the boy on the bridge ✔️

27. tell boy

Chapter 27 — tell boy

"Shit. I have to tell him," Josh mumbles to himself out loud, lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

And as if on cue, his sister walks into his room, "Tell who what? And did you just swear — what?!"

"Oh, shut up," Josh slides his eyes down to his sister for a short moment, "What are you doing here? What do you want?"

"Just wanted to spend some quality time with my big bro," she climbs onto his bed, nudges him to the side a little with her knees and lies down beside him, "Whatcha doing?"

"Contemplating my existence," he says his eyes back on the ceiling.

"Boring,"

"What have you been up to then?"

"Nothing good. I was bored, that's why I came to you. You never fail to provide me with entertainment,"

"Gee, thanks,"

Josie just shrugs, and then turns to her side, propping her arm and placing her head on the palm of her hand, "So, what were you talking about when I came in?"

"Nothing," Josh replies too quickly for it to be believable.

Surprisingly, Josie doesn't push on the topic either and just gives him a small nod. She looks past him and nods at the direction of the window — Josh thought wrong, she didn't let go, she's just using a different technique this time around.

"Why haven't you sneaked out yet?"

Josh picks up a pillow from above his head and launches it at his sister, exclaiming, "Shut up!"

His room door is still wide open and both of his parents are awake and in the living room, and who knows, maybe they can hear the both of them talking. Josh stands up from his bed and goes to close the door. He turns to his sister, scowling and she grimaces, whispering now when she doesn't have to:

"Sorry,"

"What do you want?" he sighs, walking over to the other side of the room, pulling up a chair and sitting on it.

"Nothing," she shrugs, sitting up as well, so she can see her brother while talking, "Just wanted to see what you were up to. I thought you would have, you know–," she gestures at the window symbolically, and whispers the last part, "–sneaked out already,"

Josh lets out another sigh, and rolls his eyes, "I clearly haven't. Anything else?"

Josie pouts, "Why you gotta be so rude? I'm trying to talk to you here,"

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. What did you want to talk about?"

"Um..." she looks around his room as if the answer lays somewhere around there, before bringing her eyes back to her brother, "I don't know?" a sharp exhale, "I don't know, okay. I was just bored," and before Josh can say something in return, she quickly filled in, "So, tell who what?"

Josh wasn't going to tell her at first. She can be persistently annoying most of the time, but he doesn't seem to mind this time around. She is the one after all who planted this seed in his head. He was perfectly content, keeping his feelings for Elliot to himself. He didn't need to tell him. At least not for the time being.

But Josie just had to suggest that he confess his feelings and now he can't get that idea out of his head. And it certainly doesn't help that whenever he is around Elliot and whatever he does makes his heart thud so hard that it feels like it is going to jump out via his mouth. It is excruciatingly bad.

So, he has to tell him. He can't possibly keep it in anymore — his feelings for the bridge boy.

"What do you think?" he asks Josie and it doesn't take her long to figure it out.