Page 4 of Chasing After You
“When we heard about Josh, we just knew he was the one. The missing piece in our family. Our hearts just ached at how much pain he’d been through at such a young age, with losing his parents and all. And when we brought him home, the boys instantly clicked. Daniel and I,” she threaded her fingers through her husband’s, “we admit we started relying too much on Josh. But he’s such a natural caregiver, really. They both just adore one another. And we truly love both of our boys equally.”
Like a queen holding court, Victoria’s guests were enraptured with her speech. They clung to each and every word, nodding along.
Daniel spoke up from beside his wife. “I am so blessed to share my life with such an amazing woman. Please, everyone—enjoy yourselves, eat, drink. We’ll be taking our leave now to attend to this in private as a family unit.”
The crowd applauded briefly before returning to the party at hand. Dorian rolled his eyes, turning to stand shoulder to shoulder with me.
“So fucking fake,” he muttered.
When I didn’t respond or share in his sentiment, he took hold of my hand and looked at me closely, quickly clocking the panic in my eyes.
“Hey,” he whispered, a small frown pulling at his lips. I shook my head minutely, physically unable to speak. “What’s wrong? Why do you look like that?”
I couldn’t blame him for not understanding the gravity of the situation. After all, he was only thirteen.
A throat cleared, drawing my attention. Daniel and Victoria stood directly in front of us.
“Come on,sons—time to go home,” Daniel said, his voice devoid of the anger I knew was inside.
They didn’t say a word on the drive home.
Dorian sat beside me in the back seat, silent, his hands balled in his lap, eyes flickering over to me constantly. Victoria stared out the window, her lips pinched so tight they were almost white.
The moment we stepped through the front door, it began.
“Upstairs. Now,” Daniel barked at Dorian without looking at him.
Dorian hesitated. His fingers brushed mine briefly before he obeyed. He whispered, “I’m sorry.” As he climbed the spiral staircase and disappeared down a hall, I itched to go after him to tell him whatever was about to happen wasn’t his fault.
Victoria’s voice was sharp and low, like the edge of a knife. “What did you do?”
I blinked. “What?”
“Don’t play dumb, Joshua,” Daniel snapped. “This kind of behavior doesn’t come from nowhere. Our son doesn’t speak like that. You must be putting ideas in his head.”
I could’ve laughed if I hadn’t felt so nauseous from the anxiety. “You think Itaughthim to hate you?”
“He doesn’t hate us,” Victoria said carefully, voice trembling with restraint. “He used to be such a good boy before all this.” She motioned her hand towards me, a sneer twisting her beautiful lips into an ugly expression. “Obviously, he’s been influenced to act this way. To embarrass us.”
By me. They didn’t have to say it.
“You’ve become too attached,” Daniel continued. “We took you in to give you a home, not to let you poison the one wealready had. We gave you everything, and this is how you repay us? By fucking up our son?”
No,you gave me a full-time job and a role to play in public,I wanted to say. But I didn’t.
“This ends now,” Victoria said coolly, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “You will keep your distance from Dorian. He needs stability, not… codependency.”
The word hung in the air like a threat.
I stepped forward, barely trusting myself to speak. “You can’t separate us. Please. He’s my little brother, and he needs me.”
“You willneverbe his brother,” Daniel said, his voice flat. “Do you really think he sees you as much more than a nanny? A part of the staff? While you’re not smart by any means, I know you’re not that stupid, Joshua. You know why we brought you here. And yet, you still managed to fuck everything up, didn’t you? Let me make this clear: No matter what you do, you will never be a real part of this family.”
He muttered under his breath as he walked away, “Should’ve just fucking died with his parents. Useless.”
Victoria announced, “The minute you turn eighteen, you are out of this home. For now, your punishment begins tomorrow. Get some rest.” Her heels clicked against the floor as she followed her husband, leaving me alone in the echoing foyer.
* * *
