Chapter 5

3 years ago...

Tina wanted to cry. She'd already done that the night before, but she wanted to do it again.

Sometimes she wondered why she was so unlucky.

She tried to think about the places she's been and how this must have happened, how she must've gotten it. Her boyfriend had always been careful and focused on being safe for her. He'd said he wouldn't do anything that'd hurt her, and he'd kept his word.

It seemed she'd be the person to hurt him now. Because there was no way on earth she was going to tell him the truth.

She'd have to get to the root of everything after dealing with them. She couldn't risk him...

"Hey, baby," she answered after she felt her phone vibrate and saw the caller's name.

"Hey, gorgeous." The sound of his smooth baritone brought a smile to her face.

He always made her feel safe when he wasn't even trying.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm great," she replied, remembering the lie she told him the day before of why they couldn't do a video call.

"I can't wait to see you," he softly said. "I miss you."

She smiled sadly as she replied, "I miss you too."

This was going to be hard.

***

Trevor opened his door to see his younger brother staring at him with a wide smile on his face.

"You could've called," he mumbled in displeasure. "Yesterday."

He loved his brother, and people around him. But he never was a big fan of surprises. He especially didn't like surprise visits.

"Hey, bro."

Sam didn't seem bothered by the look on his face as he engulfed him in a big hug.

"What are you doing here?" Trevor asked after they broke off the hug and gave him space to get in. "And at midnight, too."

"Well," Sam said as he plopped onto his couch. "I was supposed to go somewhere else, but my car decided to malfunction tonight." He offered a pitiful smile. "Could you please make me a cocoa?"

Trevor sighed as he walked to the kitchen to do his brother's bidding, holding off the curse words that were about to escape his lips. He was lucky he didn't have to get to work early.

"Thanks, bro. I love youuuu," Sam said the moment he placed a cup in his hands a few minutes later.

He rolled his eyes as he grudgingly accepted his brother's thanks.

"So where were you supposed to go this late?" Trevor asked, facing his brother with a curious expression.

"Uh... So..."

"You can't come to my house, interrupt my sleep and not have a tangible explanation for it, Sam," he said. "While you're thinking of how to answer me, I'd like you to also explain what the hell you're doing in this city. And country. Because last time I heard that you were in Canada."

Sam gave a nervous laugh. "Don't get mad..."

Trevor shrugged. "You're twenty-seven years old. I think you're old enough to know what's right and wrong. So no matter what I think or say, all that matters is what you think. And believe."

Sam nodded after a moment of silence before speaking again, "So there's this hot girl..."

Trevor groaned, face-palming. "God, I knew it was something stupid."

"Hey! You--you don't understand. Let me show you her picture first."

Sam was known for loving the ladies. He loved them so much that he could travel to a whole nother continent to see them. Luckily their parents were wealthy enough to fund his impulsiveness, but their dad did say that if he reached age thirty and was still acting like this, with no serious girlfriend or job, then they were going to have a big problem.

Now, however, Trevor was having a big problem with his brother.

He silently looked at the photos of the lady Sam came all the way to see.

"Whatchu think? She's hot, right?" he said excitedly.

Trevor hummed. She was actually really attractive. Attractive with locks and freckles that accentuated her round face. Her eyes were dark and her face was set with no smile.

"What's her name and what does she do?"

Sam sat next to him with his cup in hand. "Okay, her name's Coco. Funny, right? One, I like cocoa and because of her--"

"I understand," Trevor interrupted. "Continue."

"She's twenty-nine years old and works as a hairdresser. She has her own saloon and everything."

"You met at a dating site or something?"

"Nope. Saw her on Instagram randomly and decided to shoot my shot."

Trevor nodded, then turned to look at his brother. "So does she know that you're jobless and that you depend on your dad's money, that you want nothing but a little fun because you just like too many girls and--"

"Hey, hey, hey... That's mean," Sam said pouting. "And no, I only told her I'm schooling."

"So she knows next to nothing about you? What if you're a serial killer?"

"We've done video calls and I've been as transparent as possible. Plus, her brother is in my class! So it's technically from him that I saw her."

Trevor sighed as he looked down at the floor. "I don't want you to get some other girl crying because you broke her heart or anything, Sam. Be honest and when you're done with whatever, go back to Canada and finish your school. Get that degree and get a job. If you don't want to use the degree, I'm sure you could find something." He took a deep breath. "Just don't make dad anymore mad than he already is with you. And don't worry, I won't tell him that you're here."

He almost fell down the moment he felt his brother's heavy body on his back.

"Thank you so much, bro," Sam murmured into his back.

"You're welcome."

Trevor stood up after a while and showed his brother to the guest room and the bathroom in case he wanted to take a shower.

"By the way, where exactly did you get a car from?" he said as he stopped by the bedroom door.

Sam gave him his second guilty smile for the day. "Sorry," he whispered.

Trevor sighed. "You're so fucking annoying sometimes."

"Thank you for not being mad!" Sam called after he left the room.

"Hopefully, Coco's worth it," he murmured as he went to his room.

The time was 1 AM, so there's still time to sleep and Trevor did just that. Quite happily too.