| Chapter Twenty Eight |
| Justin didn't like the way she acted as if nothing had happened all weekend, throwing on her happy face for everyone. He was thankful they were on their way home and he had an hour to make her talk about it. "So what are you going to do?" He kept his hand on her cat, which was in his lap, shifting his glance from it to her. "What do you mean?" She kept the beat of the song with her fingers, tapping them against the wheel as she drove down the highway. "You know full well what I mean." "I know, I have no idea though, what should I do?" Her eyebrows creased while she found the knob for the volume on the stereo, turning it down. "I think you should talk to him, let him know that you know." "Won't he get mad at you for telling me?" She had no desire to start a fight between them, and no desire to confront JC. "I don't care, he'll figure out it was for the best sooner or later." His hand left the cat, then sat on her's, which was on the shifter. "I sure hope so." She whispered, glancing at Justin for assurance. "He will, even if I have to beat the sense into him." "Thank you Justin, I had a great time this weekend." "Thank you for inviting me, I loved your parents." "Even if they were the goofiest things you ever met?" She giggled, thinking of her father's constant jokes. "Ecspecially because they were the goofiest things I ever met." "What in the world did I do to deserve you as my brother?" "Nothing, nothing at all. You just did." Justin's hand went back to the cat as it started to meow for attention. "Misty, you little fart. She's such an attention freak." Her hand rubbed the cat's head, then returned to the shifter. "Just like her Mommy." "I am not an attention freak." She paused, then glanced at him to tell him there was more to come. "I just demand what I know I deserve." "Very funny, hey Misty, want a treat?" He tugged at the bag of cat treats, trying to pull one out for the cat. "And you wonder why she is an attention freak." She teased, watching as he tried to pull the treat out as the cat rubbed him affectionately. "Hey, I've only gotten to spoil her for the weekend." He finally put the treat out for the cat to take, receiving meows as a reward. "You keep feeding her treats and she'll never let you get out of the car." "I'd eventually run out and she'd happily let me leave." He scratched behind her ears, watching as she rolled her back in pleasure. "How about lunch, my treat?" She eyed a sign, telling her there was food to be found at the next exit. "What about Misty?" "We'll go through drive through, then sit in the car with her." She pulled off the high way, not waiting for an answer. "Justin, I dropped you off less than an hour ago, of course I haven't talked to him. I've been unpacking and getting Misty settled." Seated on her couch, with Misty in her lap, not wanting to tell him the real reason she hadn't talked to JC. That she was afraid to call and find out Laura was there, and he hadn't called her. "Brianne, you'll have to talk to him eventually. Wouldn't you rather be at your house than at work?" He was right, he knew and she knew it. "Yes I would." Before either could say another word, her doorbell rang, and she was happy for the excuse to let Justin go. "There's my door, call you later. Bye bye." She threw the phone down, picking up the cat with her, then walked to the door. "How was your weekend?" JC took her in his arms, squeezing the cat between them. "Good, watch out." She warned, pulling away from him then eyeing the cat for any visable damage. "Oh, sorry. Hi Misty." Petting the cat for a second, he walked past her and into the living room. "How was your weekend?" She cuddled the cat closer to her, taking a seat in a chair to the side of him. "Horrible, can we talk?" He could see it in her eyes, Justin had told. It didn't matter, he had planned to tell her before coming to her house. "Any time." She let the cat down to wander around it's new surroundings, then JC pulled her to join the him on the couch. For a moment at least, she slid out of his lap, not wanting to be there. "Yeah, okay." He mumbled, running a hand through his hair for the courage to speak. "Justin told you, didn't he?" "Yeah, he told me. You know what? Maybe you should leave. I have a lot to do and I just think..." She had stood as soon as she started speaking, and now she looked down at him, not sure what she thought. "Bri, please, just let me speak." "Josh, really, I'm tired and I just think it's a good idea for you to go." She pointed at the door, fully expecting him to gladly take an exit. "You have to listen to me." He persisted, pulling her hands into his. "Josh, I'm sorry, really, I can't listen to you. I just can't, I hope you understand." She tugged her hands, trying to free them, but he kept a tight grip. "Why can't you?" He pressed her hands against his chest, holding them there with is own. "I can't explain it. Just trust me." She tried to use the fact that her hands were on his chest to her advantage, trying to quide him toward the door. When that didn't work, she attempted to pull them away completely, but failed at that also. "Just listen, I know you can do it, you just refuse to." "You're damn right I refuse to, would you want to fucking listen to me tell you about some guy?" Finally her hands came free when the shock hit him, he had never heard her speak that way. "But," he started. "No, you're right. Bye." He hung his head then walked from her house, but hopefully not her life. "Fuck!" She threw herself onto the couch, exhausted from the trip and arguement. She had seen the hurt in his eyes before he left, but she knew she couldn't do anything about it. |
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