More Than Love

Chapter 3

About half an hour later I arrive at the address that Flynn had sent me. When I look up at the house standing before me I am convinced that I'm at the wrong place. But after double checking I am sure that this has to be the house where my brother is temporarily staying.

In front of me is one of the most beautiful houses – you can easily say that it is a villa – I have ever seen. It is gigantic with beautiful large windows and made out of a dark kind of brick stone.

I proceed to walk towards the frond door of the villa and after I knock a couple of times it is Liam who opens the door. His amber eyes bore their way into my soul before he slowly looks over my body. He seems very not impressed. I look down at my clothes. I'm wearing a simple high waisted skinny jeans with a cropped sweater with a long blazer that functions as a coat.

It is almost disgust I can see in his eyes. 'Do you have a problem or something?' I ask on a very rude tone considering I am going to eat dinner in his house. How can he afford a house like this anyways?

'With you in particular? Not really.' He says. Then he turns towards the house. I get a good look at his back. Through his fitted t-shirt I can perfectly see how the muscles in his back tense and untense as he moves.

'Flynn, your sister is here.' Then after he does not spare me another glance he walks past me out of the door. He quickly paces to his car, a black Range Rover of course.

Seconds later Flynn appears in the doorway. 'So Liam seems like a delight.'

He chuckles. 'Well he is definitely not the nicest person. But he is my only friend and has been there when I needed him.' His eyes turn sad. I really wonder if he has changed, because I have. Not entirely, but I have changed. 'And I mean, look at his house. The guy is rich as fuck.' He says with a big smile.

It makes me laugh. He leads me inside to the living room. 'Yeah, I mean, how can he afford all of this stuff?' I ask.

'So he is some sort of genius. Super smart, like Einstein level.' I scoff. 'And he is CEO of his own business. Don't ask me what kind of business because I have zero idea. He doesn't like talking about his work so much.'

I sit down at his dinner table. The table has already been set and the food is also already served. I look at my watch and see that I am ten minutes late, so the food will probably still be warm.

'So, what have you been doing in the time that I was gone?' Flynn asks while he is filling our plates.

'Well, I made it into law school.' I say with a big smile. That is one of the things I am most proud of. School has never been that hard for me, but getting into a good law school is a whole other level. 'I am now about halfway the first year, but it is actually going really well so far.'

He seems shocked. 'Wow really? That is amazing!' He sounds so proud. 'Who would have thought? Joy Mille is going to be a lawyer. Shit, now I am really the disappointment of the family.' I can't suppress a laugh.

'Bro, you went to jail for six years. Believe me, you already were the disappointment.' Now he has to laugh too.

I have missed this. It has always really been Flynn and me against the world. I have been in a dark place. My brother was everything I had, and when he left...

'God I have missed you so fucking much.' I say looking him in his ocean blue eyes. We both got those from our dad. We actually look quite alike. We have a similar nose and the same blond straight hair that we got from our mom.

'I've missed you too.' He responds with that warm glance in his eyes. 'In jail you have a lot of time to think, you know? I have thought about the weeks before I got arrested. A lot actually.'

The vibe instantly changes. 'And I am so sorry. So sorry that I dragged you into all of my shit. I should have handled my problems myself, but instead I was a coward. I dragged my fifteen-year-old sister into my problems. I should never have done that and I am so sorry Joy.' A single tear drops on his cheek as he looks down at the table.

'Hey, look at me.' I say and he slowly rises his gaze until his eyes meet mine again. 'It was my own choice, okey? It was not your fault.'

'I want to be better.' He whispers. 'I just want to find a job and live a normal life.'

'Flynn, you can. Of course you can. I did it. I changed.' I try to ignore the voice in my head. Liar. Changed? What has changed? That you go to law school now? Please, we all know that you will never pass the bar.

'And I am so glad you did.' He stretches out his hand and covers mine. 'I was worried sick, you know? My teenage sister was taking care of herself. Where did you go after I got arrested?'

I swallow hard. Images of John flash through my mind. I have to hold back the tears when I think of what I have done in the first two years that Flynn was in jail. Until Julianne found me. Her brown eyes flash before me and I get pulled into the memory.

I pull up my knees and wrap my arms around myself as I listen to the social worker. She is telling me how she found a host family for me.
A single woman without children who has 'So much more love to give, but no partner or child to share it with.' That's bull shit. I think to myself as I look down at my stomach.

As soon as she sees me she will run away. Just like all of the others.

'So her name is Julianne and she is forty years old. She had lost her daughter Sara a year ago and she has a void to fill. You are going to do that.' She opens the door and in the doorframe appears a tall women with short red hair. Her face is soft as she takes me in.

'Julianne, this is Joy.' The social worker whose name I forgot the second she told me. 'Joy this is Julianne, come give her a hand.'

Slowly I stand up and walk their way. Julianne her face does not change for one second as she takes me in. All of me. I am wearing a t-shirt which allows her to see the scars on my arms. The ones I caused. And the seven months of pregnancy are on full display. Yet the woman does not flinch.

'Joy, you are a beautiful little girl.' She says. When I stick my hand out to shake hers she slaps it away and wraps her arms around me. 'You're safe now.'

And for a reason I don't understand I believe her.

'Joy?' Flynn calls me out of my thoughts. My head jerks up. This has been happening a lot lately. I get stuck in these daydream memories.

'I'm sorry.' He looks at me expectantly and then I remember that he had asked me a question. 'Right, um, I was under aged and since my legal guardian, you, were in jail I got into foster care.'

'Wow that must have been horrible.' He says, a disgusted look on his face.

Truth is, it was not the foster family that was horrible. It were the two years prior to the foster care that were horrible. But I do not tell him that. 'Well, it was fine.' I say instead. 'My foster mom was actually very nice.'

'Well, I'm glad.' Then he lets out a short laugh. 'So let's drop the heavy topics for now and eat.'