After his meteoric rise to superstardom, Jim O'Brien is no longer a small-town boy who plays in bars and dreams of success. His handsome face is plastered on the covers of celebrity gossip magazines, and his voice alone is enough to make girls swoon...
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Hello! This chapter contains spoilers of both Kitten and Tiger. If you haven't read Brian's story but plan to do it, you've been warned. Please, read my note at the end of the chapter. I need your help with something.
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It was the second night in a row I'd been listening to my little brother cry. Not because he wanted me to hear it. He did everything to make sure I wouldn't. My condo was big enough for him to have the privacy he needed, but each time I checked on him, his eyes were redder, and his voice hoarse when he answered my questions.
He blamed himself for what happened. And I blamed myself for not knowing how to help him. I tried to make him eat, but he didn't touch his food. I tried to talk to him, but he shut me down with a mumbled 'don't worry.' It was as if he was set on suffering, on not letting himself feel anything other than pain.
I spent hours on the living room couch because from there, I could hear what was going on in Brian's room. I would get to him fast if I needed to.
I wished he'd talk to me and let me help him for real, but I couldn't push. He did ask me for help in his way when he showed up at my condo two days ago with an overnight bag. Even though crying in his room was the only thing he'd done since.
"Jim."
I turned my head at the sound of Brian's voice. He approached the couch and perched on it, clasping his hands on his knees.
"Are you hungry?" I asked.
"No."
"We're gonna eat, anyway."
"I don't want to."
"Brian."
"I need to talk to you, okay? I don't need food."
My mouth opened. I was about to lecture him on the importance of eating even when he didn't feel like it. All he did was smoke, and I hated what he was deliberately doing to himself because it was a weird punishment of sorts. He probably thought depriving himself of food was going to help his best friend.
I said nothing because Brian extended a card for me to take.
"What's this?"
He cleared his throat. "This guy offered me a job."
