My Best Friends Brother

Chapter 30

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Under any other circumstances I would've kept Liam tonight, but I have that meeting first thing tomorrow on the other side of town so I wouldn't be able to get him to school on time and make it there too.

So here I am, ready to have a chat with a woman even Lucifer would reject the fucking company of.

I've banged on the door twice, not easy considering Liam is still flat out in my arms and I've just carried him up five flights of stairs. The drunk passed out on the second floor that I had to step over was just an added bonus. Still no answer from her, she knows full well I'm here with him.

She doesn't need to live in this shithole, she just likes that it's cheap. She's hardly ever here either, therefore she can spend her money on important things.. like shoving her face full of more fucking filler.

After the forth hammering of the door she finally opens it, this is exactly why I can't let him walk back up here by himself. He would've been standing here all night.

She glances up at the sleeping boy in my arms, but there's none of the love or sweetness in her face that was there when Brie did it.

"For fucks sake, now the little cunt will be up at fucking six! How long did you let him sleep? I swear to fuck Josh, the babysitter I've got coming charges extra if he wakes up while she's here and I'm fucking billing you if she does."

Nice to see you too you useless fucking bitch.

"Whatever, should I put him straight in his bed?"

She glances behind her but narrows the door so I can't see in, not that it hides the smell of the place. Chrissy is as lazy as she is fucking incompetent, without Steve or her sister around to pick up after her it's a shit-tip in there.

"Just put him down, he can walk, he's got fucking legs for a reason."

For fucks sake. I gently stir Liam, his eyes still clouded with sleep as he attempts to rub them awake. He smiles at me, but it quickly fades as he takes in our surroundings. I hate this, I hate fucking leaving him here.

"Hey little man, straight to bed okay? I've got to have a quick chat with your mum." He nods as I place him on his jelly legs and kiss his head. She doesn't even acknowledge him as he walks through, she hasn't seen the kid since this morning but you'd never know it. She looks bored of him already.

"Mum, can I have milk before bed?"

Chrissy huffs like he's just asked for a kidney instead of a glass of fucking milk.

"If there's any here you know where it is, I'm not your fucking maid." I swear to fuck if she wasn't his mother I'd shove her out a fucking window. "What the fuck do you need to talk about now? I'm late as it is."

Breathe Josh, fucking breathe.

"Steve."

She scoffs and attempts to close the door but I shove my foot in the way to stop it shutting. This isn't my first rodeo with her, we've been at this for years.

"Chrissy! That kid was fucking terrified today because of you, you can't make up shit about Steve hurting him! You know how sensitive he is, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

She swings the door open instantly, giving me a good look at the squalor she calls the home of my brother, before my attention is drawn to her vicious smirk. Guess she was waiting for this, she wanted to cause Steve pain.

"He's my son. I can tell him whatever the fuck I want!"

She's fucking demented, I'm calling that social worker as soon as I get out of that meeting tomorrow, she can't leave Liam in this house like this.

"Steve is his brother, you know he'd never fucking hurt him! You can't tell him someone is evil just because they won't fuck you anymore Chrissy."

She glances back and I realise Liam is still very much in the room, his hands trembling at the sound of our loud voices and almost spilling the milk from his grasp. Shit.

"Like fuck. When you had Aleah picking him up I thought he was staying there, then he comes back here and he's talking about all the fun he's had with Steve and his little slut! I told you I don't want him near them, this is on you!"

For fucks sake. "And I told you that you can't keep them out of each others lives, Steve has a right to build a relationship with his baby brother. Stop being such a fucking bitch, just because he doesn't want you doesn't mean he doesn't want Liam!"

I'm really trying to keep my voice low here to keep from scarring the kid further than he already has been, of course Chrissy doesn't pay him the same fucking respect.

She scoffs. "He had a chance to have a life with Liam and he fucked it. He threw me out on the fucking street while I was fucking pregnant with the thing! He called him a brat before he was even fucking born and if he had his way we'd both be homeless or fucking dead!"

I can see the hurt in Liam's eyes but she's not even close to telling the truth. She used that kid, that pregnancy, to try trick my brother into believing he was becoming a fucking dad!

"Leaving out a bit of the story there don't you think? He fucking hates you, I'm not going to deny that, but he loves that kid. What the fuck is wrong with you? You can't tell a child that someone is going to hurt him just so he won't spend time with them anymore! He deserves to have Steve in his life, it's you that doesn't. Get the fuck over yourself. What kind of mother does this?"

She pretends that she actually fucking cares about that but we both know she's full of shit. Liam is just a walking ATM to her.

"Don't you dare comment on my ability as a mother! That kid is fed, has clothes and shit. He's fine." Yeah, all crap I pay for. "You don't get a say in this Josh. Carry on and I'll stop you from seeing him too."

A wave of fear rushes over Liam just as it does me, I can see in his eyes the panic as he loses his grip on the milk and it ricochets all over the floor in the hall behind her with a crash, tears thundering down his face.

She doesn't even care, she can hear him crying, heard the glass break, but she doesn't make an attempt to even turn back. She's created this world where she's the victim of the situation and Liam is just a pawn in her games, one she's willing to sacrifice. The worst part – I think he knows it.

"You can't do that Chrissy."

She smirks and I can't bear how fucking happy she looks. "I think you keep forgetting one thing Josh. One thing you've been forgetting since the moment you set eyes on that boy."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"He ain't your kid."

The door slams on my face as I stumble back, the only sound louder than the metal locking are the weeping cries I hear from my baby brother on the other side.

Please, fuck just let me give him a hug...

Out of instinct I start slamming my fist onto the grain repeatedly, but I quickly realise she isn't going to answer, all I'm doing is upsetting that boy more.

Every step I take out of the building fills me with more and more hopelessness. The tears threaten to fall but I won't let them go, if I do I'll never stop.

He's not my kid, he'll never be my kid. I'm not his Dad or his mum... I'm just his brother.

She's not beating him, he's not starved or missing school. He's being neglected emotionally by that bitch but there are kids in worst situations that are still with their folks, I can't just take custody of him. It's just not how the world works. She's his mum...

He's hers.

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