Page 56 of Always Been You

“Joshua, look at you. How are you?”

She hugs him as well before dragging us all into the house. When I get inside, there are a few people here already. I find my dad and hug him before moving around and finding Gi and Emily sitting in the kitchen. I come up behind Gi and hug her tightly. “How is my baby sis?” She holds onto my hands and squeezes them.

“Good, how are you? How was your trip to Whistler?” Emily looks at me when Gi says that.

“Um, it was good, spent a lot of time walking and enjoying the fresh air, and hit a museum too.”

“You went to Whistler last weekend?” Emily asks with a smile.

“Yeah,” I say, she’s still smiling at me. She must know that Josh went too, but thankfully, she doesn’t say anything to me or Gi.

“How’s school Em, Josh mentioned you are taking a few summer classes to finish early.”

“Yeah, it’s going well. I’m hoping to finish at least a semester early, but we will see.”

Matt and the rest of the guys file into the kitchen shortly after. The guys are carrying cases of beer with them, and they each make their way around, giving Em, Gi, and I a kiss on the cheek before heading outside to the deck. Matt comes to Gi and me and we jump out of our seats and pull him into our sibling group hug, making sure that we squeeze him nice and tight.

“Happy birthday, Matty,” I say before giving a cheek kiss and Gi does the same.

“Thanks guys, I’m glad you’re both here.”

“Nowhere else I’d be,” I say and Gi says, “Same.”

My dad comes up behind Matt, slapping him on the shoulder, “Food’s ready. Let’s head outside.”

Everyone shuffles outside and finds a seat, and we all load our plates with food. I grab a seat with the girls and Matt and the guys all sit together. As we eat, laughter fills the backyard. I sit back in my chair and enjoy the feeling of having a group of people I care about all together in the same place, enjoying good food and each other’s company.

After a while Zoey shows up. She walks through the sliding glass door at the back of the house with a gift bag. She walks over and stops between Josh and Matt; she hands him the gift and whispers something to him, which Joshhears. Both men push their chairs back and make their way inside the house.

Everyone takes notice but leaves them be. Zoey does the rounds, saying hello to everyone before making her way toward us. Just before she gets to where we are seated, I hear raised voices coming from inside. I push my chair back and make my way toward the house. Zoey grabs my wrist and stops me.

“Liv, you might not want to.” Her face is etched with worry.

“What’s going on?”

“It’s not a big deal.”

When the voices get louder, I look at Zoey and then back at the house. She knows that I’m going to go in, so she releases my wrist and follows. When I make it to the front door, all the blood drains from my face and I stop dead in my tracks. Drew is standing outside my parents’ front door. Josh and Matt are both working to get him to leave, but he won’t budge. He notices me standing there and calls my name. Both Matt and Josh look over their shoulders at me. Their faces are full of concern at what this encounter will do to me. I can feel and hear everyone else making their way inside to see what’s going on.

“Liv, baby, please let me talk to you.”

“Drew, no. I’m not your baby anymore. Leave me alone.”

“Liv, we can work this out. We love each other, we were moving in together. Can we at least talk? Let me explain.”

Josh’s hands fist at his side, and Matt is standing straight as an arrow. The muscles of his back are tense as he listens to our exchange. I walk closer to the door and place a hand on each of Matt and Josh’s arms before stepping between them.

“No, Drew, we will not be talking, and how dare you show up at my parents’ house during my brother’s birthday celebration? You have no right. You need to leave now.”

“Not until you talk to me. You won’t answer my calls or my texts. We need to talk.”

The air hums as both guys tense even more behind me. “You think that, maybe, that’s because I have nothing to say to you? That I don’t want to talk to you, that I don’t want you in my life?”

“Baby, please let me explain. I want to go back to what we were. I want to move in together. Where are you living now? I know you’re not at your old place.”

“Explain what Drew? How I walked into your apartment when we were supposed to go sign the lease and found you fucking some blonde? How it had probably been going on for a while, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you were fucking her or someone else on my birthday? We will never live together. You need to leave my family’s house and leave me and them alone. I don’t want to hear from you again.”

He reaches out to grab my hand, but before he makes contact, Josh has his wrist and twists his arm behind his back. “She already told you to leave. Matt and I have told you to leave. You need to respect that and get the fuck off this property, and you better well remember what I told you the last time you showed up at her apartment.”

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