Step Brothers

Road Trip - Chapter Sixteen

[Can we get to 1,000 votes? Vote to cure Derek and make him happy again lmao]

[Derek's Point Of View]

I woke up to the sound and smell of sizzling bacon. I moved on the bed to find the other side cold and empty. I was immediately hit by a wave of nerves as I realized what was going to happen today, so I laid there for a couple more minutes staring at the ceiling.

For the first few seconds of being awake I truly thought yesterday hadn't happened. But hearing Leo cooking in the kitchen, realizing he slept beside me with his arms wrapped around me, created all the good warm feelings in my body.

My apartment was all carpet so I was able to sneak my way to the door and open it gently to peek outside and see Leo. Seeing him in my home after everything made my emotions rise to the top. Seeing him made my heart beat like the first time I knew I was in love with him.

I found it hard to believe how he was here in this moment. I was the one who broke up with him. I was the one who was at fault for almost everything that went wrong in our relationship. And he was right about me always trying to find a way to pin it on him. I loved him . . . I loved him to death and I did so much wrong to him. That was why I needed help. I was not myself and I couldn't just keep living this way hoping one day it would just go away because that wasn't how things worked.

I took a long, cold shower, leaving my head under the water for as long as I could. The freezing against my skin was somehow comforting to me. It numbed me and that was all I needed right now.

Eventually I had to leave the shower and join Leo at the dining table. I kept a towel over my head like a hood as I sat down across from him on the very tiny table. I rarely used it since I was the only one who lived here and I either ate at the couch or not at all.

He made me my favorite breakfast: scrambled eggs, toast with butter, bacon, sausage links with a side of syrup to drown in and a can of Pepsi. It was simple, but it made me happy, especially when I never even make it for myself. But because he made it, it was ten times better. I wasn't even sure where he got all of the food and I didn't want to ask if he went out in the middle of the night just to buy them.

"Are you nervous?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, wouldn't you be?"

"I packed you some clothes. I read you won't be able to use a lot of things so I made sure I packed things that you can use."

"You read?" I asked, raising a brow.

He looked up from his plate. "I read some information online."

"Should I be scared?"

He cleared his throat as he had been chewing and smiled as a way to excuse himself for a moment as he swallowed. I stopped time in my mind and cherished this moment; I wasn't going to see him or hear him for a while after today and I needed a mental photograph for when I needed to remind myself that everything I was doing was for the greater good.

"No, you shouldn't be scared."

I wanted to spend more time with him but I needed to do this now before I found a way to get myself out of this situation. If I did that I could lose Leo again and I didn't want that to happen. I didn't want to live a life of mistakes.

"I'm ready," I told him when he finished eating.

He nodded, seeming nervous for me. "Okay, Derek. You should wear pajama pants and a plain shirt."