5. ~ R I V E R ~

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I was exhausted.

Xander did not come back to the office. That irresponsible brat!

What did he do instead? He paraded his latest relationship in front of all the patrons of one of King's most prominent and busy restaurant - the woman who happened to be the sister of his last relationship!

The media was having a field day with it. And the PR team and I had to work overtime to try to put out a raging fire. And we had gotten nowhere yet.

It was ten now.

I had to cancel on our date plans.

Dave had sounded disappointed but he was as supportive as ever, saying we would pick it up tomorrow night. What did I ever do to deserve him?

But his understanding and consideration did not stop the angry tears that trickled down my face.

I knew he was going to propose today.

I just knew it.

I knew he might have planned some grand gesture.

And all of it had gone to waste.

It was all my fault.

I sat at my desk, my eyes aching and my mind racing. I did nothing but stare at the closed door to the stupid CEO's office. Stupid asshole!

I jumped when my phone rang and I was sure it would be Xander.

The devil tended to answer when you thought of them.

I was ready to blow his head off for the fuckery he had committed and left for me to deal with and I looked down at my gadget.

My eyebrows shot up at the caller ID.

Sky.

Skylar Sterling, my younger brother.

I picked up the phone. "Sky? What's up?"

He was a prodigy. A freaking genius. And he had gone to an Ivy-League science college at the age of sixteen with a full scholarship.

I was so proud of my baby.

But it was also terrifying.

He was just a kid amongst all those adults. He didn't have any friends. He never did because he was gifted. Among his age group, he was a know-it-all. And among his college peers, he was a reminder of their own failures. 

I had always asked him if he wanted to choose differently but he had always said that he did not care what others thought and he justed needed me in his life. I hoped he meant it, even though I wished he had someone else in his life too. Like I had Dave. 

"Why are you calling at this hour?" I asked him before I got any reply. I had a really uneasy feeling about this. He was not one to call so later, especially tonight because he was told I would be with Dave. 

"Riv, I promise it's not my fault!" My heart dropped to my stomach at the sound of the pure terror in his voice. 

"What are you talking about?" I asked him. 

"You believe me, right? You know I will never do anything wrong, right?." He sounded like he was trying to hold back his tears. "No one is believing me here, Riv. You are the only one I know will actually trust me. Please please please, big sis, trust me!"

I was on my feet, my stomach churning as the worst of the scenarios started to make their rounds in my brain. "Baby, just tell me what's wrong? What happened? Give me details, Sky. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on!"

"They found... drugs in my room, Riv!" He started to wail. "I swear, I had nothing to do with it. I have never used drugs in my life. I am clean. But there were so much of it that they think I am a drug dealer or a mule or something! They are not believing what I am saying!"

My mind went into overdrive.

Drugs?

In Sky's room?

That was impossible!

My baby brother was a nerd.

He was only sixteen!

He hadn't even had alcohol before. I knew because he told me everything. After our mother succumbed to her alcoholism, it was a clear lesson for the both of us not to touch it. There was no way my baby would stray from that decision!

"Sky, calm down," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I believe you. Now, tell me where you are."

"They called the police, Riv," he sobbed. "They're taking me to the station. I don't know what to do!"

"Okay, okay, listen to me," I spoke calmly, trying to keep the panic at bay. "I'll get you a lawyer, the best one I can find. You stay there and don't say anything else, okay? Don't answer any questions without a lawyer present."

Sky sniffled on the other end of the line. "But, Riv, they're saying they're going to call child services if you don't come."

Shit.

This was not happening.

Not now.

Not when I had just started to get a handle on the shit storm that was our life.

"I'll be right there," I assured him, my heart hammering in my chest. "Stay strong, baby. Your big sis is not going to let anything happen to you!"

I could not hang up immediately. It took a lot of reassurance that I believed him and that I would protect him and we were never going to be separated before I could finally convince him to hang up.

I stood there, my palms planted on my desk, my head hanging low and I heaving in breaths as if I had run a marathon. My chest tightened around my lungs, making the feat an almost impossible task, but I somehow managed to get the much needed air into my system.

"Sterling, what's wrong?"

My left eye twitched when I heard the voice of the last person I wanted to hear right now.

Xander Asshole King. 

"What are you doing here?" I asked him as I looked up at him, not caring to ask why he looked like a puppy kicked out into the street.

"It's my office." He replied dryly. "And I was told you were looking for me."

I tried. I really did try to stop myself from laughing hysterically like a fucking maniac. But I just could not stop myself.

Xander's expression was priceless. His eyes wide, his brows raised. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." I shook my head, wiping away a lone tear. "Nothing at all. Just that my boss is a piece of shit, my boyfriend might have proposed tonight if it wasn't for YOUR scandal and my brother is going to jail and probably gonna be separated from me."

Xander's face hardened. I didn't know if he was more upset about the fact that I  had called him a piece of shit, or that my boyfriend was about to propose to me. The latter just could not be it, unless he thought I was going to prioritize his self-conceited ass less if I got married. 

But he surprised me when he chose to ignore both those matters and asked, "Your brother?"

And the dam behind my eyes exploded. 

I was not one to cry in front of anyone. But here I was, in my boss's office, sobbing like a baby in front of him, the man I loathed with a passion.

"Sterling, what exactly happened to your brother? His name is Skylar, right? What happened to him?" Xander's voice was surprisingly gentle. And I was surprised by the fact that he knew my brother's name. I didn't even remember telling him.

"They found drugs in his room." I choked out. "They're saying he's a dealer. But it's not true. It can't be!"

Xander's expression grew more serious than I had ever seen it. "Okay, okay," he said calmly, approaching my desk. "Take a deep breath. Let's sort this out."

It was weird. Xander, my asshole boss who had no emotion except anger, was actually trying to comfort me. But in that moment, I didn't have the strength to resist. I needed help, and if the devil himself offered it, I'd take it.

"Where is he now?" Xander asked.

"He said he will be taken to the station." I gulped, trying to hold back the sobs. "He said they'll call child services if I don't get there soon. I don't know what to do. I need to get a lawyer. But where do I get one at this hour?"

Xander's expression remained neutral but I thought I saw fire in his eyes. "We will ask our attorney to come. He can't decline if I call."

"What?" I looked up at him in surprise, my tears not even bothering to stop.

"Let's go. We need to get to the station before he says anything stupid." Xander said, his voice firm.

And I could do nothing but nod. 

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