Little Bitch

Chapter 55

            And I couldn't just let him like this, so I couched down beside him and I hugged my brother.

            He hugged me back, and I could feel him fighting off tears.

            "Did you even sleep?" I asked him, still hugging him.

            Josh snorted a humorless laugh. "Dude, I didn't even eat."

            "What?" I said, letting go of him to look at his face.

            "We just argued. I didn't even have time to eat. Which fucking sucks. The only reason why I went was to eat my mom's food."

            "Do you want me to go to their house and demand leftovers for you?"

            Josh shook his head. "I want you to find a job for the old bastard that sends him across the world, far away from me, for a very long time, but where no one can follow him, so I can actually go home without being abused."

            "Let's start by getting you something to eat," I replied, getting up on my feet.

            Josh looked at me with a raised eyebrow, perplexed. "You gonna cook?"

            "Sure!"

            "Fuuuuck that. Let's go," Josh said, getting up too, and headed for his front door.

            "Where?" I asked, following him.

            "To the one that keeps getting away."

            "What?"

            "Pretty sure Fred works today," Josh explained.

            "You're such a weirdo," I said, and then added right after so he wouldn't feel bad, "I do mean this in the best way possible."

            "Thanks. Now go, go," he said, making whooshing motions with his hands, "you're driving Miss Daisie."

            "Alright."

            So we left his mess, and headed for my car.

           This was good, right? This was okay? Sure, this was partly ignoring the problems, but there was nothing else to be done anyway. And right now, Josh needed to eat. And sleep. And be adopted by my parents.

            Once we were sitting, and I was driving away, Josh mumbled a feeble,  "God, I'm tired," and closed his eyes, quiet for the rest of the ride.

            Once I parked, he still had his eyes closed and I wasn't sure if he was sleeping, and if I should leave him alone, or wake him,

            This felt weird, because I rarely walked on eggshells around Josh.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes, taking a sharp breath and I didn't have to think about it more.

We headed to fast-food joint, walking side by side in silence, which was kind of insane, knowing Josh, and found Fred at the counter, taking orders.

"Fred, babyboo," Josh greeted him, acting like everything was fine.

Fred rolled his eyes, unaffected. "Take him away, I have work," he said to me.

"Keep pushing, I'll keep pulling," Josh replied.

"Ignore him. He's sleep deprived and hungry," I told Fred. I tried to give him a look, like Josh needed support right now, but I was pretty sure I just looked a little deranged.