Page 140 of The Winslow Brothers

“You sure about that, bro?”

“Of course, I’m sure it’s not my thing.” Jude scoffs. “Never has been. Never will be.”

“And why is that, exactly?”

“For lots of fucking reasons, Rem,” he retorts. “Because I saw the bullshit Dad put Mom through. Because I saw what happened toyou. No fucking thank you. I’m just fine with the way things have always been. I don’t need anyone or anything else.”

“Well, to be honest, bro, you’re looking exactly like I did thirteen years ago.”

Jude’s head jerks back. “What are you trying to say?”

“That you’re sitting here like a heartbroken son of a bitch.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yeah, you are,” Rem disagrees on a snort. “And trust me, I know, because I’ve been there.”

Jude doesn’t say anything to that. He just sits there, looking like a man who’s currently in the middle of a difficult revelation.

And Rem stays patient, giving him a few minutes, while I continue to play my usual role. The strong but silent brother who is there for support but only says things when hereallymeans them.

“Falling in love with someone, being in a committed relationship with someone you love, isn’t a fucking death sentence, Jude. And just because Charlotte and I didn’t work out doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t give a relationship with someone like Sophie a chance,” Rem says eventually. “Who, by the way, seems really fucking awesome.” His tone is quiet, but his delivered words pack a sucker punch of an effect on Jude—his mouth creases down at the corners, and his eyes briefly go shut.

“She is.” The anguish in his voice is palpable.

“Then, if I were you,” Rem continues, “and I had someone like Sophie who wanted to be with me so much that it actually caused herandme physical pain for things to end? Then, I wouldn’t be sitting here.”

“What would you do?”

“I’d be trying to make it work with her.”

Jude scoffs. “No, you wouldn’t.”

“Yes, I would,” Rem answers so easily that I almost believe him. “Stuff that went down in my past doesn’t mean shit about your happiness, Jude. If Sophie means that much to you that it’s made you look like a fucking lunatic over the idea of not being with her, then I don’t think you should waste that opportunity.”

Jude grows quiet for a long moment, but eventually, the hints of a smile touch his face as he so obviously tries to derail the conversation. “Thanks for this,” he says and looks at both Rem and me. “For being here. I appreciate it.”

“Anytime, man.” I clap a hand to his back, and then I show no mercy by pushing him right back to the important shit. “You know what you’re going to do?”

Jude shrugs and runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t fucking know. I feel like I’ve got a lot to think about. Hell, there’s probably a lot of fucked-up shit I need to work through.”

“Well, I could’ve easily told you that,” Rem teases, and Jude rolls his eyes andalmostlaughs.

But then a heavy sigh takes priority. “Man, I really messed things up with her.”

“Shit happens,” I tell him, something Idobelieve. “We all screw up at times. Doesn’t mean we don’t deserve a second chance if we show we’re willing to apologize for it and put in the work to make it better.”

But my truth doesn’t stem from things like love. It’s more of a blanket statement about life in general.

“Do you think I’m in love with her?” Jude asks so quietly I almost don’t hear him, but Rem is quick to volley that question right back.

“Do you feel like you are?”

“I don’t know,” he mutters and stares down at his clasped hands. “I’ve never been in love before. How would I know what it feels like?”

“When it’s good, it feels like you’re fucking flying.”

Jude quirks a brow at Remy. “And when it’s bad?”

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