“So…go on then, what happened with Ruben? Did he try it on or something?” she asks, while continuing what she’s doing.
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, he came back from yours in a hell of a mood on Friday night, and locked himself away with his music blaring until God knows what time. Then he moped about yesterday and went out drinking with Fin at the earliest opportunity. Then, luckily for me, they brought the party back here in the early hours. I was awake most of the night, listening to the antics going on in the living room. I’ve spent most of the morning since they left cleaning every surface with Dettol.”
“Why?” I ask naively, but as soon as the word is out of my mouth, I regret it, because I really don’t want to hear the answer.
“Because I can only imagine what they were doing in there with the girls they brought back. The noises…urgh!”
The thought of Ruben being with other women makes my stomach turn over. I’m pissed off with myself for having that reaction, because I should not like him. What pisses me off even more than that, though, is the wave of jealously that washes through me. What the fuck? I should not be jealous of a couple of hussies that Ruben and Fin picked up from a club. I try to shake the images from my head.
When I look up, Connie is looking right at me. “Em, are you okay? You’ve gone kinda pale.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Do they do that often, then?” For fuck’s sake, shut your mouth, Emma!
“Every now and then, but I’ve learnt to just let them get on with it. I once stormed out to try to shut them up and kick them out, but the image of what I walked in on that night will forever be burned into my brain, so I tend to just stick my head under my pillow and try to ignore it. Anyway…you didn’t answer my question. Did something happen between you two?”
“Oh, nothing, we just had a disagreement,” I say, trying to play it down so she doesn’t dig too deep.
“So, he didn’t try anything with you?”
“No.” I’m not sure if that’s a lie or not, because technically, I guess he didn’t do anything.
“Good, because I told him I’d cut it off in his sleep if he tried it on with you. Although I do think you need a man, he is definitely not what you need. He’s a whore; you need a nice guy.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself!
Connie starts bringing everything over to the breakfast bar, and I can’t believe my eyes. I know she said she’d bought a load of food, but this is crazy. By the time she has finished, the surface is covered in every kind of fruit I can imagine, bagels, cream cheese, smoked salmon, granola, and a variety of yogurts, just to name a few. “Christ, Con, you planning on feeding the five thousand?”
“You have no idea how much two grown men can eat after a night out,” is all she says, before she comes back over with a huge jug of orange juice.
It’s only now I get a good look at her. She is wearing an oversized t-shirt that is so big the neck hangs off one of her shoulders, and is long enough to just cover her arse. I can’t help but notice it’s a little thin and see through, but she doesn’t seem to care, and it’s not like we’re out in public. I envy Connie’s body confidence. She has her hair pulled back with a headband, and it’s clear how much sleep she missed out on last night with her dark eyes. What really stands out to me, though, is the bright red mark on her neck.
“So, it looks like the boys weren’t the only ones to see some action last night,” I say mockingly to her.
“What?” she questions as she walks over to the mirror in the hallway. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. How am I meant to hide that from Ru?”
I guess I don’t need to ask who it was that came round last night, then! “I thought you’d finished that?”
“Yeah, well. I didn’t get invited out for drinks, and I wanted a bit of fun. I knew he wouldn’t refuse,” she says with a wink. I don’t mention that her chest also seems to be covered in marks in varying shades of red. She is going to have to do something about that before Ruben gets back.
Ruben
I’ve been in a constant state of pissed off since I was sent away from Emma’s house on Friday night. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I shouldn’t care. Normally, having the woman send me away is a blessing. It saves me the trouble of making it clear that nothing further will ever happen between us. I’m not a complete bastard, though. I know how they must feel when I wake up and kick them out without second thought. Having said that, though, it was a bit of a shock to the system having it happen to me.
I kept myself locked away from Connie on Friday night. I didn’t want her probing into my mood. She has warned me to keep my hands off Emma, and I fully intended to keep the promise I made to her for all of about two minutes after the words left my mouth. I don’t know what it is about Emma; she has this ability to draw me to her like a fucking moth to a flame. I thought she was with me on Friday night. Yes, she was embarrassed and nervous, especially when I was practically naked, but I wasn’t expecting her to send me away like that.
I moped around all day Saturday with the same thoughts running on repeat. I tried to go and do some work, but my head wasn’t really in it. I’ve never wanted a girlfriend – well, not since I was a kid, anyway. I’ve always taken what I’ve wanted and tossed them aside, no matter how much they begged for me to keep them about, but the one girl I want keeps pushing me aside like a piece of rubbish. I’m sure I’ve seen want and desire in her eyes when she looks at me. I know she hasn’t got a boyfriend, so what is it that’s stopping her? Her body is screaming at me to touch her, to do all the things I want to do to her, but she keeps putting up this barrier.
Maybe she’s been hurt by an ex in the past. The thought of someone being with her, let alone hurting her, makes me want to punch the wall. No man deserves her, let alone get close enough to her to hurt her. Yes. I know what I’m saying. I know that I don’t deserve her; she is way too good for me.
The second Fin suggested we head into town for some drinks, I was on board. Getting a little buzzed and finding some girls to take my mind off Emma was exactly what I needed.
