Chapter 304

Steve’s POV

I halted my exhausted frame right before the threshold of the exterior door of the house, having returned from the restaurant with heavy, slow strides saturated with intense fatigue. The work in the kitchen throughout this entire day had been unbearably arduous, the pressure continuous from the sheer torrent of orders.

The time had grown exceptionally late, the clock hands bypassing midnight by a long shot. I pulled the iron door key from my trousers’ pocket with helpless, agitated fingers, inserting it into the core of the lock with a trembling hand, spent from overexertion. I turned it slowly so as not to awaken Julie. However, the absolute moment I took my very first steps into the interior foyer of the house, I froze entirely in my tracks, my eyes widening in sheer panic, terror, and absolute horror.

My breath hitched, and I was crashed by the sight of the wooden kitchen chair, violently broken and scattered like pulverized shards and minuscule shattered pieces completely blanketing the living room floor!

In those suffocating, terrifying seconds, dark thoughts and horrifying scenarios raced frantically through my mind like absolute madness. The image of my sister, Julie, instantly flashed before me. Had something terrible befallen her? Was she harmed by some perpetrator? Had one of our ancient enemies or night thieves barged into this small house and viciously assaulted her? Every single muscle in my frame tensed, my nerves tightening to a wire.

I strained my hearing with precision and dread through the tranquil perimeter of the place, when suddenly, the unmistakable sound of a faint, exceptionally low movement echoed clearly from the direction of the interior kitchen. Oh, my almighty God! At this late hour of the night, Julie was invariably submerged in her deep slumber inside her bedroom, never altering her routine under any circumstance. I bent down with rapid speed, my frame shivering, and hoisted a thick, sharp, and long wooden staff from the scattered remnants of the shattered chair. I gripped it with both my palms with absolute force and precision, then advanced with extreme slowness, caution, and utterly silent strides holding my breath so the intruder wouldn’t sense me toward the kitchen opening.

I reached the threshold of the kitchen with a heart hammering violently against my ribs. I hoisted my right hand, firmly gripping the heavy wood, high toward the sky in a combative stance, utterly prepared to deliver a lethal, punishing blow to the head of any stranger or thief appearing before me without a single shred of mercy. Yet, in a mere fraction of a second, I froze rooted in my place like a statue, my mouth agape in an unbelievable bewilderment and shock that entirely paralyzed my tongue when my eyes landed upon the face of the man lounging right there, our gazes locking directly.

The man was sitting there eating, staring back at me with a mocking, calm, and definitive expression oozing with absolute coldness. What an absolute divine miracle it was Jake, in the flesh, with his massive physical build, sitting right inside my goddamn kitchen!

Jake relaxed his broad shoulders in utter surrender to the situation, letting out a sigh filled with obvious mockery and biting sarcasm that carved its shadows over his lips, speaking in a calm voice: "It truly appears that this is my global lucky day... The brother and the sister in this goddamn house both take turns beating me with wood!"

I instantly discarded the sharp wooden staff from my hand without a single thought, letting it slam onto the ground to produce a hollow wooden clatter. I lunged toward him with frantic strides and embraced him with every ounce of power and energy I possessed, crushing his massive, rock-hard frame against my chest with unadulterated longing. In return, he encircled my frame with his powerful arms, embracing me with a profound heat and intensity that solidified the deep roots of our brotherhood. I questioned him in an unbelievable pitch, my voice strained and trembling from the sheer torrent of joy consuming my heart: "Jake!... Did you actually walk out of the darkness of that prison? Oh my God, I truly cannot believe my own eyes. Are you actually standing here right before me now?!"

Jake replied, squeezing with a powerful, firm grip against my back with his massive palms to reassure me: "I missed you immensely, Steve. And I genuinely missed this goddamn place."

I answered him while frantically and joyfully patting his broad shoulder: "And I truly missed you and your presence with us, my friend. Your absence left a massive void."

I stepped a fraction backward away from him to regain my emotional balance and study him with intent and precision. I scrutinized with my eyes the details of his cruel, sharp features, which appeared significantly more mature and strict. I spoke with a wide grin: "I cannot process the goddamn concept of you standing inside your own house again with such sheer simplicity."

Jake dragged his large palm across his entire face, features dominated by the sheer exhaustion and fatigue of the long journey, stating with a choke: "Neither can I process it myself, Steve... I remained rotting behind those goddamn walls for four continuous years, entirely cut off from the sun. Because of it, I completely forgot the minuscule details of a normal life on the outside, and how human beings interact with absolute freedom."

I knitted my brows in astonishment, a torrent of questions flooding my eyes, and I questioned him with logical curiosity: "But I remember with stark clarity that your handed-down sentence was five whole years. How the fuck were you released right now, a whole year prior to its expiration?"

I adjusted my posture before him, and he indifferently shrugged his broad shoulders, explaining the matter with absolute coldness: "Good behavior and conduct inside the cellblocks... They suddenly released me based on an administrative pardon for that exact reason, nothing more."

I released a hot, deep sigh from the depths of my chest, stating in a grateful, elated pitch: "Thank God for your safety, first and foremost. I am truly incredibly happy, and you cannot fathom the extent of my joy at seeing you unharmed, Jake."

At that definitive second, Jake narrowed his blue pupils, staring at me with features displaying a glaring reproach and intense annoyance at my actions, stating with a palpable sharpness: "Tell me first, why the fuck did you violate our oath and inform your sister, Julie, that I was rotting in prison?"

I rapidly waved my hands in the air in a defensive motion to justify my position, stating with clarity: "Jake, please, you are exaggerating the matter in an entirely unfair manner... I didn’t tell a single living soul save for her. And I only told Julie because I was continuously forced to leave the house to visit you in that goddamn prison, and it was mentally impossible for me to conceal my frequent absences and constant travels from her while she is living under the same roof with me."

