Rivals ? - Chapter 52: Chapter 52

Esai knew very well they wouldn't let him get away with this. Nevertheless, watching Phantom getting a good beat-up was a nice bonus. Raine would get pissed anyway; one more little lie wouldn't change a thing. At least seeing the disbelief and panic on the prospect's face was golden. That would be a nice reminder not to pull a stunt like this ever again.
With a smug smile, Esai watched his friend beat up the prospect. Unfortunately, it didn't take long. The fight  — or rather, the beat-down since Phantom didn't get a chance to throw a punch  — attracted the attention of the other Mayans.
"What's going on?" His father's voice echoed through the clubhouse.
Now it's on...
Esai pretended not to hear his question. It earned him a withering stare as his father strode past him, grabbing Raine's upper arm while pulling him. "Stop."
Raine turned his face to the side, looking grim. "He drugged me!"
"He didn't." Marcus looked at his son. "Did you tell him that?"
Unashamed, Esai shrugged his shoulders. "It was a conclusion he drew."
Suddenly, his father grabbed him by the ear and dragged him closer, like a child he was reprimanding. "You disgrace me with this childish behavior. I start to wonder if you deserve a spot in this club at all, you seem to think we're at kindergarten!"
Wronged, Esai tried to pull away his head but his father kept his ear in a firm grasp. Shame wiped out the smugness. He wanted to snap at him to treat him like all the others  — who he would never touch like this  — but he swallowed the words, knowing it would only make things worse.
"Let me go," he hissed eventually.
"That's for me to decide," his father answered in a merciless voice. "After all, you seem to think it's normal to make decisions for other people."
"It was for his own good," he grunted.
"Kicking you out of the club will be for your own good too if you keep behaving like this!"
Esai clenched his jaw. A hollow feeling grew inside his chest. Would his old man really do that? Kick him out? Because of one misstep? That made no sense  — he was his son! This club was his birthright!
"Is that true?" Raine's voice sounded dangerously low. "Did Phantom speak the truth, did you trick me?"
His father let go of him. Esai resisted the urge to rub his aching ear.  "I was tryin' to help you, man. You know damn well things would have gone wrong sooner or later. Imagine us in a gunfight with the Sons — we wouldn't be able to count on you because you're too scared to kill your boy-toy. Were we really going to wait for a moment like that?"
"You could have brought it up, discuss it, instead of feeding me drugs! What the fuck man. Do you really think Juice and I haven't thought about a scenario like that? Of course we did! He already told his brothers that he wants to leave the club and they agreed as long as he trains a new prospect. And I — I wasn't sure what I wanted but you can all go to hell now. If you treat me like this, I don't wanna have anything to do with the club. Do you have any idea how messed up I felt, the past weeks? I had a hard time after Rosa's passing, but he made me happy. He was there for me, he held me when I was close to falling apart. And what did you guys do? You beat up my boyfriend, you drugged me and you sabotaged my relationship. Well, I'm done with this."
Angry, he took off his kutte. Before he could toss it at the floor, Marcus grabbed his wrist. "Esai didn't act in the name of the club. Phantom told me what happened just a few minutes ago."
Raine gritted his teeth, turning his head to the side and looking Esai straight in the eye. There were tears in his eyes. "You're a filthy rat." He spitted at his feet. "And you call yourself a friend. You flushed a lifetime of friendship down the drain. Great job, dude."
Esai refused to feel regret. Raine was overreacting. He was the one choosing a faggot over the club, over their friendship. Esai had always been there for him, his whole life. He would have been able to comfort him, he had also wanted to help him. "It's not my fault that I'm not a fag. There are plenty of other ways to seek comfort without having someone's dick shoved up your ass, but you're the one who..."
Raine broke away from Marcus and rushed upon him. Esai braced himself and wanted to ward off a punch aimed at his head, but instead, Raine jammed his other fist in Esai's stomach. Esai doubled in pain; immediately a punch in his face followed.
"We didn't even have sex yet, asshole," Raine snapped. "Just keep your fucking mouth shut if you have no idea what you're talking about. The fact that you're so shallow and immature and can only think with your dick is not a reason to fuck things up for people who are able to have a relationship that's about more than sex." Raine's eyes were like fiery coals; Esai thought to feel the heat radiating from them. "Grow up, man."
