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

Part 8: Apologies

Bryce came down the stairs to see me crying against the door.
"What happened? Did he hurt you?" he asked, rushing over and kneeling down next to me.
I shook my head. "No, I hurt him," I said softly, wiping the tears from my eyes.
Bryce looked lost. "What do you mean?"
"Bryce, we were kissing, and I pulled away. I- I told him that we couldn't do anything because my heart wasn't in it."
"That's okay. You're allowed to say no."
"Bryce, no. He asked if I just didn't want the sex or him. I didn't say anything, Bryce. I didn't have to. He already knew."
Bryce enveloped me in a hug, and I sobbed into his chest. "Did you break it off because of who I think you did?" I didn't speak. I simply nodded into his chest. He stroked my hair as I cried. "Shh. It's okay. Everything is gonna be okay."

Bryce and I sat against the door for what felt like hours. "Bryce?" I asked finally.
"What's up, Bails?"
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it. What kind of brother would I be if I didn't comfort you in a time of despair?"
"No, I don't mean for just right now. I mean for always. When dad left, you stepped up for me. I didn't need a dad because I had you. It's two o'clock in the morning, and you're sitting down here with me while I bawl my eyes out over hurting one of your friends and being in love with another. You've always, always had my back, and I never thank you for it," I said, sniffling.
Bryce squeezed me a little tighter. "You don't have to thank me, Bails. It was the right thing to do. It is the right thing to do. Let's get you in bed."

We made our way up the stairs. "Sleep tight, Bailey. If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to knock. Addi didn't stay over tonight, so you don't have to worry about waking her up."
I hugged him again. "Thank you, bubba," I whispered.

The next morning, the events of the night before came flooding back to me. I threw on a paper of joggers and a hoodie and headed downstairs to the kitchen.
"You good? You look like shit," Jaden said.
"You can't tell people they look like shit," Anthony said, hitting Jaden.
I ignored them both and sat down at the table with Blake and Kio. "You hungry?" Blake asked softly, looking at me strangely.
I shook my head. "Do you want to talk about it?" Kio asked.
I shook my head again. Noah walked into the kitchen. "Hey, kiddo. How'd your date go?" I groaned and buried my face in my arms.
Griffin and Quinton walked in from outside. "What's her problem?" Griffin asked, grabbing a water from the fridge.
"I don't ask," Jaden said, leaving the kitchen.

Bryce and Josh walked into the kitchen together, laughing over some vlog bit they had just filmed.
I felt arms wrap around me. "What?" I grunted.
"Hey, it's me. What's wrong?" Bryce whispered.
I didn't look up. "I don't want to talk about it, but I also don't want to be alone."
I felt him sit down in the chair next to me. "Will you at least get your head off of the table? Sometimes, we eat on there."
"I'll clean it before I cook next," I said, looking up to glare at him before burying my head again.
"Why don't you just tell them?" he asked. I looked around the room to see who was still in there.
When I spotted Josh, I knew my answer. "No," I said, laying my head back down.

"Damn it, Bailey," Bryce said. "I know that you're upset, but this ends right now. You are not going to sit around and pout. You're gonna get up, dust yourself off, and come back even stronger."
"I don't want to," I whined.
"Good thing that I didn't ask. Head up. Now."
I sat up and looked at him. "Are you happy? Now everyone can see my nappy bed head and eye bags. You got what you wanted."
"I want you to stop feeling sorry for yourself. If you feel sorry for yourself every time you hurt someone's feelings, you're never going to stop feeling sorry for yourself. That's how it works out here."
"I used him, Bryce. I'm allowed to feel bad about using someone that I was close to. You can't tell me that I'm not," I said, my voice growing softer as my rant progressed.
I could feel everyone's eyes on me. "You know that you didn't use him, right?"
"Like hell I didn't! I got drunk because I was hurt, and I latched on to the first person I could. I had sex with him, and I tried to convince myself that I had feelings for him so that I could distract myself from how damn pathetic my life has become!"