Falling For His Smile

Chapter 9

Pete's POV

"Stop being an ass, Pete." Patrick said to me with a glare. "Why should I? She made out with my friend! You don't just do that to your brother!" I yelled at him. "A brother would stand by her side even when she's wronged him." he said and walked away. I sighed. This is getting to be fucking ridiculous.

  After the show, everyone headed to their separate buses. I had just left my dressing room when I heard Max and Josh talking. "Are you sure you're ok with sleeping with the guys? You can always share a bus with me and Tyler." Josh said. "I'll be ok. Pete's just...an older brother. I just hope he stops being so upset with me. He's my big brother and I love him so much." Max's voice cracked and I could hear her crying.

  I walked to the bus and sat down on the sofa we had. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

  I was laying there for a while when I heard some voices and the bus door opened. "Is he asleep?" Joe asked. I decided to keep my eyes closed. "I think so." Andy said. I felt someone walk past me.

  "I feel bad for Max. She needs Pete so much and he's being a jerk to her." Patrick said. "I know. Josh would never hurt her and I think that's what Pete needs to learn in order for him to stop being so pissy about it." Joe said.

  The room went silent. Then I heard the crying. I think the guys heard it too because I heard more movement. "Max? What's wrong?" Andy asked. "I want Pete back. I want my big brother to love me." her voice came out cracked and broken. That's when I felt bad.

  I felt someone kick my leg. "Wake the fuck up." Andy said. I slowly opened my eyes. "What the hell?" I said in my best sleepy voice. "Go in there and talk to your little sister. You're hurting her, Pete. She needs you to protect her and be her big brother." Andy said calmly.

  I stood up and walked to my bunk. I'm going to sleep, I thought. I crawled into my bunk and closed the curtain. I heard Max's muffled cries and felt my heart break.

  Soon, it stopped and I heard her get out of her bed. My curtain opened and I looked over to see Max. "Petey?" she said. "What?" I said. "C-can I sleep with y-you?" her voice was low and it was still recovering from her crying. I sighed and scooted over to give her room. 

  Once she was comfortable, I wrapped my arm around her waist. "Goodnight, Pete. I love you." she said quietly. "Goodnight, Max." I said and closed my eyes.

Max's POV

No 'I love you'? Does he still love me? I snuggled closer into his chest. Soft snores were coming out of his parted lips, so I knew he was asleep. This is what I want to keep. I want to be able to cuddle with my brother when I'm upset. He's always been my protector and I don't want to lose him.

I felt the tears sting my eyes and I knew I was going to start crying. I crawled out of the bunk and into the bathroom. I closed the door and sat on the toilet seat.

I sat in there for a while. "Max? Are you ok?" Pete's sleepy voice came from outside the door. I ignored him. He sighed. I pulled my knees up to my chest and put my head down. The door opened softly. I felt a pair of strong arms lift my knees down. Pete put his index finger under my chin and lifted my head up. I turned my head a little bit so I wouldn't have to look him in the eyes.

"Don't do that." Pete said quietly. I didn't look at him. I didn't say anything. "Please. Talk to me. Seeing you like this is heartbreaking." he kept going.

When I didn't respond, Pete sighed. "Come on, Max. What else do you want me to say?" Pete asked. "How about an 'I'm sorry for being a shitty brother' or 'I'll support you no matter what' huh? Can I get something like that?" I tried to sound angry with him, but I couldn't.

I stood up and walked past him. "Max? I thought you were asleep." Patrick said as he came over to the bunks. "I'm leaving." I said. "What? No!" Patrick tried to argue. "I can't stay here anymore. I'm leaving first thing in the morning." I said.

Patrick's hand grabbed my wrist as I was putting some stuff into a suitcase. "You're not going anywhere. I'm going to call Josh and you're gonna go stay with him, ok?" Patrick said calmly. "She's not fucking staying with him. If she's sleeping with a guy she can sleep with me." Pete said. "That's why I'm leaving! I don't want to be around you anymore Pete! Can't you fucking see that? I hate you!" I yelled.

I didn't regret it. Not even after seeing the heart break in Pete's eyes. "Y-you hate me?" Pete's voice cracked. "As of now, yes." I said. I went back to packing my stuff.

  Pete grabbed ahold of my legs and I almost fell over. "Pete." I said through gritted teeth. Pete buried his face into my side. "I'm sorry. Please don't leave me. Stop hating me. You're my baby sister, I can't lose you. You're my whole world, Max. I don't want you to go." he cried. I sighed. I grabbed Pete's arms and tried to pry him off of me. "I'm not letting go until you promise to stay." he said with a sniffle. "Fine. I'll stay." I said.

Pete stood up and wiped his eyes. Then he reached his arms out. I crossed my arms. He stuck out his bottom lip. I let my arms fall to my sides and rolled my eyes.

  Pete engulfed me in a hug as soon as I started raising arms. "I'm so sorry. I'll make it up to you. Anything." he said. "Anything?" I asked. "Anything." he reassured. "You have to apologize to Josh and no more being mean." I said. He pulled away from the hug and nodded. "Ok." he said.

  "Are you still gonna sleep with me tonight?" Pete asked shyly. "Of course." I said with a small smile. Me and him crawled into his bunk. I snuggled close to him again and rested my head on his chest. His arm wrapped tightly around my waist. "Goodnight, Max. I love you." Pete whispered. "I love you, too, Petey." I whispered. With that, we fell asleep.