Chapter 55

I wondered if the silence between semesters would always be so noticeable.

"It's quiet," Stephanie said from her chair in the living room.

She was coming down from the high of passing a martial arts exam that morning. Melisa, Doris Alex, Susan, and Nancy sat on the floor playing Monopoly.

"The candidates," I said to Stephanie.

"It's weird," she replied. "When the girls left last semester, it wasn't this quiet."

"Siblings leave; they're supposed to," I said, finally finding the words. "Candidates leave behind an expectation of return."

"They're not going to be the same when they come back from their indoctrination and tours," she said sadly.

"You won't be the same either," I told her.

I lay back on the couch and opened one of the books for a class I was scheduled to take the next semester. I made a snap decision after exams not to take summer classes, but spent most of my free time ensuring that my senior year would be a breeze.

Michael slamming the front door woke me up. Unbelievably, I had been allowed to nap without interference; I must have fallen asleep just as the Monopoly game entered the vicious negotiation stage.

"I can't fucking believe they did that to me!" Michael complained throwing himself into a chair.

"What happened?" Doris Alex asked him concerned.

"They voted me President of the fraternity chapter!" he snapped.

"Aren't you already the Treasurer?" Melisa asked sneaking a pair of fifties out of the Monopoly bank while everyone was looking at Michael.

"Yes," Michael answered sarcastically. "Do you believe the bastard I slaved to have elected President announced that he didn't feel up to it and had to step down? The brothers had an emergency vote behind my back and elected me."

"Ouch!" Susan said sympathetically, while not quite managing to suppress a giggle.

Michael was a mix of conflicting personality traits: he avoided responsibility, but had a deep-seeded need to live up to people's expectations. I watched him manipulate his fraternity to avoid being appointed its public head knowing that they would find a way to shove him into the role. Everyone knew Michael would throw himself wholeheartedly into the abyss as long someone expected it of him. It allowed others to easily take advantage of him, especially because he was so capable.

"Can't you just refuse the honor?" Nancy asked facetiously.

The girls laughed at the look Michael gave her.

"My senior year is supposed to be the best," Michael said sadly. "After this, it's medical school and explaining to patients that they're dying, but there's nothing I can do about it. This fucking sucks!"

"It can't be that bad," I told him.

"They're already expecting me to convince you to build us a new frat house, like you did for the girls," he told me.

"Okay," I said.

He groaned and threw his head back.

"Isn't that enough to end your presidential reign?" Melisa asked smiling. "You can retire to oversee the building of the new frat house."

"Melisa," I said softly.

She opened her eyes as wide as she could, trying to appear innocent. Michael was as likely to put down a set of expectations, as Melisa was to stop driving my car.

Michael got up and started walking out of the room but froze at the doors.

"Are you really going to build a new frat house for us?" he asked me seriously.

"He said okay," Melisa answered.

Michael met her eyes and nodded before going upstairs.

"Man, that has to suck," Melisa said to no one in particular.

"You would know," Doris Alex replied giggling.

"Why?" Susan asked.

"The sorority wanted to elect Melisa president," Doris Alex got out before breaking out laughing.

"What happened?" Nancy asked smiling.

"I told them I would very conveniently forget to have central heating installed in the new sorority house," Melisa said smartly.

I waited for their laughter to fade before I spoke.

"Can you talk to him?" I asked Stephanie.

"He's very upset," she said looking at the stairs.

"You can't be someone you're not," I said. "Michael keeps trying though."

"I'll talk to him," she said with a nod.

I watched her walk up the stairs before I got off the couch. The Siblings looked at me with curiosity when I came out of my bedroom a couple of minutes later, but did not ask any questions.

"They're having sex," Nancy said an hour later. "That's a huge step for her!"

She had gone upstairs to ask if they wanted to be a part of our takeout order.

"That's awesome!" Doris Alex said happily.

"Finally..." Susan sighed while tears fell freely from her eyes.

Melisa stared at me; there was nothing for her to decipher in my eyes. The other Siblings noticed my silence and sat down heavily.

It was dark outside when Michael came downstairs.

"Are you okay?" Susan asked nervously.

Michael shook his head confused and sat down.

"What's wrong?" Nancy asked him.

"That was so weird..." Michael said but could not continue.

Stephanie walked into the living room. She glanced at each of us through a thin curtain of tears before taking a chair.

"What's wrong, Stephanie?" Susan asked in a panic-stricken voice.

The room quieted when I put the small jewelry box down on the coffee table.

"Holy shit!" Melisa said recognizing it.

"Am I right, Michael?" I asked.

"I can't..." Michael replied.

"Am I right, Michael?" I repeated.

"Yes," he answered amazed.

I slid the box to Stephanie's side. Her hands trembled when she picked it up. She was the only other person that did not gasp after she opened it; the black-faced ring with no crest that Melisa had given me a year before lay inside.

