...Give Me Back My Smile...

★ Eder Olid: Took over the OL company, becoming the CEO, a year after his parents' death. A 23-year-old Alpha, very serious and committed. However, he carries a great revolt within himself, which grew even more after losing his parents.

★ Louis Olid: A passionate Draftsman, he works in the company's accounting department. Eder's adoptive brother, a 22-year-old Omega, kind and enchanted with life. His only frustration was not being able to make his brother see the beauty of the world, as he did.

★ Nestor Grize: A 39-year-old Alpha. Explosive and insatiable. He has a reputation for having been involved with several people for pleasure since he was young, never marking anyone, and never being satisfied. The year Eder took over the company, he refused to sell his share but continued working with the same professionalism as always.

III

Eder arrived home at eight o'clock in the evening, very tired. His plan was to take a hot bath and sleep, but he noticed some commotion by the pool. The large, ten-bedroom house was all on one level, horseshoe-shaped. Several of the windows overlooked the pool area, especially the living room window, from where Eder noticed the movement.

He approached and saw that someone was drowning. Without thinking twice, he jumped into the water. His hands grabbed the body that was already sinking.

Eder Olid: Louis!

The unconscious body did not come around. Eder performed CPR, and only after a few tense minutes did Louis come to.

Eder Olid: Damn it! Louis... What came over you? Were you trying to kill yourself?

Louis Olid: No! Of course not, why would I do that?

Eder Olid: Did you fall by accident? Why were you near the pool?

Louis Olid: I... I saw a monarch butterfly, it was beautiful.

Eder looked at the bottom of the pool, and a cell phone was lying there.

Eder Olid: Were you trying to take a picture of that butterfly?

Louis Olid: Yes.

Eder slapped Louis' face. The force was such that a trickle of blood ran down his nose.

Louis Olid: Ed... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for making you angry, brother. I'm going to my room.

Eder Olid: Do you understand how reckless that was?

Louis Olid: Yes. I'm sorry.

Eder Olid: You can go.

Louis walked to his bedroom door and entered without hesitation. The room was bright and pleasant, several landscape paintings hung on the walls, and a large canvas sat on the easel with an unfinished painting. It was Eder's face, with all the features in graphite, and bright, vivid green eyes. Louis looked at the painting.

Louis Olid: {I really didn't mean to make you angry, anyway, it seems like you never let yourself be happy.}

Louis went to the bathroom and saw his face. The area that Eder hit was getting darker.

Louis Olid: I have to do something. I can't work tomorrow looking like this.

Before going to bed, Louis applied an ointment that was almost gone.

...

When the clock read twenty past midnight, Louis opened his eyes in bed. He heard Eder moan in the distance.

Louis Olid: Again?

The young man got up and put on cow-shaped slippers covered in black spots. Then he walked quickly, rounding the hallway until he stopped six doors down. He looked at the doorknob and hesitated to touch it. Instead, he put his face close to the door.

On the other side, a sound that sounded like a chair falling to the floor, followed by another groan.

Louis Olid: Eder! I'm coming in.

Louis opened the door, and he wasn't surprised by the scene before him. Eder was on the floor, shirtless, sweating. The bedside lamp was broken. Eder's breathing was accelerating, and his eyes were wide.

Louis Olid: Eder...

Then Eder started groaning again as if he were growling. He looked like an angry beast. He got up and punched the side table, which shattered instantly. Agitated, he paced back and forth.

Louis Olid: Eder! That's enough! You're going to hurt yourself.

Louis seized a moment and hugged Eder from behind, his arms squeezing him with all the strength he could muster. And he rested his head on his back.

Louis Olid: There... It's over, Eder... It's over.

Eder relented and began to breathe more easily. Louis didn't let go of him until he knew he was okay. He laid him down on the bed and covered him with a sheet.

Louis Olid: We'd better clean this up.

Smiling, the boy began picking up all the shards of glass and other broken items from the room. When he was done, he looked at Eder, who was sound asleep.

Louis Olid: Good, good night.

|||

In the morning, the housekeeper Larissa entered the living room. She was a sturdy, blond woman of fifty-nine who looked after the house and the brothers as if they were her own sons.

