Oh Brother (Completed)

Come As You Are

"Just consider talking to him, Ari, please." There was such a desperation in my brother's voice that I looked toward him once more. For a millisecond I saw the moody, broken fourteen year old boy I'd left behind ten years ago in place of the twenty four year old man before me. The fourteen year old boy I'd heard in a shouting match with our father the night before I left; the fourteen year old boy who'd begged my father to try and find some way to make me stay and not leave with our mother.

"I know what happened with Phoenix the other night." For a moment his anger clipped at the end of each word, then slowly began to subside. "I understand that I've been hard on you guys the last couple weeks, not allowing you to see each other, but you don't know the same Nix we do. Yes, he's an incredible person, Ari. He's the light of everyone's life. But he's also a womanizer, a bad drunk, and sometimes lets that ego of his get to his head."

I wanted nothing more than for the conversation to fall back on our father. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about my love life with my older brother. Unfortunately, Phil didn't seem to get the hint with me turning my back to him and groaning, and continued.

"You have to understand how I see it, Ari." He went on, sounding almost as disgusted with the conversation as I was. "Sam and Buck, they think its funny, cute even, how Nix is with you. But if you have to go with one of the Holts, I'm going to be the odd one out and say I'd rather it be Damien."

I felt my hand twitch at the comment, immediately coming to Nix's defense. "Because of what happened at the party?"

"No." Phil responded shortly. "The way I see it for Nix you've always been unobtainable. You were his best friend's little sister, hell, you were the little sister of four guys. But he fell in love with you anyway, not that I blame him for that. You can't control it. But I see it as you being some sort of consolation prize for him. That once he finally gets you, obtains you, that it'll be over. That he won't feel the same way, that you'll just be another girl to add to his collection. I could be wrong, but this is coming from a place of love for both of you."

I looked toward Phil again, not sure how to feel about the words. After all, he did know both of the Holts better than I did, he'd practically raised them himself.

"In other words, you're saying that for Nix, he likes the thrill of the chase, but once he's able to get the kill, it won't mean as much?" I responded, trying to wrap my head around his words. He nodded, burying one of his hands in his hair and squeezing his eyes shut.

"Yes, exactly. As where. . . I've seen so much change in Damien over the last month and a half. He hasn't touched alcohol, he had your back at the party, he has done everything that Nix has done for you, just more subtly. But he doesn't think he deserves you, he doesn't want to hurt either you or his brother, so he tries to force his feelings down so he doesn't cause problems. I think Damien's feelings have a lot to do with Aden acting out. He probably thinks you're stealing his best friend." Phil pulled the keys from the ignition with a heavy, tired sigh. "I think, my little fairy, that you have put both of those boys under your enchantment and its going to be impossible for them both to come out unscathed."

*

After dropping me off with two arms full of bags and a threat toward Aden, Phil took off to LAX to pick up our dad. Aden and Damien were in front of the TV playing video games, thanks to a little sweet talk from me, he'd finally given in and ungrounded us. Buck was stretched out on the loveseat, eyes darting back and forth between his phone in his hand and the TV. He had a bag of hot Cheetos on his chest, his fingers and around his mouth covered in the dust from them. Feeling my eyes on him, he grinned, oblivious to the orange powder on his face.