by Amy DeMeritt
We sit wrapped around Madison for several minutes, then decide we should get up and start getting ready for the day. We put my mattress back on the bedframe and prop Sara’s mattress against my wall.
When we come out to the kitchen, my parents and Sara are sitting at the dining room table drinking tea and talking. I lean against the back of a chair and rub the back of my neck nervously.
“Uh, Dad, can I borrow the car this morning?” His eyes briefly glance over at Madison and he takes a sip of tea before answering. “Take a seat, please – all of you.”
I glance at my girls and they look nervous, but we obey his request and sit down. My dad takes another sip of tea and then leans forward some with his hands clasped on the table in front of himself.
“Love must always be at the center of every family. Without it, a family will crumble. We have watched you girls together and we can see the love you have for each other. To be able to weather a storm, a family must also have trust and honesty. My youngest daughter may display her trust in terrifying ways, but Talia wouldn’t have been able to fall backwards off of that shed yesterday if she didn’t fully trust Kayla. Do you believe you could fall backwards off a roof with full trust that you would be caught by the others?” I look at each of my girls and they’re all looking at me. “Don’t just consider Kayla in this question. Look at each other. All four of you need to consider that about each member of your family.”
Madison is first to speak. “Yes, I can honestly say that I would trust all three of them to catch me when I fall.” My dad smiles and looks to me. I smile and nod. “No doubt. Each of them has already been there to catch me when I’ve gone down.” Shannon and Sam also agree that they trust all of us.
“What’s your plan for talking to Madison’s family?”
“Well, we’re all going together. We’re going to be completely honest about what we are to each other.” My dad looks at me with a tight jaw and then looks at Madison. “I’m coming with you.” Madison’s eyes tear up and she nods once and clears her throat. “Ok. Thank you.”
My dad takes her hand in both of his and her jaw tenses and relaxes as she tries to hold back the emotion threatening to turn her into a sobbing mess.
“Whatever happens today, know that you have a place in this family. You can count on that love and trust that we just talked about from each member of this family. All of you can.” Madison breaks down and my dad stands and pulls her up into a hug. He holds her head against his chest and soothingly rubs her hair. “You are a very brave girl for being determined to face this with full honesty after what happened yesterday. You will be able to accomplish great things in your life with your level of bravery.”
“Thank you.” He holds Madison for a few more moments and then she pulls back and wipes her eyes. My dad playfully ruffles her hair with a smile and pats her shoulder. “We’ll get through this, kid. Now, you all should eat and get ready for the day.”
“Thanks, Dad.” He nods and sits back down. My mom stands and kisses each of us on the head before heading towards the kitchen. “What would you girls like to eat?”
“Were there enough leftovers for a breakfast hash?” She smiles and nods. “There is. Why don’t you girls go get showers and get dressed and I’ll have breakfast ready when you’re done.”
“Ok, thanks, Mom.”
When we get back to my bedroom, Madison wraps her arms around me and kisses my lips with a smile.
“I completely understand why you get so homesick. Your family is amazing. I’m going to be so homesick for them when we go back to school.”
“That’s good. I feel a little less like a dork now.” They laugh a little and I kiss Madison on the forehead. “Ok, let’s go get a shower.” They look at me with raised eyebrows and I laugh. “I’m serious. It will take forever if we take them separately.”
“Uh, are your parents going to get mad if we do that? They’re already being super accommodating by letting us sleep together. I don’t want to push it.” I smile at Shannon and shrug my shoulders. “As long as I don’t make you scream out in ecstasy, I don’t think they’ll say anything.” Shannon laughs and shakes her head. “There’s no way you can behave in the shower with us.”
“I know I can’t. I haven’t seen all of you in a month and I’m dying to be with all of you.” We smile at Sam and we nervously look at the door. I lick my lips and move closer to her. “Can you be quiet?” Sam inhales deeply and her cheeks flush hot. “Kayla, you better not be messing with me because I am ready to tackle you right now.” I smile and shake my head. “I’m not messing with you, baby. I’m going to kneel at your alter.”
