Chapter 8

• DAVE'S POV
• Parking my car outside Nixon's apartment building, I picked up my phone and sent him a text to meet me in his place, knowing that he was on lunch break. I climbed down from the car and went up to his apartment on the fifth floor of the building, ignoring the group of men watching me from the black Sedan parked a few blocks away from my car.
• When I got to the door, I punched in the password on the keypad to unlock the door. I slumped on the couch and turned on the TV while I waited for him to arrive.
• A few minutes later, the door opened followed by Nixon's voice, "I can have you arrested for breaking into my apartment." He stood in front of me with his hands shoved in his pants pocket.
• "It's not breaking in if you were the one who gave me the password." I rolled my eyes at him.
• "Why did you make me come here? My lunch break will soon be over, do you want me to get fired for slacking off at work?" He perched on the edge of the couch adjacent to me.
• "You can't get fired. You are one of my dad's best employees." I smiled at him.
• "Yeah, right." He scoffed. "Back to my question, why did you call me here?"
• "I need to leave."
• "Leave?" He raised his eyebrows at him.
• "My parent's men have been watching me since yesterday and it's making me sick." I ran my fingers through my head.
• "That explains the suspicious black Sedan parked outside." He nodded.
• "I just want to go away from them for some time, so help me think of a way to escape." I rested my back on the couch while waiting for him to think of an idea.
• "Dave, why not just listen to your parent and help them out?" He asked, making me pause in my actions. "I know you don't want anything to do with the company but they have no choice either. You can expect them to give all their fortunes to some stranger when they have a son who is living fine."
• "But..." I started but he cut me off.
• "I get you, Dave. You are also scared of what happened to Daniel but that doesn't mean the same will happen to you." He stood up and moved to sit next to me. "You know, you always say your birth was a miracle to your family. There was a reason that miracle occurred in your family and it might have been for this reason."
• When my mom was pregnant with Daniel, she had some issues that resulted in her delivering him using a C-section. After the delivery, they confirmed to her that she could not get pregnant again. Of course, it left her heartbroken, but they accepted it and treated Daniel like their everything.
• Six years later, my mother miraculously got pregnant with me. At first, they were scared that it would be dangerous for my mom to bear another child but my mom chose to risk her life to have me and that was how I came to be.
• "Dave, just listen to your parents and help them out. I know they wouldn't be frustrating you if they had a choice."
• My brain started to rethink the whole thing as Nixon's words sunk into my head before I shook my head and stood up. "I will think about that later. First, help me get out of here without those guys knowing."
• He sighed before standing up to match my height. "Fine. Give me your hood and car key."
• I raised my eyebrows at him. "Why?"
• "I'm going to wear your hood to disguise as you and drive your car away from here. They will follow me thinking it's you, that's when you come out and take my car with you," he explained.
• "Oh, that's brilliant." I nodded as a smile spread across my face.
• Without wasting time, I took off my hood leaving me in the blue T-shirt I was wearing underneath. I handed it over to him as we exchanged car keys.
• "How long are you going to be gone?" He asked as he put on the hood.
• "A week max. I just need some time to myself." I shrugged.
• "Spending two years in London was not enough time to yourself?" he shook his head at me. "I know you are just trying to escape your parents, you don't have to lie to me."
• Why did I even bother lying to him when I knew he would catch on to my lies?
• "You know me well." I smiled.
• "See you in a week and take care of my baby. I don't want to see a single scratch on her when you return," he warned as he walked out.
• Nixon was too overprotective of his cars. He treated them like they were his babies, most especially his Bentley. I was sure the car he told me to take was not his Bentley because he would never let anyone ride it even if he was dying.
• Moments later, he texted me telling me that the coast was clear for me to leave. I picked up the car key and made my way out of the building. A smirk formed on my face when I saw Nixon's Lamborghini parked outside.
• I got in and drove off. By the time the guys find out that they are tailing the wrong guy, I would be long gone.
• After driving for an hour, I stopped the car near the woods far away from the city. I climbed down from the car and walked into the woods, following a path clearing that led to a cabin located in the middle of the woods.
• I stepped inside the cabin and the memories of my brother and I hit me like a wave. The cabin was my brother's hideout but he became our private spot when he brought me here after I graduated from high school. My parents didn't know about it that's why I chose the place to hide.
• Everything in the cabin was in the same position my brother left it. When he left, I made sure not to move anything out of place. Everything in that cabin held precious memories of me and Daniel that I would dare throw away or forget.
• I sat down in front of our old music player and turned it on, knowing what was going to play. It was the same recording I had been listening to three years ago before I left for London. I lay on the couch in the room as my brother's voice filled the room.
• "Dave, if you are listening to this, that means I've gone to a place far away from you. Last month, the doctor told me I had a month to live and no medication could help.
• Instead of fighting it, I chose to accept my fate and spend my last month with my baby brother. I know you must be mad at me for keeping from you till the last moment but I didn't want to spend the last month seeing my brother expecting me to die. I wanted to see you happy and doing things you love, that way I could die with a smile on my face.
• "I just need a favor from you. I want you to look after Mom and Dad, don't let them miss me too much, okay? Make sure you fill whatever void I will be leaving in their heart. And one last thing, make sure you live happily without letting anyone dictate your future for you. Remember that, I love you so much and I will be watching over you from afar. I'm sorry, Dave. I'm sorry."
• At the end of the recording, I was a sobbing mess. Why did they have to take him away from me? That was the question I kept asking but nobody was there to give me an answer.