Hopelessly Broken

57. On My Own

6.14.20

Devon's POV

I don't know why, but watching Jack run out of the room did something to me. I'm supposed to be his brother; I'm not meant to hurt him. I knew by getting with Oliver, I would significantly hurt Jack, but I was selfish. I've driven a knife into my brother's back, and that was so stupid of me.

"I'll be back," I murmured to Oli before walking away. I wandered down the hallways on my own with my feelings weighting heavily on my shoulders. I know how much I hurt Jack, and that wasn't right by any circumstances. However, I didn't feel the same way. I was his brother, and to me I wasn't any more or less.

Although, I suppose I could have handled the situation with a bit more grace. I mean, I met Oli, and I started dating him a mere 3 days later. I've known Jack for 4 years, and I would say that we've grown pretty close together. The thing is that the first 3 and a half years of that was him bullying me and making sure that I couldn't make any friends. Oli may have kidnapped me, but he had a good reason. I was trying to destroy his whole way of life, yet he had still found interest in me.

When I reached my bedroom, I immediately walked into the bathroom to stare at my reflection. My brown hair had gone back to looking like a mop, but I noticed that my blue eyes had a renewed sparkle. It was something that I had lost after years of being lonely, but Oliver had brought it back. I know that he's the right choice, but I can see Jack struggling.

I closed my eyes and sighed while pressing my head onto the marble sink top, but suddenly arms curled around my waist from behind. I automatically leaned into Oliver's contact like a cat, and I heard him chuckle lowly into my ear. "What're you thinking about, puppy?"

"Just the whole situation with Jack. I know you don't like him, but you have to admit it is pretty shitty to watch a crush be taken from your finger tips."

"Is it right to be bitter about it?"

"He's hurt, Oli."

"So? He has no right!"

"Yes he does!" I jerked out of his grip while I shouted so he could see my eyes while I told him off, and his posture faltered when I glared.

"Give me one reason why?"

"Imagine someone– you know what, this would never happen, but imagine I fell in love with your father."

"That's different."

"Is it? You've shown me that you like me, your father is your enemy, and it would make you feel inadequate, wouldn't it!"

"This is why everyone hates you! You have weird opinions, and all you do is push people away!"

"What, you hate me now for revealing one of my views? Well then fuck you!"

"Fuck me, how about fuck you!" I heard a loud crack at the same time as my head twisted painfully to the side, and a stinging sensation followed a few seconds later.

"Get out." My voice was oddly calm even though I was burning on the inside.

"Dev I–"

"Get the hell out of my life!"

Oliver looked pretty dejected, but I didn't care. "Fine. Don't expect to see me ever again."

When he stormed out, I remember thinking that this was his fault for about two seconds. I mean, I should be able to talk about my feelings with someone I love, right? Then the reality set in. I lost the person I love by being sympathetic. That and... I love Oliver.

I fell first onto my knees then onto my stomach, and I don't even remember when I started to cry. I lay on the floor for hours until I could barely breathe, and finally the door to my bedroom clicked open. "Dev, it's time for dinner. They told me that spaghetti was your favorite, so I made some." Papa's voice rang across the room in a sing song kind of way, but I couldn't bring myself to respond. My throat is dry, and I don't think I'll be able to eat anyways.

His footsteps approached the bathroom, and he dropped onto his knees as soon as he saw my pitiful state. "Com'ere, baby." I crawled up to Papa before collapsing into his lap, and I somehow managed to start crying again. "Shhh, tell me what happened."

"I was talking to Oli about my opinion on my romantic situation, and I got mad at him for calling Jack bitter when he's just hurt. He... He slapped me and stormed out. Told me I wouldn't see him again."

"Aww baby... I'm sure he was just frustrated. That boy loves you so, so much. Something similar to this happened to my brother when we were teenagers, and I totally beat the shit out of the boy. Don't worry, he'll come back. If he doesn't, then I'll beat him up, too."

"You would do that for me?"

"Of course. You're my son." I leaned into Papa's embrace, and he soothed a hand down my back. "Now come on, I made spaghetti with no red sauce."

I managed to smile a little bit, and he helped me get my weak body to the dining room. "Jeeze, what happened to you?" Did I ever mention that Jack can be an idiot sometimes?

"Nothing important."

"Well clearly it was something, you can hardly walk." I took notice in how close he was to my biological brother, but I didn't think much of it.

"Can we drop it?"

"No, we can't."

"Fine, then! I defended your ass and lost my boyfriend for it, are you happy yet?" As soon as the words fell from my mouth, I covered my face with my hands to stop the tears.

While papa was tending to my tears, I heard my father shout something along the lines, "I'm going to kill that bastard."

"Baby, no. You can't just kill him!"

"I can damn well try!"

While the two bickered, I looked closer at Dan and Jack. Daniel was looking longingly at the side of Jack's head, and I could see his hand hovering a few inches above my adoptive brother's. Meanwhile, Jack was making a thoughtful face, and I knew that the hamsters were running in his mind.

Finally, he pushed off of the counter, and his arms were curled around my body. "I'm sorry for being a jealous bitch and loosing you someone who cared for you."

"I'm sorry for the way I threw you around. I hope you understand that I'm allowed to not like you that way, but I should have handled the situation with a bit more grace. I didn't intend to hurt you like I did, and I'm sorry."

Jack's head leaned against my chest since he was so short, and I rocked us back and forth slightly. Even though my parents were still fighting, at least our relationship was sort of back on track.

"Brothers?" I whispered hopefully.

"Brothers," Jack confirmed.