Chapter Seven

Jonathan and Joshua were playing pool with Alicia Fox and one of her college friends, Veronica. Honestly Joshua didn't want to go out tonight but Alicia would not take a no from Jonathan, who didn't want to leave his brother home alone. So she found a friend for Joshua. Not wanting to be rude Joshua agreed to the outing and decided to make the best of it.

"You're going to lose." Alicia commented and as she stood behind Jonathan

"Game isn't over yet. Besides I'm the comeback king." Jonathan replied as he moved around the table to look for a good shot. Lining up to the ball, he waited a few moments than knocked three balls in, "Woohoo! Comeback king! Told ya!"

"Okay, okay. You showed me." Alicia smiled as she walked up right behind him, "What else you got to show me?"

Jonathan was slightly caught off guard by her flirting but it had been months since he got any. There was definitely a drought in house Fatu. Roya was spot on when she questioned were the girls at. Plus it didn't help that Roya's fine ass was walking around the house in leggings most of the time. Just the thought made his mind recall the Instagram video.

"What's on your mind Jon?" Alicia asked snapping him out of his daydreaming

"Thinking about what I want for a prize." Jonathan smiled. His hormones were getting the better of him at the moment.

"You have to win first." she said as she kissed his cheek.

Joshua shook his head as he watched Jonathan flirt with Alicia Fox. He knew very well that his brother was just looking for ass right now. Unlike Jonathan, he had patience and handled sexual frustration pretty well. That was until Roya started walking around the house in leggings. She was definitely testing his willpower but he wanted her and wouldn't settle for someone else. Alicia's friend, Veronica was cute but she wasn't Roya.

"Josh come over here and get that corner pocket for me real quick." Jonathan commented

"I got this." Joshua stated and he stood up from the stool and prepared to make the shot. After a few moments he lined it up right and hit the ball in.

"Uso! You see that shot? It's all in the genes." Jonathan commented

"Whatever," Veronica replied, "We can still win this girl."

"Not sure if I care if I win or lose anymore." Alicia winked to Jonathan

Joshua went back to his stool and pulled his phone out. He realized he had a few messages from Nikki. Suddenly his entire expression changed as he found out Darren cheated on Roya and she was extremely drunk after their argument. Joshua had a murderous look on his face, he wanted to beat the shit out of Darren.

"Jon!" Joshua called out just as his brother was lining up another shot. Jonathan groaned as he messed up. Walking other to Joshua he had a confused expression on his face.

"What's up man?" he asked. Joshua handed him his phone to read the text. Jonathan narrowed his eyes at the phone for a moment and nearly broke his pool stick.

"Motherfucker!" Jonathan gritted his teeth, "His ass is done."

"Trust me it's taking a lot of restraint for me to not handle him right now but Roya is the first priority. Let's get to Nikki's hotel."

Jonathan groaned, he wanted to put his hands around Darren's neck right now but he knew Joshua was right. Roya was drunk off her ass and needed them, "...Yeah, you're right. Let's go get her."

"Everything okay boys?" Alicia asked

"Sorry about this ladies but we have to go, our friend needs us right now." Jonathan replied

"Seriously?... Alright but you owe us." Alicia stated. Jonathan was too focused on getting the hell out of there and straight to Nikki's hotel. Joshua was already halfway out the door. As they reached the car, Jonathan got behind the wheel, Joshua held on as Jonathan backed out of the parking spot like a mad man.

"Relax brother." Joshua stated

"My bad." Jonathan sighed as he tried to calm down a bit, "...I knew I didn't like him, I should have stuck with my instincts about him instead of trying to be the good guy. Should have been waiting for his ass at the door like "surprise bitch" and knock his ass out."

"As much as I wanted to toss his ass back out the door when we walked in, Roya had a point, we can't keep messing with her love life like we did. She's a grown woman." Joshua commented

"Screw that, it's top flight security from now on. Clearly her judgement can't be trusted. All she is trying to do is cater to her mother's wishes and date these seemingly good guys." Jonathan said

"She probably already feels like shit, there is no need for us to add to that." Joshua was always the less aggressive one when it came to helping Roya. Sure he wanted to destroy Darren and end is existence but he knew there was a time and place.

"...And she's drunk so her emotions are on overload." Jonathan sighed

"Exactly. But trust Darren will be handled. You don't mess with family and get a pass." Joshua said.

"Damn right." Jonathan agreeed

The ride felt like hours, when they finally reached the hotel, both brothers jumped out the car and headed to the reception desk. After the receptionist called Nikki's room and gave them the okay, they headed to the room. Jonathan knocked on the door and didn't realize how hard he banged on it.

"Relax." Joshua commented. Brie opened the door,

"Easy tiger. Roya's asleep." Brie stated as she let them in. The guys walked in to find Roya curled up on the couch and cuddling a pillow. She had been crying.

"She had a long night; I gave her some water and Powerade in hopes her hangover won't be too bad. But under the circumstances she will feel like shit in the morning," Nikki paused, "... Also I deliberately didn't tell you about her arm because I didn't want you guys to make a detour straight to Darren instead of coming here."

