Page 3 of Voices

“W-what do you mean,” I stutter.

He raises an eyebrow at my stutter, making me rub a nervous hand over my mouth. He sits forward in his chair with his hands steepled on the table.

“If you want the remaining portion of your trust fund, I expect you to stay within fifty miles of me.”

The blood drains from my face. “W-why?”

He moves so quick that I don’t even register it until I feel heat blooming across the right side of my face. I don’t even have time to cover my cheek before he pushes me backward. My back hits the wall and he’s right there, looming over me.

Looking down, the backs of my eyes start to sting.

Don’t cry, it’ll only make this worse.

“I make the rules boy. And you will do as I say,” he seethes as spittle hits the top of my head.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you!” His sharp tone has me cringing.

Looking up at him, I do my best to hide all my emotions. My hands start shaking so I hide them behind my back and pray he can’t see the little shutters going through my body.

He gets so close that I have to crane my neck to look into the same brown eyes as my own.

“Your brother has been accepted to Gannon University, and I expect you to attend as well.”

At the mention of Benji, I glance back at the table and see he’s not there.

I’m always left to deal with my father on my own.

“Someone needs to keep an eye on you when I’m not around,” he continues. “Plus, I have important events that require the presence of my sons, and Icannothave Benjamin flying back and forth all the time and losing focus on making it to the NHL.”

Looking down at my shoes, I lose the battle as a tear slips out.

I don’t understand. I don’t get into trouble. I have perfect attendance. I took all AP courses in high school and graduated early with honors. It took years of dedication, hard work, and patience to earn the high scores I achieved.

I can’t win when all Father sees are Benji’s success and my failures.

“I understand. I-I’m sorry I brought it up,” I say softly.

“Good. Now get out of my sight.”

Dismissed, I turn toward the stairs to head up to my room and spot my mother at the entrance to the dining room. She’s standing with her arms crossed over her fake breasts and her hip popped out to the side. Her bleached blonde hair is perfectly straight and she’s wearing a bright pink crop top and skinny jeans. She catches my eye and raises her sculpted eyebrow. When I don’t say anything, she rolls her eyes and walks past me.

She’s twenty years younger than Father. Even though she’s forty-five, you’d think she was in her lower thirties with the amount of plastic surgery she’s had. Her biggest worry in life has always been about her image. Father married her just one month after they met. He gave her endless amounts of money in exchange for having his son. But when she had two at the same time, they picked one to help rise to the top while I fell to the side.

I climb the stairs and speed-walk to my room. Closing and locking the door behind me, I slide down, and when my ass hits the floor, I let the tears fall.

“Hey, Charlie, get up. You fell asleep.”

A gentle hand on my shoulder shakes me. How the hell did Benji get into my room?

I open my eyes and see hazel eyes staring back at me.

Benji and I are fraternal twins. He’s about three inches taller than me and built like a damn brick house. His eyes are a mix of Mother’s green and Father’s brown, while mine are just brown. We both have dark, almost black hair and freckles. But other than those few physical similarities, we are the complete opposite.

He has played every sport under the sun and has natural talent. Whereas I can’t throw or kick a ball while standing still. Not to mention my hand-eye coordination isn’t the best.

He picked up a hockey stick when we were six or seven, and it has been his life ever since. As soon as Father caught wind ofhow good he was, he poured money on top of money for him to get the best of the best to coach him.

I didn’t mind Benji having all of the attention. It meant Father left me alone to work on my art. I only wish he would have shown my art an ounce of the love he shows when he’s watching Benji.

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