Well, that was the intention; I got the buzzed bit down. Although, I’d more likely describe myself as well and truly trashed. The problem was that no girls interested me. No matter what they looked like, what they were wearing, how much boob they had on show - that was my usual poison - I just wasn’t interested. And I was even more pissed off that the reason none of them interested me was because they were not her. What the fuck was wrong with me?
“Dude, what the fuck, man? Look at her, she totally wants you,” Fin says, pointing at a girl in a stupidly tight purple dress that she’s about to fall out of. “You’d usually have your face straight in those tits,” he adds, making me cringe.
Yeah, I know my behaviour with women isn’t something I should be proud of. That is exactly why Emma is doing the right thing by pushing me as far away as she can.
“Not tonight,” is all I say back to him. But he doesn’t care; he has his tongue down some blonde’s throat before I even finish speaking.
It’s no surprise to me when we eventually leave the club in the early hours that Fin drags two girls along with him. Somewhere over the last few years, it seemed to have turned into a tradition that after a night out we would bring a couple, or a handful, of girls back to my place to carry on the party. This started before Connie moved in, and I really should have put a stop to it when she did, but one thing led to another and here we are, still doing it. I always feel awful about it afterwards, and make sure I make it up to her, because no little sister should have to put up with that, but she lets us get on with it. I’m not sure how I would feel if the situation were reversed, mind you. I’d kill any fucker I found with their hands on her. I know she’s not a virgin, but I try to convince myself that she doesn’t get up to, or know about, any of the stuff that the girls Fin and I spend time with do.
I leave Fin and his girls to it not long after we get back. I have no intention of w
atching the three of them get it on in my living room. I usually turn a blind eye when I’ve got company of my own, but tonight’s different. So instead, I head up to my bedroom and rub one out on my own, with thoughts of Emma’s smoking body running through my mind.
I’m woken by my alarm blaring a few hours later, reminding me that I agreed to play football with the lads, seeing as we haven’t seen them since we’ve been back. I haul my hung-over arse to the shower to try to wash away the stench of last nights alcohol. Once I’m feeling a little more alive I venture downstairs to see what mess I’m going to find my living room in.
The scene is pretty much what I thought it would be. Gone are the girls from last night, and left behind in their wake is a very naked Fin, star fished on the sofa, surrounded by wrappers and used condoms. The image makes me cringe, and a thought suddenly hits me.
Fuck, when did I grow up?
I used to find myself in that situation most weekends and didn’t bat an eyelid. Why, all of a sudden, do I feel like what I’m seeing in front of me is just wrong? What freaks me out even more is that the vision I’m seeing instead is of waking up next to Emma every morning and being able to look at her naked body, not my best friend snoring butt naked on the sofa. Fuck me, I’m turning into a right pussy.
I grab the cushion that is closest to me and launch it at Fin. “For fuck’s sake, cover your junk,” I say, when I see his eyes pop open. “And tidy the fuck up.”
I walk back towards the kitchen and see that Connie’s door is open slightly, but when I call through, there is no answer. Great, she must have seen the state of our living room as well, then. I don’t think I need to be worrying about the fact she’s seen Fin in all his glory, when the evidence of his activities last night are all around him. That should be off putting enough for her.
“It’s too fucking hot for this, dude,” Fin complains, while bent over with his hands on his knees.
He’s right. We’ve been out playing for nearly an hour, and it is fucking baking hot. All of us are beetroot red from the sun, and the sweat is pouring off us.
Someone else obviously feels the same, and shouts over, “Shall we call it a day? This is ridiculous.”
Before Fin and I went away, the usual routine was to play for a couple of hours then head to the pub for a couple of cold ones, but it seems that in the six months we’ve been gone, everyone has been pussy whipped and isn’t allowed out to play after the football.
“I guess we should head back, then,” I say to Fin as I grab my t-shirt from the side-line and tuck it into the waistband of my shorts. “With a bit of luck, Connie will have been food shopping.”
I know she’s there the minute I walk through the front door. It’s like my body knows when she’s close. I can feel the buzz.
We walk into the kitchen to find Connie and Emma sat around the breakfast bar full of food. Fin takes one look at it, exclaims his delight and begins to tuck in immediately; he is completely unaware of the shocked looks on the girls’ faces.
We move everything over to the dining table so we can all sit around. Connie is fast to sit away from me, which is weird behaviour for her, and Emma tries to be as far away from me as possible, but I’m not up for that, so when she sits opposite Connie, I take the chair next to her.
We spend a few minutes chatting awkwardly, until Connie brings up her birthday next weekend. “So apparently, the heatwave is going to continue, so I want to spend Saturday around the pool chilling out with Emma, if that’s okay?”
“You have a pool?” is the only thing Emma says, looking shocked.
“Well, our parents do. You up for it?”
“I guess.”
“You two are welcome, if you haven’t got anything else to do. Then, I want us all to go out to that new cocktail bar in the evening. You all in?”
We all agree and continue eating.
“Have you got any Marmite, Con?” Fin asks.
