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

Part 15: Fighting Again?

"How unfortunate for us that we didn't really get much of a choice in the matter, Nessa."
"Oh, boohoo. You'll get over it eventually."
I sighed. "You told me to do this. You told me that you wanted me to do this. Why are you being so cruel about it now?"
"Changed my mind. Isn't that what you did to Tayler?"
"Nessa, you are such a bitch. I can't believe that I really thought we could be friends. You played me," I replied, the anger bubbling over.
Nessa laughed. "Like a fiddle, darling. I don't even care if Josh ends up with me. I just don't want him to be with you, and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that happens. Watch your back, Bailey. You've been warned."

She hung up the phone, and I stood in the doorway, dumbfounded. Josh came running down the stairs. "Oh, there you are. Thank God." I was completely lost. "Addison said that you were coming upstairs to talk to me, but you never came up, so I thought that something might be wrong."
"There is something wrong, Josh. Bryce just screamed at me because Hollywood Fix stopped him to ask what he thought about us being official. He thinks that I deliberately ignored his advice and went out and told the media anyway," I said, tears filling my eyes. The crying every day that I lived in LA had better stop soon because it was getting ridiculous.
"What? Who told the press?" he asked, confused. I handed him my phone, and he looked at my latest call. "Nessa? I don't think she would do that. She's really such a sweet girl."
I scoffed. "Is it enough proof for you that she just called and admitted it to me, or are you going to take her side again, just like you have every time she and I get into an altercation?"
"That's not fair, Bailey."
"Why not? What makes it not fair, Josh? She literally just told me that she would do anything to make sure that we don't end up together. How are you going to sit there and believe the girl that kissed another man while you two were together? How are you going to believe the girl that told you that I was trying to use you for clout? I don't need you for clout, Josh. I get plenty of clout just having my damn last name, but you believed her. When is it my turn? When do you finally believe me?"
By now, I was fully sobbing. It was a miracle that he could even understand anything that I was saying. 
"I think that you are reacting kind of irrationally right now because you haven't had time to process the situation. I'm going to give you some time to think it over, and when we're ready to stop blaming the person that got us together in the first place, you can let me know," he said, turning to walk back up the stairs. 

I walked into the kitchen, trying, and barely succeeding, to hold in my sobs. To my surprise, the kitchen was empty, and I let the tears loose. Josh and I had barely been taking things slow for a day, and somehow, we were already fighting over his ex-girlfriend. Maybe I made a mistake with him.
Someone cleared their throat in the doorway. "Need to talk about it?" Blake asked, leaning against the doorframe. I shook my head. "Okay. Mind if I sit with you and just let you feel?"
"Sure," I replied, sniffling. When I had finally calmed myself down, Blake looked at me expectantly.
"Come on. I know that you want to talk about it. Bryce will lecture you. Jaden will probably tell Bryce. You're crying about Josh. I'll listen, judgment-free, and your secrets will always be safe with me."
I nodded. "You know, you're like the cool older brother that Bryce always had the potential to be. You know, if he wasn't so uptight about me making the same mistakes that he did."
Blake laughed. "Lay it on me, kiddo." 

I told him everything about my day. Getting caught in Josh's room this morning, going to the Hype House with Addison, Bryce screaming at me outside, the phone call with Nessa, the subsequent fight with Josh. Blake listened intently, nodding at appropriate times and giving me a sympathy smile at others. "So what do I do, Blake? I feel so lost."
"I think that step one is to reconcile with Bryce. He's angry because he cares about you. Try to explain the situation, and maybe he will understand."
I nodded. "What's step two?"
"Step two: talk to Josh. Start by explaining how it feels when he takes Nessa's side. Every good relationship has to start with good communication."
"Step three?"
"Deal with Nessa. Make it known that her petty threats aren't going to phase you. When she doesn't get the reaction that she's hoping for, she'll give up."
I hugged Blake. "You're a lot smarter than the people on TikTok make you seem."
"Thank you, I think?"