"That's impossible," Stephanie said.

"It's not as rare as a Bloodline Brother," Doris Alex said.

She stood up, took Melisa's hand, and walked behind the couch to position me between Stephanie and them.

"What?" Nancy and Susan asked together.

"That first Alexander Brother was first in a lot of things: the first Bloodline Brother, the first female Brother and the first Sibling to be given a black ring," Doris Alex told us. "Her crest Brother was assassinated to possess her. The Brother that had him killed did not survive a night with her."

"They would have sanctioned her," Michael protested.

"The council did," Doris Alex replied with a nod. "Two Ekaterina Siblings died protecting her from the initial attempt to kill her. The meaning of their loyalty could not be denied."

"Oh, my God!" Susan gasped.

"A Sibling hasn't been given a black ring in over a century," Doris Alex finished.

"Is that all it takes?" Stephanie asked me. "Rape a Sibling, and you get a Brother?"

"Has Roderigo suffered a day of his life?" I asked her.

She shook her head slowly.

"You changed," I told her. "The same thing that happened to you would have different results with other Siblings."

"Like?" she asked.

"What would have happened if those monsters raped Doris Alex or Iane?" I asked in return.

She looked at Doris Alex for a second before answering.

"Doris would wash it off with her next shower," she said softly. "If it's not a Brother, it doesn't matter to her. Iane..."

"Would laugh through it, and wear their dried testicles as earrings after David killed them," Melisa said from behind me.

"Iane was right, David. I don't have her strength," Stephanie said. "How can I wear this ring when a Sibling is stronger?"

"Is it about strength?" I asked.

Stephanie met my eyes.

"I don't know, Stephanie," I told her. "Maybe it is; maybe it's about control. What I do know is that you need something so different now that you can't be what you were."

"You knew," she stated. "When you read my words, you knew."

I smiled and shook my head.

"I knew you would never rely on a Brother for anything again," I said.

"I'm still scared, David," she whispered.

She sat back when I jumped the coffee table and placed the end of Jason's gift against her forehead.

"How scared are you?" I asked cocking the gun.

Her jaw locked as she stared into my eyes angrily.

"No!" the Siblings screamed when I pulled the trigger.

They sucked in a hard breath when the hammer struck empty.

"There are things worse than death, aren't there?" I asked Stephanie.

She nodded.

"I don't know what makes a Brother, Stephanie," I told her. "You're not a Sibling, and you're not dead. What's left?"

I pulled the other gun out and replaced the one against her head with it.

"The choices are the same, Stephanie," I said. "Keep walking forward or I'll kill you."

Their eyes followed me as I returned to my seat.

"The Brothers won't accept me," Stephanie warned taking the ring out of the box.

"They will be surprised how much damage two Brothers can do," I replied.

My hands were bigger than hers so the ring did not fit.

"Susan can have it adjusted, Brother," Melisa told Stephanie.

"Me?" Susan asked shocked.

"You don't wish to be our new Brother's First?" Doris Alex asked.

Nancy sat up straight.

"Don't even think about it!" Susan said to her in a deadly serious voice.

"She can have two Firsts," Nancy offered hopefully.

"No!" Susan hissed.

"Do I have any say in this?" Stephanie asked gently.

Susan and Nancy avoided her eyes.

"This is fucking nuts!" Michael groaned from his chair.

I stood up and met Stephanie's eyes.

"You can't stay here anymore," I told her.

"David," Susan protested.

"Susan!" Stephanie purred dangerously.

"You can spend the night," I said to her. "Tomorrow, the Siblings will help you move to Susan's house, at least until things shake out."

"Is that all, David?" Stephanie asked when I opened my bedroom doors for Doris Alex and Melisa.

She did not understand what she was asking; I turned and smiled at her.

"I told you, Stephanie, the ring changes nothing," I replied. "I still might come for you someday."

Doris Alex and Melisa lay down on either side of me.

"Did you know, David?" Doris Alex asked quietly.

Melisa sat up and stared at me.

"He knew," Melisa said stroking my forehead. "Like he knew about David when they met as little boys."

Jason chose not to reply; I closed my eyes and slept as deeply as I could with a Brother under my roof.

"They're here," Doris Alex said walking over to stand behind my chair.

Melisa and I were sitting in the backyard talking about the new sorority chapter house. I nodded to Doris Alex and gestured for Melisa to finish.

The construction of the house was almost completed, which raised new conflicts at the sorority. Michael chose to only shove his choices for architecture and layout down the sorority's collective throat. He made suggestions about the interior design, especially the Brother room, but he let the sisters have the final say on color and furnishings.

I thought they were being stubborn by not rubber-stamping every Michael suggestion. Instead, the sisters embroiled themselves in a series of arguments about each room making Melisa adopt the 'this is what David wants' method of getting her way.

