Through You (The Hidalgo Brothers Book 2)
Through You: Chapter 16

ARTEMIS

I can’t stop thinking about Claudia’s face, and the way she looked.

Her face was flushed and she was panting. It reminds me of the night when I kissed and touched her.

I watch her run up the stairs as if she’s running away from someone other than me. I’m intrigued when I see a blushing Apolo appear from the same hallway she came from.

“What’s going on?”

Apolo walks past me and avoids making eye contact. His shirt is wrinkled around the chest area, as if someone had a tight grip on it. I give him an eye roll.

What are those two up to?

And how is that any of your business, Artemis? You pushed her away.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that I’m okay with her being with someone else. Especially not one of my brothers. Even though I need to let her go, why am I still so possessive? Why do I think of her as mine?

Because you are a selfish idiot.

I had another tough day at work. After spending a few days at the hospital, I returned to the office to catch up on a pile of work.

I barely made it home tonight to get some rest. I walk up to my bedroom and have a shower. The hot water falls on my skin and the steam fills up the stall. My wet hair covers my face and I press my fist against the wall. Every time I close my eyes, I’m tormented by the memory of that afternoon in my office and the wounded look on Claudia’s face.

She didn’t deserve that. She’s been so good to Ares and Apolo.

I recall the night we were on our way to the hospital and how supportive she was to both of them in the car. She’s a kind woman, and I needlessly caused her pain by not explaining what she witnessed with Cristina. And what did I accomplish by that? By confusing her? I’m not even sure how to best explain my situation.

Regardless, the facts remain the same. We can’t be together.

Well, not for the time being. I rub my face and turn off the water.

After I put on more comfortable clothes, I stare at the door.

Don’t go looking for her, Artemis.

I clench my jaw and throw the towel to one side before I leave my room. I find her in the kitchen, wiping down the table, leaving it shiny and spotless. Her expression hardens the moment she looks up and sees me. She throws the rag into the sink and turns to leave.

“Claudia.” She doesn’t stop. When she tries to walk past me, I grab her by the arm and spin her to face me. “I’m speaking to you.”

She shakes her arm free from my hold. “And I’m ignoring you.”

Her anger bothers me.

“Is that what you plan to do? Ignore me from here on out?”

“Yes.” She doesn’t hesitate for a second.

“How mature.” I see a spark in her eyes, and it’s of pure anger.

“I hoped at least we could be civil.”

She takes a few steps back and crosses her arms. “And did you decide that before or after you lied to me to get closer?”

“I didn’t lie to you.”

She snorts. “You are shameless.”

“Claudia . . .”

I’m unsure what compels me to raise my hand in an attempt to touch her face. She takes one more step back.

“Don’t touch me.”

I lower my hand. “Claudia, I—”

“Everything all right?” I’m startled by the sound of Apolo’s voice right behind Claudia. I didn’t see him come in.

Claudia turns around in an attempt to leave. “Yes. I was about to turn in.”

However, when she tries to walk by him, Apolo shifts into her path. “Let’s go to my room, we need to talk.”

An electric current zaps through my veins and settles at the pit of my stomach. Don’t touch her, I want to growl.

Claudia appears uncomfortable. “I don’t think this is the right time,” she says.

“I think it is. Let’s go.” Apolo starts to lead her by the arm.

“No, Apolo. Tomorrow.”

I react before I think, and catch up to them. I pull her toward me by the arm that is free and release her from Apolo’s grip.

“She said no.”

Apolo turns to stare at me with a defiance I’ve never seen.

Apolo has always been intimidated by me, but apparently not this time. The tone of his voice is serious. “What I need to discuss with her is none of your business.”

“I don’t like the sound of this.”

I feel anger in every fiber of my being—my jaw is clenched and my shoulders are tense. Claudia loosens her arm from my grip.

My full attention is on Apolo when I speak. “Anything that concerns her is my business.”

Apolo doesn’t hesitate. “And why is that?”

I feel the need to mark my territory. “Because she is involved with me.”

Claudia looks at me, horrified.

Apolo’s expression turns from defiant to confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Artemis, shut up. Don’t say anything else,” she says tersely.

“Apolo, she belongs to me.”

Apolo’s gaze turns to her. “Claudia?”

Claudia immediately shakes her head. “No. I’m not anything to him.”

“That’s not what you said when you were riding my fingers, Claudia.”

Claudia throws me a murderous look. If she hated me before, I’m pretty sure she hates me even more now.

“You . . . with him?” Apolo is at a loss for words. Claudia moves toward him but I take her arm and bring her to a halt.

