Brotherhood

Being just brothers was never enough for us. Nick and I were best friends. We were twins, so our relationship had just an ounce more of love than usual. We could read each other’s minds and at many times, we were known to finish each others sentences.

“Remain strong always, your bond is very valuable”, our mother had told us. We’d taken it to heart and followed it well. We never fought till the day Nick fell in love with Lisa Davies.

Once my girlfriend, I’d left her because she wasn’t someone who shared true love. All she cared was for a date with one of us, trying to split us up. Nick knew I’d dumped her, so I was surprised when he started dating her.

“That gal’s not right Nick. She just wants to get in the way”, I said to him.

“Hell, just because you made a mistake, doesn’t mean I should make the same mistake. Lisa’s a lovely girl. Stay out of this Nathan”, he replied adamantly.

Eager to avoid an argument, I retreated and let him have his space. I kept a close eye on him though. He was innocent, and I did not want my brother to get hurt. When I went to the local restaurant one night, I was surprised to see a crowd there, and among them I saw a couple.

Ryan Cartwright was dancing with Lisa, my brother’s girlfriend. The waitress there was my friend, and she told me it was Lisa’s birthday. I was shocked, because Lisa had just got an expensive bracelet from Nick two days back claiming it was her birthday. I called Nick on his cell phone.

“Have you some time? Come down to the restaurant. Let’s have dinner outside tonight”, I told. He was repenting getting angry with me, so he agreed. When he entered the restaurant, he was greeted enthusiastically by Lisa.

“Oh, I didn’t expect to see you here Nick. Come join us”, she called. Ryan wasn’t to be outdone, I knew, and true enough, he called too. “Yeah Nick, do join us. It’s Lisa’s birthday today and we’re having a grand party.”

“Oh is it? I thought it was two days back. Well Lisa, wish you a very happy birthday. Good day for a breakup don’t you think? You seem to have something I gifted wrongly. I’m taking it back”, said Nick and removed the bracelet from her wrist. He walked toward me now.

“Dude, I should have listened to you. I’m sorry. You really mean a lot to me Nathan. This belongs to you”, he said and placed the bracelet on my wrist. As we had dinner in a corner table, my eyes kept going back to the bracelet. It read, “To my best friend forever”.

Acrostic Story #3