Brothers-ish

Bickering Adds Salt

"What the hell is this?!"

Vik could hear his father yell. The young boy wasn't sure if he should hide in the closet or go see what was happening. Curiosity got the best of him. He came down a few steps until he could barely see both Josh and Simon better. Vik, too, was shocked by what he saw.

"It's just hair dye."

Simon's hair was an icy blue.

"Wash it out. Right fucking now." Seeing his dad so vibrantly hot with anger made Vik sick.

"Chill out! Can't imagine how you'd react to my new tattoo." Vik couldn't tell if Simon was bluffing or not.

"Excuse me? How are you supposed to get a good job, or be taken seriously if you look like a cheap knockoff of an 80's punk?"

"Stop acting like you care about how I'm treated! I can take care of myself without your shitty advice." he huffed.

"Then I won't feel bad when I drive through town and see your ass homeless on the street in three years time."

"I don't need this bullshit. I'm going to Ethan's."

"Can't you spend one day without that boy's cock up your ass?" The harsh words made Vik wince.

"Fuck. You." Simon stomped upstairs, roughly shoving Vik, who was huddled against the wall, out of his way. Vik stumbled and almost fell down the stairs, just barely catching himself by clinging onto the banister. His eyes flickered between his dad's shadow down below and the back of Simon ascending until both left his frame of view. Knuckles white from gripping the banister returned to their brown flesh color as rapidly as Vik shook off the haywire firework show displayed only seconds ago.

A few days later Josh came home to a quiet house. He found Tobi sitting alone in near total darkness at the dining room table. His friend appeared to be in distress. A feeling Josh knows all too well. Tobi had one hand scrolling through his laptop and the other hand holding his head. A ripped open envelope and piece of paper was next to him. Josh's parental instincts took over.

"Hey." he greeted, flicking the light switch on at the entrance.

"Hey." Tobi echoed back. A noticeable sensation of defeat wafted through the rectangular room. Josh pulled out a chair across from his housemate to take a seat. At no point did Tobi look away from his computer. The lack of typical cheeriness left Josh feeling deflated. It's what makes Tobi great company. And a great companion for the exhausting job of raising two boys alone.

"What's weighing you down?" Josh didn't hesitate to get to the meat of the problem. An airy chuckle fell out of Tobi's mouth before glancing up at Josh.

"So, apparently," He touched the paper next to him, rereading it for the nth time. "That scholarship I thought I won, was meant to go to someone else." The air was sucked out of the room. "Which means my next semester is no longer covered."

"Oh, shit. I'm so sorry. Are you still going to be able to go to school then?"

"It completely throws off all of my finances. It means I have to dump nearly everything I have saved to keep my education afloat." An unsettling mixture of anger and anxiety wavered in his voice. Josh felt hurt for his best friend. "I-I don't know if I'll be able to pay my share of the bills come the fall, Josh. Someone is going to have to get a second job." The hurt in Josh's chest morphed into a panic. This mistake had real consequences that carried over to him too. Which meant Vik would be negatively affected as well. His conscience twisted about doing the right thing. Josh knew he should offer to take the second job, however the one he worked at now doesn't really offer space for another. But, it wasn't like Tobi had space for another either. A scapegoat popped into his head.