My Brother's Best Friend: a Josh Richards FanFiction -complete-

Part 6: Shopping Day

Josh looked back and forth at the two of us before stepping in between us. "Don't get mad at her," he said softly.
"What the fuck? Of course, I'm going to get mad at her. So what if I 'got cozy' with Tayler Holder? No one needed to be taking pictures of it at that party, especially not your bitchy girlfriend."
Josh sighed. "She took the picture, but she's not the one who sent it in."
My entire demeanor changed. I was no longer angry. I was hurt. "Josh," I said softly, "what the hell are you talking about?"
Josh looked down at the ground, avoiding eye contact with me. "Nessa didn't send it to tiktokroom."
"Josh, you better look at me right now and explain what is going on," I said, hoping that the thoughts racing through my mind were so much worse than what he was about to say.
He looked up at me, his blue eyes filled with regret. "Bailey, I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I just-"
I cut him off. "Save it. I don't want to talk to you anymore." I turned quickly on my heel and made my back down to the kitchen.

"You figure it out?" Blake asked, looking at me.
I nodded. "Yeah. I was wrong. We were all wrong." Tears filled my eyes, and it was taking every ounce of my being not to let them stream down my face.
"What do you mean?" Jaden asked.
"Nessa took the picture," I explained, "but Josh sent it to tiktokroom."
Everyone at the table gasped. "What do you mean, Josh sent it?" Addison asked, clearly confused.
"Exactly what I said. I went up there to confront Nessa, and in the middle of my rant, he confessed. I just don't understand why," I said, a tear escaping.
"Let us talk to him," Jaden suggested.
I shook my head. "It's not worth it. He's not worth it. I think I'm going to go take a nap. Maybe some sleep will help clear my head."

I got up from the table and headed quickly to my room, already knowing that the sobs wouldn't stay back much longer. As I flopped onto my bed, I let them loose. I lay there and cried for what felt like forever before drifting off to sleep.

"Bailey? Is everything okay?" Amelie asked, pushing my door open.
I rolled over to look at her. "Define 'okay,'" I mumbled, sitting up in the bed.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
I relayed the events of last night and that morning to her, pausing as I got to the part about Josh. I choked down my sobs as I told her everything. She wrapped me in a hug.
"Boys are dumb, you know? Everything's going to be okay. I heard that you have a date tomorrow." I nodded. "The rest of your clothes aren't here yet, so I was thinking: how does a shopping day sound?"
I nodded again. "I do love some good old fashioned retail therapy."
Amelie laughed. "Me too. I'm glad you said yes though, because I definitely already made the plans with the other girls."
"The other girls?" I asked.
"Don't worry, not Nessa. I wouldn't do that to you," she said, rubbing my back gently. "I'm about to go pick up some food, do you want anything?"
I shook my head no, and she left the room.

Griffin stood in the doorway. "Hey, Bailey. Can I come in?" I nodded, and he crossed the room, sitting in my desk chair. "I heard about a lot of things, and I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."
I nodded again. "Yeah, I'm doing okay. Thank you. I'm sorry for everything."
"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.
"Josh, Tayler, all the drinking last night. I'm kind of a shitty person."
Griffin looked at me. "I don't mean this in a bad way, but I don't care what you do. I just want you to be happy. When you're happy, I'm happy."
I stood up and crossed the room, hugging him. "You have no idea how much that means to me, Griff. I hope that we can stay friends."
Griffin nodded. "Of course. I'll be here whenever you need me." He stood to leave. "Let me know if you need anything."

How in the hell did I move to LA two days ago and I'm already finding myself in some sort of love rectangle? Maybe my mom was wrong. Maybe I can't be more successful out here.
I had just spent the last few hours asleep, so I made my way downstairs to the kitchen. Anthony and Avani were sitting at the table.
"Hey, guys. Sorry to interrupt."
Avani shook her head. "You aren't interrupting anything. How are you feeling?"
I gathered that she had either seen the post or talked to one of the other girls. I shrugged. "I'm wondering if I made the right choice in moving here. It seems to just have caused problems for me and everyone around me."
Anthony looked at me oddly. "You haven't created problems for anyone. Don't think that, okay?"
"Thanks, Ant, but it's okay. You don't have to pretend that I haven't. I'm gonna head back upstairs. See you guys in the morning."
I watched the two of them share a look as I left the kitchen. They were so perfect together. Maybe one day I would have something like that.