Sam releases a small moan and grabs my hand, pulling me towards the door. I smile and we quietly walk down the hall to the bathroom. I grab four clean towels from the closet and lock the door behind myself. Sam is already turning the shower on as I set the towels down on the sink. We quickly brush our teeth and strip down.
This is the first time that all four of us have taken a shower together, and the first since leaving for college that I’ve taken one with Sam. Before we left for college, I used to take showers with Sam all the time. I’ve taken several showers with Madison and Shannon, but not as many as I’d like.
Sam pulls the showerhead down and works the hot stream of water over all of us, getting us thoroughly soaked from head to toe, before replacing the showerhead. We each lather our hair with shampoo and then after Sam has rinsed her own, she holds the showerhead above each of us one at a time so we can rinse our hair. Once we’re all rinsed, we look at each other and smile at how well this is working out. We work together to lather each other’s bodies with body wash, teasing, groping, and kissing, as we work the thick lather over each other’s skin.
After we’re rinsed, I trade places with Sam, positioning her in the center of us. She smiles and caresses my cheek. Madison and Shannon press in close to the back of her, gliding their hands up her thighs, over her stomach, and up over her chest. Sam inhales deeply and her eyes slightly close.
“Oh god, I’ve missed this so much. You may have to put a hand over my mouth when Kayla gets between my thighs.” I smile and lean in to kiss her. “Oh, they will.”
I press my lips to hers and she immediately accepts me into a kiss. She inhales and sways against me. I can feel Madison’s and Shannon’s hands working over her body, and I can feel their heads are close by as they work their mouths over her neck and shoulders. Sam moans into my mouth and firmly grips my ass, making me moan. Sam smiles against my lips and pulls back a moment.
“Thank you for this.”
I smile and start working my way down her body. Her eyes close and her hands firmly grip my shoulders for support. I kneel down in front of her and gently coax her to spread her stance. I run my hands up her thighs, grip her hips, and gently press my lips to her soft lips between her hips. I smile and place a hand on her stomach.
“Baby, why did you shave completely? You’re going to be irritated for days now.”
Sam has a problem with razor burn, so she doesn’t shave completely; she just keeps it trimmed close to the skin. None of us mind it, so I don’t know why she would put herself though that pain. She looks down at me and smiles as she runs her fingers through my hair.
“I waxed it a couple days ago. So far, it’s not bothering me.” I smile and kiss her lips again. “Did that hurt?”
“A little.” I kiss her lips a few times, making her inhale and her hips rock towards me. “I’m sorry. You know you don’t need to put yourself through that.”
“I know. I wanted to.” I glide my tongue up the full length of her on the outside of her lips and then kiss the top of her slit again. “Well, I’m going to bury my face in your smooth alter now. Babies, make sure she doesn’t scream.”
I slowly glide my tongue up each of her lips before slipping between them. Her hips thrust against me and she releases a small moan, but her sound is muffled. I look up to see she is locked in a kiss with Madison while Shannon suck
s on her shoulder.
While I work slowly between her legs, Madison and Shannon play with the rest of her body and alternate kissing her. I suck on her clit and she releases a loud gasp, that Shannon quickly silences by placing a hand over her mouth. Sam inhales deeply through her nose and leans back into them. I smile and suck her more firmly. Sam starts to tremble and thrusts against my face. Her nails dig into my shoulder and she gasps loudly under Shannon’s hand as she bursts. She quickly grabs my head and pulls me out from between her legs. I stand up, and as Shannon releases her mouth, Sam pulls me into a hard, deep kiss. She pulls back and looks in my eyes with a big happy smile.
“Thank you.” She turns and hugs Madison and Shannon, thanking them as well. They smile and kiss her and hold her close. “You’re welcome.”
“Do I get to play with my babies now?” They smile and Madison shakes her head. “This was for you. We can all be together again later. We shouldn’t be in here much longer anyway.” Sam smiles and kisses them on the lips again. “Ok. Thanks.”
