She got on all fours, crawled into my lap, and cuddled herself into me.
“My lips are sealed. I promised.” she said, and we sat there for a while before she spoke up again. “So ... you’re not kicking me out? I don’t
“No, I’m not kicking you out. But, honestly, I would prefer it if you moved in here with Maggie.”
“Why?” She sounded business-like. I was sure she would try to negotiate.
“Well, let’s be honest here, we are three people living in an apartment with two beds.”
“Given what we do in those beds, there shouldn’t be a problem if it’s a little cramped.” She giggled. “And now that your girlfriend is sharing you with your sweet and loving big sister, why don’t I just move into your bedroom and let Mom have the guest room for herself?”
I sighed, realizing I had to address this carefully.
“Ava ... Do you think this is healthy?” I asked. “When you told me that you want to devote yourself to me, it made me happy. And horny. I’m not gonna deny that. But don’t you want to find a boyfriend for yourself?”
“And who would that be? I already told you that you’re the best thing that ever happened to us.” She sounded defiant, almost insulted by my suggestion. “Look at the other girls in the cheer team. Their boyfriends are all boys who never accomplished anything. Boys who think with their dicks and believe they somehow deserve everything. They’re all like Logan. You want me to hook up with one of those assholes just to have hooked up with someone?”
“Oh, I’m not advocating for those guys, believe me. But, once you enter college, that market should look a little different. There’ll be many guys that are a lot more mature than high school jocks. And you’d have a lot more chances to get to know them if you didn’t live in your little brother’s two-bedroom apartment with your mother.”
She remained seated in my lap, her face now buried in my chest, and her hand clutching at my shirt. I actually got the impression that she looked like a little girl, afraid of being left behind.
“Look at me, Ava.” I continued, and it took her a few seconds before her eyes met mine. “I’m not looking to get you out of my life. And I’m also not going to throw you out of the apartment. If you absolutely don’t want to do this, Maggie can live here alone for all I care. But ... Do you remember the conversation we had last year in my car, when I drove you home because of the social worker?”
She squinted her eyes a little while trying to recall what was said that day. It looked cute.
“Yes.” she finally nodded. “You were afraid that I’d end up as ‘the secret side chick’ of some asshole if I didn’t get my submissive tendencies under control.”
“Exactly! Now, if you want to be with me because that’s what you really want, I won’t stop you. You’re my sister and I love you. But I’ll be damned if I turn into another Logan and abuse this to keep you as my own side chick.”
“But you’re...” she attempted to protest, but stopped herself. Instead, she let out a sigh before smiling at me. “That’s exactly the reason why I think you’re so much better than the other guys. Fine! If you want me to try, I’ll move in here with Maggie. I’ll even keep an open mind and look for someone to date. But I’m warning you! I don’t expect to find someone anytime soon.”
I wrapped my arms around her body and squeezed a little, coercing a content sigh out of her. Without another word, we got up and resumed our work in the room until we had it completely painted.
We had one short interruption, though. After about another hour, my phone pinged to notify me of a new message. It was from John, and only read “
At first I assumed he had told his wife about my outburst and she helped him understand what I meant. The real meaning, however, became clear when we arrived home and were met with a bit of a surprise.
“Hey kids!” Claire greeted us from the couch she was sitting on. She sounded upbeat, but her wavering smile made me think it was forced. “Where were you two?”
“Uh ... Ava helped me with something.” I answered, eyeing her carefully in an attempt to understand why I doubted her good mood. “Sorry, if I had known you’d be home today, I’d have given you a call.”
Hearing my comment, her shoulders slumped slightly and her smile wavered even more.
“Ah ... no problem, Honey. You hungry?”
She didn’t even properly look at me as she asked, and didn’t wait for an answer before she turned to walk into the kitchen to start dinner preparations. Whatever made her uncomfortable, I opted to not force it out of her.
Ava and I cleaned up before entering the kitchen to help, but Mom’s subdued mood was strangely overbearing. We also barely spoke during dinner, since Mom merely poked around on her plate while Ava kept throwing our mother concerned glances. In the end, Mom left her barely touched food on the table and announced that she was tired.
Ava gave me an apologetic look before rushing after her, leaving me to deal with the dishes by myself.
