Entanglement | jj maybank

180

Sunday morning brings more tension between my brother and I. Sarah is awkwardly silent as she moves around the kitchen making a pot of coffee. John B and I sit across from each other at the table, staring at each other with our arms crossed. I try to not make it obvious that I'm examining the spot on his jaw where I punched him to see if I left a mark. There's just barely a shadow of a bruise there.

"Are you guys having a staring contest? Who's winning?" JJ asks as he walks in, taking the empty seat beside me.

"JJ," Sarah scolds.

"What? I come in here and the tension is so thick between these two I couldn't even begin to cut it with a knife. Just trying to lighten the mood," he shrugs. I give him an appreciative smile.

"You can leave any time," John B says to him.

"He is my guest, and he's not leaving," I say, giving him a look. John B raises his eyebrows at me. "And if you want your guest to be able to continue to stay, you will shut your damn mouth. She's only here because her parents think you're gone and it's just her and I staying here," I remind him.

"She's got ya there, JB," JJ says.

"Shut up, JJ," my brother and I say in unison. JJ throws his hands up in surrender.

"Can't we all just get along?" Sarah asks as she hits the buttons on the coffee pot to get it brewing.

"It'd be nice, but since someone insists on being an asshole about everything—"

"Right, I'm the asshole here," John B says, cutting me off.

"John B," I whine. "This isn't fair."

"Can I say something?" Sarah asks. We all look at her. "I know that my brother is Rafe, but in an alternate universe where he wasn't the douche that he normally is, if he were to date one of my close friends, I would be okay with it if I thought they were genuinely happy together."

"That's because you're normal," I say, rolling my eyes and staring at my brother. "You actually care about your siblings' happiness."

"I do care about your happiness, Dylann, that's why you can't be with him!" John B says, motioning to JJ.

"We can only have this conversation so many times, JB. Honestly, I'm sick of discussing it. We want to be together, so we're going to be together, and that's that. You can either apologize and we can move on, or you can continue to throw your tantrum and we steer clear of each other."

"I think you two owe me an apology," John B responds.

"Are you joking?" I ask.

"I'm not going to apologize for having feelings for Dylann, and I'm sorry that for whatever reason this makes you mad, but she makes me the happiest I've ever been and I think I deserve to see that through," JJ says. My stomach erupts in butterflies as his hand squeezes mine under the table. "I just wish you could be happy for me, man," he says softly. I want to wrap my arms around him and hug him. This boy deserves the world and the one person who's supposed to have his back through everything is trying so hard to take his happiness away.

John B frowns and stares at the two of us silently. "You and me, outside, now," he says as he locks his eyes on JJ.

"Shit, please don't fight," I say, jumping up from the table.

"We're not," John B says. "But we're going to talk. And neither of you are coming," he adds, looking at me for a moment, then turning his gaze to Sarah.

I look down at JJ, eyebrows raised. He shrugs and stands, looking at my brother. "Lead the way," he says. John B motions for him to follow him out the back door. I hear the door slam shut behind them.