We quickly get out and wrap ourselves in towels. As we’re drying off, I notice the look of complete happiness on Sam’s face and it makes excitement burst inside me. I let my towel drop and I quickly rip hers off of her. She looks up with a little shock, but then smiles really big. I pull her into a kiss and she moans and presses against me. I grip the backs of her thighs and she hops and wraps her legs around me. I press her back against the bathroom door and our mouths move with a fast urgency. I grab her arms and raise them above her head, making her grip onto a pull-up bar my dad bolted to the wall above the door. She gasps as I start to move down her body, supporting her legs with my hands.
I carefully kneel down in front of her, with her sitting on my shoulders. She looks down at me nervously, but immediately moans and her eyes close as my mouth dives into her center. Madison and Shannon immediately come over and one of them places a hand on her mouth, muffling her moans, while I work fast and hard between her legs.
As she cums, she releases the bar and all of her weight is on my shoulders, making my ribs ache. I wince, but Shannon and Madison are quick to offer Sam support under the arms and help her off of my shoulders. Sam is so weak that she clings to both of them as she tries to catch her breath.
“Holy shit, baby. That was intense.”
I smile and lick my lips. I grab her towel and help her wrap it back around herself. I wrap myself in my towel, gather all of our clothes, and then we start walking back to my bedroom. Thankfully, we make it back to my room without running into anyone.
When we come out to the dining room, Joey tackles me, wrapping his arms around my waist.
“We didn’t do my magic spell last night.”
“That’s because you fell asleep, buddy.”
“Can we do it after breakfast?”
“We have to go somewhere after breakfast. We can…” Madison places a hand on my shoulder and shakes her head. “After breakfast is perfect. We’ll go to my house afterwards.”
Joey smiles really big, pushes me away, and throws his arms around Madison, making all of us laugh. He literally climbs up her to get in her arms by placing his foot on her thigh and lifting up to grab her shoulders. She laughs and quickly pulls him up into her arms. She squeezes him tightly and he smiles really big. He places his hands on the sides of her face and plants a big kiss on her lips.
“You’ll be my pretty assistant.” We laugh again and Madison smiles really big. “Ok, I’ll be your assistant.”
We sit down at the table and I feel my heart swell with happiness watching Madison sit down with Joey in her lap as he makes himself comfortable with her. Talia comes into the room yawning and stretching. As she’s walking by us to get to the other side of the table to sit, she messes up Sam’s hair.
“Brat.” Talia laughs at Sam and plops down in chair across from her. “Are you going to be here all week?”
“Trying to get rid of me?”
“No, just curious. I have a paper due after vacation for AP Biology on the emergent properties of water and how they can influence pollution. I was going to ask you to read it when its finished.” Sam smiles. “Ok, but Kayla is the biology major.”
“I already asked Kayla to read it when I have it finished. I want your perspective as a geologist as well.”
“Ok, I’ll read it. But don’t you hand it to me unless you discuss fracking in it.” Talia laughs and nods. “Covered. I’m still researching some stuff on it, but it will be in there.” Sam smiles and nods. “Good.”
My mom brings in a huge pan of an amazing looking breakfast hash and a basket of freshly baked corn muffins. She returns a moment later with a jug of cider and butter and honey for the muffins.
She takes a seat next to my dad and says, “Dig in. Joey, you should go sit in your own chair so Madison can eat.” He grumbles and grabs Madison’s hand, wrapping it around his chest. “I want to stay here.” Madison laughs and plays with his Mohawk. “You can stay here. Kayla, hand me that plate and fork down there.”
I pass her the plate and fork from the empty chair next to me and then pass the empty glass down as well. Madison positions Joey on her left leg and my mom dishes up some food on both plates for her and Joey.
Breakfast is really good. My mom chopped up the leftover beef tenderloin, grilled veggies, some potatoes, and worked in some scrambled eggs into the amazing mixture. I really like when we have leftover fire bread to go with it, but we ended up eating the entire loaf last night. Fire bread is one of my favorite things my mom makes. It’s a sourdough that she adds a couple different kinds of dried pepper flakes to. She pours melted butter over the loaf and then tops it with more pepper flakes before it’s set in the fire to bake. It gets an amazing buttery crisp crust all over the outside with a fluffy center and an addictive heat to it. When there’s leftovers, my mom toasts slices’ in the skillet with more butter and pepper flakes and tops them with eggs, bacon, and cheese.