Housekeeper Larissa: Good morning, Louis, how are you?

Louis Olid: I'm fine. But I need someone to tidy up my brother's room when he wakes up.

Housekeeper Larissa: Did he have another episode?

Louis Olid: Yes, but this one was mild. I won't be able to wait for him to have breakfast today. I have to finish an important report. I'll see him at the company. Please apologize for me.

Housekeeper Larissa: Of course, don't worry.

Louis hurried out and got into the driver's car.

Driver Ralph: Good morning, young Louis. You're late.

Louis Olid: I know, I couldn't sleep well last night. You can speed today.

Driver Ralph: Now you're talking! You know it's a waste to hire a former race car driver and not take advantage of his skills, right?

Louis Olid: I know, you always say that. So make the most of it now, it won't be every day.

The driver drove off excitedly. Even at top speed, he obeyed the red lights. In less than twenty minutes, they arrived at the corporate building.

Louis Olid: Thank you so much!

Louis followed the driver's pace and rushed into the company, but as soon as he turned the first corridor, he bumped into Nestor Grize, a former partner in the company.

Louis and Nestor's bodies collided with force, due to the speed Louis was carrying as he came around the corner. The man spilled the hot coffee he was carrying on his chest and part of Louis' face, before he fell to the ground.

Nestor Grize: Hey! You crazy kid! How can you run like that?

Louise got up and looked at the nervous man.

Nestor Grize: You ruined my folder, my shirt, and my coffee!

Louis Olid: I'm sorry sir, I'll pay for everything. I'm sorry.

Nestor noticed that the young man's face was red and covered in coffee.

Nestor Grize: Heavens! Come with me.

The man took Louise's hand and entered the bathroom with him.

Nestor Grize: Look up.

He grabbed a paper towel and wet it with some water from the tap to clean Louis' face.

Nestor Grize: Is it hurting?

Louis Olid: Don't worry about me, sir, I'm fine.

Nestor Grize: Did you hurt yourself before this?

Nestor gently touched Louis' face.

Louis Olid: Ouch, what!? Can you see it?

The young man looked in the mirror and saw the mark of Eder's slap from the night before.

Louis Olid: The coffee... It took the makeup off.

Nestor Grize: You wear makeup?

Louis Olid: Yes. Don't you, sir?

Nestor Grize: Do I have to answer that?

Louis Olid: Sorry... Of course not. Gosh, I won't be able to hide it now!

The boy lowered his head, visibly upset.

Nestor Grize: Who hit you?

Louis Olid: No one, I... I just hit my face...

Nestor Grize: Into someone's hand. Right, if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. Put some ice on it, maybe it'll help.

Louis Olid: Good idea.

Louis smiled at Nestor and turned to the door, but suddenly staggered and lost consciousness.

Nestor Grize: Hey!? Kid?

A human resources employee named Heriberto entered the bathroom and saw Nestor with Louis in his arms.

Nestor Grize: Don't just stand there staring at me, help me! Call someone from the pharmacy up front, an ambulance, a doctor, or something!

Heriberto: Yes sir!

Nestor ran his hand over Louis' face.

Nestor Grize: He's pale and cold. Could his blood pressure have dropped?

The distressed man brought his ear close to Louis' face to check if he was breathing well. At that moment, Louis stirred, and their lips almost touched.

Nestor Grize: Kid! Are you alright? Huh?

Louis Olid: C..cold.

Louis rested his face against Nestor's chest. He was shivering and trying to snuggle even closer, seeking warmth.

Nestor Grize: He's cold. Poor thing, you can stay like that until help arrives.

Employee Heriberto arrived after half an hour with a doctor.

Doctor: Hello, let me see him.

Nestor Grize: He's feeling very cold, is that normal?

Doctor: I can't say just by looking. I'm going to take him to the hospital.

When they moved Louis away from Nestor, he started shivering even more.

Doctor: Sir, would you mind taking him? Somehow, the heat from your body is keeping him stable.

Nestor Grize: Yes, of course. No problem. You!?

Heriberto: Yes?

Nestor Grize: Try to call a relative of his.

