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Emma leaned down then and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek, followed by the other cheek and then lifted her chin and gave her a kiss on the lips. Danni felt Emma’s soft lips press into her own and felt a familiar tingle pass through her, akin to what she felt when Mike kissed her. The kiss lingered on for a second, and then two, and then three. Finally, Emma broke the kiss and pulled Danni close. “I love you sissy,” she said, using the name she’d called her as a child.
Danni and Emma had been extremely close as kids, the elder taking the younger under her wing. They’d grown apart after their parents had died, and truthfully it was something that they’d both missed. The hug lasted for a while.
“Thanks for making me feel better,” Danni said, moving past Emma and heading for the door, but turned as she neared it. “Emmy,” she added, using her own childhood name for Emma.
They walked out of the room together, smiling.
******
As she came downstairs, Emma giggled and shook her head as she saw Beth pulling the neckline of her shirt down, exposing the maximum amount of cleavage possible as Sarah helped Mike in from the living room.
“You’re so bad, Bethy,” Emma said.
Beth looked up and winked at her and went back to laying stuff out on the table as Mike came in, slowly.
“This is gonna take some getting used to,” Mike said, finally settling into his chair.
His sisters began to fuss over him then, getting him another drink, giving his food, Danni even cutting it up for him as he watched with a bemused smile on his face.
As they finally settled down, Mike dove into his food, as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks.
“Jeez, Michael,” Sarah said, “Slow down!”
Mike winked at her and nearly choked as he glanced over at Beth, intending to thank her. She was spooning some gravy onto her piece of chicken fried steak and bending over to reach it from across the table, her cleavage spilling out. Mike could literally see all the way to her belly button. He forced his eyes away and stared down at his plate.
The sisters all exchanged a quick smile.
They were mostly silent through supper, but Mike finally couldn’t take it. “So, let’s get this over with and why don’t ya’ll tell me what changed. Danni and I never got along this well.”
“You’re still my brother,” she said, a hurt look on her face.
‘Damnit,’ he thought. “I didn’t mean anything by it Danni. It’s just that I don’t remember you ever being so nice to me.”
Danni nodded and accepted that. “Things have changed.”
“A few months ago…” Emma started, but stopped when Danni held out her hand.
“I’ll tell him,” she said. “It’s okay,” she said, smiling at her sisters as they shot her concerned looks.
She cleared her throat and took a drink of her water.
“A few months ago, you and I had a fight and I was upset at you. You’d taken more of a protector role in the family. You and Sarah had worked out rules for all of us for when we go out. If we weren’t with someone ya’ll knew, we had to have one of our sister’s with us, or someone ya’ll trusted and we also had to keep in contact with our cell phones. I was pissed off at you and did some stupid things.”
Mike nodded as if trying to remember, but nothing was coming to mind.
“I went to a frat party with Emma,” Danni said, glancing over at the youngest sister who remained silent. “I got hit on a few times, and made out with this one guy when his friend, a red-headed guy that was very… stubborn, gave me a drink. I know I should have refused it, but I was pissed off at you. I was deliberately hiding from Emma, or I know she would have stopped me. There was something in the drink and I began to feel very strange. From what other’s have told me, I was still conscious and walking around when the guy I made out with, the redhead, and someone else, helped me to a back room,” Danni said, her voice beginning to shake.
“Danni…” Emma said.
Danni glanced over and forced a smile, but a tear found its way to her cheek. Emma’s face already had a tear running down it, the memory no less painful for her.
“They took me into the room. What happened in there is anyone’s guess.”
Mike was silent, but he was livid. His face was a mask of anger, his jaw clenching and unclenching, his fists both balled up. He looked as if he was going to beat the shit out of something.NôvelDrama.Org holds this content.
“Just listen, Mike,” Sarah said. “It’s okay.” She felt for him, having to relive it again.
“Emma called you, distraught, and you and Sarah drove up to the party,” Danni continued. They said that you were clearly on a mission and moved methodically through the party. The last room you checked was locked. You knocked down one guy when you busted through the door and decked the red-headed guy. You said later that he had his pants around his ankles and that my skirt was up, but my panties were still on.” Her face was streaked with tears at this point.
“I’m glad I got there in time,” Mike said, calming visibly. “Please tell me I beat the redhead to death,” he said, but knew the answer.
“You knocked him out, but he came around quickly. You carried me down the stairs and nearly to the door and handed me off to Sarah and Emma when he jumped you again, with several of his friends this time. Emma said you knocked out several guys before they finally got you down and kicked you.”
Mike was nodding, digesting all the news, for the second time.
“After that, you woke up the next day, in Sarah’s bed. We took turns nursing you back to health, but I just couldn’t face being alone. After they told me what had happened, I didn’t want to leave your side. I remember it like it was yesterday. One day I hated you for trying to control what I was doing, and the next I couldn’t imagine loving you more. It was like someone had flipped a switch from one moment to the next.”
Mike was quiet for a long time, and his sisters gave him time to digest everything that he heard. Finally he looked up and into Danni’s eyes. “Are you okay now?”
She smiled and nodded. “That’s part of what else we have to tell you. That first night, I couldn’t sleep. I kept having bad dreams about what could have happened. I was headed downstairs to get something to eat, and you were standing there. You looked so concerned for me and I kept thinking about how much you could have lost, just protecting me. It was like all the fights we’d had and how awful I had been to you didn’t matter, that you’d have fought to the death just to save someone who’d been a complete and utter bitch to you. I knew I loved you so much then, and that I would never be mean to you again. Then, you gave me this look of compassion, so deep and pure, that I couldn’t take it and started crying again. You opened your arms to me and I fell into you, your arms wrapping around me like armor. We stayed like that for a while and you offered to let me sleep next to you. Even injured, severely as you were, you were still only concerned about me.” She smiled weakly and brushed a tear away. “No one has ever been that kind to me, that caring.”
“I laid there in your protective arms and we slept. It was as if all my worries went away, and I didn’t have to be afraid. You were my savior, physically at the party, and then again that night. We’ve shared your bed, sleeping next to each other, since then and throughout the summer.”
Mike nodded again. “So what happened to the guys at the frat party?”
“Well,” Emma said, letting Danni sit back and watch for a minute. “You and I were on a double date with… some friends. We saw the red-headed guy again and there was a small scuffle. We went out again a few nights ago, to the dance club, and we saw him again. He pinned me up against the wall and…” she stopped and closed her eyes as shiver ran up her body. “He felt me up and…”
“Emma! Why didn’t you say something?” Sarah asked, shocked.
Emma shrugged. “It wasn’t anything to worry about, and I got in a good punch on the son of a bitch. Besides, we kind of had more important things to worry about.”
Sarah calmed, as did the other sisters, “You still should have said something sweetie.”
“Anyways,” Emma continued, “You beat his ass again on the double date, and we saw him at the club. He felt me up and you and Matt and his group of friends were kicked out of the club. He started talking shit to Danni and me, threatening you. I punched him pretty damn hard and his friends forced him to leave. We all thought they had left, at least. Apparently he and one of his friends had stayed that night and followed your truck as you left. He took a shotgun and shot out your tire, causing us to flip.”
“What about him?” Mike asked.
“The police were tipped off after the accident by the other guy in the car. They said that he said the guy was nuts, saying he was going to murder all of us. He’s in police custody right now,” she said.
Mike sighed, digesting it all.
“Look, it’s gonna take a while for you to come to grips with all that’s happened,” Emma said, “but hopefully spending some time at home will bring back some of your memory, if not all of it.”
“What about class?” Mike asked, glancing over at Sarah.