Disturbed

Chapter Twenty-Four :

The next morning, Rodolfo and Asher come over to pick up Brantley, and drop him off at Toby's house.

Rodolfo : Okay son- Brantley... I'm sorry. Is it okay if I call you son?
Brantley : You and my mom made it possible for me to exist, so yeah I guess.
Rodolfo : Okay well we're here. It was nice to see you again. I hope we can catch up, I'd like to get to know you more. I'm so happy you got to meet your little brother. Maybe we can all become a family again?

Brantley sighs and looks at Rudy. He smiles softly at Asher and unbuckles his seatbelt. He turns softly to Rudy and softly says,

Brantley : You cheated on mom. Several times, she forgave you but you just... Is... Is one woman never enough for guys like you? You walked out on us. We struggled financially and emotionally. I'm sorry. I appreciate the lift and the offer. For now, I'll stick with the brother I didn't know about since last night. I'll see you later, Rudy. Asher, I'm going to need you to come back later with O'Shay and the rest. Keep your ringer on.

Rudy looks down and watches Brantley exit the vehicle, as Asher hugs Rudy.

Asher : It's okay dad, don't worry. He'll come around.
Rodolfo : You think so?
Asher : I do. Let's go home.

As they drive off, Brantley walks towards Toby's front door. As he knocks on the door, Brantley begins to watch his surroundings. Paranoid, unaware, and maybe a bit powerless. Brantley waits for the door to open as he hears footsteps coming down the stairs. Toby opens the door as he sees Brantley alone outside.

Toby : Jesus! Get inside! What the fuck are you doing here on your own? Did you walk here?!
Brantley : No, I got dropped of. We need to talk. All of us. But first, I need to speak to you.
Toby : Okay. Go upstairs in my room and wait for me.
Brantley : Okay.

Brantley enters the house, as he notices it's just Toby alone. Brantley walks upstairs, enters the bedroom, and lays on the bed. Toby grabs the kitchen's home phone and walks back upstairs. Toby sighs and locks the door as he walks to his room. Noticing Brantley on his bed, he smiles and lays next to him as Brantley asks,

Toby : So what's up?
Brantley : Do you love her?
Toby : Who?
Brantley : Ruby.
Toby : Oh, I um... no. Not like that.
Brantley : It's okay if you do. It won't affect our friendship, we can all still be friends. It would be cute if y'all were to be a cou-
Toby : She's not the one I like. Don't worry.
Brantley : Oh so there's someone?
Toby : Whatever man, what about you? Do you miss Caleb? He was trash and I never liked or trusted him.
Brantley : I feel bad for leaving him behind, but I will not be a piece of ass for anyone. I am valuable.
Toby : Brantley, there's something I need to say.
Brantley : What is it?
Toby : I'm... You're just too...

Toby sighs and shuts his eyes as he shakes his head and grabs Brantley's hand tight and takes a couple of deep breathes. After exhaling and relaxing, he turns to Brantley smiling.

Toby : Any guy would be lucky to have you. I've said this numerous times but you are so funny, dorky, caring, loving, and I hate seeing you get hurt. You deserve to be loved and to be valued. You're my best friend, and you saved me from when I was going my darkest times. You just rush into things fast, I worry too much about you.
Brantley : Aww shucks, you better stop before I get emotional, haha!
Toby : I'm serious.
Brantley : I know you are. But don't worry, it makes you look... weird.
Toby : How weird?
Brantley : It makes you look like if you were my boyfriend or something. You're just my best friend, like a sibling of mine.
Toby : Oh.
Brantley : Yeah, sorry. I'm just going to call everyone over right now.