I've Never Cried

Chapter Twenty-eight - "I Had to Tell my Brother."

"I've Never Cried"

Chapter Twenty-eight

'I Had to Tell my Brother.'

Scene...

Continuing

Joe's POV

I walked back into her house, emotionless, stoic, drained.

"You lost me." Her words rang in my head as I dragged my feet back into the living room. Selena was standing there, exactly where we'd left her. I looked her in the eyes, my face neutral as she frantically searched for the right words to say.

"Joe I, I'm ... I can't...," she seemed at a loss. I just kept staring at her, and I could see the emotion finally hitting her eyes, clueless as to what to do.

"I lost her." I said flatly. "She's gone. She's gone and I don't know what to do anymore." I began hyperventilating, each inhale of air actually choking me. I could feel the sting of Demi's palm against my cheek still, and put my hand to the area. "She's gone."

Selena froze for a moment, our eyes still locked on each other's. Finally, she had words to say.

"I'm sorry." I didn't believe her. She was willing to sacrifice everything for me. I was the one that was blindsided and taken down in the process. And while I wasn't blameless, every inch of me wanted to hate her. But I was struck with the realization that I couldn't because I had to tell my brother what we'd done, and because after that day, she would be all I had left.

"I'm gonna go," I said, my heart breaking with each word.

-----

"Can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure, Joe." Nick looked at me from across the kitchen table, a steaming cup of coffee in his hands. He hadn't known of the events that took place earlier that day, so I wanted to make sure that I at least got the chance to tell him, now that the secret was out. "What's this about?"

"Selena." I responded, feeling my throat restrict at the sound of her name. Nick raised an eyebrow, quizzically.

"Okay...," he took a sip of his coffee before continuing. "So you talked to her." He guessed, his question sounding like a statement. I nodded. "Well what did she say?"

I gulped, which called Nick's full attention. His face got serious, as if he suspected that what I was going to tell him was not going to be good news.

"This isn't easy for me to say," I uttered through an exhale. He leaned forward, listening intently as he waited for me to continue.

"Joe just talk." His eyes narrowed. "What. Happened." This time it was a demand, more than a question. I couldn't look him in the eye.

"You're never going to forgive me." I whispered, ducking my head a bit lower. I glanced up at him, and saw that his jaw had tightened in frustration. But he said nothing, and he waited.

I thought of all of the times Nick had been angry at me, and all of the fights we had been in. I thought about how none of those situations were as serious as this one, and how much both of our lives were about to change with my few words.

"You're my brother, and you trusted me, and I let you down, and I am just so sorry."

I could see the anger rising in Nick's face. "Joe, you're not saying anything. Tell me what happened!" He slammed his hand on the table, creating ripples of coffee in his mug. Finally, I looked him directly in the eye, took a breath and confessed.

"I had sex with Selena."

JJDL