Kyle pushed his pillow into Justin’s chest and grinned. “Have I ever told you that you’re the best brother in the whole wide world?” he wanted to know.
Justin threw the pillow back at him, matching his smile. “Once or twice,” he said once Kyle pulled it from his face. He grabbed his brother’s arm and pulled him through the doorway.
Kyle stopped before they made it too far into the living room, and leaned close to Justin’s ear. “Is Adelyn here?” he asked in a hushed voice.
“Well, this is her place,” Justin told him. “I can’t really kick her out.”
“I know, I know,” Kyle sighed as he threw his pillow on the couch and his backpack on the floor. “I just feel really uncomfortable…”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I don’t know…”
The two of them took a seat on the couch and looked at each other.
“What did she say to you?”
“Who?”
“Evie, who else?”
“Oh,” Kyle looked down at his hands, noticing that his fingernails were far too long. “She said she was sorry.”
“She said she was sorry?”
“That’s what I said, didn’t I?”
Justin folded his arms over his chest. “Are you mad at me, or Evie?”
“Not you,” Kyle said with another sigh as he fell back against the back of the couch. “I’m sorry. You’re only trying to help, and I should watch my temper.”
“It’s okay,” his brother told him. “But you said she was sorry… and you just walked away?”
“After I said something stupid, I’m sure. I don’t even remember what it was… but I’m sure it was the worst thing possible. Justin, for some reason, I always end up making an ass out of myself! Why does this happen to me? No one else ever has any problems.”
“Everyone has problems,” Justin assured him. “It’s not only you.”
Kyle turned to look at Justin, his eyes wide. “She’s not going to tell Evie that I’m here, is she? Can you go tell her not to? She can’t know that I’m falling apart, Justin, she can’t.”
“Don’t worry, Kyle. I’m sure she’s in the bedroom working on her paperwork.”
Inside the elevator, Adelyn pressed the lobby button three times. She had thought for sure that either Justin or Kyle would have seen her walk out the door, but they were so wrapped up in conversation, that neither of them had even turned their head.
She walked through the lobby and into the underground parking while she pulled out her cell phone and dialed her sister’s number. “Evie,” she said once she had answered. “We have a problem.”
“A problem? With what?”
“Do you have any clue what you’ve done to Justin’s brother?” “Um…”
Adelyn jammed her car keys into the lock and turned them. “He’s been calling Justin in tears, Evie. The boy is devastated. What exactly did you say to him?”
“He’s upset because Dad wants me to see Edward instead. What do you want me to do? If I tell Dad no, he’ll disown me and then I’ll be out on the streets! Is that what you want?”
“No, that’s not what I want. You just need to realize that Kyle isn’t like all those other guys you threw out the door. He doesn’t care about Dad’s money, he doesn’t care that when Dad retires, you inherit the family business-”
“I don’t want the stupid business!” Evie interrupted. “I just want Dad to accept me for who I am! Can’t you see that?”
Adelyn plopped down in her car seat and slammed the door. “If you want him to accept you as you are, then why are you going out with someone you don’t like?”
“I took Edward back to Mom and Dad’s for dinner tonight,” Evie went on, “and they love him. They think his manners are wonderful.”
“Well, congratulations, you found yourself a man with manners. I hope you and his manners are happy.”
“That’s not funny, Adelyn.”
“Good, because I wasn’t trying to be funny. When you decide that you want to be true to yourself and not to Dad’s stupid plan, then go talk to Kyle, tell him you’re sorry, and-”
“I already did.”
“You did? And what did he say?”
“I said that I was sorry, but he didn’t have to be so mean to me, and he said that he was only returning the favor. Then he stormed away.”
“Well, what does that tell you, Evie?” She didn’t give her sister a chance to respond. “You hurt his feelings! You put him on the defensive and then wondered why? Next time you say you’re sorry, don’t make it sound like it’s his fault. All he wants is a friend.”
“If all he wants is a friend, then why does he mind that I’m seeing Edward? If that were what he wanted, he wouldn’t care.”
“Listen to me, Evie. Kyle is lost. He wants to a part of something… to anything, and he likes you. You made him feel special, and when you told him that he didn’t matter to you anymore, it hurt. Justin’s always had confidence in him, but he knows that, and he knows that Justin will love him no matter what… but he needs more. He needs to hear from someone else besides family that he’s worth something, and he thought that person might be you.”