Heriberto: Ah... Yes. Well, I'll just let them know through his extension.

Nestor Grize: Does the relative also work here?

Heriberto: Yes sir, it's our CEO, Mr. Eder Olid.

Nestor was surprised.

Nestor Grize: Is that right?

Heriberto: Yes sir, that's Louis, his adopted brother.

Doctor: We have to go now.

Nestor Grize: Right.

Nestor followed the doctor with Louis in his arms, ignoring Heriberto.

III

Heriberto was a twenty-eight-year-old single man. He was part of the company's "Foc quartet", a group of employees known for knowing everything about everyone's life.

After witnessing such hot gossip, Heriberto ran to the coffee area to share it with someone. Arriving there, he found Deise, a forty-two-year-old divorced woman who had moved back in with her mother.

Heriberto: Deise! You won't believe what happened!

Deise: Tell me now, it must be good.

Heriberto: The CEO's brother fainted in Mr. Fearsome's arms.

Deise: In Mr. Fearsome's arms? No way! And have they told Mr. Eder yet?

Heriberto: Damn, I forgot.

Deise: Then let me go!

Heriberto: You go, girl!

Deise entered the elevator and went up to the top floor of the building. She was announced by the secretary and entered the CEO's office.

From his desk, Eder gave an intimidating look.

Eder Olid: What's so urgent that you need to bother me today? Don't you know it's the end of the month, everyone's very busy. Especially me, I just arrived.

Deise: Yes sir, but something serious happened, and you need to know.

Eder Olid: What's so serious?

Deise: Mr. Louis fainted on top of Mr. Nestor.

Eder Olid: Fainted!?

Deise: That's right. A doctor came to take him. It must be something serious, sir.

Eder Olid: He's already gone to the hospital. In that case, everything's fine. Call the finance manager in here.

The employee left Eder's office, and he picked up the phone.

Eder Olid: Larissa, Louis went to the hospital, if you could go see what's wrong with him, I'd appreciate it.

[Housekeeper Larissa: Hospital!? Yes, of course, sir.]

Eder Olid: That good-for-nothing is going to delay work because of this. I think I'll change his department again. Maybe street services.

[Housekeeper Larissa: Please, don't be hasty, he wouldn't do anything to harm you.]

Eder Olid: He's been harming me since the day he walked through the door, hand in hand with "my parents!" I'm fed up with him!

[Housekeeper Larissa: I understand, I'm going to the hospital right now.]

Eder looked at the photo on his desk frame. In it, his parents and he were hugging on a lawn. In the picture, there was no Louis.

Eder Olid: I wish I'd left him at the bottom of that pool... I wanted to so badly. But every time, I remember you. Why did you make me promise to take care of him, Mom? Anyway, at least I can still keep that one... But yours, Dad, is terribly difficult. Yours... I don't think I'll be able to.

The doctor left the room and walked to the corridor where Nestor Grize was seated.

Nestor Grize: So? What happened to him? Does it have to do with the assault?

Doctor: Didn't any relative of his show up?

Nestor Grize: No. I work at the same company as him, I'm his partner. Can you tell me the situation?

Doctor: He has some water in his lungs. He'll stay here for treatment.

Nestor Grize: Water? What do you mean?

The voice of a woman behind them reported the problem.

Housekeeper Larissa: He drowned in the pool yesterday.

Doctor: And why didn't you bring him here?

Housekeeper Larissa: Mr. Eder didn't think it was necessary, he was fine right after.

Nestor Grize: How so? And where is he?

Housekeeper Larissa: Very busy at the company, I'll take care of Mr. Louis. Thank you very much for bringing him here.

Nestor Grize: You're welcome.

The annoyed man left the hospital.

Nestor Grize:{ I can't believe this! Such immaturity, to think that the company is in the hands of that kid!}

|||

The next day, Louis returned home, accompanied by the housekeeper. As soon as he entered the living room, Eder came to meet him.

Eder Olid: How are you?

Louis Olid: I'm fine.

Eder Olid: That's great! Because you delayed all our work. You're going to have to work overtime all week to catch up!

Louis Olid: Yes, alright brother.

