Chapter 22

       Although I wanted to tell my parents off for tearing our family apart, I didn't want to go to their house to talk to them since last time I did, it didn't go to well. Besides, I didn't think they were going to change their mind about the whole situation with Holden and Shaw.

       No matter how many times Shaw did something to prove how much he cared for Holden.

       To take my mind off of everything that was going on, Cleo and I decided to go for a walk around the village with our daughters to get some fresh air, especially since she had a rough day at work. It was the weekend, so the diner got really busy. Not only that, but some people outside of the village decided to come down for a visit and they weren't the best customers.

       "So what's been going on with your family?" Cleo asked while we were walking through the village.

       "Still the same old, same old," I said." My parents being mad at Holden, being overprotective of Noah, won't listen to me or Julian when we tell them to knock it off."

       "Who's mad at Uncle Holden?" Guinevere asked.

       I sighed before giving her a smile. "No one. Don't worry about it."

      I wish I didn't have to worry about it but soon enough, I did because my parents were walking in our direction. I tried ignoring them but as soon as we passed them, Dad said, "Josh."

       I stopped and turned around. "What do you want?"

       "We need to talk about a few days ago," Dad said.

       I knew he was referring to when I basically blew up at them and as much as I didn't want to talk to them, I also had to. Holden's life was going to fall apart if they didn't start thinking of him.

       I looked at Cleo. "Are you find taking Guinevere with you to finish your walk?"

       "Yeah, of course," Cleo said, giving me a small smile.

       I smiled back before bending down to tell Guinevere that she was going to continue her walk with Cleo, and she was totally fine with it. She loved Cleo a whole lot.

       After they were out of earshot, I looked back at my parents. "Alright, bring it on," I said. "Tell me why you think Shaw and Holden aren't right for each other once again."

       "We just don't see why you're supporting it," Dad said. "You've seen what Shaw was like before. You've seen the kind of damage he can bring."

       "He was going through a rough time, you know that," I said. "You're the ones that helped him, remember? He has changed and it's so clear by the way he acts now. And at least he's actually treating Holden well. Better than you two actually."

       "Josh," Dad said in a warning tone.

       "No, it's true," I said. "You seriously don't know what kind of pain you're causing Holden, do you? He's hurting so much because you two are treating him like shit. You know what he did a few days ago? Cut class. And went to the bar. And got drunk."

       "He what?!" Dad asked. "You see, this is exactly why we don't want him seeing Shaw!"

       "This has nothing to do with Shaw," I said. "In fact, Shaw actually got mad at Holden for drinking because he knows what can happen if Holden just turns to alcohol."

       Like always, Mom and Dad completely ignored me, especially because Shaw was walking by. And of course, they had to start blaming him for everything.

       "Look, there he is," Dad said to Shaw. "The man who got my teenage son drunk."

       "That is not what I said, and you know that," I said.

       "Yeah, I was at home when he decided to go to the bar," Shaw said. "I even walked to the school with him since it was on the way to work, so if it's anyone's fault, it's the school for not noticing he left."

       "It's no one's fault but yours," Dad said. "You're a bad influence!"

       "Dad, he's not," I said.

       "I haven't even been anywhere near alcohol for over a year now," Shaw said. "I don't keep any in my home, and I got pissed at Holden for drinking. You're the reason he started drinking."

       "Excuse me?" Mom asked. "You cannot blame us."

       "We technically can because he was upset you're turning his back on him," I said. "He's upset you can't just even try to accept his relationship. Has Shaw ever done anything to Holden that would cause you two to hate it so much?"

       "It's not what he has done," Dad said. "It's what he will do."

       "You know what?" Holden suddenly asked, standing nearby Shaw. "You keep saying it's what he will do, but he won't do anything."

       "You don't know him as much as we do," Mom said. "You haven't seen him in his lowest state."

       "Yeah, because you decided to ship Holden off to boarding school," I said. "He didn't want to go, but you sent him anyway."

       "We thought it was for the best," Mom said.

       "Clearly not," I said. "And I kept telling you not to send him there because it won't do him any good. But you never listen to me, or anyone. You just have to make things go your way and it's only going to tear our family apart."

       "Josh, that's not true," Dad said. "We only want what's best for our sons."

       "And clearly I'm not," Shaw said. "I know what I've done in the past, but why can't you two just let go of it? I care about Holden so much and I will never do anything to hurt him."

       "You say that now, but it will just take one small slip before you end up back to the way you were," Dad said. "And you're going to cause so much destruction."

       "I'm not!" Shaw said. "And what's the point of you helping me get sober and move on if you only think I'm going to self destruct?!"

       "Because I did believe in you," Dad said. "But I don't want you dragging my son down, which clearly already started since he got drunk."

       "You know what? I'm not going to deal with this anymore," Shaw said. "You're too stubborn to listen to anyone else. Let's go, Holden."

       As Shaw and Holden left, Dad called out after them, "When you self-destruct, you better stay away from my son!"

       I scoffed. "Shaw isn't going to self-destruct. But you know what will? Our family."

       I didn't let them say anything else as I walked away. For the past couple days, I had been so stressed because of my parents and Cassidy.

       I really needed to do something to get my mind off of everything.

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3 chapters left until we get an even more drama filled book with even more characters.

I realized that there aren't any jerks and drama-prone people remaining in this series. Courtney changed (ba dum tss)(if you get it insert a lenny face), Vanessa is no longer with us, and Cassidy took off. So get ready for more jerks, drama-prone people, and people from certain characters' pasts. 

WOO.