"What?"
Did I hear him correctly? Did he just say that his brother's new girlfriend is sleeping with one of the teachers?
Cassius chuckled humourlessly as he took in my expression. With a bitter smirk, he said, "Unbelievable, right? But it's true. Caught the bitch and the old creep going at it some time ago in an empty classroom. It was disgusting, to say the least."
I cringed. That was not something I needed to know or wanted to know. Not that it's not an interesting topic of gossip, but I hardly cared for the sex life of others. Then again, why was this important?
Feeling bemused, I questioned, "Wait, what does this have to do with anything? It doesn't really explain why you've suddenly had a change of heart."
"No, it doesn't," the boy admitted, "But it is connected to the reason."
There was a pause. Cassius glared at the cheesecake in front of him appearing to find it difficult to express the words he wanted to. I was patient and let him ponder on what to say while taking a sip of my drink. After about two minutes, he finally opened his mouth to explain.
"I guess I should give you some context first before anything."
Yes, that would make things a lot easier to understand.
"You see, Marcus and I have always been together."
"As you've already stated," I said flatly.
Cassius flushed out of embarrassment and scowled, "Do you want me to explain properly or what?"
I held up my hands in surrender, gesturing for him to continue. He let out a quiet huff before saying, "What I meant was; Marcus and I have been together for so long because we're brothers. Not just brothers but twins! And...And growing up as we have, we know each other from the inside out. There is no such thing as a secret between us because we tell each other everything and we trust each other even more than our own father."
...I still couldn't see the point. But before I could say anything, he continued.
In a somewhat frustrated tone, he said, "Eighteen years. We've been attached by the hip for eighteen years. You'd think that after everything, after all that time, and with the fact that we are blood brothers, he would always take my word for things!"
Oh?
Raising an eyebrow, I examined his expression and suddenly, I had an idea of what might have happened.
"You knew about his girlfriend and you told him but he didn't believe you. Is that right?" I asked leaning back on the chair.
Cassius looked at me in surprise, "Ah. You figured it out?"
"A lucky guess," I muttered vaguely and shrugged. Scratching a sudden itch on my cheek, I asked, "So what happened?"
"...He didn't believe me," I noticed the boy's hands clenching around his drink. Angrily, Cassius said, "I don't know what the hell that girl did to Marcus but for some reason, he can't see through her lies. He's...infatuated with her on a level that is just borderline obsessive. He believes every single word that falls out of that bitch's - excuse me - mouth! I just...I just don't understand what the hell is wrong with him?"
Now this was certainly a development I hadn't seen coming.
"That is rather strange," I agreed with a frown. "How long have they known each other?"
"They met at a party the day before I got sick and you made me chicken soup," he replied running a hand through his hair.
"That short?" My eyebrows rose up, nearly colliding with my hairline.
"Yeah. Fucking weird, right? Anyway, after I caught the girl - who goes to our school by the way - and Mr. West fucking in the classroom, I immediately went and told Marcus but..."
"Ah," I said with a nod. He went and told his brother but his brother thought he was lying.
"We got into a fight that day. And after that, our relationship continued to worsen to the point we fought nearly every day about anything and everything, and then we had that fight."
That fight must've been the last straw for both of them, I guessed. That explained the huge blowout. I knew that such a thing couldn't have happened out of nowhere and now, my suspicions have been confirmed.
Cassius sipped his drink and licked his bottom lip before saying, "I think everything was kind of just a big wake-up call. I started seeing things in a different light. I started looking at people differently as well after seeing someone who looked so innocent doing something so dastardly. And then, you crossed my mind totally by coincidence and I began nurturing the thought that perhaps we were not being fair towards you."
"I see," I responded looking down. That...was unexpected. Biting my lip, I glanced up and noticed that Cassius seemed lost in thought. He then spoke and said, "I didn't mean to dump this on all of a sudden but I'm the type of person that can't keep things bottled up for too long. Or at least, I try not to keep things bottled up. I guess I just don't know what to do now. I want..." He bit his lip harshly before stating, "I just want my brother back."
I felt sympathetic towards him. Seeing his earnest expression, it was clear that Cassius only cared about Marcus' well-being but he found himself lost on what to do.
"Have you thought of recording the...act and showing the video to Marcus?" I asked.
"Of course I have but I haven't been able to catch them in the act again. I suspect that Marcus must've mentioned to her my accusation so she's probably a lot more cautious now," the boy's reply was followed by a frustrated sigh. "Anyway, it's nothing you need to worry about. Just know that I'm truly sorry for everything."
"I forgive you," I instantly replied. Before he could say something, I cut him off and said, "Don't get me wrong. I was hurt and angry at all of you at first because you were taking out your anger towards my mother on me but at the end of the day, you guys were strangers. I figured there was no point in holding a grudge against people I didn't even know and it would only hold me back from moving on with my life. Plus, even if your family despised me, your father still took me under his guardianship and provided me with everything I needed. For that, I am grateful for it. And now you have apologized, in earnest might I add, there's no reason why I shouldn't forgive you."
After my mini-speech (rant), I breathed out a sigh and quirked an eyebrow at Cassius' surprised face.
"...Are you sure you're only sixteen? You sounded way too mature for your age."
"Is that a compliment or..."
"It's a compliment!"
"Oh. Then, thank you."
"You're welcome."