She shakes my hand off and screams, “Stop grabbing me and treating me as if I’m a fucking object! I don’t belong to you!” She grabs Apolo by the hand. “Come with me, and let me explain.”

And that’s when everything turns red.

It feels like she’s choosing him over me, so I walk to where they stand and I pull them apart.

“Why do you need to explain anything to him, huh?”

Apolo gets between us. “Enough.”

I stare at her over Apolo’s shoulder. “Claudia?” I say through clenched teeth.

She looks back at me and tells me without a hint of hesitation, “Apolo and I kissed today.”

What?

My world comes to a stop. My anger boils. My chest rises and falls rapidly. I have never felt this furious. I grab Apolo by the collar of his shirt. “What did you do?” Apolo grabs my wrists and tries to free himself.

“She’s made it very clear. She wants nothing to do with you.”

“So, to hell with the bro code?” I remind him of the pact we made years ago when we each promised to stay away from girls any of the others were interested in.

For a brief moment Apolo seems genuinely guilty. “I didn’t know that you and her . . . I didn’t—”

“Fucking hell!” I tighten my grip on his shirt.

Claudia stands next to me.

“Artemis, let him go.”

I look my brother straight in the eyes. “You and Ares have always known that I’m interested in her.”

Claudia grabs my shoulder. “Let him go!”

I can’t get a hold of myself. The thought of her kissing him makes my blood boil. Apolo speaks to me with an icy coldness that perturbs me. “She said she’s not with you. It’s not my fault you’re stuck in a one-sided obsession.”

His words burn, fanning the flames of my anger. I punch him so hard that my knuckles make a cracking sound when they make contact with his chin. Apolo tumbles and falls backward.

“Enough!” Claudia slaps a hand on my chest. “Stop it! Leave!”

I grab her by the wrist. “Only if you come with me. I’m not leaving without you.”

She hesitates. I can see she wants to protest, but she knows that would trigger Apolo. He’d jump to her defense and all hell would surely break loose between us. Apolo has crumpled to the floor, where he remains seated, holding his cheek and wincing in pain. This doesn’t make me regret my reaction. He broke the bro code and knows he had that punch coming; it’s likely the reason he didn’t fight back.

I hold Claudia by the wrist and lead her upstairs.

“I’ll be right back,” I hear her whisper to Apolo.

The moment we enter my room, she folds her arms over her chest, furious.

“Have you lost your mind? Beating your own brother? What in the—”

“What happened between you two?” She’s not expecting the question. “Tell me everything. I need to know every detail. How many times he kissed you. If he touched you. Everything.”

She gives a snort and is visibly indignant. “You have no right to ask me that.”

“Yes, I have every right to! I earned it weeks ago when you let me touch you. And now you’re allowing my brother to do the same thing with you?”

“Are you listening to yourself?” She raises her voice. “Artemis, you lied to me. You have a fiancé—you let me in only to push me out. What gives you the right to make a scene? Have you lost your mind?”

I run my hand over my beard and my head. “Stay away from him.”

She lets out a sarcastic laugh. “You’re not even listening to me.”

“Claudia, you need to do as I say. You have no idea what I’m capable of.”

“I’m not afraid of you, Artemis.” She comes closer just so I can see the disdain in her eyes. “Listen to me, you idiot. You and I are nothing. I don’t belong to you, or to any other man. I am not an object, I am a human being. What I do with my life from this moment on is none of your fucking business. So please do me—and yourself—a favor and focus on your life and your fiancé, and let me live in peace.”

She turns and walks to the door.

“Not him, Claudia.” She stops but keeps her back to me. “Not with my brother,” I say through clenched teeth. “Not with my fucking brother.”

She glances at me over her shoulder. “I want you to know that it wasn’t my intention to hurt you.”

It never is. My shoulders slump in resignation.

“Don’t take this out on Apolo, he loves you and is your brother.” She pauses, choosing her next words carefully. “You and I were done before we even started. That’s how it is with us. Stop trying to make the impossible happen, Artemis.”

I walk up until I stand right behind her.

“How can I ever do that when it’s you?” She doesn’t say anything. I put my hands on her shoulders and rest my forehead against the back of her head. “I can’t do that, Claudia.”

I can feel her tremble a little at the sound of my words.

She puts her hands on top of mine and tries to get them off her shoulders. I gasp in pain when her hand touches the knuckles of one of mine. I hadn’t noticed they were bleeding. Claudia turns to face me and holds the hand that is injured.

“Oh, look what you’ve done.” The coldness in her eyes vanishes and concern immediately takes its place. “Sit. I’ll go get the first aid kit.”

