Tyler's POV:
The man's voice was deep and calm. His words spoke like a ripple across the river. "Son, I came to take you home."
His words sent my skin prickling with goosebumps.
"What if I say no?"
I said in a calm voice, but in my heart, I was shaken. I wanted stability, control over the situation.
The man said, "Is that what you truly want? To pay the bills on top of that? The lights, the electricity, the TV?"
"I know we haven't seen each other in a long time but I did love your mother once in a time, truth is, I still love your mother now. I know that's a lot. But you are welcome to my home anytime. And my son misses you very much."
When he mentioned his son, his casual words sent a chill through my veins. I wanted to drop the phone and leave to get out of here but I knew I needed to face the music.
I could feel the beating of my heart trying to jump out of my chest and my ears were nearly so loud.
I licked my dry cracked lips, "Does he live with you?"
A fond smile cracked through the phone, telling Tyler that the man loves his son very much, just like how father love their children. Not weirdly or creepily. The pure kind of love. The genuine kind of love that a parent can have for their child no matter what their child does.
"Yeah, my boy still lives with me. He's still waiting to see you. Although he doesn't show it, he holds you close in his heart. Do you remember how you two used to play with each other all the time when you were little? He would follow you like a little puppy. It would drive you insane and your mother and I would have had to come break you guys up before you would make your brother cry."
I felt my chest feeling stuffy for a moment.
There's no way the current Angel, a couple of hours ago, who tried to bite my ears off, is the same Angel from six years ago. Besides, the current Angel said he was twenty years old even though he looks twenty.
I speak quietly while sitting on the hospital bed. "Hey, can you send the picture of Angel? I'm curious about what he looks like."
"Sure, no problem. But why do you want a picture of him?"
He didn't carry a hint of suspicion in his voice, just a note of curiosity.
I replied, "There's no reason. It's been a long time. To be honest. My memories are a bit of a blur. It would be nice to see his picture; it would help me to recall."
"Sure. But I'm not giving up on you. I still want you to live in my house with me and my son. The house feels empty without you and your mother."
His words brought discomfort. He was acting like we had been friends for a long time, when in fact we had just spoken after six years. The man is nearly dominating but I can't tell if he's speaking out of concern or something else.
I couldn't help getting suspicious.
"Sure. I'll move in with you guys."
I don't know if he has something to do with my mother's death. It would make sense. Two motives? Revenge and money.
Since my mom took ten thousand cash from him and betrayed him, it would be enough reason for anyone to seek revenge.
"That's great. I'll see you tomorrow. Don't be late or I'll be very hurt."
A hint of playfulness in his tone was inevitable. The man, Elijah calmly laughed with elation and hung up the phone.
I stared at the phone then the ceiling. I turned on the phone when it rang.
I looked down at the pictures splayed out on the screen. A man with black hair but a different face meeting mine with innocent eyes. His shoulder hunched over with a thin black jacket on, a white T-shirt, and a pair of ripped jeans.
His black hair was rugged like midnight, and his skin was smooth but a few scars peeked on his arms and hands. More like a scratch.
My racing heart settled in my chest. The 'Angel' in the picture wasn't the angel who tried to bite my ear off.
It was someone else. Someone entirely unrelated to me. I felt relieved knowing the man I met at the nightclub, whom I nearly hit with my motorcycle, wasn't my brother.
I turned off the phone. The screen turned black.
It doesn't change the fact that I need to investigate Elijah.
***
I had to pay the hospital with the leftover money from my mom's bank account, which she gave me for my last birthday.
I went home and started cleaning up the mess I caused in the room. Somehow I ignored the mess when I brought the fake Angel into my house and got nearly bitten in the process like a dog.
My back sweated and my feet ached from moving for two hours. I looked at my room with satisfaction and headed to my bathroom to take a quick shower. The warm water flushed over me, ridding me of the filth and stink from cleaning all day.
The air filled my lungs and I looked into the mirror.
[I'm very pissed. I'm pretty sure you thought I was dead, but surprised! I'm still alive, dummy. Next time we meet, it will be your head on a stick for the world to see.]
The words written in the foggy mist, loud and clear, send a hot fear down my spine, unlike anything I've experienced. The mirror is like what you see straight out of a horror movie. The sink is turned on, with water turning on, halfway filled, and nearly spilling.
I turned off the water, the sound making a whishing sound. I went straight to my room to get my phone to call Nino.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
"Sorry, it's Nino. You will have to call back at another time…."
The phone said robotically.
I sat on the bed with my mind blank wondering what happened to Nino. How on earth is Angel alive?