“I can’t just hold his hand throughout life. The boy needs to make his own choices,” Evie mumbled. “This isn’t my fault.”
“Then leave him alone, Evie. Please, this whole thing is really getting to Justin. He’s so protective of his brother, and it’s worrying him sick.
“Fine,” Evie consented. “I’ll stay away from him. Is that what you want me to say?”
“Yes,” Adelyn smiled, leaning back into the car’s seat. “Well, close enough. Kyle does not need anymore heartbreak.”
The next day, Phil kept his foot propping open the door so his brother could enter. Justin put his hand on his shoulder as he walked by with a smile.
“Thanks for coming,” he said while the two of them walked further into the jewelry store. “For some reason, doing this by myself makes me nervous.”
“You should have brought Nicki. Do you really expect me to help you pick out the perfect ring for Adelyn?”
Justin frowned at him. “You’re not going to help me pick it out… you’ll nod and smile when I ask for your opinion.”
“Oh, I get it now,” Phil sighed. “I’m here for some sort of moral support.”
Justin pointed at him. “Bingo. Now, come on and stand next to me while I look.”
Phil followed him to the glass cases and leaned over to look in. They all looked the same to him. Next to him, Justin’s finger pointed through the glass.
“What do you think of that one?”
“Which one?” Phil wanted to know. Justin’s gaze rested on a set of about ten rings. “I can’t tell which one you’re looking at.”
Just as Justin opened his mouth to give a description, a salesman approached them with a wide grin on his face. First, he held out his hand and shook Justin’s hand, then Phil’s.
“May I help you two with anything?”
“We’re just looking,” Phil mumbled, then looked back down at the rings.
Justin nudged him as an obvious sign to keep his mouth shut. “Could you take out that display?” Justin pointed again, and the salesman opened the back side of the glass so he could take out the selection. Once on the counter, Justin picked up his choice and held it up so Phil could see. “This one,” he said. “Do you think she’ll like it?”
Phil took the ring from Justin and looked at it carefully. The diamond was so large that Phil couldn’t even imagine the price.
“That’s platinum,” the salesman said. “And the diamond is two karat.”
Phil put the ring back into the salesman’s hand and then turned to his brother. “You can’t afford that!” he said quietly “Where do you think you’re going to get the money?”
“I’ll pay for it,” Justin assured him. “Don’t freak out!”
“Pick another ring, Justin She wouldn’t want to wear something so big anyway.”
“Fine.” Justin grumbled as he plucked another ring from the small display.
“Now I know why I’m here,” Phil mumbled. “To make sure you don’t sign your life away.”
Justin shot him an angry look, but then turned back to the smaller ring.
“That one, sir,” the salesman went on, “is white gold. And that diamond is almost a karat.”
“How much?” Phil wanted to know.
“Twelve hundred, ninety-nine dollars… on sale from fourteen hundred.”
Phil looked over at his brother to catch his expression, but he only looked up at the salesman and said, “Can you excuse us for a moment?”
“Certainly.” He took the ring back from Justin and put the display back into the case. When he was out of earshot, Justin turned to Phil, who folded his arms over his chest.
“Don’t even think about asking to borrow money from me. I can barely pay my own half of the rent.”
Justin looked almost insulted. “I would never borrow money from you,” he said in a serious tone. Phil blinked up at him.
“Why not?”
“I don’t even like borrowing money from Adelyn,” Justin explained.
“I’m your BROTHER,” Phil pointed out, but the expression on Justin’s face remained steady.
“You said you wouldn’t borrow money to me anyway, so what’s the big deal?”
Phil just stared at him. “It’s the point of the matter,” he finally said. “If you can’t borrow money from your brother, then…” he trailed off.
“Then what?” Justin prompted, but when Phil looked away, he went on, “don’t take it personally, Phil.” He paused. “Look, I have the money saved up. I just wanted to ask you what you thought.”
Phil looked back at him. At least he seemed to be looking out for his feelings for a change. “I think it’s nice,” he mumbled, glancing back down into the jewelry case. “Adelyn will love it.”
Chapter 19
Keeping the Peace
Family: Timberlake
Non-Nsync Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
Email Me (irishgirl982@yahoo.com)