Numbers.

*Oli's P.O.V*

After I had spilled Mike and I's dirty little secret, I wasn't sure how Josh would react. Usually, I'm quite good at reading people, but with him, everything was so different. I think he'll do one thing and he does the exact opposite. I sort of expected him to freak out, and start yelling at me. But instead, he was scarily calm, and just looked at me.

"Okay," He says, his eyes burning holes into mine. "Is my phone on the counter behind you?"

"Why?" I ask nervously, slowly reaching behind me to grab his phone. "Who do you need to call?"

"Vic." He answers flatly, his expression unchanging as my eyes get wide.

I shake my head. "No, you can't call Vic. There's a million solutions to this problem, but calling Vic isn't one of them. Okay?" I take his phone and shove it into my back pocket without him looking, and start to visibly shake when his eyes move to my hip.

"Oli, how many bruises do you want from him?" He questions. He lifts his hand up to run his fingers along the edges. I wince, not because it hurts, but because I feel guilty. I shouldn't have left this happen.

"None." I answer honestly, taking his hand off my hip, and placing it in my own.

"Why does he hurt you?" Josh asks, tightening his fingers around mine. I notice how skinny his fingers are, and I can't help but feel a little jealous. I know I really shouldn't, but I do anyway.

"I let him." I answer. The room is silent for a couple moments, the only sound to be heard was the running of water through the pipes in the walls.

"Why the fuck would you do that?" Josh finally asks, an angry tone taking his voice. Somehow, I knew he wasn't mad at me. He was mad at Mike.

"I thought I loved him." I tell him, my eyes flickering once again to our intertwined hands, and I can't help but feel a welcoming sense of calm come over me. This just felt so right, and relaxed. It didn't need to be forced, it sort of just happened. It was meant to happen. We were destined to be together, right?

"Thought?" Josh asks, confirming my thoughts exactly. Yes, I thought I loved Mike. That was only because I've never felt something as strong as I've felt with Josh. I believed that Mike was the real deal, and that he was all love was. I was disappointed at first, but now, love seems like an endless roller coaster. And I love it.

"We already went over this, Josh." I tell him, biting my lip as I wait for his answer. God fucking dammit, he's just so beautiful. I honestly can't help myself when he's around, I'm drawn to him. Not like it's a problem for me, but to my abusive boyfriend? Maybe.

"I know...I just needed to make sure." He confirms, giving me a soft smile. Somehow, he had made his way in between my legs, and was standing there and looking down at me. He was still taller, apparently.

"Yeah." I reply. Okay, so maybe I was a little starstruck right now. I had no idea why he would even want to be this close to me, let alone kiss me.

"Well, are you okay?" He asks, looking into my eyes, reaching over and taking my other hand into his, and resting our hands on my knees.

"I don't know." I answer honestly, starring up at him. I didn't know exactly how I felt. I was confused, and happy, and sad all at the same time. And I was still trying to figure out how this could be possible.

"Why?" He asks, squeezing my hands. It felt good to have him focus all of his attention on me, but it was scary too. What if he focused too hard, and found something he doesn't like? Then what am I supposed to do?

"I'm sad." I reply.

"Me too." He counters.

"Can we go lay down?" I ask quietly, looking at him with hopeful eyes. I was tired. Physically and mentally tired.

He nods. Then he does something crazy. He pulls me off of the counter, and easily picks me up bridal style.

"Josh!" I squeal, squirming, trying to get out of his arms. But he holds me tight. "I'm too heavy!"

"You're too light, Ols. Trust me, you need to gain a little weight." He smiles faintly, and continues to carry me, ignoring my protests.

When we get to my bedroom, he carefully sets me down on the bed, and takes his shoes off. I wasn't quite sure why he even had them on, but he took his shoes off, nonetheless. I followed his lead and pulled my pants off, as he did the same. I was questioning whether or not to keep my shirt on, but when I saw Josh had his off, I figured I'd better just do it. He'd already seen the bruises, he already knows.

Josh laid down on Mike's side of the bed, and I laid down on mine. Josh sort of patted his chest, signaling for me to snuggle with him. Which I gladly would, and didn't need to be asked twice. So, I laid down with my head on his chest, and his arm wrapped tightly around my waist. I liked listening to his heartbeat, and feeling every breath he took in, my head rising and falling with each inhale and exhale. It was relaxing.

"Oli, I'm going to have to tell Vic at some point, okay?" Josh's voice breaks through my thoughts. I could tell he didn't exactly want to tell Vic either, but it was something he had to do. Vic deserved to know his brother was a crazy, abusive fuckwad.

"I know," I say gently, sprawling my arm across Josh's stomach and taking his left hand. I hold it with mine, and pull myself even closer to Josh, so that my stomach is pressed up to the side of his.

"Christ, you're skinny." He murmurs, looking down at my stomach. I felt a bit selfconcious about it, but I didn't tell him. I needed to get even more comfortable with him.

"Let's not talk about that right now, okay? I promise I'll explain later, but right now I just wanna snuggle." I tell him, kissing his jawline and retreating to my spot on his chest.

"Whatever you want," Josh replies, a content tone in his voice. I liked it this way.

Soon enough, our conversation had died down, and we were laying in silence as darkness filled the entire room. I felt his breaths get slower, and I realized he had fallen asleep. I smiled to myself, and snuggled up even closer to him, so my face was right in the crook of his neck.

I close my eyes and just slowly breathe, trying my very best to fall asleep. For once in my life, sleep came very easily to me.