I sigh. I see the pain in his eyes. Our father fucked him up. He emotionally and physically abused us both, then left us with no one to love. I was able to use that anger and funnel it into my businesses. But Sebastian, he’s sensitive. He turned to drugs and alcohol, and now, there is nothing left of him.
“Let me help you,” I say, keeping my voice calm.
Sebastian chuckles. “You can’t help me. I ran a woman off the road. I almost killed her. And now the two of you are married or fucking or whatever the hell you are doing.”
I take a deep breath, trying not to judge him. He’s a good person. He just needs help. And I have no idea how to help him.
I rub the back of my head and look around his apartment, which is in desperate need of cleaning. Empty beer and whiskey bottles scatter the floor and tables. I can smell the rotting pizza in the kitchen from here. And I’m sure if I look closely, I’ll notice ants, or possibly even mice, at home in his disaster of an apartment. Usually, I would call a cleaning service to help him. But I’m not going to this time. This time, he has to want to get better. I can’t stay here and watch him slowly kill himself, but I can’t keep fixing all of his problems, or he’ll never get better.
“You need to go to rehab. Stop using alcohol and drugs as a way to crush your feelings; then you can figure out what you are doing.”
He laughs. “Yea, because you are the model of healthy relationships.”
I narrow my eyes, not understanding. “I have a great life. I work hard. I have great friends. I have an awesome brother when he’s sober. I’m married to a beautiful woman. What more could I need?”
He shakes his head as he drinks the rest of the beer in the bottle that I want to rip from his hands.
“You are fake married. You may have friends, but you’ve never let a woman in. You won’t because you’re afraid if you really love someone, you might eventually turn into dad and treat her like crap. You’re afraid you will drive away or hurt a woman, just like our father did to our mother.
“Just because you don’t use drugs and alcohol doesn’t mean that you are any better than me. You may seem to have your life together from the outside, but you still have no idea how to have a healthy relationship.”
Every word he speaks is true. I don’t know how to have a healthy relationship, especially with a woman. And I don’t want one. I’m perfectly happy on my own.
I get up from the couch. I can’t keep having this conversation with him.
“I want my business, Kade.”
I glare at him. Hating that that’s all I am to him.
“No.”
He returns my glare as he stands up. Although, he’s not that intimidating when he can barely stand upright.
“You don’t have a choice. Father’s will says that when I graduate from college, I am to be allowed to have one of the businesses.”
My hands ball into fists next to my side, but I keep my composure and don’t hit him again. If I do, I’m afraid it would do some serious damage. It might make me feel better, but it won’t do anything to make Sebastian change his life.
“When you get sober, I’ll give you one of the businesses.”
I walk past him, ignoring him.
“That’s not fair. Maybe having a responsibility, like having a company to run, would make me sober.”
He looks at me, and my heart cools a little. He’s just a lost boy that wants better, but isn’t willing to do the work to help himself.
“You can’t use a company as a reason to get sober. People rely on you to keep the company running. If you fuck it up, you’ll be hurting other people. Whereas if you drink alone here, you’ll just be hurting yourself.”
“Why not? You do.”
I stop in my tracks. Anger floods through my body until I’m trembling.
“I didn’t come here to talk about me. I’m not the one with the problem. I came here to talk about you. Get your shit together.”
A corner of his lip turns up.
“I’ll have my lawyer talk to your lawyer about which company you will be passing onto me.”
I grunt as I storm out of his apartment. He’s not getting any of the businesses I’ve worked hard to grow until he proves to me that he takes his responsibilities seriously and is sober. I don’t care if I have to spend all my time and energy fighting him in court, proving he isn’t well enough to take over any of my businesses.