Read Conflicted for Free Online Page A

I will.”
    All the color drained from Derek’s face and I felt guilty for just spitting all that out, but Blake deserved it. His face, on the other hand, was bright red and his neck muscles were bulging.
    “Stop acting like a bitch, Joss. It doesn’t suit you,” he yelled.
    Taking a step closer, I moved until we were chest to chest and looked up at his pissed off face. “Just stating the facts, big brother,” I spat back.
    Poor Derek looked like he wanted to go hide in the closet. I kept Blake locked in my stare, refusing to back down.
    “I’m not picking up the pieces afterwards. Don’t come crying to me when you have a broken heart.” Blake turned to look at Derek. “And you, don’t be dragging any drama into the fucking band. I mean it.” He threw his hands up in defeat and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him . The glass frame on the wall fell and smashed onto the floor.
    “Thanks a lot for that, Joss,” Derek grumbled.
    “Whatever. He deserved it and you know it. He wants to lock me up in a tower and throw away the key. I’m tougher than I look, and the sooner he realizes it, the better. I don’t even want to stay here anymore.”
    “Where are you going to go, Joss? You came here to spend time with your brother and his family and that’s where you need to be right now.”
    “Can I stay with you?” I asked.
    “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea right now, Joss.”
    “Come on. It’s going to fucking suck staying here and you know it. My parents are here, and they’re going to be going gaga over the baby. Blake and Piper are going to have their hands full, leaving me odd man out. I know you know how that feels since you’re the odd man out in the band now too.”
    “I’m not going to fuck you, Joss,” he stated firmly.
    Blowing out a deep breath, I tried to keep my cool. “Who said I was going to ask you to?” I hissed.
    He seemed to be hesitating, so before he could answer me, I went upstairs and packed up all my stuff and brought it down to the entryway.
    Walking into the kitchen, I grabbed us two servings of dessert before going into the living room to face the music.
    “I’m going to stay with Derek tonight,” I announced, doing my best to keep my voice steady.
    “You’re fucking kidding me, right?” Blake said. He started to stand up when Piper put her hand on his forearm holding him down.
    Piper gave me a sympathetic look. “Let her go. You need to reel it in, Blake. She’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She’s never going to learn if you’re always there telling her what to do and how to do it.”
    Granny came back from the bathroom and saw what was playing out. “What’s going on here? Are you two planning on going to knock boots or something? Is that why Mr. Blake has his knickers in a twist?”
    “Granny!” Aubrey shouted. “Is it really necessary for you to say everything that pops into your head?”
    “Oh honey, if I said everything that popped into my head, you’d all be in deep shit. I’m just, what do you kids call it? Oh that’s right, I’m keeping it real.”
    Aubrey stifled a laugh and shook her head. Blake looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel. Our mom sat on the other side of him looking torn. She was the one who was trying to help me achieve independence, while the men in my life wanted to put a chastity belt on me and lock me away from the world.
    “Have a good time, honey ,” she said softly. “Derek, take care of her.”
    My dad sat there with a stoic expression, looking like he might crack if he moved a muscle. His jaw was clenched shut, his fists clenched so tightly the knuckles were turning white. I decided now was the time to make a break for it.
    “If everyone is done putting their two cents in, we’ll be on our way. I’ll be back tomorrow at some point to visit. Love you!”
    Turning on my wedge heel, I grabbed Derek’s arm and headed out the door.
    After shoving my suitcases in his trunk