan asked with an ulterior motive.
The nurse blushed because he called her beautiful which was true.
"I don't think you are fit to walk at all," She said and his face fell.
"But–you can sit on the wheelchair and that would help you feel more comfortable" She smiled at him and he returned to her a wide and big smile.
"Thanks"
She helped him on the wheelchair with a drip still attached to his body, then she rode the wheelchair out of the private room.
She suddenly received a call and excused herself, it was perfect timing. Joan quickly removed the IV from his vein then he carefully found a way to sneak out of the place.
The nurse ended her call and looked back and saw he was gone.
"Oh no! where did he go?" She panicked.
***
Joan dropped from the cab and went through the gate.
He sauntered weakly to the door, pushed it opened, and dragged himself inside.
"Joan!" Andrew gasped.
Kylie looked at him with a shocked face.
Before he could reach Kylie he fell to the floor and tears came from his eyes.
"Kylie, please forgive me. I'm begging you to please forgive me" He cried and clasped his hand together in a pleading form.
"Please, forgive me"