"What's wrong with her arm?" Joshua suddenly asked in a demanding tone

"...She has a bruise on her arm because Darren tried to forcefully drag her into the room." Nikki replied

"Are you fucking serious?" Joshua tried to control his now rising temper. It was one thing to know that Darren cheated on her but putting his hands on her would cost that asshole his life. Nikki was right in waiting to tell them he hurt her, otherwise he would have been all for going to his hotel room and beating the shit out of him.

"Relax she handled herself and I'm sure Darren's arm is still hurting right now because of it." Brie replied

"Tomorrow he will be wishing all he had was arm pain." Jonathan stated as he walked up to the couch and leaned down beside Roya, he examined her body and saw the bruise on her arm. Gritting his teeth, he calmed down as she started to stir in her sleep.

"...Jon?" Roya blinked her eyes as she thought she was dreaming

"Hey Ro, we came to take you home." Jonathan replied

"No! I can't go home to Darren. He is a piece of shit." Roya groaned as she was still drunk

"Don't worry Ro, you won't see that asshole again. Josh and I will make sure of it." Jonathan comforted her as he slowly slid his arms under her and picked her up. Roya instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. Joshua picked up Roya's things.

"Thank you Nikki and Brie."Roya said as Jonathan was walking towards the door.

"No problem hun. I'll checked on you tomorrow morning. Feel better." Nikki replied

"Thank you for this ladies." Joshua stated

"Not a problem, just take care of our girl." Brie replied. The brothers left the room and headed for the car. Joshua sat in the back and Jonathan laid Roya down next to him. With her head on his lap, Joshua immediately started stroking her hair as Jonathan went to the driver's seat.

"Jooooosh?" Roya started as she turned her head to look at him

"Yeah?"he asked

"Josh, am I stupid?" Roya asked as tears started to form

"Of course not! Darren did wrong by you. He cheated on you and had no fucking right to put his hands on you like that." Joshua replied as he wiped her tears. Every part of him wanted to hold her, comfort her, make her feel better. Hold her not like the loving brother he had been for so many years but show her love like a man shows the woman he loves. He knew she had issues with trust and self worth because of her father but he also knew in his heart he would treat her better than Darren. He adored Roya for who she was and would make it his mission to make each day better than the last for her.

Joshua continued comfort her as her tears kept falling. He wanted to take her pain away and see her truly happy. Maybe this was finally the right time to tell her how he felt. He could be honest and express his feelings for her. But what if she didn't feel the same way? Joshua doubted he could handle having her reject him. Yet at some point he would have to take that chance and hope for the best.

When they reached the house, Jonathan came around and picked Roya up in his arms again. She wrapped her arms around him as Joshua grabbed the rest of her stuff.

"I'll get her some water and put her things in the closet while you put her to bed" Joshua stated and Jonathan nodded. He made his way to the guest room and gently laid her down on the bed. Just as he was pulling the covers over her, she raised her head up and looked at him.

"Jon I don't want to be in here alone. Please stay." Roya said as he felt a twinge at his heart. The way she asked him reminded him of all the times she asked him to sleep in her bed when they were kids and she was afraid of something.

"Of course, Ro." Jonathan smiled as she moved over and made room for him. He got under the covers and laid next to her. She quickly curled up to him and rested her head on his chest. He held her close and kissed her forehead, "Everything will be okay, Ro. I promise."

"Thank you Jon." Roya mumbled before slowly dozing off again.

It felt right being there for her like this, holding her and making her feel save. Jonathan wanted to always be there for her this way; loving her and protecting her. She didn't deserve to be hurt by men like Darren. He always wanted moments like this, where he and Roya were curled up in bed and cuddling. So many times he wanted to tell her how he felt but each time the thought was interrupted with the fear of her rejecting him and it possibly ruining their friendship. In his heart he knew he would be good for her, he understood her free spirit and it was one of the reasons that he was in love with her. No man would ever be deemed worthy for her because he always felt he was the one for her. But was it worth the risk?

Roya squeezed him tight in her sleep and a smile spread across his face. Resting his head on top of hers, Jonathan figured he wasn't getting free of this position any time soon plus he honestly didn't want to move. As he slowly started to drift off, a thought of finally using this as an opportunity to tell her how he felt crossed his mind. What if this was finally the right time? He didn't want to catch her on the rebound but he also knew at a time like this she needed to feel loved. Maybe honestly loved by him. Soon he fell asleep holding Roya.

Joshua headed to the quest room and peaked in to see Roya asleep in Jonathan's arms. At first he smiled but suddenly something felt weird seeing them like that. He wished it was him holding her. Wait, am I jealous of Jon? Joshua thought. He quickly shook his head, he knew his brother just wanted to comfort her. Walking over to the side of the bed he went to put the water down and turn off the lamp when suddenly Roya pulled at his shirt.

"What's wrong, Ro?" Joshua whispered.

All she did was pat the empty space next to her. He smiled, it was like when they were kids and she was sick in bed and wanted them to stay with her.

Without even thinking about it, Joshua turned off the lamp and walked over to the other side of the bed. It was a small fit for three people but he slowly laid down as not to wake Jonathan and curled up next to Roya's back.

"Thank you." Roya whispered

Joshua kissed her shoulder, "No problem." he whispered back before closing his eyes as well. Roya could fell the warmth of both them and felt beyond safe. it was comforting and caused her to quickly fall back asleep.