I've Never Cried

Chapter Sixty-one - "Stay."

"I've Never Cried"

Chapter Sixty-one

'Stay.' 

Scene...

Continuing

Joe's POV

I didn't know why I was so angry.

But whatever the cause, Nick was paying for it. I had him with every swing, making sure that every punch landed with a powerful force. He'd gotten some good ones on me too; the hardest slug was his check to my chin that sent my bottom teeth into a blood bath. 

When Nick threw that punch, there was a moment that all of our fighting had ceased. In that moment, as the pain flooded to my face, so too did my rage. In the blink of an eye, I went running at Nick with full speed, wrapping my arms around his waist and slamming him onto the kitchen table. It seemed to have knocked the wind out of him, as for a few seconds he was out of it enough to let me nearly break his nose with probably the most savaging punch I'd ever inflicted upon him.

When the blood started pouring from my brother's nose, he finally mustered up the strength to shove me off of him- with so much force, in fact, that I'd fallen on the floor and flat onto my back.

"Fucking hell!" My brother yelled in pain. "What the fuck, Joe?" I pulled myself up from the floor, and looked at Nick, who was holding the bridge of his nose with his fingers. I wiped the blood that was spilling from my bottom lip, instantly prideful of the damage I'd done to him. 

"Fuck you, you busted up my mouth," I replied, my eyes still on him. 

"Fuck the both of you!" I heard Demi say, and only when she'd spoken had I realized that she was there the entire time, and had not left when I'd asked her to. I put my eyes on her then, unsure of how I should feel or behave. She had her hands balled in her hair, her face angry with frustration. "What on Earth do you think that will solve? I mean, seriously?!" She was shouting, as if she were genuinely surprised at Nick and I's actions. 

"This is what we do, Demi," Nick answered, honestly. "This is how we've always fought."

"Shut the hell up, you're bleeding," she retorted, removing her hands from her hair and pointing at the blooding pooling around Nick's feet. She turned to me then, her big brown eyes filling with disappointment. "I can't even believe that you'd do this . . . . that you've always done this! This is the man that you are when you're angry?"

Her question seemed rhetorical, which was fortunate for me, because I was at a loss for words. Luckily, Nick chimed in just in time.

"This isn't any different than what you did to Selena," he stated, simply. And for a moment, I thought he was right. That was, until Demi said,

"Selena and I aren't siblings. And I for damn sure didn't make her bleed." Demi came toward me then, and placed her hand at my chin, examining my bloodied lips and teeth. Her eyes were sad, her brows furrowing in frustration. "Damn it, Joe. I already hate seeing you like this."

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Demi," I began, my eyes moving from her and onto my brother. "But hearing him whine about his bullshit just pisses me off to no end."

"I told you," Nick yelled, nearly cutting off the end of my sentence, "that if this were her," he pointed a finger at Demi, his eyes staring mine down, "you'd understand. But you just don't get it."

"What is there to get?!" Demi yelled, which completely surprised me. And suddenly, with every word she spoke, I was once again even more sure that I belonged with her. Demi walked over to Nick, shoving her index finger into his chest.