Chapter 4

POSEIDON POV

~FLASHBACK~

“You’ll be hammered before the fun ends if you keep going like this.”

Romeo pointed out handing me my sixth… or was it seventh? Don’t care! Anyway, he pointed out as he handed me yet another full glass of wine before taking an empty one from my other hand and placing it on the tray of the passing waiter. I made sure to raise a toast to him before chugging the whole liquid down and then winced at the burning sensation as the liquor traveled down my throat. 

My eyes continued roaming the expansive hall taking in all kinds of people who have swarmed up to witness the ‘holy matrimony’ of the infamous Gabriel Rhodez and his second wife. I made sure to stay in the shadows, avoiding the limelight at all costs. Today wasn’t about me, it was about him. And I couldn’t afford to be buttered along by the group of bulimic pot-bellied oldies who were lying through their teeth.

Don’t call me bitter. It's just that… this wasn’t my kind of crowd. Fancy designer dresses, diamonds around the necks and ears, champagnes, li’l bubblies… they just didn’t do it for me. There was just so much falsity and hypocrisy among these folks that I couldn’t even stand one minute of them.

“Luna seems to be having the best time of her life,” Elon called out gesturing to the other end of the hall, where none but 'my date' was having a blast hanging on the arm of some rich guy. I couldn’t help but want to gag at the nauseating sight in front of me. That bitch was just so-so…

“Why did you bring her here again?" Sebastian, one of my three friends and a member of the Z4. didn’t try to mask the disgust in his tone, and I decided to humor her this time.

“So she could help me deal with these folks,” I said slamming the glass down onto the table next to us, then started walking off. I needed to get out of here. 

“Where are you going?” Romeo screamed from behind me, and I just flipped them off, not dignifying them with the response, and took off to the entrance. As soon as I stepped outside into the night, all the tension that has been pressing me down for the whole day left my shoulders. The relaxing sound of the waves crashing against the hard surface of the ship filled my ears, the fresh air infesting my nostrils and lungs. I felt my body unfolding and went in by rolling my shoulders just so as to prolong the feeling. 

My feet carried me further down the well-designed and modeled deck, and before I knew it, I was a very good distance from the main hall on the other side of the cruise ship. 

It was funny how time slothed when you wanted it to rush, but this time, it really ran by just as fast. It wasn't long ago when Gabriel separated with mom. I was not an expert when it came to relationships but theirs was a mistake from the get-go. I have never seen people so incompatible as them. It was as if they have foregone the courting stage and had no idea what they were getting into when marrying each other. After full 15 years of forcing things, they finally got tired. Mom flew back to Thailand and dad... Well... He found his other person.

It’s not like I hated the idea of my dad remarrying. Not at all. 

If Ade made him happy then I was good. Besides, Ade seemed to be a pretty cool human and in all honesty, I didn’t mind her being part of the family. The only thing I resented was the uproar. As if Messiah had come down to earth all by Himself. I get it, Gabriel, I mean my dad, was the man of the century. The man whose wealth bypassed almost every man on earth. He was by far leading the trends as the world’s richest man and that only put him in the spotlight. Everyone wanted a piece of him, and that right there is the reason why he and Ade had a two-week-long wedding, away from the people and right in the heart of the North Atlantic. 

Utter madness. 

 The charade has been going on for so long now and I was fed up. Honestly. 

While my mind was still wandering, my ears picked a smooth yelp followed by a series of curses, then soft chuckles. My feet carried me along to where the sound was birthed until I arrived at the most exclusive part of deck by the back of the ship, and right there by the railings was…a boy. 

“You gotta be careful there.” I voiced out as soon as I saw him standing on the railings and overlooking the waves from that height. His whole torso froze before he slowly descended down to the wooden deck, then turned to face me. Time seemed to have frozen when he jerked his head to the side, his black mane following the movements of his head and clearing from his forehead. The world’s most black orbs stared back at me and I found myself glued to one spot, mesmerized. 

This guy had to be unhuman.

“I was just enjoying the waves. I apologize if I did anything out of question.” He said lowering his head, and my brain was on a rampage of curses as I mentally cursed myself for making such a fine species… feel bad. 

“It's alright. Care if I join?” I said after finding my voice. He lifted his face up, his expression clearing and a broad smiling perching itself on his features. I swear at that moment, I was staring into the eyes of an angel. In all my life, I have never seen a smile so captivating that it stole all the words from out of my mouth. I don’t know when he agreed but I found myself right beside him, staring at him as if he was something that just emerged from the deepest levels of the ocean. 

“Bride or Groom?” He asked, his voice sweeter than it was upon closer distance. 

“Huh?” my tongue was suddenly caught by a cat, my mind in a loop as my eyes roamed every single detail of his perfectly sculpted face. My hands itched to feel it, to touch his face and caress it. His lips were insanely pink, nothing like a normal boy’s lips should be, and the more he talked, chunking bits of smiles and revealing his perfectly white set of teeth, I knew I would sell my soul just to see more of that.

“Whose side are you on? The Bride or the Groom?” I don’t know what made me want to squeal. The way his words were laced with a bit of an accent, proved that he wasn’t from this world; well at least not from Boston or any side of the rotten America.

“Oh, that! The groom.” I said breaking the stance I was in, then faced out into the deep black waters laying ahead.

“Hmmm… it is a lovely wedding. I was actually surprised when I learned it's going to take 2 weeks off the ground.” He said chuckling, his shoulders rocking softly. For a second there, I remained stoic, just watching the smile on his face.

~END OF FLASHBACK~

“Dude…” 

“Poseidon what the fuck?” Elon asked throwing something onto my lap, abruptly yanking me off the trance I was in. I shook my head slightly and made sure to give him a stink eye, before eying the thing he threw at me. 

A bra! A red one to be exact.

“Bitchface.” I cursed discarding the thing to the floor and erupting from the couch, then walked to the wine cabinet and pulled out a fresh bottle.

“Bruh, what crawled up your ass and died? You’ve been absent-minded the entire time you've sat there.” Romeo asked walking to where I was and clamped my shoulder tightly,

“Is everything alright? You’ve never been this distracted.”

No. Not even a single thing is alright because that damn boy I have been working hard to get off my mind sprung back from wherever he disappeared to and guess what, he is my fuckin’ stepbrother.

“I’m fine.” I snapped instead, then walked back to the couch and plopped myself.

“Just didn’t have a good sleep last night.” That wasn't entirely a lie. Besides, it is not like I was going to confess that the reason why I got my mind in the gutters was that the boy I have been obsessing over sleeps down across the hall from me. And that since the first time I laid my eyes on him all I have ever wanted was to lay down my life for him because I have never seen someone so… Unflawed!

“Wanna go home and rest?” and meet him? No fuckin’ way. I wasn’t ready.

“Hm-m. not now,” I said plainly while unscrewing the corkscrew from the bottle before pouring a good amount of wine. 

“Okay. Now how about we go over the plan again?” Sebastian called out in his scruffy voice, and all I did was nod at him.

For the following hours, they went all about the party they were throwing back at school and how they were going to find the new victims and whatnot. Had it been any other normal day, I would have been utterly invested in all their wantons, but right now… right about now,

All I could think of was the black-eyed boy I met on the deck a year ago who turned my whole world upside down before disappearing back to the deepest pits of the unknown realms he had sprung from, only to emerge a year later as my step-fuckin'-brother!