deep love | 1

brothers

J's pov 

It's 8 a.m., the time Joe usually goes for his morning run. I hand Dani a small body cam. One for her, one for Kevin. It's our plan to film the entire thing.

"Good luck!" I whisper, as she walks quickly to Joe's house and knocks on the door. 

Dani's pov 

My heart is beating so hard in my chest, and my palms are getting sweaty. I take a deep breath and knock. When Joe opens the door, I almost gasp. I've never seen anyone's eyes so red. He must be crying every single day, I think. "Hey, Dani. Whatcha doing here?" He asks, and I can almost hear the sadness in his voice. I hand him the roses and lights. "Hey Joe... your girl wanted me to give these back to you" His face droops. "Why didn't she come here herself?" I shrug. "She said she was too sad to see you..." Then I surprise myself by giving him a hug. He hugs me back, and I know he must be feeling really bad. I feel kinda bad for lying to him, but it'll be over soon. "Where's the ring?" Joe asks me. I freeze for a second, but I manage to choke out a lie. "We couldn't find it in the grass... sorry" Joe nods. He's about to say something when his phone rings. 

That's my cue to leave. If I don't go before Kevin tells him that Alena wants to see him, Joe will ask me why I didn't tell him since I was already at his place. Suspicious. 

 "Hey, I have to go! I have a dentist appointment, um, now!" I cringe inwardly at the terrible lie. Way to go, Dani, a dentist appointment. Joe looks confused, but who wouldn't, if someone just ran out your door? But he nods and waves goodbye as I dash into my car. I look through my car window into his window, and I see him putting down the phone. I need to get to my house before he gets here. I push the speed limit as I drive through the narrow road. 

Kevin's waiting for me, with the door open, when I pull up. I hurriedly park my car in the garage, where it can't be seen by Joe. I just about run upstairs and hide in my room, just as I hear Alena greeting her uncle Joe. Thank goodness for thin doors, I think, as I press my ear to the door to listen in on their conversation. 

"Hey Uncle Joe! I missed you!" Alena says. "I missed you too!" Joe says, and I can imagine him picking her up and twirling her around and around. "Well, at least someone wanted to see me," he says to his brother. 

Kevin's pov 

"Well, at least someone wanted to see me," Joe says to me. "What do you mean?" I say, frowning. "Well, ya know, I wanted to give her a promise ring...but it didn't exactly work out," Joe says sadly. Of course I know, this whole thing is set up, I think to myself. "What do you mean?" I ask, trying my best to act confused. Joe stares into space for a minute, debating whether or not to tell me. "Well... I... wanted to give her a promise ring, but she didn't accept it right away because she didn't know if I'd hurt her again." My heart hurts for him. Without thinking about it, I'm hugging my brother, telling him it's going to be okay, that I'm there for him. 

Joe's pov 

I'm trying my hardest not to tear up in front of my nieces after telling Kevin the story when suddenly I feel his arms around me. I haven't hugged my older brother for a long time. It's awkward for the first few seconds, but then emotion overwhelms me and I'm hugging him close to myself, not wanting to let go. "It's okay. She still loves you, Joe" He says after we break the hug. I sniff and look at the ground. Why do I always cry? 

"How do you know?" I ask, praying my voice doesn't crack. I know Kevin knows that I want to cry. He pats my shoulder sympathetically. "Look, let it all out. You can cry. I don't care" He says. I force a smile. "Nah, I'm good". Kevin raises an eyebrow but continues. "You've been friends for so long. She trusts you,  she wants to. Just give her time." I smile through my tears that threaten to fall. "Thanks, Kev" I say, using the old nickname. "For what?" He asks. I shrug. "For everything. For forgiving me."