After we eat, we try to help my mom clean up, but Joey is impatiently pulling on Madison and I to show us his magic trick. My mom ruffles his hair and tickles him.
“Ok, we’ll let you do your surprise now. Go get your jacket on.”
He runs off and my mom starts gathering sugar, baking soda, a lighter and lighter fluid, a small and medium size glass bowls, and aluminum foil. She tosses everything in the larger bowl and hands it to Madison.
“Here you go, pretty assistant.” Madison laughs and looks at the bowl confused. “This looks dangerous.” My mom smiles and shrugs a shoulder. “We’ll have a fire extinguisher, but you shouldn’t catch on fire.” Madison quirks an eyebrow at her and my mom laughs. “It’s harmless.”
We quickly put our jackets on and follow Joey out to the driveway. He instructs Madison to line the larger bowl with foil and partially fill it with sand from a bucket he has sitting against the house. He then has her mix some sugar and baking soda in the smaller bowl. She squirts lighter fluid into the sand, mostly covering the top, only leaving a small dry outside ring. He then creates a small mound in the middle of the sand with his sugar mixture. He grabs the long lighter and looks at everyone with a big smile.
“Ready?”
We nod and he lights the mound. It immediately lights and flickers with a nice flame. Nothing seems to be happening for the first several seconds, but then weird black thin masses start to grow out of the mound and dance around. We watch as the little worm like structures wiggle around and grow. We gasp as they form one solid mass and it starts to grow up and out of the bowl. It lasts several minutes, and when it finishes, there’s a two-foot-long black hose like substance hanging over the bowl onto the driveway.
“Wow, Joey, that was really cool. What do you call that trick?” Joey beams up at me. “It’s the black snake! It’s in the book you sent me.”
I smile and scoop him up. My brother loves doing science experiments and I used to do them with him all the time. I was really missing him and as I was walking passed a bookstore on Oliver Str
eet, I saw the book in the window. It looked really cool so I bought it and mailed it home the same day.
“Is this the only one you’ve done out of the book?” He shakes his head. “No, I did a bunch. I made glowing water. We made rock candy. Oh, and magnet crystals.”
“Did you save me any rock candy?” He laughs and shakes his head. “No. Can you do a new experiment with me?”
“Definitely. You pick it out and we’ll make sure we have everything to do it tomorrow.”
I set him down and we help clean up the mess from the experiment. We grab our phones from my bedroom and when we come back out, my dad is standing in the kitchen with his jacket on and his keys in his hands. My mom comes over and gives each of us a kiss on the forehead, but she lingers with Madison. She hugs her a moment and then looks in her eyes with a kind smile.
She places a hand on the center of Madison’s chest and says, “Speak from here, fall backwards, and let your love catch you.” Madison smiles and hugs her again. “Thank you.”
Chapter Seven
The drive to Madison’s is twenty long quiet minutes. The only time anyone speaks is when Madison gives the occasional direction to my dad. As we pull up in front of her house, Madison grips my hand tighter and looks at me with panic in her eyes. I kiss her lips for a moment and when I look at her, she looks a little less worried, but sadder.
“Kayla, I’m sorry for all the horrible things he’s about to say. I love you and no matter what happens in here, that won’t change.”
“I love you too and don’t you dare apologize for him. You won’t shoulder the guilt of his actions and words.”
She nods once and wraps her arms around me. When we get out of my dad’s SUV, she gives Sam and Shannon a quick hug and kiss and then takes a deep calming breath.
Before she can get her hand on the doorknob, a woman opens the door with tightly pinched lips and narrowed eyes. It’s her mom, but the look of disgust on her face has really stolen the beauty I remember seeing in the pictures Madison has in her dorm. She looks around at each of us and her eyes settle on me the longest and narrow to little slits.