I do what she says and sit on my bed. She comes right back, leaving the door open, and sits down next to me. I quietly watch her disinfect my knuckles with utmost care. I frequently got into fights when I was a teenager and she was always there to scold me and tend to my wounds. She purses her lips as she treats my cuts with great care and attention.

It takes me back to a day . . .

“Artemis! Artemis!” The urgency in Ares’s voice alarmed me.

I paused my video game as he ran into my room. His eyes were red and tears streamed down his small cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” I imagined a slew of devastating scenarios.

Ares was crying inconsolably and could hardly speak. I took his face in my hands.

“Ares, what happened? Tell me.”

“I got . . . a good grade.” He wiped his face with the back of his hand. “And I went to show Mom . . .” His face twisted in a grimace, looking anguished. “She . . . There’s a man in there . . .

She and that man . . . He’s not our dad.”

I was confused. “What do you mean?”

“Mom—she’s doing things in her bed with that man who is not our dad.”

A cold feeling settled in my gut. I knew damn well what was taking place.

Sadly, I wasn’t proven wrong when our mother suddenly appeared outside my bedroom door. She was naked under a white blanket wrapped around her body.

“Ares! Come here! Right this second!” Although her tone was commanding, I also detected fear. Her eyes searched my face, surely trying to assess if Ares had had a chance to tell me what he’d witnessed.

I catapulted to my feet, pushed Ares aside, and made my way in her direction. My sudden reaction took my mother by surprise.

However, she wasn’t my target, so I walked past her and made my way down the hallway.

“Where is he?”

My mother shook her head. “Artemis.” She tried to grab one of my arms but I swiped her hand away.

I rushed to her room and kicked open the door. Inside, a strange man was just finishing buttoning his shirt.

I jumped on him in a flash and punched his face over and over, my muscles tight with anger. I was taller than him even though I was still a teenager, and my rage made me strong and unrestrained.

My mother shouted at me, demanding I leave him alone. I felt her hands on me as she tried to pull me away, but I couldn’t stop My mother’s voice sounded like it was coming from far away, much like the memories of her standing next to my father when she was smiling and promising that our family would always be united and stay together.

Liar.

Hypocrite.

The only words that came to mind were insults that I would never dare call my mother; still, they roamed freely inside my head.

The grunts that came out of my mouth as I punched the man under me had an underlying tinge of powerlessness. My knuckles ached and burned, but I couldn’t make myself stop.

I didn’t want to stop.

A warm hand landed gently on my cheek, and I was about to flick it away when I heard her voice. “Artemis.”

I stopped, holding my fist midair as I looked up. Claudia was kneeling in front of me, her unruly red hair framing her face.

She took her hand off my cheek and used it to take my wrist.

My breathing was fractured, making my shoulders rise and fall uncontrollably.

“That’s enough.”

I didn’t think it was.

She entwined her fingers with mine.

“You’re fine. This is enough. Let’s go.” I shook my head and she gave me a sad smile. “Please.”

I released my wrist from her grip and reluctantly stood.

I was about to resume my assault when my mother moved in to assist the man, kneeling beside him as he moaned in pain. I left the room to avoid turning into a murderer. Claudia walked behind me in silence. Out in the hallway, I turned my gaze to my room, where I’d left Ares. Claudia could read the concern in my expression.

“My mother is looking after him. She made some tea to soothe him, and she’s trying to distract him. You should calm down before seeing him. And we need to tend to the cuts on your hand.”

I was confused until I followed her gaze to my knuckles, which were bleeding profusely. They hadn’t hurt until then, as I finally took notice.

Adrenaline? Or pure rage?

I walked away without saying a word about the state I was in, and went downstairs, with Claudia following closely behind.

Although I never told her, I was grateful she followed me that day.

Fucking grateful.

When I finally snap back to reality, I’m welcomed by the sight of Claudia carefully bandaging my fist.

“Claudia, how can I stop wanting you? How can I stop myself when you’ve been by my side every time I’ve ever needed you?

When we share too many memories?”

I sense movement, and when I glance over, Apolo is standing at the door. He’s holding an ice pack to his cheek. I feel terrible for hitting him now that I’ve cooled off—I’ve never hit my younger brother. I’m about to say something when I realize he’s not looking at me.

Apolo lowers his head and leaves. I turn back to Claudia, who is now gathering the contents of the kit she used to clean and bandage the wounds on my hand.

“Try not to move your hand too much, and make sure to change the bandage tomorrow morning,” she orders as she gets up.

“Thank you.”

She nods at me before turning to leave.

“Good night, Artemis.”

“Good night, Claudia.”

I watch her go. And although tonight I’ve let her out of my room, I know deep down I’ll never be able to let her out of my life.

When it comes to her, how could I ever?

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