My Best Friends Brother

Chapter 41

JOSH’S P.O.V.

“So, this social worker really won’t do fuck all?” Brie asks through a mouthful of ham and cheese Panini. She thinks she’s Gordon fucking Ramsay since she got that fucking Panini machine.

I stare down at the one she made for me but to be honest ever since I got off the phone with that social worker I haven’t had much of an appetite.

“Nope.” I state, popping the p. “She said that unless Liam is in any real physical danger it’s hard to prove neglect or that he is not safe with her. Apparently his mental well being means fuck all. She said she’ll go do an inspection at the apartment this week to make sure everything is still okay there but she didn’t sound convincing when she said it and right now there's not enough of a reason to get him away from that bitch.”

Brie looks even more pissed than I feel. I know that this is hard for everyone, but they’re not the ones that have to face it every time they take Liam home. I’ve only managed to see him twice since everything kicked off, and both those times were because Chrissy couldn’t get a fucking babysitter, not because she actually wanted to let me see my little brother.

“It’s fucking wrong Josh, that kid was petrified, trembling down to his fucking soul. How is that not mental fucking torture? If your partner treated you like that then the police would definitely have something to fucking say about it. It shouldn’t be different with a kid in an abusive relationship with a parent.”

I know she means well, she’s just trying to support me, but right now I feel so fucking lost on what to do with him I don’t need her reminding me how crap this situation is too. Every time I’ve had to take him back to that place this week it's felt like someone has shoved a knife straight into my gut as the door closes with him on the other side.

There’s nothing I can do, until Chrissy really fucks up I’ve got no reason to take him from her. If I did, she’d quite happily have me prosecuted for kidnapping and I’d never see my brother again.

“I know Brie, there’s just not much more I can do right now other than be there for him when he needs me. At least I’m seeing him again, those few days where she wouldn't even let me talk to him felt like my heart had been torn out of my chest. I have to have a relationship with him, even if it's only some of the time.”

This type of thing is hard for Brie, she’s the queen of action, sitting back and having to watch things play out is not her forte. If she could, she’d walking into that house and take Liam without a second thought, probably ragging Chrissy all over the building by her hair for good measure.

“It’s just not fair Josh, it shouldn't be this way.” She’s right, it shouldn’t, but I don’t have any cards to play here.

We finish off our paninis in comfortable silence, well actually, she finishes them off since the moment that her plate emptied she made her move onto mine.

“Steve still over at the church?”

Brie nods, taking the plates to the sink and washing them up. Sometimes when I look at her I swear I just see her grandmother smiling back at me. That woman would stand at that sink every time I was here, washing dishes or making new recipes, moaning to me about when I was going to find a nice boy and settle down.

Everyone misses her, but I think May and Brie miss her more than they can possibly explain.

“Yeah, they needed some help setting up the new high-bran fibre internet or some shit. You know I tune him out when he gets all techy talk.”

Sometimes I think he’s very lucky to have this girl... other times I think she’s fucking lucky to have found someone willing to put up with her shit. She can talk about the latest Disney travesty for hours but God forbid she learn her future husbands fucking job title.

The back door to the kitchen opens, Al being beaten through the entranceway by a very excited Heather. The little bowl of blonde energy bounces around the counter and runs straight up to me, her infectious energy raising the mood in the room instantly.

“Uncle Josh! Is Liam here?”

I shake my head, pulling her up from the floor to sit in my lap and sneakily taking one of the cookies out of the barrel for her. She eats it quickly, facing my chest like a shield and smirking up at me. Aleah will complain that it will ruin her appetite but the girl is a miniature version of her mother, there's nothing on earth that could ruin her appetite.

Al throws herself down on the couch, you’d never guess she was a year younger than the rest of us with the way she holds her back every time she moves. She’s like a little old lady after a stroll back from the bus stop and she’s not even showing yet.

“Heather, baby girl pass me one of those cookies please, quick? I feel like I’m going to pass out I’m so hungry. I’m practically starving to death over here.”

Given the layer of Cheetos crumbs all over her face, I’m going to assume that she was still eating on her walk over to this fucking house.

Heather quickly grabs one of the cookies, and another one for herself, jumping down from my lap and taking it over to her mother. She’s gotten so big now, feels like only yesterday I was running out of the room when Al was trying to shove her out. It’s a memory I’d rather forget if I could, seeing that girl’s head crowning means I’ve never been able to eat jello again.

The two of them are so alike, it’s like watching two generations of the exact same person interact in front of you. Even the way they choose to sit, the way they bite their cookie, it’s all in sync.

“Did you see if you can get out of work early that Friday for us to hit the lake house? We can get it do weekend straight after the barbecue if it's easier?” Brie asks us she takes two glasses of milk over to the Aryan-race twins on her couch.

“That weekend will be easier for me to get out, I might have to drive up later and meet you guys though if this merger goes through early. Who’s going now, are Hannah and Lisa going to be home by then?”

Brie hands me a glass of water, drinking milk always kind of weirded me out. Humans are the only species on the planet that continue to drink milk beyond infancy, the moment I realised that I couldn’t look at a glass again.

“No, they’re still looking at places out in Boston before Hannah starts the new job. They seem happy over there though for the time being. Cole and Tara are a no-go to so it’ll just be us lot, the kids and the two O.C. rejects.”

What the fuck is she talking about now?

“O.C. rejects?”

Al and Heather laugh from there spot on the couch behind me.

“She means Milo and May. They’re going to fill the gaps.”

Oh fuck.

The water I was drinking becomes lodged in my throat at the mention of his name.