He averted his face from me with a slight agitation, a heavy frown plastering his forehead: "Yes, I comprehend your justification. Yet you know exceptionally well the extent of my pride, and that I do not want a single creature in this goddamn town to know of my brokenness and entry into prison."

I patted my palm against his stone-hard arm to soothe his rage and wounded soul: "Do not worry whatsoever, my friend. Julie is an exceptionally tight-lipped girl; she never shares our secrets with anyone... But tell me, when I visited you last time inside your cell, why didn’t you hint or tell me that your release date had drawn near?"

He shook his head sideways with extreme exhaustion and a total depletion of patience as he answered: "Because I simply didn’t know myself, Steve. The administrative decisions over there were handed down in a sudden, rapid flash. I possessed zero prior knowledge of the date of my exit until a mere few hours before they unlocked the goddamn gate."

I smiled at him with warmth, dissolving his tension as I stated: "No matter all of that. The primary and most important thing right now is that you are here among us, safe inside your own house."

Jake stepped a fraction closer to me, leaning his towering frame slightly down toward my level, then whispered deep into my ear with absolute emphasis and a decisive pitch blazing with warning: "Listen to me exceptionally well, Steve... Do not, under any goddamn circumstance, ever tell your sister Julie the real cause and the crime for which I entered the abyss of that prison. Do you fucking understand me?"

I looked directly into the depths of his eyes with stability, nodding my head with signs of gravity and commitment, stating with confidence: "Rest entirely assured regarding this matter. On my honor, I will not utter a single goddamn word to her."

He confirmed in a sharp voice, his gaze piercing through me like arrows: "Yes, make sure of that. Do not ever fucking tell her."

I let out a sigh of regret and sorrow for his state, stating in a low pitch: "You are genuinely innocent of that goddamn charge, Jake. Why the fuck do you insist on concealing this matter and enduring the blame entirely on your own?"

Jake clenched his fist with such force that his knuckles turned stark white, the contours of his face shifting with bitterness and absolute darkness as he spoke in a choked voice: "Because you know exceptionally well, Steve, that I possessed a black past saturated with drugs and problems when I was young and reckless here... In this goddamn world, not a single judge or human being will believe that I am innocent this time because of my ancient prior records, Steve. Therefore, silence is far better."

I nodded my head in total comprehension, pressing my palm against his shoulder to console him: "Fine, you have your wish. Do not worry, no living soul will ever find out about the matter."

Jake fell silent for a few counted seconds as though thoughts were cascading inside his mind, then directed his gaze toward the dark corridor of the rooms. He knitted his brows, questioning in a pitch ruled by detachment and coldness: "Your sister Julie... wasn’t she settled and happy in her father’s house? What the hell drives her to be with you here and share this modest house with you?"

I relaxed my hands with a surrendered posture, stating with simplicity and extreme brevity: "She simply wants and prefers to be with me right now at this current time. That is absolutely all there is to it."

He advanced toward me with another pressing step, the pitch of his voice becoming increasingly questioning, sharp, and laden with suspicion: "But didn’t she personally tell you with her own tongue previously in New York that she doesn’t love you whatsoever, and doesn’t even consider you her brother because of the problems? What the fuck changed now all of a sudden to make her want to remain and live this close to you?"

I looked into his eyes with intensely grave features, answering with absolute clarity to put an end to his apprehension: "Jake, I already know from the absolute beginning that you do not love my sister Julie and cannot stand her goddamn guts. Yet, in the end, she remains my sister from my own blood... Accept this reality and live with it. Furthermore, what is your actual, underlying issue with Julie anyway? She is truly a sweet, quiet, and kind-hearted girl once you get to know her well."

Jake’s eyes widened in a mocking, unbelievable bewilderment at my words. He frantically pointed his palm toward his back, indicating the location of the blow: "Man! Are you in possession of your full goddamn faculties?! She brutally shattered a heavy wooden chair across my back with such sheer cruelty that she slammed me onto the ground, entirely unconscious... So how the hell can any sane creature describe her as a sweet and kind girl?!"

I smothered my laughter with immense difficulty behind my large palm, questioning with amazement laced with humor: "Little Julie is the one who struck you and slammed your massive frame onto the ground? And why the fuck did she do that?"

He replied with a childish groan, annoyance, and irritation surfacing on his features: "Because she simply believed I was a goddamn thief slipping into the house."

I couldn’t control my emotions and myself at that exact second, and I exploded into a loud laughter that echoed through the corners of the kitchen. My shoulders shook violently as I visually compared his massive, giant-like muscular build to Julie’s short, slender frame, stating with mockery: "Oh, Jake... did a delicate girl the size of Julie actually succeed in slamming you onto the ground and completely paralyzing your movement with a goddamn chair?"

He shot me a resentful, sharp glare from between his eyes, speaking with absolute gravity, devoid of any joking: "She is not a goddamn girl by any human metric... Believe me, she is a vicious beast masquerading in the body of a female!"

I gradually ceased laughing, retreating into a serious posture. I looked directly into the depths of his eyes, speaking with absolute gravity, responsibility, and brotherly sincerity: "Listen to me with care, Jake... I do not, in any way, shape, or form, want to cause you distress or pressure you inside your own private property. If you truly do not want my sister Julie’s presence in your house and are sensitive to her existence, I will comprehend this matter with an entirely open heart. I will vacate your house instantly along with my sister, entirely, and we will rent another small house in the town to settle down. We will not be a goddamn burden on you."