Letting My Brother's Best Friend Take My V-Card

PART 3 - CHAPTER 141 LUKE

"They let her go back to college? Are they fucking insane?" I growled, slamming the door shut behind me as I stormed into my apartment. The words came out harsher than I intended, but I couldn't stop myself. The frustration bubbling inside me had nowhere else to go, and Josh was just going to have to take it.

"I don't know what to tell you, man," Josh's voice came through the phone, calm and resigned, like he was already too tired to deal with me. "She wanted to go. I think she just needed to get away because everyone keeps hoping she'll get her memories back, but it hasn't happened yet."

I kicked off my shoes, not caring where they landed, pacing the length of my living room like a caged animal. "Still nothing?" I forced myself to ask, even though I already knew the answer. Hope was a dangerous thing, and I couldn't afford to cling to it. Not anymore.

"Yeah, nothing," Josh sighed heavily, and I could almost picture him running a hand through his hair, the way he always did when he was stressed out. "You know the doctors said if she spends time with the people she was closest to, her memories might come back. Mind telling me why the hell you up and fucking ran away?"

There it was.

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PART 3-CHAPTER 141

288 Vouchers

been holding back on. "I mean, you're like my brother, but Jess needs.

the edge of the kitchen counter so hard my knuckles turned white. I'd known this conversation was coming, but that didn't make it any easier. "You know this was my fault," I muttered, my voice low and bitter. "My father might be an asshole, but he Josh stayed quiet for a second, and I could hear him taking a breath on the other end

your sister, and I've loved her my whole life, but I'm the one who messed everything up. can't-" I ran a hand over my face, squeezing

I still hope you pull your head out of your ass and realize

head even though he couldn't see me. "She doesn't need me, Josh. Look at me-I've been nothing but a fucking

other end. "She's not better off without you, Luke. She doesn't remember you, but that doesn't mean she doesn't need you. If you really love her, you'll stop acting like a coward

Coward.

with knowing I put her in that hospital. "I can't do it, man. I can't sit there and pretend everything's normal when it's not," I said, gripping the phone so hard I

you feel guilty, but this isn't about what you think you deserve. It's about what she needs. And right now, she needs you to stop punishing I leaned against the counter, my chest heaving with a mix of anger and self-loathing. Josh didn't get it. He couldn't. He wasn't the one responsible for her fall, for the accident that wiped her memories clean. He wasn't the one who'd failed to protect her. "She's better off without me,"

finally losing his patience. "But I'm not going to keep fighting with you about this. You want to run? Fine. But don't act like you're doing her any favors by staying away. You're just making things worse." PART 2-CHAPTER

was right. I knew he

to you later," I muttered,