None of them fired his blood the way Adora did.
When Maria finished her work, he noticed she went around his apartment another time, just fixing the odd thing that was out of place.
She was an impeccable worker.
The best really.
Within a few minutes she had her things, and was heading out the door.
“Thank you, Maria,” he said.
She turned toward him, and nodded.
Her English wasn’t great, which meant whoever had fathered Adora, spoke her language.
Tobias watched her leave, and he didn’t like the twisting in his gut. Maria was a nice woman, kind and quiet.
Men with money, with power, with privilege, they’d have seen Maria, taken what they wanted, and spat her back out.
He didn’t like that someone had shirked their responsibility in raising a child. In fact, it pissed him the fuck off. If he couldn’t handle the consequences why not bag that shit up?
Sitting behind his desk, he logged onto Adora’s banking accounts, and saw that she’d not touched a cent of the money he’d given to her.
Stubborn woman refused to take what he’d freely given her. The loans were all paid for, and her name was no longer marked by bad credit.
Flicking his pen between his fingers, he knew he was going to have to make her spend some money.
“Why are you so fucking stubborn?”
Bringing up Maria’s documents, which he’d also requested, he glanced through her service history, seeing the company she’d worked for roughly around the time she’d gotten pregnant. He recognized the name, and attached to Maria’s name was a list of houses she’d been dealing with.
He recognized every single name on the list. There was no way to narrow it down, which only served to piss him of even more.
His cell phone began to ring, drawing him out of his very pissed off mood at the fact he couldn’t play detective, and when he saw Julia and Andrew Bennett’s name on the screen, he groaned.
“Hello,” he said.
“It’s about time you answered, Tobias. I don’t like to be kept waiting,” Julia said.
That was his mother. A real piece of work.
He couldn’t recall a time when she even asked him how he’d been.
“What is it?” He rubbed at his eyes, really not wanting to speak to his parents right now.
“It’s Friday night, and we’ve invited the Clarkes. They’re in finance, dear. You’ve probably heard of them.”
And their three daughters.
“I’m busy.”
“You’re never too busy for your parents.”
He nearly laughed. She rarely referred to herself as anything parental.
Glancing at the time, he realized Adora would be finishing up classes soon, and he wanted to be there to pick her up.
“I’m not going to make it. Enjoy the Clarkes’ company. I’ve got plans.” He hung up, turning his cell phone to vibrate as he left his condo.
His parents had a way of sucking all the energy out of a room without even trying. He didn’t like them, not at all. In fact, he found their presence a pain in the ass.
Julia and Andrew liked to keep up appearances. They always brought up how torn he’d been over his brother’s death, and of course how the family was dealing with it. There would be a few tears spilt for the sake of the cameras. Behind closed doors, however, was always a different story.
His father had been pissed off, angry that his brother had decided to be weak. Always begging to be loved, trying to find it in anyone who’d have him. The drugs had been a welcome reprieve from the emptiness.
Driving toward the campus, Tobias recalled one of the last days with his brother. How he’d found him in an abandoned building, naked, shaking from the shit he’d filled his body with.
“It’s Tobias. Come to rescue me again, and take me back home.”
“Why do you keep doing this?”
His brother had coughed and laughed at the same time. “I can’t believe you’re not doing this. You spend so much time with your head in books, I’d think you’d understand.” Maximus looked up, and the sadness in his eyes had really struck him. “But you don’t get it. You’re as cold as them, aren’t you, Tobias? You don’t need love, or to feel.” Another cough, only this time it was a groan.
“What you’re trying to seek will get you killed.”
Maximus smiled. “Then I will die a happy man rather than rotting in Father’s library trying to please him. He can’t even disown me because he tries to keep all of my secrets from the world. He’s hoping I’ll change, that I’ll become like him. A heartless, soulless bastard. Let’s not forget Mommy and her thirst for power. She’ll do anything for it. You go ahead, Tobias. Be like them, and rot like them. Powerful they may be, but no one will ever truly love them, and I feel sorry for them.”
Pulling out of his thoughts, Tobias realized he’d parked at the campus already. He hadn’t thought about his brother for some time, and now he kept popping up in his memories.
Love was an overrated emotion.
He had no intention of falling. Glancing around the campus, he had an amazing vantage point, taking in the students and the teachers. He spotted Adora speaking to an older man around his own age, and Tobias didn’t like it as the two laughed.
There was a closeness there. He intended to put a stop to it.
****
“I found your comparison interesting. Your own apartment building to that of an upscale apartment—fascinating. You’ve got an eye for differences, Adora. It’s very rare. Usually my students wish to talk about modern architecture in buildings that have been erected for special occasions, not general-purpose buildings.”
Adora smiled. She enjoyed Professor Feswick’s class. Not only did he talk about historical architecture and how it had evolved, he listened to everything. Out of all of her professors, she adored his class the most. He had a real passion for it, which hadn’t died in the years of teaching.
“Thank you, I really do appreciate that.”
“I’m not sure an examiner would agree. Even down to your notice of cheap materials between them. Also, you know you cannot compare the two as I also looked into it on my lunch break, and both buildings were constructed by different companies.”
“I know. I looked into it as well. The company that built my apartment building is known for their cheap houses and apartments for the masses. The one where my mother works, they’re known for only building for the wealthy, and tend to only be involved if the paycheck is high enough.” Not only did she enjoy working on architecture, she loved going back to the nitty gritty basics, which again was why Feswick was her favorite professor.
“When you graduate, I hope I get a student with as much enthusiasm as you. You’re a real treasure, Adora. Don’t let any company that you decide to intern with take that out of you.”
Before she could speak, someone pulled her into their arms. At first, she tried to pull away, but looking up into Tobias’s angry glare, she found herself frozen.
It was Friday. She had no idea he intended to pick her up from campus. It wasn’t late either, and in that moment, she couldn’t remember if he’d given her a time when he’d pick her up.
Professor Feswick looked at her and then at Tobias.