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

Part 16: Nessa

I walked downstairs with the girls, and all the boys were sitting in the kitchen. 
"Finally!" Blake yelled when he spotted us. "You guys take forever!"
We all laughed, and Amelie crossed the room, kissing him. 
"Shots!" Griffin yelled, pouring them out. "To Bailey! We love you, girl."

As the party got underway, the house filled with people. Josh and I were dancing when I turned towards the door to see Nessa. I turned back to Josh, a worried look on my face. "Nessa's here," I said.
"What do you mean?" Josh asked.
"Nessa is in our house."
"How much have you had to drink?" he asked, grabbing my hand. 
"Josh, that's not funny. I'm sober enough to know that she's here."
"No, I'm asking if you're sober enough for us to talk to her."
"Oh! Yeah, let's do it."

Josh looked around the room, pulling me by my hand when he spotted Nessa near the front door. "Upstairs. Now," he said to her. She didn't question it as she led the way to his room, making herself comfortable on the bed.
"What's up, Joshie Poo?" she asked, clearly a little tipsy.
"What the fuck are you doing, Ness? You wrote me that letter about moving on and being happy with Bailey. Why are you calling and harassing her? Why did you leak our relationship to the press?"
Nessa laughed. "People change their minds, Josh. I shouldn't have let you go." She crossed the room, putting her hands on his chest. I watched as she stood on her tiptoes to whisper to him. In her inebriated state, her whisper was loud. "Ditch her, and meet me back here."
Josh grabbed her wrists, sitting her back down on the bed. "We are not together anymore, Nessa. You are going to leave Bailey and me alone. Your behavior is highly inappropriate."
Nessa pouted on the bed. "Did you ever love me?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Did you ever love me or did you always know that it was going to be her? Was I just a distraction to you?"
Josh sighed, looking back at me apologetically. "You know that I loved you, Nessa. I loved you so much, but we were not good for each other. We were toxic. It's time for us to let it go."
Tears spilled onto her cheeks. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "Letting you go was the hardest and most painful thing I've ever done. I shouldn't have turned against either of you."

Josh looked back at me again, unsure of how to handle the situation. "Nessa, come with me," I said, grabbing her hand and helping her to her feet. I led her to my room. "How much have you had to drink, Nessa?"
Her words started to slur. "A lot."
I nodded. "Okay. Let's take your makeup off. How does that sound?" 
She nodded, and I swiped a makeup wipe across her face. It wasn't the most effective skincare routine, but it would have to do for now. I handed her some sweats and a t-shirt. "Go ahead and get changed, sweetie."
She changed and looked at me strangely. "Why are you doing this? I've been horrible to you."
I looked at her with pain in my eyes. "Because I've been you. I've been too drunk to make good decisions, begging someone to want me back, and the only place it took me was in bed with someone else. If I knew that you were like this and didn't do anything about it, I would never be able to live with myself."
Nessa hugged me suddenly. "Thank you," she whispered. 
"Let's get you into bed," I said. I pulled back the blankets and grabbed a water and a bottle of Advil. "Take one of these for me."
She didn't question me. She laid back in my bed, staring at me as I moved around the room. "Here's the trashcan, just in case you feel like you're gonna be sick. You've got your water. Extra blankets are in the closet on the floor. Sleep tight, Nessa." I walked out of the room, shutting and locking the door behind me.

Josh was waiting in the hallway. "What did you do?"
"I took care of her. I think that's all she ever really wanted," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. "I don't want to go back downstairs. Can we just go watch a movie?"
Josh nodded, leading me into his room. He threw me some sweatpants from his drawer. "Here are these so Bryce doesn't freak out again. You know where the hoodies are." I walked over to the closet, searching for the perfect one. I settled on the gray crewneck that Josh had been wearing when we met the first time. We climbed into the bed, and I settled in underneath his comforter. 
Josh flipped through Netflix before flinging the remote on the bed. "Why is there nothing to watch?" 
I chuckled, picking up the remote and flipping through. "You were right," I laughed. "Let's just watch Criminal Minds."