Leave Me Alone, Big Brothers! [BL]-Chapter 106: Rebellion

Alexander’s heart was still pounding from the confrontation with Huan. Every time he tried to tighten his grip on the people he loved, they seemed to slip through his fingers like sand. He turned toward the terrace, his face a mask of iron.

"I will go myself!!" Nathan’s voice was high, cracking under the weight of his defiance.

Lorenzo was seen blocking his way on the terrace.

"What’s going on?" Alexander stepped out onto the terrace, his eyes locking onto Nathan.

Seeing Alexander’s arrival, Lorenzo exhaled a sigh of relief. He bowed respectfully.

"Good morning, Boss. Master Nathan insists on going by himself and refuses my assistance," Lorenzo explained.

Alexander looked at Nathan. "Where are you going? Have you had breakfast? Serene has prepared breakfast for you," he said. He looked at Nathan, who was already neatly dressed and ready for school.

Nathan shook his head. "No. I need to go now."

"You will not go anywhere before you have your breakfast," Alexander commanded, his voice echoing. "And you will not go anywhere without Lorenzo."

Malvin was seen walking quickly upon hearing the commotion. Nael, who had just come down from his room, also arrived. The terrace became a scene full of tension on that gloomy morning.

Nathan looked at Alexander, his shoulders tensed. "I’m not going with him. I’m going with Zane. He’s picking me up!"

Without waiting for Alexander’s reply, he walked quickly down the terrace stairs, avoiding Lorenzo’s body.

Alexander moved with predatory grace, closing the distance between them in seconds. He reached out and grabbed Nathan’s arm, not with the intent to hurt, but enough to stop his brother. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Nathan was shocked and immediately struggled. That only made Alexander hold him even tighter. He pulled the boy back inside.

Malvin tensed, wanting to help but unsure if he could ease the tension between the two. Nael panicked and followed inside.

Nathan felt his strength was no match for the man’s. Even though he struggled and screamed, Alexander managed to pull him inside. He forced him down into the chair at the dining table.

"I have bread in my bag! I will have breakfast at school!" Nathan hissed, squirming under Alexander’s hand. "Zane is waiting for me at the gate. Let go!"

Alexander released his grip, his gaze still sharp. "You will stay home if you do not eat. And you will not go anywhere without Lorenzo," Alexander said, repeating himself, leaning down until he was eye-level with his brother.

"Seriously? Are you forcing me to eat like a toddler? I can eat by myself!"

"If you care about your body enough, you will not get sick like yesterday."

"I told you, I have bread in my bag!"

"No bread. Serene prepared chicken porridge for you and for your lunch too, so you’d better eat what she prepared since morning," Alexander insisted.

Serene seemed alert, because she immediately prepared breakfast for them and gave Nathan a bowl of porridge.

Nathan groaned. "After this, I can go with Zane, right? I won’t go if you still force Lorenzo to take me!"

"You will go with Lorenzo. It’s final. Don’t you remember what happened last time when you ran around without my men? Do you want it to happen again?"

Nathan looked at Alexander angrily.

Malvin approached, rubbing Nathan’s back, trying to calm him down. "Nathan, please. We never want anything bad to happen to you. Have your breakfast before you go. You know you have to eat regularly. Don’t make your stomach empty again, or you’ll end up sick."

Nathan felt his breath still racing, but Malvin’s words slightly reduced his anger. It seemed he would not be able to get out of this situation without obeying Alexander.

Nathan looked at the bowl of porridge in front of him. It looked like paste. He had been eating this porridge for several days, tasteless and stifling.

Nathan’s stomach churned. He looked at Jack and Lorenzo, who were standing by the doorway, watching the scene with hollow expressions. No one was going to help him. He picked up the spoon, his hand trembling.

"Please ask Louis to come back," Nathan pleaded, making one last attempt. He looked seriously at Alexander, who was sitting in his chair.

Malvin was still standing next to Nathan. "Nathan, I know you love Louis. But Lorenzo is a good person too. Try to go with him. He would be sad too if you refuse him."

"Then Louis won’t be sad? He was fired over small things I’ve done! It’s not fair! Lorenzo can go back to his duty," Nathan replied.

Alexander’s expression flickered, a momentary lapse in his armor, before hardening again. "No. Louis failed. Lorenzo is your bodyguard now."

Nathan felt tired of arguing, he wouldn’t win. After all, the final decision was in Alexander’s hands.

Nathan forced down the last of the porridge, the silence in the room heavy enough to suffocate. He grabbed the lunch bag Serene handed him with a pitying look and headed for the door.

Nael was ready to go, looking like a nervous wreck, his eyes darting between his twin and the looming figure of Lorenzo waiting by the black car.

"Let’s go, Nathan," Nael muttered, gently pushing Nathan’s body, trying to calm his twin’s anger.

They walked toward the car. Lorenzo opened the rear door, his face a blank slate of professional indifference. To Nathan, he looked like a prison guard.

