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

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I gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles ached, but I didn't loosen my hold. The tension had taken over my entire body, and no amount of tightening or clenching seemed to release it. My jaw throbbed from how tightly I'd been grinding my teeth. My head spun, replaying the moment over and over again. The sound of her pained gasp, the way her body stumbled back, the blood on her face - all of it burned into my memory.

I hit Laura.

Sure, I didn't mean to. It wasn't intentional. I was in the middle of a fight, and she got caught in the chaos, but none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was the fact that I hurt her. She'd tried to stop the fight, tried to pull me out of my rage, and I repaid her by hurting her. My foot pressed harder on the gas pedal, the engine growling beneath me as if it shared my anger. Anger wasn't the right word, though. I wasn't just angry. I was fucking furious. At myself. At the whole situation. At Tim. But mostly, at myself.

"Fucking idiot," I muttered, slamming the heel of my hand against the steering wheel. The sound of the impact didn't satisfy me. It wasn't enough. Nothing was enough to match the storm brewing inside me. I hit the steering wheel again, harder this time, and then again. Each slam echoed in the confined space of the truck, but it did little to ease the pressure building

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in my chest.

when I tried to check her injury. The way her eyes darted to mine, wide and unsure. It was like she didn't know if she could trust

then she said it. That it wasn't the first time. She didn't need to say more. Her words hung in the air between us like a loaded gun, ready to fire off the painful truth. Something happened to her. Something bad. And it's made her scared to the

for good measure. "Fucking hell, Josh." My voice was raw, frustration spilling out with every word. "You' re no better. You just proved her right." The realization hit me like a freight train. I was supposed to be

make her feel unsafe.

landmarks barely registering in my mind. I could hardly focus. I could hardly think straight. All I could think about was Laura. Her face. Her tears. The ice pack pressed against her nose. The way she'd looked at me, trying to reassure me that she was fine, even though I knew she

What if... God, I hated myself right now. I hated that

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blinded me to everything else. Blinded me to

as I approached a red light, and I slammed my palm against the wheel one last time before

need to fix this," I muttered to myself. My voice was harsh, filled with determination and desperation. But how the hell was I supposed to fix this? How was I supposed to make up for what I'd done? She said it wasn't my

- it was all still there, bubbling under the surface, ready

kind of shit had she been through to make her react like that? What kind

pressed the gas pedal again, my truck lurching forward as I drove through the intersection. I couldn't stop thinking about it. About her. About the look on her face when I reached