She says yes, and gets up to grab it for him. The three of us watch her move over into the kitchen and reach up to the top shelf to grab it. Now, I wasn’t overly impressed with the practically see-through t-shirt she was wearing. I don’t want Fin seeing any more of her than he has to, but as she reaches up, it is clear to all of us quite how tiny her underwear is as we get a full shot of her arse.
“Fuck’s sake, Con, can’t you put some more clothes on?” I grumble, looking down at my food.
“I’m in my own house; I’ll do as I damn well please, thank you very much. You know me. I’d quite happily sit here in less, but you wouldn’t have it.”
This comment makes me look up to show her how unimpressed I am with the suggestion. I’m well aware that Connie has no issues about getting her body out; she’s been that way since she was a kid. I just sorta hoped she would grow out of it. It’s only now, as she places the Marmite down for Fin, that I get a look at her left side.
“What the fuck is that?”
Her hand instantly flies up to cover the bright red love bite on her neck, and she mutters “Fuck” under her breath.
“I thought you stayed in last night?” I question.
She just shrugs at me, which pisses me off. But what pisses me off even more is Fin’s comments about her getting some last night. I do not want to think about it, thank you very much. She’s my little sister.
“Wait a minute,” he says, reaching out towards the neck of her t-shirt, “Is that some more?” he asks, as he reveals the tops of her breasts to us.
“Fuck’s sake, dude. Don’t touch her,” I snap.
I’m grateful in that moment, because Connie’s phone starts ringing in her bedroom. It’s already pinged with a few texts that she has ignored, so I get up to go and get it.
“Where are you going?” she asks in a panic, but it’s too late; I’m already in her doorway.
Other than having a naked man sprawled out, the scene in front of me isn’t all that different to what I walked into in the living room this morning. There are condoms strewn around the place, but there is also a bottle of lube leaking on the wooden floor, and a couple of sex toys on the bed.
I put my hands up on the door frame and hang my head as I try to reign in my temper, because there is no use being angry. My sister is twenty-six next week. She is an adult and is free to do all the things that I do. Telling myself this doesn’t make it any easier to see, though.
“Ruben…it’s…” she doesn’t get to finish though, because a loud male voice booms through the house and sets my blood on fire.
“Beautiful, I left my wallet…oh. Hey, Fin.”
I see red. I turn on my heel and fly straight at Elliot, knocking him into the kitchen wall. I pull my arm back and throw my fist straight in his face. He’s shocked by my attack, so I get a few good punches in before he starts to retaliate.
“You fucking arsehole,” I repeat as I hit him.
Things obviously start to make sense in Fin’s head, because before long, he is there with me ,holding Elliot back so I can continue to hit him. For all Fin’s flaws, he is loyal to the core, and will always have mine and Connie’s back.
“How long did you fucking leave it before my flight took off, you fucking bastard? I bet you were right here waiting to fucking pounce, to have what wasn’t fucking yours.”
My rant goes on and on, but eventually I start to hear female shouting and screaming enter my hazy brain. I feel Connie start to pull at one of my arms to make me stop, but I’m too lost to my anger. I pull my other arm back, vaguely aware that my elbow connects with something, before plunging it into Elliot’s stomach, causing him to bend over, heaving.
I’m just about to kick him, when a piercing scream stops me. I spin around to see Emma bent over and clutching the side of her face with both hands.
“You fucking idiot; now look what you’ve done,” Connie shouts at me as she heads towards Emma.
Oh no she fucking doesn’t. I barge past her and scoop Emma up in my arms while demanding that Connie goes and gets some ice.
&
nbsp; I take the bag of peas from her as I pass, and head towards the stairs with a sobbing Emma still in my arms.
“He had better have fucking gone when I get back down. If I ever fucking see him again, it will be too fucking soon.”
Chapter Five
Emma
My face starts burning the second Ruben’s elbow connects with my eye. I knew I should have stayed out of it, but I couldn’t let him continue to beat the shit out of Elliot. He stood no chance, with Ruben hitting him and Fin holding him back. Connie started pulling at Ruben’s arm, so I felt like I should do something to try to help the situation.
I stumble backwards until my back hits the wall. I lift my hands so they cover the burning pain radiating from my eye socket. The world goes a bit hazy, and I think I might pass out, but the second I feel my knees give way, I’m lifted into Ruben’s arms as he shouts at Connie to get ice. I feel him carry me away while he whispers repeatedly that he’s sorry in my ear and shouts for Elliot to be gone before he comes back down.
I had no control over the sobs that erupted from me seconds after being hit. They were completely involuntary, but insistent.
I feel Ruben sit down. He clutches me tighter to his body and rocks me back and forth, I presume willing me to calm down, as I’m still sobbing loudly. He continues to apologise softly in my ear, and he kisses the top of my head, but I keep my hands locked firmly over my eye, in fear of my face falling off from the pain that is throbbing through it.
“Em, babe, please move your hands. You need something cold on it to stop it swelling too much. I’m so sorry, I didn’t know you were there,” he repeats for the millionth time.
I know it’s not his fault. I do know that, but it doesn’t stop me being angry at him for acting like a moron and flying off the handle at Elliot. Yes, I understand, but it was a little extreme. Okay, a lot.
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