Page 7

It was clear from the bags under her eyes she had been dealing with stress from Asher. He’d been acting out of character for months and it’s put an immense strain on our parents, but trying to reason with him is like reasoning with a houseplant.

I walked upstairs to my bedroom, only to bump into him as he was exiting the bathroom.

“You’re stressing mom out.”

“They’re stressing me out.”

“Is it so difficult to care about anyone but yourself?”

He stopped in his tracks with a clenched jaw.

“There you go again.” He said. “Judgmental Josh. The perfect son.”

“Well, one of us had to step up after you started screwing up.”

He stepped closer to intimidate me, but I didn’t flinch.

“Are you calling me a screw-up?”

My corner lip twitched.

“Well, if the shoe fits.”

I stiffened as he charged at me. My head hit the wooden floor, but I pushed the pain to the back to dodge his blows. We rolled around like a hay ball, not stopping even when our mother yelled for us to break apart. I landed a few punches, which he returned with equal force.

“Knock it off.”

Our dad lifted his body from mine, holding him back. My stomach churned at the metallic taste on my tongue. I used the back of my hand to wipe the blood away, and I noticed that his lip was also split.

“I’ve had it with the fighting.”

Dad’s neck was as red as a lobster’s as he spoke. The veins were protruding along his neck. We’d have tons of moments like this, but I think we went too far this time.

“You’re both grounded.”

I gasped, but Asher couldn’t care less. He snuck out despite the threat from our parents. As much as he upset me, I would never snitch on him. If only my parents knew all the late-night climbing he did through his bedroom window.

“Whatever.” He said before storming into his room.

The paintings on the wall twitched from the impact, but the music screeching from his room drowned the vibrations out. My mother sighed before descending the stairs with my father. I cast my finger through my locks, gripping them at the roots. A nervous habit of mine.

Preparing for the day is more tedious than usual, but I managed. I entered my truck, only to find Asher in the passenger seat.

“What are you doing?”

“The fun police took my keys, remember?”

I wasn’t in the mood for an argument, so I started the car up and backed out of the driveway. I spotted our new neighbours coming out of their home.

“Hey, Noah!” They turned at the sound of his name. “Need a ride?”

He jogged across the street with Sawyer ambling behind him.

“That would be great. My car hasn’t arrived.” Noah said.

“Hop in.”

I noticed Sawyer hovered between getting in the car and walking away, as if she was unsure if the invitation included her.