It was so fucking unfair. The entire world found someone. Roy, Fitz, even grumpy SweetPea. Andmyperson would go to live half a world away in a surfer compound full of hot dudes in less than five days.
For fuck’s sake!
I trudged over to the staff apartments, freshened up, and got dressed.
Twenty minutes later, I left the staff house and set off in the direction of my truck.
“Lewis!” someone called and I stopped and turned around. Ollie stalked across the driveway towards me. A tick went in his cheek and his nostrils flared. “Can I have a word?”
Oh shit.
My heart hammered in my ears as panic flared up inside me. “Sure, what’s up?” I tried to keep my voice steady, but it shook just like my hands did.
Ollie’s eyes pierced me and he jammed his smartphone in my face.
“This!” he hissed. “You made me feel like shit for not giving a fuck about Noah the other day, so I decided to check out his account. You know, be a supportive older brother and all that.”
My stomach dropped.
Oh fuck.
“Do you know what I found there?” Ollie’s voice shook with rage.
Words failed me. Of course I knew.
“‘Bright days ahead’, ‘My favourite ride.’” He gripped his smartphone tighter and threw some more of Noah’s witty captions at me. “‘Cuffing season with this hot kitty,’ ‘Being the best puppy for my daddy’?” His voice dropped to a dangerous snarl that rivalled mine. “What the actualfuckis this, Lewis?” Ollie actually stomped on the frozen gravel to drive the point home. “Are you fucking my baby brother?” he demanded, poking the upper corner of his phone hard into my chest.
I’d heard enough. The panic I’d felt for a few moments evaporated and the anger at my best friend exploded out of me.
“Oh,nowyou care what Noah does?” I roared.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ollie took half a step back but caught himself and stood his ground. “I asked you a simple question. Are you screwing Noah? Yes or no?”
“Even if I was, it is none of your business, Ollie. And what I mean is that he’s suffered nothing but neglect at your parents’ hands and yours!” The breath rasped in and out of me. “You are my best friend, and I love you, but your behaviour towards your ‘baby brother’”—I sketched quotation marks into the air—“has beenshitty, to say the least.”
Ollie backed away some more with his face milk white under the stubble.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Lewis.”
“No? He’s staying in a fucking shack, Ollie. A dilapidated, rundown shack! Did you know the heating broke a few weeks ago? Nobody cared if he had any food or clothes for this weather.”
“I arranged for you to take him to the shops,” he snapped defiantly. “And he never told me about the heating.”
“You let him fend for himself, Oliver, and you know it.” My best friend flinched when I used his full name. “Do you want to know why he didn’t tell you? He couldn’t reach you, for fuck’s sake!” I shouted, but I truly didn’t give a shit. I had nothing to hide anymore and no energy to hold back. “So he called me, andIshowed him how to light a fire in the grate, andImade sure he wouldn’t fucking freeze!” My breathing rasped in and out.
God, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been this angry.
“And you know what pisses me off the most? As soon as his sex lifemightbe involved, he’s suddenly your baby brother that you need to protect again. That’s messed up, Ollie, fucking messed up.” I growled with frustration. “I’ve always liked him, and I said I would help him with his social media so he could make more money. Fucking sue me! You know what I think? You and your family were more than ready to let him go.” My best friend gaped at me, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.
“‘Let’s not bother with the weird kid, he can fend for himself.’ And he does; he’s amazing.” My chest swelled with pride at my sweet puppy. “But the minute you realise someone else might look out for him, you feel your honour being threatened, and you try to make yourself feel better by making me feel like shit instead. I’m sick of it, Ollie! So sick of it.” I threw my hands in the air, and took a step back so I wouldn’t hit him.
“I love you like a brother, you know that? And I’d do anything for you. But that doesn’t mean I won’t call you out on your bullshit! If you want to talk, you know where I live, but maybe take a good look at yourself and how you’ve treated your brother first.”
Snarling and huffing like the agitated tiger I was, I spun on the spot and stalked across the driveway to the staff houses. I needed to calm down before I met Noah.
“Hey, mate, you okay?” SweetPea’s voice sounded from right behind me and I spun on the spot to face him.
“Grand,” I growled. “Who heard us?”
