My Brother's Best Friend (Shay Mooney)

Chapter 20

"What schools did you apply to?" I ask my brother. I stretch out across the couch in his hotel room. My head rests on his stomach as I look up at him.

"None. I'm not going to college," Dan responds. I pick up the TV remote and flip through channels before finding Friends.

"Oh. I thought you were bluffing." He sighs. "What will Mom and Dad say?" I ask.

"I don't know and I don't care. I haven't spoken to them in a month and a half and I'm not planning on telling them about this."

"Wow," I whisper.

"Do you want any coffee or anything? It's really early." I arrived here hours ago. I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep so, knowing my brother always wakes up early, I came to see Dan.

"Sure. Thanks," I say, moving off of him and allowing him to get up. I return my attention to the television.

"Morning," I hear a familiar voice say. My eyes snap to the hallway as I watch him emerge wearing his baggy sweatpants and tight tee-shirt. His eyes widen at the sight of me. "Emily. I didn't know you were here."

"I didn't know you were here either. But hey," I whisper.

"Yeah, Shay spent the night. He's been staying over here some lately," Dan chimes in. "Want any coffee?"

"Yeah, thanks," Shay responds. He takes a seat next to me on the couch. He takes my hand in his and lightly brushes his warm lips over my skin. I'm scared Dan'll see us; he could turn around at any moment. But Shay doesn't seem nervous at all.

Immediately after Shay pulls away, Dan returns with two mugs of coffee, handing them to each of us. He then grabs his mug and sits on the opposite side of me.

"Shay, did you apply anywhere?" Dan asks.

"Nope," Shay simply responds, pressing his leg closer to mine and and taking a sip of his coffee.

"Sweet. I guess this is officially happening!"

"I guess. It's not going to be easy, though," Shay responds.

I decide against asking questions about what they're planning. I stretch back out across the couch, this time resting my head on Shay's lap. Dan doesn't acknowledge my action; it probably doesn't seem suspicious to him considering Shay is like my brother in his eyes. Shay plays with my hair that's spread across his lap and the couch.

Moments later, there's a knock on the door. Dan jumps up to open it and let the unknown guest enter. Abby walks into the small room. "Hey love," Dan greets her, kissing her lips.

"Dan," she whispers softly.

"Are you okay?" he responds, concern in his voice. He presses his hand to her cheek.

"Dan. I'm going to NYU," Abby says quietly. I can tell Dan is doing everything he can not to cry.

"That's great!" he exclaims. "I'm so happy for you."

"Dan. We're not going to be together. I'm moving to New York."

"Abby, I love you. Nothing's going to keep us apart or from loving each other. We can make this work."

"Long distance relationships are so hard," she responds.

Tears start rolling down Abby's cheeks. Dan's quick to wipe them away. He pulls her small frame against his chest. "Don't cry. It's going to be okay. Don't think about that. We have each other now. For a few more months, we can spend every day together. Think of that. Don't focus on you leaving," he whispers, rubbing her back and calming her down.

"Umm...should we..." Shay starts.

"Yeah, Shay and I will go..." I say quietly. Neither one of them respond.

I use my hands to lift myself off of Shay and I rise from the couch. I quickly slip my flip flops on my feet as Shay runs to a bedroom and emerges seconds later with shorts and a tee shirt on rather than his pajamas. I take his hand in mine without thinking about the presence of Dan and open the door for us to leave.

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A/N: sorry this is kind of a filler chapter but let me know what you think❤️❤️️comment + vote❤️