I frowned again. I hadn’t thought about my book in so long. Honestly, I couldn’t remember the last time I even opened the file on my computer. But when Andrea asked that question, everything came flooding back.
Joshua and I were in his apartment. I’d just given him the first chapter to read. I sat on his couch, waiting for him to finish it. I was terrified to hear what he thought, but I was also excited to share something so personal with him.
When he was finally finished reading it, he turned to me with a kind smile.
“It’s juvenile,” I said with a shake of my head. Andrea’s face came back into focus. “He told me it was juvenile. The immature ramblings of a confused, scared little girl who hadn’t yet figured out what to do with her life.”
“Exactly.” Andrea nodded. “That was the first time I knew he was wrong for you.”
“Why didn’t you say anything then?” I asked.
“Would you have listened?” Andrea asked.
“Probably not.” I laughed and shook my head. “God, I was an idiot.”
“No,” Andrea said. “You were in love. You wanted to believe he was a good man, that you weren’t wasting your time. You wanted to believe in him. That doesn’t make you an idiot.”
I nodded and closed my eyes. Andrea wrapped her arm around my shoulders while the reality of my situation sunk in.
This house was my new home. I left Dallas. I moved to Ennis. I was finally, after two years, breaking free from the hold Joshua had on me.
A surge of freedom crept up inside me. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut for a second before opening them again. Andrea was right. Joshua spent two years holding me back from being the person I wanted to be. When he dumped me, he was just setting me free. And now, I could do anything with that freedom.
CHAPTER 2
MICHAEL
He may be a dick, but he’s my brother.
&nbs
p; “So,” Josh said. He took a long swig of his beer and then turned to face me. “What kind of trouble are you getting yourself into in Dallas?”
I shrugged. “I told you. I just needed to get away from the office. Get into the city for a couple of days.”
“Work stressing you out?” Josh asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “Not any more than usual. Besides, can’t I just want to see my big brother?”
Josh snorted and took another drink. He knew I was full of shit. In the past few years, we’d gotten closer, but we still weren’t best friends. We were brothers, but we didn’t grow up together. I was adopted as a baby and, while Josh always knew about me, we didn’t meet until we were both adults.
It wasn’t an easy adjustment to make. Finding out I had an older brother when I was in my mid-twenties was a shock. I knew I was adopted from a really young age, but other than the fact I had a different set of biological parents, I didn’t know much else.
Josh was in his residency at a medical school in Dallas, while I lived just an hour away in Ennis, Texas.
I was initially nervous about meeting my long lost brother. Still, it was nice. After a few awkward meetings, Josh and I decided to just let things progress naturally. We saw each other periodically when we both had time. We never forced a connection or friendship. It became effortless, and it worked for us both.
“How’s the residency?” I asked.
Josh sighed and shook his head. He set his glass down on the bar dramatically before launching into an all-too-serious story about his latest life-saving adventure.
“I was poised on top of the gurney, holding the guy’s intestines inside his stomach, when he had a fucking heart attack. It was like he wanted to die.”
“Maybe he did,” I said with a chuckle.
“It’s not funny, Michael,” Josh snapped. “This job is intense. People die all the time, and sometimes it’s my fault. It’s hell. Every day.”
“Then, why do you do it?” I asked.