Chapter 24

       I knocked on the door to my parents house and I was really hoping it would be one of my brothers that answered the door. It wasn't. It just had to be my dad.

       And to clear things up right away, I said, "I'm not here to see you or Mom. I'm here to see Noah. I want to see how he's doing."

       Dad didn't reply as he opened the door wider for me to come in. I did, closing the door behind me and taking off my shoes. I thought he wasn't going to say anything else to me, but he did, and it was not something I wanted to hear.

       Then again, everything Dad and Mom had said to me recently was something I didn't want to hear because it all had to do with their disappointment in Holden.

       "You know, I don't get how you can support Holden and Shaw's relationship," Dad said as I was about to head up the stairs to visit Noah.

       "Dad, not now," I said. "I'm constantly telling you why their relationship isn't one that you should keep trashing, but you're not listening. I don't want to waste my time arguing with you, so I'm just going to visit Noah and then leave."

       Dad still tried saying something else to me, but I ignored him as I made my way up the stairs and to Noah's room. I knocked slightly on the day and after hearing his voice to tell me to come in, I slowly opened the door to enter the room.

       "Hey," I said with a small smile, mainly because I was so happy to see that Noah looked a lot better. He no longer had any of the visible injuries all over his body, except for the small scar here and there. "How are you?"

       Noah sighed. "Horrible. I mean, I feel a lot better, but I'm getting stir crazy. The only time I'm allowed to leave the house is when I go to school and even then, I have to be home right away. If I'm even a minute late getting home, Mom and Dad get mad. They're suffocating me here."

       I closed the door so Mom and Dad wouldn't eavesdrop, which was probably bound to happen, before walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed. "Are you in even the slightest amount of pain?" I asked.

       "Not really, no," Noah said. "The only time I am is when I move way too much, but walking around the village or anything like that won't hurt. A lot of physical activity will, so I don't see why they're making me stay here. Now I know how Holden feels."

       "Alright, come on," I said. "We're going for a walk."

       Noah snorted. "Yeah, right."

       "I'm serious," I said.

       "You do know that Mom and Dad won't allow it, right?" Noah asked. "Julian has been trying to convince them for weeks now to let me go on a walk with him, but they never allow it."

       "Don't worry about Mom and Dad," I said. "If they won't let you leave with me, then I simply do what I always do. I pull the doctor cared."

       Noah smiled before getting off his bed, then grabbing a pair of shoes and his jacket. We headed down the stairs and, of course, we were immediately stopped by Dad. "Where are you two going?" he asked.

       "We're just going for a walk," I said.

       "That is not happening," Dad said. "Noah has to rest."

       "No, he doesn't," I said. "In fact, he should actually be getting some fresh air and a moderate amount of exercise. Walking to and from the school isn't enough for him."

       "He's not allowed to unless he gets an 'Okay' from a doctor," Dad said, and I tried my best not to laugh. Did my own father really forget my occupation when I started medical school when I was only sixteen?

       Either that, or he was going to pull some bullshit and say, "Not a doctor that's related to Noah."

       "Oh, sweet, because Josh said it was okay," Noah said as he started putting on his shoes. "Thanks, Dad."

       "That wasn't what I meant," Dad said.

       "Dad, I know you in some very odd and not making any sense kind of way you want what's best for your children, but being too controlling isn't going to work," I said.

       "I feel like you're really talking about Holden," Dad said.

       "I'm talking about all your sons," I said. "You're starting to treat Noah the same way you treated Holden and look how that turned out. Holden moved out before he even turned eighteen because of it."

       "Holden moved out because Shaw is manipulating him," Dad said.

        "You're unbelievable," I said. "You know what? Forget it. I don't even know why I try to get you to change your mind about it." I looked over at Noah and gestured for us to leave, and thankfully Dad didn't stop us.

       "At least you're not afraid to stand up to Dad," Noah said once we were out on our walk.

       "Only because I don't live with him, so he can't really do anything about it," I said. "I'm really sorry you have to go through all of this."

       Noah shrugged. "It's okay, I guess. I mean, I get where he's coming from since he just wants to keep me safe, but... He's going about it the wrong way. There are times where all I want is fresh air and Mom and Dad won't even let me stand outside on the porch."

       "Have you ever tried sneaking out?" I asked.

       "I can't," Noah said. "Mom and Dad make sure one of them are home at all times just in case I ever need anything. You know what I need. Fresh air. But no, that doesn't count. I just hope it will pass soon."

       I didn't say anything else because honestly, I didn't know if it would pass soon. Holden has had a brain injury for years, and our parents never want easy on him. They always stayed strict.

       "Josh?" Noah asked quietly, his mood suddenly changing from a bit annoyed to kind of solemn. "Do... Do you think Cassidy will ever come back to the village?"

       I stopped walking and looked at my little brother. "What?"

       "I was told Cassidy started the explosion because she knew Holden, Julian, and I were there," he said. "Is that true?"

       I sighed, not wanting to tell him the truth, but there was no way I could lie about it. "Yeah."

       "And she's not done with us, is she?" Noah asked.

       "Noah, you have nothing to worry about," I said. "We all know what she did, and there are even some things she did before I started dating her that will get her into a lot of trouble. The cops aren't going to let her get away with this. And I will definitely make sure she doesn't hurt any of you."

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one chapter left :O

i'm still a bit sad. I WAS HOPING TO SPAM UPDATE YESTERDAY BECAUSE I WAS (STILL AM) SO EXCITED TO GET HOLDEN AND SHAW'S BOOK STARTED BUT NOOOOO. I COULDN'T.

So I spent the time making Sholden gifs, so here's a Sholden gif that will hopefully make me feel better:

Okay why did I choose this gif? It hurts me because they were broke up here. (i probably chose it because my son looks so adorable in that bow tie)