chapter 13

Biggest insecurity

The only thing that came off his mouth was, "Happy to see me?"

Xander did not know what to say. It felt like a lump had formed at the back of his throat, blocking every sound that was to come out of it.

The sitting room was dead silent that you could hear a pin drop.

Mrs Wellington cleared her throat to ease the tension, forming in the room. She wondered why her sons were acting strange.

What she expected was for them to hug, laugh and try to catch up with each other.

What was happening? She wondered.

Xavier moved forward and flashed his usual smile at Xander.

"Hey bro." He brought out his hands for a handshake.

Xander stared down at his hands. They looked exactly like his. That alone pained him to his bones. He wished he could take back the hands of the clock, and pray he was the only son.

The only son that his father will be proud of.

He wished it was just him and his sister. No trace of Xavier, or anyone that their father would love so much. He craved for his fathers attention.

An awkward clearing of throat interrupted Xander's thoughts. It was his father. He was throwing daggers at Xander.

Then, Xander realized he hadn't taken his brother's hands. He braced himself up, and took Xavier's hands into his.

"Hi. I see you're back." Xander said and began moving to sit beside his mum.

"Yes." Xavier replied, taking his seat.

"Since when?" Xander asked.

"This morning. How's everything?" Xavier asked. The maids were going round, filling everyone's plate and cups.

Xander pushed. Bile rushed to his throat immediately. "Good."

The awkward conversation between them was way too obvious. Everyone, including the maids, figured out that something was wrong between the brothers.

Mrs Wellington only hoped it wasn't as bad as she thought. She made a mental note to talk to them later.

She wasn't at peace throughout the dinner. She kept staring at her children, with the most sad look on her face.

The maids clear up the table and served dessert.

"Thank you." Xavier shot a smile at the maid that had just dumped a plate of banana bread, in front of him. He took a bite, and moaned almost loudly. It was his favorite and he had longed to take a bite.

"I love this mum, did you make them?" Xavier asked as he took another big bite.

Mrs Wellington chuckled softly. "Jade made them. She's quite good." She pointed to a maid that had her head bowed, in a corner. Any human could detect that she was shy.

Xavier studied her for a while and smiled. "Good job, Jade. You did an amazing job. I'd love to try more of these."

Jade raised her head up and stared directly at Xavier.

"I'll make them for you, sir." Jade bowed shyly, with a smile on her face.

Xander rolled his eyes at the scene playing before him.

He knew what Xavier was on to. Trying to make everyone fall in love with him. He knew Xavier to be an attention seekers. And boy, Xavier would never back down until he got what he wanted.

Xander enjoyed his plate of chocolate cake, even though the cake refused to go down his throat. It took everything in him to swallow the cake.

Why?

Because he was staring right at his father, who he wanted to impress. But, his father hasn't glanced at him since the dinner began.

He watched with dread as Xavier and their dad had a full blown, funny conversation without him.

If he wasn't strong enough, he would have been crying his eyes out. But there he was, trying to compose himself even though his mental health was at stake.

Only Xavier and Mr Wellington's whispers was heard on the diner table. And Xander's heart beat. He was trying so much to hold himself that he forgot he wasn't breathing for a second or two.

Mrs Wellington, placed her hand on Xander's back. He felt calm for a while. She saw him gasping for air and she felt he needed some help.

"Are you okay, baby?" She asked in a very concerned tone.

Xander grabbed the bottles of water on the table and down all of it. He felt relieved after drinking so much water. Then he turned to his mum. "Yes mum, I need some air."

He attempted to stand up, but his mum pulled him back. "Dinner is not over yet."

Xander nodded and sat back.

"So Xander, how's work?" Mrs Wellington asked out loud, to the hearing of both her husband and son, who were so engrossed in their conversation.

Xander paused. He knew his mum was trying to help, but she was doing it in the wrong way.

He seemed tongue tied at that moment. And all he wanted to do was leave, and never return in a very long time.

It felt like his dad was throwing daggers at him when he stood up and picked up his jacket.

"I should be on my way." He announced and began taking long strides towards the door. He badly wanted to leave. The place oozed of negative energy.

"Wait!" Xavier stopped him right in time. "Don't leave yet. I have a very big announcement to make. So, please stay." Xavier begged.

Xander had a bad feeling about the announcement, but he still stood at that door, with his hands placed on the doorknob.

He had a bad feeling about everything but never left. He wondered why.

When Xavier saw his brother was still there, he smiled. "Thank you."

Xavier cleared his throat and began. "So, I came home for a reason. And it's the biggest announcement ever. I couldn't do it over the phone, so I came home to do it in person, with my family."

He looked at everyone's faces before he began.

"I know how hard it was, but I finally sealed the deal with Bret's company."