He's the guy moms warn their daughters about. Bold, outspoken, and self-confident, Brian O'Brien returns to his hometown only to discover some things changed in his absence.
Brian has a new neighbor - a shy, smart girl Leah, who hates his guts since...
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"Learn to knock, Jim."
"I washed your dick when you were a baby, so shut up."
Jim looks pissed. Jim is pissed. I know him well enough to sense an impending outburst. I should've locked the fucking door, but I was freaking out over my convo with Kitten. Now, I have just one more crappy event to add to this shitty day.
"As you can see, I'm not alone," I say to my brother, hoping he will get the hint.
Jim sighs and looks at Kitten. "Can you give us an hour, Beautiful? Brian will call you when we are done."
"Sure." Leah rises to her feet, and I can see the eagerness to escape my room etched into her expression.
"I'll call you, baby, okay?" I say to Leah when she's about to exit the bedroom.
Kitten does nothing but nod. As soon as she's gone, I scowl at Jim.
"Do you realize how fucking embarrassing that was, Jim? You could have at least knocked."
"The door was open, Brian. And now I wish it hadn't been."
Jim sits next to me on the bed and stares at his knees. Then, he looks at me. "How could you, huh? How fucking could you?"
"I don't know. I was drunk and I wasn't thinking."
"Where?"
"Mac's."
"At Mac's? You almost did it in his house, knowing about the hell he went through with his mother's addictions, didn't you? Fuck, I thought you were smarter than this."
"Me too, Jim. So, now what? I cannot change the past."
The pain on Jim's face is impossible to conceal. He learned about my fuckups in the worst of ways, and I can only imagine what he thinks about me.
"First Kennedy, then you. And neither of you, neither of you stupid, irresponsible fuckers thought about asking for help. I could be sitting alone on this bed right now, and my little brother could have been six feet under. Do you think I would be able to forgive myself, Brian?"
"It had nothing to do with you."
"Bullshit!" Jim snaps. "You're my family. You're my blood. Family and friends always come first, no matter what. You were in a fucking dark place, I get it. We all feel that way sometimes. But if you feel that way, you call me, and you say, 'Jim, I cannot cope. I need help.' And I would have helped you."
"It wasn't easy to admit that shit to you. You always seem to have your crap together."
Jim bites his lip. "No. I don't have it together. And I feel even worse when I learn that I nearly lost you, and what saved you was a fucking miracle named Mackenzie when I should have been the one to take you to the doctor and make them treat you before you contemplated ending your fucking life."
