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Josh stiffened, a breath slowly escaping his lips. He nodded and set the empty bottle on the floor. “And I know you always will,” he murmured. “I can’t change that, but I can try to make peace with it. Because I understand why it happened now.”
“What changed? You’ve been hell-bent on hating me!” Austin tossed his arms in the air, letting them fall to his lap with a thud. “I don’t get it.”
“You really want to know?” His head tilted.
“I mean, yeah?”
Josh bit his lower lip. “Two days in a shitty truck driving across the country... there’s nothing more you can do buttalk.
“Why didn’t you just pay for a mover?”
Josh rolled his eyes. “It’s Mavis. She insisted. The girl won’t do anything the easy way.”
Austin snorted. “True.” With a deep breath, he exhaled. “So, what did you talk about then?”
“You, man!” He shrugged. “I lost her for ten years! Geez, I lost myself for ten years, but if it hadn’t been for you, I never would have her back in my life today. I may not like how you brought us back together, but you did.” Josh grinned and shook his head. “And let me tell you, that girl is going to defend you until the day she dies. She...” He gulped. “Loves you too.”
The blade of his words pierced a hole through his heart, the new wound dripping with fresh blood.
She loves you too.
Austin stared at his brother. Josh’s eyes radiated the forgiveness he’d desperately sought. His words spoke the desire of his heart, ready to return to the relationship they’d shared all their life. But the simple truth remained. Love existed in a place it shouldn’t. And as long as their lives continued to intertwine, that love would only persist—or worsegrow.
“Josh, I’m moving to Chicago.” The words tumbled from his lips, spilling from the ache in his heart.
His brother snorted, his gaze sneaking a peek at the Cubs on the screen. He pointed and laughed. “What did you say?”
“Chicago. I’m gonna move for a little while.” He stood, lifting his defeated body from the chair. His eyes sought the TV as the Cubs pulled ahead by a run. The crowd erupted with screams, cheers squelching the silence of the living room.
“Why?” Josh shook his head, his gaze resting on Austin’s face.
“The law firm. They offered me the opportunity to start the new branch. I can’t turn it down. And I can’t shake the feeling that I need to get out of here for a little while... for all of us.”
Josh hung his head. “I don’t know what to say.” He bent forward and tugged at his socks, picking at a piece of lint on the seam. “Except I guess it’s my turn to apologize. I never meant to make you feel like you weren’t wanted here. Because it’s the exact opposite of that.”
Austin swallowed, stuffing down the emotions rising in his throat. “It’ll be good for all of us,” he murmured. Mavis appeared in his mind, an image of her in a long white gown walking down the aisle. Breathtaking and radiant, her smile warmed his heart with each step forward. But when she reached the altar, her hand dropped into Josh’s and not his own. Forever a fantasy, forever just a dream.
And I need to accept that.
Austin stepped toward the kitchen, collecting empty beer bottles on his way. “Josh, I’ll be your best man.” The words left his lips as the familiar heartache settled back into place, the excitement of the new job consumed beneath the fresh mountain of anguish burying him in guilt.
