Obsession

Jenson

"Fuck," Oliver muttered as he dropped the controller on the floor. "That sounds rough." Reaching down, he turned off the games console and flicked my TV over to Netflix.

"I could feel Caleb getting angry." I huffed as I flopped down on my bed, falling onto my back. "I mean, I would be, too, if my parents were like that."

Oliver shrugged as he flopped down on the bed next to me, lying on his back, too, the search for a movie forgotten. "He's probably used to it." He turned to face me, his brilliant blue eyes resting on my face. "They still sound better than Asher's dad."

Fuck. Anyone was better than Asher's dad.

Who the hell abuses their own child that way? Beat them up so badly that they couldn't even walk properly?

The fucker.

Hope he got what he deserved in prison.

"How is Asher doing these days? Does he like his new therapist?"

A soft smile tugged his lips upwards. "Yeah, he does. He prefers the therapist he's seeing in Florida than the one he was seeing here. Told me that he feels like he's getting better with this new therapist."

After everything that Asher had gone through at the hands of his father, his mother had insisted that he see a professional to help him cope with ... well, life, I guess. I mean, he'd been locked up in his house by his own dad, for fuck's sake. Again, who the hell would do that to their own child?

Thoughts of Asher flitted across my mind ... the kindness he'd shown me, the love he showered on Oliver, the amazing friend he was to us all ... it pissed me off to think that anyone could treat him that way.

"When is Caleb coming back?"

Good question.

After spending an unexpected day with them, his parents had insisted on wanting to spend some time with their son. They had invited me to stay with them, and I did ... just one night. That seemed to be enough.

Caleb seemed to be too tense around them, especially around his mom, and my own mother wanted me to come back home for a big family meal she'd planned with some of my cousins.

So, here I was, back to spending nights in my own bed, away from Caleb. There were only a couple more days left of Christmas break and I was desperate to see him before I went back to California.

We were messaging all the time, talking on the phone ... Just the thought of not seeing him before I went back to college made my chest hurt.

My eyes burned and I turned my gaze to the ceiling so that Oliver couldn't see the tears that threatened to fall.

"Sucks, eh?"

Yeah, it fucking did. And I didn't want to talk about it.

"Is Liam home from college?" I changed the subject before I became a blubbering mess.

So emotional.

Liam was at the same college Oliver and Asher were, although he was studying to become a nurse, whereas his little brother wanted to be a lawyer.

"Yeah." Oliver blew out a breath. "He's back home for Christmas break. Dad's loving having both of us back home. Fussing over us like a mother hen." He shook his head.

I chuckled. I could imagine Stephen Pierce running around after his two sons, cooking, cleaning ... just loving having the house full again. He must be lonely, having that house all to himself.

"Has your dad mentioned any more about moving to Florida?"

It was Oliver's turn to shrug. "He's mentioned it a couple of times. Don't know whether he actually will make the move, though. Think he may wait to see where me and Liam settle first."