Crushing (Joshler)

24. Marybeth

***Trigger warnings for mentions of past child sexual abuse and PTSD.***

Start the song. It's Home by Heather Hammers.

Usually when Josh brought someone to his house for the first time, he made a joke about them taking their last breath of fresh air before walking into the heavy smog of cigarette smoke that awaited them inside of his childhood home, but his brain felt too weird for humour at the moment. He didn't know if it was just residual discomfort from how he'd been woken up this morning or something else entirely; all he did know was that it felt absolutely essential for him to see his mama as soon as possible.

It nearly killed him to follow his daddy's rules and hold the screen door open for Ashley and Tyler to pass through before entering the house himself, but the whirring in his brain slowed exponentially when he registered the sound of his mama humming along to the Dolly Parton song that was playing in the kitchen. He left Ashley to address the way Tyler's eyes went wide at the sight of all the taxidermy on the walls, immediately making his way toward the kitchen instead.

"Hey, Mama?" Josh called.

Absolute peace washed over him in soothing waves when his mama peeked out from around the fridge, smiling brightly at the sight of him before immediately abandoning everything she'd just been working on in favour of rushing over to hug him tightly. "Hi, honey! My lord, baby, you look tired. Ain't you been sleepin'? You need to sleep more. You never sleep enough. Good god, I missed you so much. I'm so glad you're home for a minute. You doin' okay, baby?"

Josh nodded, his breaths suddenly coming and going much more easily when his mama squeezed him a little bit tighter. "I'm good. Just missed you," Josh replied quietly, not wanting Ashley or Tyler to hear his response.

"I missed you too," his mama replied just as quietly while she rubbed his back gently. "You was on TV last night, so we at least got ta see you then. Your daddy's been bragging about his little boy kicking ass to anybody who'll listen since last night. He's been downright giddy. He found weed in your sister's room this morning and didn't even get mad at her. That's how fuckin' giddy you've got him."

Josh laughed as he released Marybeth, who beamed at the sound. "Well, see, you shouldn't've told me that. Now I have no choice but to hold that over her head until the day I die."

"Any nugget of information in your hands is a weapon. Same as Abbie. It's the only curse of havin' smart babies. Y'all're as manipulative as they come. Why is that?" Marybeth asked him amusedly, pressing a kiss to his cheek before brushing past him to wrap Ashley in a tight hug that Josh knew he'd be hearing about for days after this.

"I'm a sociopath. Abbie doesn't have an excuse," Josh reminded her.

The colour drained from Marybeth's face as she glanced quickly at Tyler and then back at Josh, silently reminding him that Tyler was still here to hear the words he was saying. Josh smiled slightly.

"Tyler knows. We already talked about it. He ain't scared of me. It's okay to talk about it with him here," Josh informed his mama as he leaned against the kitchen counter calmly.

Immediate relief crossed her face, and suddenly she was hugging a very shocked Tyler instead of Ashley. "Hi, sweetie. It's so nice to meet you. I'm Josh's mama, Marybeth. His daddy and sister should be home in just a little bit, but you just go ahead and make yourself at home. You're welcome here anytime, and you can always let me know if you need help with anything. You're part of the family, okay?"

"Thank you," Tyler replied quietly, still looking a bit stunned when Marybeth squeezed his hand softly on her way back over to the tiny kitchen.

"Mmhm," she hummed warmly.