Sister to Jonas

Meeting

Brexley's POV

It's officially been a year since Joe and I have spoken to each other. At this point, I've completely accepted the fact that we're never speaking to each other again, and I'm fine with it because there's not a whole lot I can do about it anymore. However, today my entire family, including my brothers, are coming over to the apartment for a dinner where I will introduce them to Jason. Well, my entire family except Joe. And that's the part that's going to be odd, because if this were happening a year ago, Joe would be the person I wanted there the most. But this isn't happening a year ago, it's happening now, and I have to finish setting the table before Jason gets here. I can't waste time thinking about this at the moment.

About an hour later, I light a candle while Jason tries to pick a Pandora station to listen to. Yes, these are very important tasks, because it makes sure the mood is right. Then, there's a knock at the door.

"That'll be Nick. He lives the closest," I tell Jason, and he nods as I go over to let my brother in. It turns out I'm correct.

"Hey! Good to see you again, Brexley!" Nick says, engulfing me in a hug right away.

"Hey, Nick," I tell him, beaming, as we pull apart. Jason walks up next to me then, and I decide to introduce the two of them.

"Nicky, this is Jason. Jason, this is my brother Nick," I say, and they shake hands.

"Nice to meet you, man," Jason says, and Nick nods in agreement.

"Mom, Dad, and Frankie should be here soon, but do you need anything to drink beforehand?" I ask my brother.

"I'm good, thanks though. So, Jason, what're you into? Music? Sports?" Nick asks, taking a seat at the table while my boyfriend does the same.

"Actually, both of those things. I love football and baseball especially; I'm a huge Giants and Yankees fan. As for music, my favorite band is Florida Georgia Line, but my guilty pleasure has always been the Jonas Brothers. I can't lie about that," he says, grinning at Nick.

"He loves country music the most, but I've heard him play Lovebug once or twice," I say with a laugh.

"Oh, that's great to hear! Thank you. We like the Giants and Yankees too, been going to games since we were little," Nick says, and Jason nods.

"We should all go to one sometime," he suggests.

"Sure! I'm always down," Nick says, and then Mom, Dad, and Frankie enter the apartment.

"Thanks for knocking, guys," I say with a laugh, all three of us getting up to greet them.

"You're welcome, Brex," Dad says with a cheeky grin, and I jokingly roll my eyes at him. He smiles and pulls me in for a hug. "Missed you."

"Missed you too, Dad. And you guys," I tell Mom and Frankie.

"Love you, Brexley. Kevin and Danielle should be up here shortly; they were just pulling in as we walked up here," Mom says.

"Okay, cool. We can just leave the door open for them, then," I say, and minutes later, they enter.

"Good! Now we're just waiting on-" Mom starts.

"We're not waiting on anyone, Mom. Everyone's here," I say quickly, while Kevin shoots her a look. It's obvious to everyone she was thinking of Joe.

"Right, I'm sorry. Should we say grace and eat, then?" she asks, and I nod. Jason helps me bring all the food to the table, and then Dad leads us in a prayer before we dig in.

"Jason, it's great to meet you. I've heard so much about you from my sister here," Kevin says, grinning at him as we start on the chicken.

"All good things, I hope?" Jason says with a laugh.

"Jay, you know it is," I tell him, and he beams at me before turning back to Kevin.

"Yes, all good things. So you two work together?"

"Yeah, we do. We don't usually collaborate on the same events, so that's why we didn't meet sooner, but then they put us on together," he explains.

"Good thing for that," Mom says, and I nod, giggling a little.

My family makes small talk with Jason for a while, and I just sit back and listen, taking it all in. I can tell everyone likes him, as they should, and I want to let him have the spotlight. But I also can't stop thinking of Joe, and I don't want anyone else to know about that. I wish he was here; I can't help it. This is the type of event he should be over for. Would he have come if I'd have invited him? Would I even want to see him? No, the answer is no. He wouldn't have come, and if he did, I wouldn't want to see him. Tonight is supposed to be about Jason, not the drama between Joe and I, so no, I wouldn't want to. And even though I know I need to let this go, live in the moment with the family that is here right now, I can't. There's no way.

I love everyone here more than anything, but I can't handle full family gatherings without my former best friend. I can't do this without Joe; everything just feels too off. Too strange. Too depressing. I know it was imperative that I hold a dinner for Jason's sake, and my family's, but after tonight, I don't think I could do it again. It's too hard. It makes me think of everything that's happened, and it's dangerous for me to focus on my broken relationship with my brother. Yet that's all I can do right now.