The new sorority officers, while not of Caroline's ilk, were not willing to leave it at that. They insisted on a meeting with me to confirm what Melisa said were my choices.

The officers left fifteen minutes before Doris Alex came out to tell me the participants of my second and more important meeting had arrived.

"That had nothing to do with your choices for decorating the sorority house, did it?" I asked Melisa.

"Your choices," she corrected.

Most sisters had to have figured out that every room was being decorated exactly how Michael suggested since Melisa's system ensured it. If a majority of sisters liked Michael's idea for a room, it was decorated that way. Any other vote ended in a tie; since I had a remarkable preference for Michael's work, it was always broken in his favor.

Interestingly, the Brother room was what triggered the sorority officers to insist on a meeting. Of any room, I would have expected that one to be the least likely to incite rebellion.

It did not take long to conclude that the Secretary and Treasurer only wanted to ensure they were on my radar. The two girls understood that not rocking the boat was well rewarded and wanted to illustrate how wonderfully still they could sit.

The President and Vice were a different story.

"I think those two are going to take advantage of your room's rules," Doris Alex said. "I wouldn't have pegged them for it either."

"The rules to my room?" I asked reluctantly.

"Any sister or pledge can hang out in the lounge," Melisa recited. "Setting foot in your bedroom or bathroom makes their bodies yours."

"Are you going to put a sign over my door with that?" I asked.

"It's not a bad idea," Doris Alex said thoughtfully.

"Michael made the bathroom in the Brother room very tempting," I reminded them politely. "A soak in the hot tub after a brutal exam is going to sound really nice."

"They'll have to be strong," Melisa said shrugging. "Or take the chance that you'll pop in while they're enjoying the use of your property... making them your property until they are allowed to leave."

I looked towards the pool house without saying anything.

"The candidates told them what to expect if someone gets caught or walks into those rooms, David," Melisa assured me.

"If a sister is sneaking in for a soak, they want to get caught," Doris Alex said smiling. "Do you remember that bullshit logic seminar mid-term?"

I smirked.

"A hot tub would have been nice, but the hour in your bed was exactly what any doctor would have ordered," Doris Alex told me. "I forgot I took that fucking exam until he handed it back."

"I've had enough questions about our relationship to know some sisters are going to sit in that hot tub until you do catch them," Melisa snickered.

"So Sally and Bethany were here to find out if they want to take that chance?" I asked.

"No, David," Melisa answered. "They were here to decide if they want to take a chance that you won't catch them."

"That bitch!" Doris Alex exclaimed as the Brothers that asked to meet me turned the corner into the backyard.

Jeremy and Robert had male Siblings walking a pace behind them; Kiera was in her usual place behind Roderigo; unlike the other Siblings, Simon walked in front of Samantha as if to clear a path. Iane pushing Anna's wheelchair was what caused Doris Alex's reaction.

"Move your chair so that Anna can sit there," I told Melisa. "Then go inside."

"Yes, Brother," she said getting up.

She moved the chair out of the way and signaled Iane. Everyone sat down, but waited until Melisa went inside before speaking.

"Where's Leonard?" Roderigo asked Anna.

"The boy has been testing my patience lately," Anna answered. "I swear if his mother had not been so well-behaved, I would have given up on the boy months ago."

"Are you done?" Robert asked Roderigo.

"No, but we have more important business," Roderigo said looking at me with a pleased smile.

"You are aware that the selection committee will not confirm Stephanie's status as a Brother," Robert stated to me.

"I gave her the ring," I replied.

"That was not within the purview of your responsibilities," Robert told me.

"David," Jeremy said reasonably. "Stephanie can't become a Brother."

"Why not?" I asked. "I have it on good authority that Siblings have made the transition before."

Everyone looked at Doris Alex.

"It's been a long time since it happened," Samantha pointed out.

"The last time it happened has nothing to do with what Stephanie is today," I replied.

"David," Robert said patiently. "Even if the selection committee were to accept Stephanie, your life would be tied to hers. Like Kyle's father, you would be sanctioned if she were. There are too many Brothers that do not approve of you to ignore the 'sins of the child' doctrine."

"Stephanie is not my child," I told him.

"This is not like Leon; you gave her a ring without even consulting the selection committee," Roderigo said. "The doctrine could and should be applied"

I shrugged.

"Killing Stephanie yourself if she falters will not mitigate your sanction," Anna said softly.

I shrugged again.

"Is the Foot really that weak?" Roderigo asked frustrated with my lack of reaction. "Renard behaved like we couldn't kill him, but your disregard borders on contempt for us."

"Life is a conjunction between two infinities of non-existence; it is not the Foot I have no regard for, Brother," I told him. "But the Foot will be stronger with Stephanie, and that is important."