Her Best Men

“So, you didn’t tell you her loved her?” I asked.

“God no.” Josh scoffed. “I dumped her, remember?”

“And you didn’t tell her that she shouldn’t be with me?” I demanded.

“No,” Josh said. “I didn’t say anything like that.”

I just stared at him. I knew he was lying. It was written all over his face. I’d never hated anyone more than I hated him at that moment.

“Did you tell her that I knew?” I asked. “About you and her?”

Josh opened his mouth, but he let it fall shut quickly. I wanted to see how he would deny that one. Julie couldn’t have found out the truth unless Josh told her.

“I did,” Josh said with a sigh. “I told her that you knew who she was.”

“Why?” I asked. “What was the point?”

“Because you weren’t going to tell her,” Josh said. “And she needed to know.”

“Why?” I asked again.

“It was the right thing to do, Michael.”

Josh’s self-righteous attitude only pissed me off even more. I turned away, unable to look at him for another second. This man was supposed to be my brother, and yet, he went out of his way to ruin the first real relationship I’d had in years. All because he dated her first.

“You just couldn’t stand it, could you?” I asked.

“What?” Josh frowned.

“That she was actually moving on,” I snapped. “That she found someone who really wanted to be with her. You couldn’t stand the fact that she was happy with me, so you had to ruin it.”

“You ruined it all by yourself,” Josh said, his eyes flashing. “The second you decided to lie to her.”

I glared at him. He was right, at least partially. If I’d told Julie everything from the very beginning, then none of this would have happened.

“That doesn’t explain why you tried to get back with her,” I said. “Or why you bashed me to do it.”

“I never tried to get back with her,” Josh said. He was angry now. His face was flushed a deep red. “That bitch lied to you.”

“Watch your fucking mouth.”

My eyes narrowed as I clenched my fists at my sides. I’d been thinking about punching my brother for days and, now, he was within swinging distance.

“We can’t let her come between us,” Josh said. “You and me, We’re brothers, Michael. This girl means nothing compared to that. You can’t let your feelings for her cloud what’s really important. She lied to you. You lied to her. Just cut her loose and move on. There’s no reason you and I should be fighting over her. She’s not worth it. Any of it.”

“Get out.” My voice was low and dangerous.

“What?” Josh blinked. “You aren’t serious.”

“You and I were never that close to begin with,” I said firmly. “And if you ever call Julie a bitch in front of me again, I won’t be responsible for what I do to you.”

“Michael…” Josh began, but my glare must have shut him up.

“Get out,” I said again.

Josh sighed and got to his feet. He took a few steps toward the door, but before he made it, he turned back around to face me.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Josh said. “Julie Black isn’t worth your time, Michael.”