He thought about Malvin’s words. He saw that Lorenzo was also human, that he had feelings. He didn’t want to cause trouble for him, but he couldn’t rest until Louis returned. No matter how long it took, he wouldn’t stop trying.

"Master Nathan, Master Nael," Lorenzo acknowledged.

Nathan stood by the open car door. He looked at Nael, who was about to climb in. Then he looked toward the route leading to the massive iron gates of the mansion.

Zane.

He had received a message from the boy early in the morning, which led to a long conversation before the topic of picking him up came up, making Nathan happy. Now he was making the boy wait for a long time.

In that moment, something snapped in Nathan. The guilt, the grief for Louis, and the suffocating "protection" Alexander offered merged into a single impulse: run.

Nathan ran quickly. Lorenzo tried to block him, but Nathan maneuvered fast and accelerated his pace.

"Nathan!" Nael shouted, sensing the shift.

Nathan didn’t answer. He didn’t look back. He bolted.

"Master Nathan! Stop!" Lorenzo’s voice was choked with horror. His chest pounded. He was torn between chasing Nathan or reporting it to Alexander.

In the end, he chose to push Nael’s panicked body into the car and immediately got behind the wheel.

Nathan sprinted down the long driveway, his lungs burning. His breath was ragged. Steam billowed from his mouth and nose.

"Open the gate! Open it now!" Nathan screamed at the security booth. The guard, startled and recognizing the young master, hit the remote.

The heavy iron gates began to groan open. Nathan didn’t wait for them to fully clear. He squeezed through the gap, his cloak catching on the metal and tearing a small hole. He didn’t care.

Zane’s car roared to life, the engine a predatory growl. The passenger door swung open.

"Finally, get in!" Zane shouted, smiling.

Behind them, a black car was seen exiting the gate, honking repeatedly.

Lorenzo leaned out the window. "Master Nathan, please stop!"

Nathan dove into the leather seat. Zane didn’t wait for him to close the door properly before flooring it. Tires screeched on the slippery road.

Nathan slammed the door shut and looked in the side mirror. He saw Lorenzo’s car following them.

Nathan sank back into the seat, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird finally set free. He was shaking, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

"You okay?" Zane asked, his voice unusually quiet, his eyes fixed on the road as he pushed the car to its limit.

Nathan didn’t answer for a long time. "I think so. I will do something crazy until they bring Louis back."

"Why? You’re obsessed with Louis too much."

"No. Do you know he was fired because I was playing with you and ran away from him last Friday? It’s ridiculous. I just feel guilty."

And Nathan wasn’t joking. He gave Lorenzo a headache on his first day of looking after that boy.

That afternoon, during break time, Nathan took out his lunch box from Serene.

"Did you bring lunch?" Zane asked, who wasn’t carrying any food.

Nathan nodded. "They think I’ll die if I eat in the cafeteria. They’re overreacting."

Zane nodded. "It’s good. At least they care about you. You really need to take care of yourself."

Zane looked at Nathan with guilt. "You got sick because of me. I didn’t know you were sensitive to coffee."

"It’s okay. I won’t die. I’m used to it."

Nathan invited Zane to the cafeteria. "I’ll bring my food to the cafeteria. We’ll eat together there."

As usual, Eli was already there. He had prepared two trays of food at their usual spot.

"Sorry, Eli. I brought my own food," Nathan said.

After Eli questioned why Nathan brought his own food, he finally sat down.

"Oh, I have to be careful when bringing you food. You have to tell the staff if you have any food restrictions. That way, they’ll tell you if there’s food that’s not good for you," Eli said, looking worried.

"Eli, please. Don’t give me a headache here. I’m already frustrated at home. I won’t die. I just need food, that’s enough," Nathan replied, eating his tasteless food. No matter what, he never threw food away. He finished it even though it tasted like shit.

Gabriel appeared as usual, but he didn’t sit down. He gave Nathan a piece of candy.

Zane and Eli looked at each other.

"Gab, you can’t give Nathan whatever you want. He has a problem with his stomach," Eli said.

It seemed he had a mission to tell the whole world about it.

Nathan sighed. "Oh God."

He drank his drink with a deep breath, listening to Gabriel and Eli exchange concerns.

"Oh no. I just wanted to ask you to come to my house today. I don’t know if you’re sick," Gabriel said.

"I’m fine. I feel better. Please stop exaggerating," Nathan replied.

Then his eyes widened as if he had an idea, and he looked at Gabriel.

"You invited me to your house? You’ll let me go with you in your car?" Nathan asked.

Gabriel looked at Nathan in surprise and nodded. "Well, yes. If you want."

Nathan looked at Zane. "Do you want to come? Let’s go together."

Zane looked at Nathan and shook his head. He wasn’t interested in anything involving Gabriel, and he had other things to do that evening.

"I will have dinner with my dad today."