The Royal Contract

Knock??? Knock??? Knock???

Buzz??? Buzz??? Buzz???

Whoever was behind the door was getting more impatient every minute. The unknown visitor kept knocking and buzzing at the door, restless, waiting for the door to open.

"Wait!" He shouted, irritated that someone could be that rude. He hardly slept

He looked at the wall clock and saw it was barely past midnight. He looked at the other close door, wondering if the raucous had awoken the sleeping occupant inside.

He quickly strode to the door, looking at the peephole and checking the identity of the unwanted guests. He was surprised to see who was standing outside, banging on his door.

"Open the door, Jacob!" The man shouted on the other side, hearing him behind the door. He was slightly slurring, obviously mildly intoxicated.

He rammed on the door again when he failed to respond quickly. He did not want to stand outside his door in this rat-infested joint. He wondered what his brother was thinking about choosing this place to be his home.

He remembered offering his brother to live with him or take one of his apartments in the city. But he declined his offer, saying that he had already made arrangements.

"What are you doing here, Nick?" Jacob asked his brother as he opened the door, uninterested in the sudden appearance of his brother in his apartment.

The last thing he needed right now was a drunk brother who would only nag him about the way he was wasting his life in his chosen profession. He would rather sleep, which his body and mind badly needed.

"Well, aren't you going to invite me in first before we discuss life in general, dear brother?" Nick tapped his feet on the floor, irritated that he was still standing outside, in the hallway.

He did not care much about his bastard brother. Jacob could rot in this hell hole for all he cared. But he needed him. Jacob still held the key to the rest of the wealth that was rightfully his in the first place.

Jacob had no choice but to open the door wider, knowing that he was not leaving until he had said his point. "Come in, Nick." He walked back into his small living room and waited for him to follow.

Until now, he still could not fathom why Nick did bother to look for him and support him in his studies. He was not the kind of brother who showed that he cared.

He had always known who his father was. His mother did not keep that secret from him. But he never thought of bothering him for support. He had long decided that he would make it on his own.

"Well, I can't say that you have a nice place here." It was the kind of insult that Jacob usually heard from his older brother when he disapproved of his choices.??

Nick looked around the small crappy room and questioned his brother's decision to live in this dump. He could see the small room, a small crampy kitchen on the side, and two more doors on the far corner.

He assumed that one would be the bathroom and the other his bedroom. Although, he did notice the pillow and the blanket spread shabbily on the couch.

"Get on with your business. If you have not noticed the time, it is very late." Well, he was also getting irritated. He still had an early duty in the hospital.??

He did not want to check on his patients, or worse, operate with a massive headache due to lack of sleep. He still needed to recuperate from the other days he had to work overtime.

"Is this how you welcome your brother in your home?" He walked further into the living room, curious about what was inside his room. "Why are you sleeping on the couch? What is wrong with your room?"

As soon as he asked, he walked in the direction of the first door and opened it. But it was just the bathroom. He closed it and was about to walk to the other room when Jacob stopped him.

"Of course, how can I be so rude? Come on, Nick. Let us share a beer and tell me the reason why you are here." He blocked his brother from proceeding to the other door, guiding him towards the kitchen instead.

He suddenly remembered that he still had another visitor. A person that his brother should never find, unknown to him, was staying with him at his apartment.

He had to distract his brother from the other door, find out what he wanted and then get rid of him before his guest decided to walk out of that room.

"I only came to see my little brother. I need to check if you are doing fine in your new accommodations." Nick grabbed the cheap bottle of beer that his brother handed to him.

It was not anything close to what he usually drunk, but he did not have any other option. He showed his disdain in the foul and bitter taste of the alcoholic drink before putting the bottle down.

"Well, I think you have seen it and judge it. What else is there to discuss? Not that I don't enjoy your company," Jacob said sarcastically. "But, I still have an early duty at the hospital in the morning." He continued.

"Ok, fine. I will cut to the chase." Nick still glanced at the closed door but continued with his reason for visiting him. "I am looking for the girl that you were talking to the other night in the club."

He looked at Jacob after sipping again on the foul-tasting beer. Looking for a clue if he would know something of what happened that night.

"What girl?" He kept a blank face, hoping that would fool his brother as he pretended not to recall a girl. Then, "Oh yes, I do remember. The girl who left during the fight. What about her?"

He had no idea why his brother would be asking him about her. He began to think if Nick had any idea that he was keeping the girl away from him. But he had to convince him that he did not know her whereabouts.

"Well, nobody seems to get a hold of her after that night. I am a bit concerned for her safety. Since you are one of the last people she talked to, I want to ask if she mentioned anything to you." Nick asked him.

Although, he doubted that Cassie might tell him anything. He was, after all, new in the city. Cassie would never trust a man that easily of her secrets.

"Why would she tell me anything?" Jacob reasoned with his brother. "I just introduced myself to her, seeing that she was alone. But she seemed not interested."

"Well, I was hoping that she might have said something that might give me some clues of where she might be staying now." Nick tried to sound worried to make his claim more credible.

Although his brother knew what he did behind the scene, he still did not want to share too much information about his life and plans with his brother, who still did not want to be a part of it.

"I wish I could tell you more. Unfortunately, we barely shared information." Jacob drank the remaining drop of his beer and dropped the bottle in the waste bin.??

He hoped that he sounded believable.. Lying and making up stories were not his strong suit, but he had to do his best to protect the girl from his flesh and blood, at least half of the blood they shared in his veins.