Miles... Miles is fucking coming with us! How the fuck am I supposed to be around him and keep my fucking distance? We are so not ready for everyone to find out about us yet, there still isn't even an us for them to find out about!

Although, if we have any more phone calls like we did the other fucking night then I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to let him go again.

He just makes me feel alive. Invincible. Better. Like there’s nothing that I can’t do when I’m talking to him. When he came over on Saturday I was so fucking nervous, then within five minutes it was like I didn’t remember what it felt to be away from him.

Every time my phone makes a noise I pray that message is from him, every time somebody knocks my door there is a tiny part of me that wants to see his face when I open it. It’s becoming somewhat of an obsession, something I’ve never felt before.

This overwhelming urge I have to always be near him in some way is kind of taking over everything else in my life. He sent me a message today at lunch just to say hello, and I literally couldn’t get any work done for the rest of the day. All I could do was smile, stare at my screen and wait for him to get back to me.

“You okay there babe? I thought you and Milo would be good after spending so much time together at camp. We were going to put you guys in the same room but I can move things around and put him with Heather and Chase if that’s easier? I just thought that Liam would appreciate having some of his own quiet space so he could go in the little one attached to yours. I’d shove Milo in with May but the little diva was pretty insistent on having her own room.”

Same room. Me and Miles in the same room for an entire fucking weekend.

I’m fucked.

“No... it’s fine, we’ll be fine.” I hope.

She smiles. “Good, they should be here any minute anyway so if you’ve got issues you guys can talk it out.”

Here? Now? Fuckkkkk....

No sooner had the words left her lips, the front door swung open. May was the first one to walk in, although she hardly even acknowledged I was here once Heather sprung from her seat and threw her arms around her favourite aunt.

I swear to fuck I could smell his fresh aftershave before he even made it to the door. He didn’t look up from his phone walking in, it was only as mine went off with what I’m assuming is a message from him that he looked up and our eyes locked.

How the fuck does he look this fucking good going to school? If we were in school together I would have spent every fucking lunchtime pinning him to the toilet cubicle wall. Fucking look at him; fitted black jeans, white tank top that shows off every perfectly toned muscle in his arms, I don’t even hate the fucking baseball cap he’s wearing. No-one should be allowed to look like that. It’s impossible not to look at him!

I tried to keep my eyes from obviously giving away the fact I’m checking him out, but he seems to have forgotten there are other people in the room as he lets his glare travel all the way down me. I’m in one of my good suits today, the small smirk on his gorgeous face telling me that he appreciates it too. Stop licking your lips Miles, fuck, please stop licking your lips.

“There he is, we were just talking about you.”

Miles reluctantly rips his eyes away from me as he turns to face Brie, the muscles in his neck tightening as he stretches, showing off those collarbones that I just want to take a fucking nibble on.

“Oh yeah?” He grins. “What were you guys saying about me? How you can’t believe one person can have this much charm and sex appeal in one package?”

Brie rolls her eyes at him, turning away too put something into the cupboards whilst I realise I’m still just gawking at his beautiful face. The second her back is turned he fucking winks at me, and I feel all my inhibitions wanting to make a run for the hills. If I could guarantee it she wouldn’t turn back, I’d grab him by that fucking top and rip him right to my lips.

He knows it too. Slowly, he edges his way closer to where I sit, occasionally biting on that perfectly plump bottom lip of his. Stop it. You have to fucking stop it, now.

“Nothing bad basket-nuts, just saying that you and Josh will have to share up at the lake. That cool?”
 
Milo leans in front of me, reaching for one of the cookies whilst also leaning his hand against my thigh. Nobody but me and him know it’s there, but it’s like a magnet releasing its electrical charge into my body through his touch.

Is this what that weekend is going to be like? Him secretly touching me in ways that look innocent but actually make my whole body throb with indescribable need for him. Four days of this, and I’m going to fucking explode.

Miles pauses, his face right in front of mine as he takes a bite of the cookie and squeezes my thigh harshly beneath the counter.

“Sounds good to me.”

I can feel the shiver of pleasure run up my fucking spine as his fingers linger on my flesh, loosening the grip he has just enough to stroke over the fabric of my suit trousers... moving higher and higher... Fuck.

“Brie, I’ve got to use your bathroom.”

Tearing myself free and rushing up the stairs so fast I almost fall back down them, I forget which room is even the bathroom as I walk completely into one of the bedrooms before turning around and pulling open the door to my left.

My heart is fucking racing, how the fuck does he do that so calmly? He doesn’t have the fear I have, the fear of what this could mean for us if people found out. People wouldn’t fucking judge him the way they will me, he has so much less to lose.

I run my hand under the cold water, moving it immediately to the back of my neck and trying to relieve the heat he made flood all over me. My mind is torn between wanting to curse him for doing that and kiss him for being here. Controlling my actions around him is hard, doing it when he isn’t even trying to do the same, is harder.

Pulling my jacket off, I straightens out my shirt and undo a few buttons until I feel like I can breathe again. If he wants to play this game, fine, but I’ll fucking win.

Stepping out of the bathroom, I’m better prepared to deal with it now. It was just the shock, I didn’t expect to have to be around everyone with him yet, I’ve gone like five years without so much as running into the guy before now.

I was ready, ready to smile and play pretend, to hide every thought I had in my head as I looked at him, to maybe subtly touch him back and have him see how it feels. I was absolutely ready to do all that..

Until a hand grabbed my wrist, pulling me almost completely off my feet as I was torn into the bedroom I’d ended up in earlier.

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