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“Secretive. You’re acting like Joanna.”
“W-What? How so?”
Tobias shrugged, a glossy look in his eyes indicating that he had likely downed a few beers before I had even arrived. “She’s just going through a lot, man. It’s hard to be the big brother and feel like you don’t know what to do. I always knew I’d have a hard time whenever she got her heart broken. Makes me want to strangle the hell out of someone.”
I swallowed another sip of beer, relaxing somewhat and starting to feel that Tobias truly didn’t know about me and Joanna yet.
“Oh,” I said. I wanted to question him further, but didn’t know what to say. So instead, I waited quietly, sensing that he would elaborate soon if I stayed patient.
He sighed again. “I thought that fool was going to be the one for her. I’d been waiting on the inevitable call when she’d tell me they were getting married or having a baby or something like that. They’d been serious with each other for a while. Hell, seemed like a really long time, to tell you the truth. Longer than anything I’d ever had. I just knew my baby sis would walk down the aisle before I did.”
My ears prickled. Despite our close friendship, I had never heard Tobias speak so in-depth about his sister and her relationship. I was surprised to learn that she had been so seriously involved with someone.
“Was this recent?” I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.
Tobias nodded. “Yep. That’s why she moved in with me. They broke up. He was abusive.”
I set down my beer, suddenly feeling lightheaded, and it wasn’t just from being surprised this time though. I was furious.
Abusive?
That mother fucker.
I clenched my teeth, the mere thought of someone hurting Joanna making me feel irrationally angry. I also wondered how it had happened in the first place. Joanna was so smart, beautiful, and independent; it just didn’t seem plausible that she would let anyone treat her that way. But then again, that had to be the reason she left to begin with…
“Yeah, looks like you want to strangle him too,” Tobias said, his words slightly slurred. “It was that Zander guy I was telling you about.”
I leaned back on the couch, my mind spinning. I began to wonder if Zander was the reason Joanna had suddenly been acting so distant. I knew she was hiding something from me.
Was this it?
“She’s ended things with him now though, right?” I asked.
Tobias nodded. “Yeah. They’re a done deal. That’s the only reason I haven’t gone after the creep myself.”
“Well, that’s good to know.”
“Sure, but…”
“But what?”
Tobias?
??s face screwed up. “Something still isn’t right. I think she’s already seeing someone else.”
My ears prickled again. “What makes you say that?”
“The way she’s been acting,” Tobias said, shaking his head. “I’ve always been close with my sister, but she’s always been too damned secretive for her own good. And her secrets always manage to get her in trouble. And when she’s in trouble, she comes to me. The whole cycle is getting old, to be honest. If she could just learn to be upfront for a change instead of handling everything on her own before problems get out of her control, she wouldn’t wind up in all the messes she gets herself into. Sometimes it keeps me up at night, wondering what she would do if she couldn’t always count on me to clean up after her.”
I cleared my throat. “Well, as long as she’s not with Zander anymore, it doesn’t matter right? As long as she’s happy…with whoever…”
Tobias shook his head. “I’m her big brother. I deserve to know who she’s with. She doesn’t know how to read guys the way I can. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have ended up with someone like Zander in the first place.”
“After dealing with Zander, she should know how to recognize a good man from a bad one now.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Tobias huffed. “I love my sister, but her taste in men sucks. Mark my words, if she doesn’t end up with another creep like Zander, she’ll run right into the arms of a playboy. I’m going to find out what’s going on though. She’s living under my roof, so she’s not going to be able to keep it a secret for much longer.”
I swallowed down the rest of my beer in practically one swallow, avoided eye contact with my best friend. The guy who has practically just threatened me.