Eder turned his back and went to his room, took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number.

Eder Olid: Good evening Sara, would you be able to come here today?

[Sara: Dear Eder, I can't make it today, I'm out of town. Are you alright?]

Eder Olid: No. I can't break free from the attacks. This week, I'm tense because we have important things going on at the company, Louis drowned and delayed everything. I... I don't feel well at all. An Alpha shouldn't feel this way! Why can't I control myself?

[Sara: You have to burn off that energy. Try swimming, running, or doing some other exercise. But, there are other things that work much better. I've told you this before. You have to have relations with someone, Eder, you're an adult. Hang in there, we'll get back to our sessions as soon as I get back. I promise I'll look for you soon.]

Eder Olid: Alright. Thank you.

The man hung up the phone and got in the shower.

The hot water ran down his body, outlining his muscles.

Eder Olid: {Damn it! I really need to do something. I'm tired of this...}

When he got out of the shower, Eder realized he wouldn't be able to sleep. He left his room and went to the pool. As Eder swam, Louise approached. He stood watching from afar, afraid to approach. Eder saw his reflection, and leaned on the edge of the pool.

Eder Olid: Throw me that towel, please.

Louis Olid: Oh yes... Sure.

Eder took the towel and left.

Louis Olid: I'm worried about you, brother... Isn't it getting worse?

Eder Olid: And what about you? Aren't you giving even more work than before?

Louis Olid: It was bad luck... You know, sometimes a wave of bad luck can lodge itself in a house.

Eder Olid: Where did you get that from?

Louis Olid: I heard stories.

Eder Olid: Damn it! You're such an idiot! I can't stand the nonsense you speak, you know?

Louis Olid: You think it's nonsense, but remember the meteor shower? You thought I was talking nonsense, but you were mesmerized when you saw it.

Eder gave a slight smile.

Eder Olid: It was a wonderful evening. But we were young, our parents didn't have...

Eder closed his hand and squeezed his fingers.

Eder Olid: Go to sleep!

Eder walked past Louis, the dripping drops and the white, wet robe clinging to Eder's body left Louis feeling strange. He covered his mouth and turned away.

Louis Olid: {Why did I look at him like that?}

Eder Olid: What is it? Go to sleep already! What do you want anyway?

Louis Olid: Nothing... I just wanted to see how you were doing...

Eder Olid: What for? To laugh at me? To feel superior?

Without realizing it, Eder started to get irritated again. He approached Louis, frowning, and some veins stood out on his face.

Eder Olid: Is that what you want? To laugh at me?

Louis Olid: No. I've never done that. And I never will.

Louis held Eder's hand

Louis Olid: Look at you. There's no reason, Eder, why are you so angry?

Eder pushed Louis into the glass door.

Eder Olid: Because of you! Because it's all your fault!

Eder's hands grabbed Louis's neck and squeezed.

Louis Olid: Eder... Eder!

Eder came to his senses and let go of his brother.

Eder Olid: It's better... You don't.

Being so close to Louis, Eder felt his temper change.

Louis Olid: It's okay... You were amazing just now. You managed to control yourself. See?

Eder looked at Louis, focusing his eyes on his lips, then moving closer.

Louis Olid: {What is he feeling now? I've never seen that look on him.}

Eder pressed his lips to Louis's and pulled him close. That strange feeling left him numb, to the point that he didn't want to stop.

Louis Olid: Eder... Wait!

Louis Olid: {He seems to be enjoying this, and the worst part is that I am too...}

Ignoring Louis, Eder continued for a while longer, until he finally came to his senses.

Eder Olid: I... Louis, I don't know why I did that, I really don't know what I was doing, I...

Eder pulled away and sat down in an armchair inside. He put both hands to his head, hiding his face.

Louis went up to him and touched his shoulder.

Louis Olid: It's okay. It's okay...

Louis hugged Eder.

Louis Olid: It's okay.

Eder buried his face in Louis's chest and calmed down, falling asleep soon after.

Louis Olid: {That was the strangest thing that's ever happened. But the truth... Is that I really like it when he lets me be close. And I'm happy when I can calm him down.}

Louis smiled and stroked Eder's hair.