My Brain Fades, His Hate Never Ends Chapter 02

My Brain Fades, His Hate Never Ends Chapter 02

My body went rigid.

The words on my cuff, I’d spent all night writing them one by one.

Step 1: Ask what grade of gas.

Step 2: Use the matching nozzle.

Step 3: Enter amount or gallons.

…

Twenty-seven steps total.

Without them, I wouldn’t know how to work tomorrow.

“What? You don’t want to?”

Elias’s voice held a dangerous smile.

“Or are those words on your sleeve some dirty little secret?”

He reached for my arm.

Jude rushed forward again, blocking me.

“Enough!”

“What do you want from her?!”

Elias glanced at him, contemptuous.

“I’m catching up with my ex. What’s it to you?”

“Ex?”

Jude laughed in disbelief.

“This isn’t catching up. This is abuse.”

Scarlett spoke coolly from the side.

“Sir, Elias is just helping Miss Cole remember what she did.”

“She knows exactly what she did for m0ney five years ago.”

“Now Elias is letting her make it right. She should be grateful.”

“Make it right?”

Jude stared at them like they were crazy.

“You call this making it right?”

Elias was done talking.

He turned directly to the station manager, who’d rushed over at the noise.

“Do you still want that ExxonMobil supply contract?”

The manager’s legs went weak.

“Mr. Voss! Don’t be angry!”

He bowed frantically, then glared at Jude.

“You! Apologize to Mr. Voss now!”

Jude’s fists clenched tight.

The manager spun to me, impatient.

“And you, Elara! What’s wrong with cleaning his rims?”

“It’s nothing. Quit dragging your feet!”

“Hurry up! Don’t waste Mr. Voss’s time!”

I looked at the manager’s fawning face, then at Jude’s bitter eyes.

I bowed my head and slowly rolled up my sleeve.

Then I dropped to my knees.

I pressed the cloth holding my only survival guide against the cold metal rim.

Once.

Twice.

Black oil soaked through the fabric, blurring the words.

My memories faded away with them.

I forgot Step 3.

I forgot Step 4.

Elias stood there, watching coldly.

Like he was enjoying a staged show.

He only spoke when my sleeve was tattered and the writing was gone.

“Enough.”

I stopped and looked up at him.

His face was empty.

“Elara Cole. Do you remember what day today was five years ago?”

I shook my head blankly.

He wasn’t surprised. He smiled.

“It was the day you said yes to my proposal.”

“You cried and told me, Elias Voss, I’ll marry no one but you.”

“You said you’d build me a happy home.”

My head ached more with every word.

Blurry, broken images flashed through my mind.

A church. A white veil. A shining ring.

“Can’t remember?”

Elias leaned down, grabbed my chin, and forced me to look at him.

“That’s fine. I’ll remember for you.”

“Everything you owe me, I’ll take back. Slowly. One by one.”

He let go, stood straight, and fixed his tie.

“Scarlett. Let’s go.”

Scarlett glanced at me triumphantly, took his arm, and climbed into the car.

The black Celestia roared and sped away.

Jude rushed to help me up.

“Elara. Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

I stared at him, empty.

“Brother… who am I?”

Jude’s eyes reddened at once.

He pulled me into a tight hug, voice breaking.

“You’re Elara Cole. You’re my baby sister.”

I pulled the new photo from my pocket, still unputaway.

I didn’t recognize the person in it.

The writing on the back was smudged with oil.

I pointed at the photo and whispered.

“Who is he?”

Jude stared at the photo, then at me, and tears finally fell.

“He’s your brother too.”

“We’re family.”

I nodded slowly, not fully understanding.

The manager marched over and slapped two termination letters into our faces.

“You two are fired.”

“Grab your stuff and get out!”

Jude tried to argue.

“Why?!”

“Because you messed with Mr. Voss!”

The manager waved his hand angrily.

“No gas station in Havenbrook will hire you.”

“You’ll starve out here.”

Jude swayed.

I held him and picked up the two papers from the ground.

I didn’t understand what had happened.

I only knew we had no job.

I pulled out my notebook and flipped to a blank page.

With my pen, I wrote slowly and carefully:

Today, a man named Elias Voss made me lose my job.

I looked up at my brother.

“Brother… what does starve mean?”