Seven

"Oh, shit," I heard, immediately recoiling from Sam. We both looked to see who'd caught us in the act. It was Danny. He slowly approached us. "Sam, I think you should come with me, dude. I don't want you to do anything you regret. Remember what you told me earlier?

Sam looked at me, then at Danny, and then back at me in silence.

"I'll talk to you later, okay?" I said, barely audibly.

"That's probably not a good idea," was the last thing he said before walking out of the room, leaving Danny and I alone.

Danny lingered there for a minute, looking at me and probably wondering what the hell was wrong with me. I was wondering that too. Eventually he left me alone sitting on the bed and wishing I could take back what just happened. I wish I hadn't heard what he'd just told me. I should have never tried to talk to him. Now, I've quite possibly ruined everything. I wanted to get up and go home, but I felt like I couldn't even move, so I just let my mind wander. There seemed to be no right answer to what I should do.

Josh made me feel safe. He's exactly the guy you'd want to bring home to your parents at Thanksgiving. Kissing him was sweet, passionate, the kind of kiss every girl dreams of. Sam was different. His kiss was deeper, more wild and rough, the kind that drives you crazy to think about. I couldn't decide which I wanted, but it would probably end up better with neither. I couldn't just stop seeing Josh for Sam. They're brothers. They see each other every day. How could I come here and see him and act like nothing had happened between us? But if I stayed with Josh, it'd be just the same. And I couldn't be with him and pretend Sam and I hadn't kissed. It'd be plain fucked up to even think about dating them both. It wouldn't be fair to anyone no matter what I did. Why did they have to be brothers? That would change everything.

I didn't know how long I'd been sitting there, but soon Danny came back in and sat beside me. I looked at him and smiled softly but remained silent. He looked like he was trying to think of something to say to me. Eventually he spoke up.

"I've never seen him like that," he said, hands folded in his lap while staring at the wall in front of us.

"Like what?" I questioned.

"Well..." he paused for a moment. "I guess willing to risk his brother being angry with him. He's the kind of guy that always puts other people before himself, always has been since we were kids. For once he's putting himself first, even if that means he might hurt someone. I don't know. I just wanted you to know he isn't selfish."

"I know he isn't. I'm the selfish one."

I was being totally selfish. How could I wish that Sam and Josh hadn't been brothers just so I could date them? Seems royally fucked up now that I think about it. Why did I have to come here and start all of this drama? We'd all have been better off I stayed in and went to bed early.

"No, you're not. You can't blame yourself. It's a fucked up situation, but it's not your fault." He put a hand on my shoulder. He seemed to be the voice of reason out of the group, the one that calms everyone else down when they need it. It was sure working for me, at least a little bit.

I nodded and tried to get out even a single word. I just felt like crying. "Okay."

"And what you decide to do is your business. But they're both good guys. They'll understand whatever you do. And you've only just met them. It's not as serious as you probably think."

"It seems pretty serious to Sam." He didn't say anything. "It just doesn't seem right to me to pick between them. It's fucked up. And I don't know if I even could pick at this point. I hardly know either of them, and it's already a shit storm. I think I just need to go home before I kiss Jake or something ." I then realized that was probably a pretty distasteful joke for the situation. I stood up, figuring it was definitely time for me to leave. "Have you seen Olivia?"

"She's been passed out sleeping in Jake's room for a while. It's fine if she stays here, I'll make sure no one goes in there." He was standing now too.

"Thanks a lot, Danny. For coming back in here. I think you said some stuff I needed to hear. I appreciate it." He pulled me in for a hug. Danny is a good person, a good friend. I hope he wouldn't hate me even if Sam started to.

We pulled apart after a few seconds. "Do you need someone to walk you home?"

"Oh, no," I declined, "It's not far at all."

And with that, I left and was on my way home. I didn't see Josh or Sam on my way out, but I did wave goodbye to Jake from across the living room. I checked my phone; it was just past one in the morning. I think what I needed to do was just sleep. Forget about everything that happened tonight and just sleep. So that's what I did, or tried to do, anyways.