Page 103 of The Chameleon

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you back then. But he’s my brother. Even though he tried to have me murdered, I couldn’t bear the thought of having him killed. I knew if I told you the truth, you would have gone after him yourself. So I decided to protect my brother. I placed him here in the custody of Dr.… Smith. It was the best solution to a horrible situation. Yes, my brother would still have his life, but he would also be punished for his crimes each and every day. Trust me when I say this place is hell on earth. He’s paying for his crimes.”

Matteo couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Ares’s brother had killed his parents. He had betrayed Ares and ended hisfamily. He wasn’t sure how he should react. Part of him wanted to walk out into the courtyard and beat the man’s face in until it resembled a crushed orange. Another more reasonable side realized that the man was living his own worst nightmare. Living in a place like this for over twelve years was unimaginable.

Turning, Matteo stared at the man behind the glass. He watched as the man used his finger to write something in the snow that covered the picnic table.

The man looked so lost, so lonely. Like all the joy had been sucked out of his world. It was just him and the white snow around him.

Movement caught the man’s attention, and he looked up toward them. A huge smile cut across the man’s face when he spotted his brother.

Abel jumped up from where he sat, sending snow flying around him.

“Ares! You came! You came back!” the man cheered, excitement spilling from his voice.

He stopped when he reached the glass window that divided them and placed his hand against the surface.

“Brother. I’ve missed you.”

Brightness shown in the man’s eyes, as hope seemed to return to his world once again.

Next to Matteo, Ares lowered his gaze.

Matteo watched as all the hope and joy slowly slipped from the man’s face. Sadness returned, weighing down the edges of the man’s lips.

“You’re not here to take me home,” Abel whispered.

Ares shook his head before slowly lifting his gaze to meet his brother’s.

“Abel, this is Matteo. His parents were the ones you led Massimo to.”

Horror filled Abel’s eyes when he realized he was staring at the man whose parents he had helped to kill.

“Oh my god. I-I’m so sorry.” Abel’s eyes lowered, unable to meet Matteo’s gaze. The fear and guilt were evident.

From behind the glass, Abel began fidgeting with his fingers. It was clear that the man didn’t know where to begin. To be honest, neither did Matteo.

After a few seconds, the frail young man raised his head and locked eyes with Matteo.

“I know there’s nothin’ I can say that will ever make up for the pain that I’ve caused you. And I know I deserve to be in here, paying for the sins of my past and the betrayal of my brother.” The man’s eyes began to water. “If there were one thing I could change, I would have gone to that rehab facility that my big brother had tried to get me to go to. Choosing drugs over my brother was the biggest mistake of my life, and because of that choice, I have destroyed your life. I’ve taken away your family, and I’ve completely ruined my relationship with my brother.”

Abel glanced over at Ares, who was still staring at the floor, refusing to look up at his brother. Matteo got the sense that Ares was fighting back tears.

“Brother, I want you to know how sorry I am and that I don’t blame you for throwing me into this place. I know what I did was unforgivable, and I know that I deserve this and a whole lot worse. I’m just sorry that I had to break your heart. Please try and remember me the way I was when we were young. Before I went and fucked everything up. I love you, brother.”

With that bone-chilling confession, the man behind the glass turned and walked back to his table, where he sat down and began playing with the snow once more. All color had been drained from his world, and sadness had returned to fill the empty gray space in which Abel lived.

Matteo stole a glance at Ares, who was discreetly wiping a tear from his eye.

“You okay?” Matteo asked, hating that he felt sorry for someone who had taken so much from him.

“I will be. Come, let’s go,” Ares muttered, turning and heading back the way they came.

Matteo watched Ares’s brother as he stared absently into the snow before him.

It broke Matteo’s heart seeing that spark, that glimpse of hope and joy so quickly fade from Abel’s eyes the moment he realized that his big brother had not come to rescue him.

He couldn’t imagine the pain and guilt that Ares must feel, leaving his brother in this godforsaken nightmare.

This was all too much for Matteo to take in. He needed time to process what he had just learned. Perhaps one day, he could learn to forgive Ares’s brother for the part he played in his parents’ death. And perhaps one day, Ares would be able to forgive his brother for the betrayal he suffered.

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