Page 81 of Unforgettable

Adam’s pounding footfalls were hurrying down the hallway, and the last thing I wanted was for him to find us in my room together, looking the way we did and it reeking of sex—again. There was something so wrong about being caught with my…friendin such a compromising position. Like we were teenagers being busted by our parents while trying to act like absolutely nothing had happened.

I contemplated asking Josh to hide in my bathroom or closet, but those two spaces were as messy as my room. So, I sucked it up and rushed out of the room.

“Yep,” I said, trying to appear casual as I leaned against the doorframe. “I’m here. What do you need to talk about?”

“I knew you were here. I need to talk to you… oh… hey, Josh. What’s up, man?” Adam said skeptically as he looked up and over my shoulder at Josh, who I assumed had finally righted himself enough to also come out of the room.

“Adam. Nice to see you.” Josh’s front was so close to my back that I could feel the heat of him through my clothes. And given both of our disheveled appearances after coming out ofmyroom, there was little left to interpret.

“Great to see you, too, Josh. Is Reed about to pile out of there, too? Probably need to get you a bigger bed, sis, if you’re going—”

“Adam, seriously?” I said, cutting him off as he smirked down at me. But the moment he looked behind me again, his face suddenly dropped.

I glanced over my shoulder to see Josh’s hand drop from his mouth and direct a murderous stare at my brother.

From the small part of the movement I caught, it appeared that Josh was miming smoking weed to my brother, but I wasn’t in the mood to investigate further. The important part was it got Adam to cool it on the threesome jokes.

“What did you need to talk to me about?” I asked Adam, giving Josh a pointed look.

“Umm… I’m going to visit Mom and Dad next weekend. She called and wants me to see their new place. I figured I could do some recon for both of us.”

It didn’t matter if I had given up on our parents caring about me as much as they did Adam a long time ago. Which still wasn’t much. The pain in my chest was still very much real at hearing his words.

I hadn’t spoken to my parents since they’d left. The little I knew about their move and new life in California was what I’d heard from Adam. Part of it was my fault, I guess. I also hadn’t reached out, but I was so angry. The type of anger that had accumulated over years and years of being treated as a second-rate person and a nuisance.

So, I wasn’t surprised that they’d invited Adam but left me out of the little family reunion.

“How are you affording a plane ticket?”

Adam scrubbed a hand over his jaw and immediately shifted his feet, obviously uncomfortable with my question.

“Mom sent you money,” I said flatly, and the pressure of Josh’s palm appeared against my lower back.

The small touch did wonders for my nerves as he stood steady behind me. My stomach still plummeted, but I didn’t feel like I was going to fall with it.

“Please don’t be upset. If you don’t want me to go, then I won’t.”

I did my best to muster a smile, but I knew it fell short.

“No, I want you to go. It’ll be good to see them and where they live now. I know you’ve also always wanted to go to California.”

His smile looked almost as sad as mine felt as he said, “Yeah, okay.” He brushed past us both and disappeared into his bedroom, the door clicking shut behind him.

“You okay?” Josh wasted no time spinning me around the moment Adam was gone.

“Yeah,” I said, offering a soft smile and laying my hands flat on his hard chest muscles. “It’s nothing new.”

“Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt all the same.” He pushed all of my hair behind my shoulders and wrapped his hands around the sides of my neck.

Frustratingly enough, I knew he was right. Even after years of the same shit, I knew what to expect—or what not to—from my parents. I figured at some point I would become numb to their lack of emotion or interest in my life, but the opposite was true. It always stung and hurt just the same.

“You’re right, but at least it’s not a surprise anymore.”

He used his thumbs to push beneath my chin, my face lifting up toward him. Josh’s eyes raked over my features for a moment, likely looking for a sign that I wasn’t okay before he kissed me.

It was intentional and methodical, like he was trying to undo all of the hurt my parents had caused with a simple brush of his lips against mine.

“I think you’re the one that deserves some stress relief now,” he mumbled against my mouth, and that time, my smile was honest.

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