The last words stung, so soon after his father's scolding.
"Enough," Marcus stepped in. "We have our own ways to settle things, we don't do it like two aggressive teenagers behind the bar. But before you two bash each other's skulls in the ring, we handle this as a club first." His father looked at him with a mixture of disappointment and contempt. Esai exhaled furiously, doing his utmost to ignore the vicious sting in his stomach. "To the table."
Sulking, Esai headed to the room where they held their meetings. He avoided eye contact with the others and plopped down on his seat. Even Phantom got permission to enter the room, although he had to stand.
Petunantly, Esai stared at the table while his father summarized what that rat bastard Phantom had told him. He felt everyone's gaze on his skin and resisted the urge to look around to see if anyone agreed with his actions. He knew he wasn't the only one who wanted Raine to dump that prick. At least two of his brothers didn't want a faggot around in the first place. But hypocritical as they were, they kept their mouths shut while his father accused him of putting the club in danger, violating their trust, and acting out of an authority he didn't have.
And then, the verdict came.
He would lose his prospect.
It was nothing new — although he still believed it was unfair. If anything, he should have been tougher on Phantom so that he would have kept his mouth shut.
"As brothers, we should be able to fully trust each other. Making a one-man action look like a club decision, and thereby threatening someone to deny him his patch, bears witness to a lack of loyalty to the club. You put yourself above the club, Esai. You did not only betray Raine, you betrayed all of us."
Bullshit. This is fucking bullshit.
"Therefore, you'll get a permanent reminder of this misstep to make sure it won't happen again. If it does happen again, you will be the one burning out your tattoo."
Esai's head snapped up. Not so long ago, he'd heard these words as well. Back then, they'd been meant for Raine.
"You're giving me a fucking brand?!" Esai yelled in disbelief. "I'm your son!"
"As long as you're wearing that kutte, you're a Mayan." His father pursed his lips. "But especially from my son, I had expected more."
He nodded to Lucille, who got up and headed to the cabinet. Taking a branding iron from it, he left the room.
To heat it.
Panic flared in his chest, but he forced himself to undergo it stoically. Last time, Raine hadn't uttered a sound either and he wouldn't be inferior to that prick. He searched the eyes of what he thought was once his best friend. Did he really believe he deserved this? Fine — maybe he had been a little harsh but it was with the best of intentions. It made no sense that he was getting a lifelong reminder for this!
The look in Raine's eyes however was inexorably cold, making Esai feel uncomfortable.
An accusing silence reigned the room until Lucille returned. He exchanged a brief look with Marcus, who nodded.
"Raine, you do the honors."
Something flickered in the man's eyes.
He's not like this. He never enjoyed hurting other people.
Memories of the past weeks contradicted those words, in which he had seized every opportunity to get into a fight. Raine didn't say a word as he stood up and took the branding iron.
Esai didn't want to show any weakness and put his lower arm on the table. Roughly, Raine pushed his arm against the wood. Without an ounce of hesitation, he pressed the burning iron against the inside of Esai's wrist.
Esai cursed as his skin burnt away, leaving a stinking smoke making him feel sick. Fuck, this hurts. He gritted his teeth, but he heard himself groan in pain anyway.
He looked at Raine, hoping to see a glimpse of satisfaction — a sign that they were even now and could put this behind them.
He however saw nothing but a pitch-black hatred, something that hurt more than the scorching iron melting away his flesh.
"Will we settle this in the ring?" Esai asked between gritted teeth, as they used to do when two Mayans were having a disagreement. They fought in the ring and hugged it out afterward.
Raine huffed. "I won't waste another second on you." He flung the branding iron on the table. "And now I'm going to my man. If I hear one more insult about him, you can all go fuck yourselves. I swear I will quit."
His angry words were met with a tense silence. Some threw questioning glances at their president, wondering if he would let Raine get away with this.
Marcus however only gave a small nod, on which Raine left the room in a rush and slammed the door behind him.
Also after the man had stormed out of the room, silence stayed behind.