Page 101 of My Brother's Best Friend

I slipped out of the room, headed down the hallway, and pushed open Oliver’s door because that was what that annoying asshole usually did to me. Plus, we had just saved his ass, so I didn’t really give a fuck about knocking right now.

“What’re you doing in here?” Oliver asked, glancing into his full-length mirror and over his shoulder at me. He had his shirt pulled up over his abs and was gently touching huge bruises on his ribs, where it looked like he’d been kicked repeatedly.

After grimacing, I walked toward his closet. “Grabbing clothes for Alec.”

“For Alec?”

“That’s what I just said, isn’t it?”

Once I grabbed a bunch of clothes that Oliver didn’t wear anymore, I walked out of his closet and over to him. I slammed my finger into his chest. “And you’d better fucking apologize to him tonight.”

“Maddie—”

“I’m serious, Oliver. He’s hurting, and we just saved you.”

“I already apologized. What else do you want me to do?”

With his clothes tucked under my left arm, I grabbed him by the shirt and slammed him against the mirror. “I want you to fucking mean it, Ollie. If I’m important to you, then he should be too. He’s not only your best friend, but he’s also my boyfriend. And I love him.”

Oliver growled. “You don’t?—”

“I love him,” I said, cutting him off. “And one day, he’s going to be your family.”

After a moment of tense silence, he pressed his lips together. “You’re serious?”

“Fuck yeah, I’m serious.” I twirled around and headed for the door. “Apologize to him.”

Once I finally slipped out of his room—but not before sending him another pissed glare—I walked down the hallway with fresh clothes for Alec to wear tonight. I would grab his belongings from his house tomorrow, but it was far too late tonight.

“Here,” I said, walking into my room and tossing him the clothes. I closed the door behind me. “You can wear these tonight and tomorrow for school. There’s also an extra toothbrush in my bathroom.”

While I could tell that his mind was elsewhere, he smiled softly over at me. “Thank you, Cupcake.”

I jumped onto my bed and shamelessly watched him strip off his jeans and sweatshirt to put something more comfortable on. Alec and Oliver were about the same size, but the sleeves of Oliver’s shirt tightened around Alec’s biceps.

“What’re you thinking about?” I asked as he placed his dirty clothes in my hamper.

“Tonight.”

Part of me wanted to scold him again for being so stupid and going out to find Spencer alone, but I didn’t want him to hurt more. Piper—that fucking bitch—had almost raped him for a second time. I couldn’t even imagine the pain he must be in.

“What are you going to do about Piper?” I whispered.

“What do you want me to do about her?” Alec asked, crawling onto the bed with me.

“Hurt her back?” I suggested even though I felt sick to my stomach for even thinking that.

If what Nicole had said was true, then Piper was already hurt. But that didn’t erase the fact that she had raped Alec the first time and had almost done it again. And she would’ve if we hadn’t stopped it. I didn’t know what hurt worse—that she had done it or that she hadn’t even told me about it.

She was supposed to be my best friend.

“Me hurting her won’t take away the pain she caused me,” he whispered, shaking his head. “Plus, I don’t want to get in trouble. We were invited to check out hockey practice this weekend instead of in the spring.”

“What about after we get back?”

“Maddie,” Alec said, his voice harsher than usual. Then, he cursed underneath his breath and tucked some hair behind my ear. “Sorry for raising my voice. I don’t want to hurt anyone, but I saw that pain in your eyes today. I saw the way thatyouwanted to hurt her, to hurt Spencer. And that asshole deserved what he got, but …”

“But what?”

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