His Champagne

Chapter 3: 10 years from now on.

I woke up again from my usual after-school nap to hear my brother playing another song. It was the same song he played that other day. And the day before the other day. He was probably practicing very hard.

But today was extra exciting because it was my twelfth birthday! My hands reached for the glass of water I had sitting out on the dresser and downed it like it was my last drink. My eyes watched the clock tick to the new afternoon morning. I hopped off my bed and went to watch Elias play.

"Ugh!" He slammed the keys down in frustration "This stupid slur!"

"Elias..." I stood behind him and took away the book, "How about you take a break?"

He paused and then glared at me, "I cannot allow any mistakes in this performance. You don't get it."

"You've been at it for about four hours. Did you even eat anything?" I replied, shoving the book under my arm.

"Stop annoying me."

"Elias, I'm telling you to-"

"Shut up!" He furiously slammed the piano again, "Just leave me alone! Celebrate your stupid birthday without me."

I stood there in shame.

I remembered standing there in frustration. As a young child, I didn't want to let my older brother get the best of me. And I wish I could give him back the book. I hated him so badly. Back then, I wish I had insisted more. He needed it so badly, as vividly seen, the look of passion in his eyes was almost gone.

I walked back to my room and read my book like it didn't matter to me. The other day passed and the music book was still in my hands. I must've forgotten to give it to him. I got up and saw a huge mess on the floor. There were papers scattered around the living room and cabinet shelves taken out. Most of them were torn music sheets or mom's newspapers.

I stepped away from the papers and went inside his room. There he was, extremely sunken into his bed. Guilty of me, I made him lose that performance that day. That must have been the start of him losing it.

My eyes felt heavy and puffy. It seemed like I just had another terrible memory of my brother in that dream. It felt too clear. I sat myself up and looked at myself in the mirror that was in front of me. My phone rang with notifications. It also seemed like my fans remembered my birthday.

"I'm so tired." I sighed out of exhaustion and collapsed to the bed again.

I hate having dreams of him. They are just reminders that I killed him. True nightmares. Ever since he passed away, I saw myself as a revealed villain. My "friends" told me I was wrong. Then my mother became disappointed in me. And now I was alone. If only I had the chance to change the past, so he wouldn't have done it... The thoughts of him crushed me.

My legs rose up and I hurried down my hallway towards the living room. The smell of fresh roses lingered through my apartment. I walked to my kitchen counter, admiring all the gifts I received. My manager did great. I reached for the bouquet of roses and inhaled the fresh scent I've been needing. Then I looked inside the gift bag to see...

"Holy fuck!" My mouth dropped in pure happiness. Dom Perignon Champagne. She knew my favorite brand? She was just too sweet!

I hugged the bottle in my arms and twirled around the room like an idiot. Maybe having a birthday wasn't too bad. My cheeks hurt from smiling way too hard. I went over to my storage shelf which was under the stairs to the second floor of my condo. My eyes glistened as I witnessed another sight of my collection of champagne.