Robbers - [joshler au]

Chapter 11.

Trigger Warnings

//

Mentions of sexual assault
Mentions of suicidal thoughts
Drug use; marijuana

Start the song. It's Firefly by Grex.

It was a Tuesday when Brendon came into Josh's room with a hard look on his face and a determined skip in his step. Tyler was out on a deal, leaving Josh alone in their bed, curled against the wall with a pillow wrapped in his arms. He wasn't asleep, Brendon knew that. He had heard them arguing shortly before Tyler left, and he knows Josh can't go back to sleep after being woken up by anything. He closed the door behind him and stood next to the edge of the bed before speaking. "Josh," he said quietly, but sternly.

Josh hummed in response, his eyes opening to stare at the wall, but no attempt was made to look at Brendon.

Brendon sighed. "Josh, you haven't gone to school two weeks," he deadpanned, his arms folded across his chest. "You can't just miss days of school without any forward notice, they'll wind up dropping you from class and eventually they'll drop you from the university. You need to get up and go to class."

Josh stayed silent for a few moments before turning around and facing Brendon. "Why should I?"

Brendon huffed. "You should go because you have a thousand scholarships paying your way through school," he started. "Because your dad said if you don't continue going to school, he's going to find a way to move you to Reno. Because your mom wanted you to go to school, be a lawyer, and have a better life. Because your friends are fucking worried about you, thinking that you're going to hide away and rot inside this goddamn bedroom. Because you're not going to waste your life away in this fucking town, you're going to get out of here and you're going to be somebody. That's why you should go."

Josh thought it over for a second. "Those are all great reasons," he said softly as he rolled back to face the wall. "Too bad they aren't enough."

Brendon sighed in frustration. "Josh—"

"You know what I see every time I close my eyes, Bren?"

Brendon stayed silent as he watched and listened to Josh.

"Every time I close my eyes," he started, almost in a pained whisper, "I see his face. I see Brad Heaton's smug fucking face as he threw my body against the mirrors in that fucking bathroom and made me watch. Made me watch as he ripped my jeans down and took something from me that I can't get back. Some mornings, I don't want to get out of bed. Some mornings, I don't want to wake up at all. There have been nights where Tyler has had to drag my body out of the bathtub because I was trying to drown myself. I'm not asking you to understand what I went through that night, Brendon, God I would never ever wish that upon somebody. I'm just asking for some patience. Please."

Brendon had tears in his eyes as he shook his head and sat on the edge of Josh's bed. "Can you do me one favor, please?"

Josh hummed as he wiped his own tears away.

"Can you at least try to eat something?" Brendon's voice was pleading at this point as he reached over and barely put his hand where Josh's feet where under the covers. "You haven't eaten in days and I don't want you to get sick or hurt yourself any worse."

After a moment, Josh nodded and lightly threw the covers back before allowing Brendon to help him out of bed. Once they were both standing, they wrapped each other in a tight hug and softly cried against each other. "You're my brother, Josh," Brendon said softly. "I want you to be safe more than I want you to be smart, but I still want you to be smart. Promise me you'll try to go back to school? Maybe on Friday so you'll only have to worry about one day before the weekend?"