11. Aurora
M y dreams are plagued with images of the two of them colliding, Griffin kissing me, Everest tasting me, both of them wanting me.
All of it swirls together as one until I feel like I am going to explode.
I jolt awake, my heart racing, my skin tingling, as if it can still feel the phantom feeling of them both.
My eyes crinkle in the early morning light, my head pounding from the excessive amount of drinks I tossed back last night, and I roll onto my side with a groan.
I feel it at the same time as I see him, an unfamiliar sticky residue on my inner thigh, my mind racing, as I lock eyes with my brother.
Everest is sitting in the chair in the corner of my room, nestled comfortably, as if he has sat there a thousand times before.
I think my groan must have woken him, because his eyes are still thick with sleep as they lock with mine.
Neither of us say anything for a moment, both just lost in one another’s stare.
It isn’t until I push up onto my hands that my eyes drop down my body, taking in the white stain on my shirt and underwear.
When I meet his stare again, his eyes are dark, scanning the mess he so clearly made, before he jumps up and strides toward the door.
He’s just going to fucking come on me while I sleep and then fucking leave? Is he kidding me?
“Really? You’re just going to leave, you’ve got nothing to say about last night?” I call out, shoving my sheets aside and jumping out of bed.
“About what, you kissing my best friend?” he replies with ease, but it’s quick, too quick, which tells me how much that fact bothers him.
“That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it,” I scoff, needing to separate Griffin from this, at least for right now. “You think I don’t know you come in here and watch me sleep? Do you think that’s a secret?” I ask, moving toward him, his face a perfect blank mask.
I know he likes to come in my room and watch me, I’ve known about it for a long time.
It started right after he said we were too old to share a bed anymore.
I didn’t understand at first, but a few weeks later I woke up and found him sleeping beside me.
I didn’t wake him, just smiled and went back to sleep, and the next morning when he didn’t say anything I was confused.
He never fell asleep again, not until last night that is, but I always knew when he’d been in my room.
I’m pretty sure he hasn’t done this since the night before he left for college, that was the last time, the night everything changed. When we went from everything to nothing and now here I stand with his fucking dried cum on me. What the fuck is wrong with him?
“And what? You denied me my orgasm, but you were okay coming back and getting yours?” I gesture to my bottom half and his eyes dance down to where my stained shirt hangs around my thighs. “What did you do? Wait until I was asleep and then come and fucking jerk off over the taste of me?”
Everest only shrugs. “What do you want me to say Aurora? I was drunk and it happened.” His words should offend me, and they would if they weren’t such fucking bullshit.
“You were drunk and it happened? That’s your defense,” I laugh, shaking my head. “It was more than that and you know it, it’s always been more than that with us.”
“I know that you’re my fucking sister,” he spits like a mantra, as if just the admission offends him, and I scoff again. I think we’re way past that fucking description after last night.
“Stepsister,” I snap back, and now it’s his turn to shake his head.
“Stop using my fucking words against me, Rora, we both know this isn’t fucking right.” He’s barely finished his sentence before he is once again moving toward my bedroom door and ripping it open.
“You’re a fucking hypocrite,” I call out to his back, and he snaps around with a scoffed laugh.
“I’m a hypocrite?” he repeats in disbelief, before stepping back toward me. “You want to talk about it? Okay then, how did my best friend taste, Aurora?” he questions, and I almost choke on my breath.
“I…” I scramble for something to say but come up empty.
“No, come on, Rora. You wanted to talk about it, so let’s talk.
” He erases the distance between us, and even with all the anger in his stare I don’t back down.
“Did he stick his tongue down your throat?” he whispers, bringing his hand up to caress my neck.
“Did you enjoy the hickey he gave you?” he adds, pressing my pulse point where Griffin left his mark.
“Go on, tell me more about how you’d have let him fuck you if Harden didn’t catch you. ”
Any coherent thought in my brain is frazzled by his proximity. “You’re being an asshole,” I whisper, my body betraying me as it leans into his touch, but Ever only smirks.
“I’m being an asshole?” he laughs, tipping my chin back, as he brings his mouth a breath away from mine. “Says the girl who kissed my best friend and then spread her legs for me.”
A knife to my chest would have been delivered more gently, and my hand snaps out and slaps him hard across the face.
“Fuck you, Everest,” I yell, shoving him away from me.
“Nah, you’ll have to call Griffin for that too,” he grits back, just as our mom comes rushing into our room.
“What the hell is going on in here?” she shouts, pushing past Everest and glaring at us both.
Neither of us say a word, because what could we possibly say?
My mom only sighs at our silence. “I don’t know what has gotten into the two of you lately but it stops now, you’re family.”
Everest scoffs at the word, before turning to leave. “Whatever, I'm out of here,” he grunts, but my mom grips his arm and holds him in place.
“The only place you’re going is to get dressed, we’ve got brunch in thirty minutes,” she scolds, staring at the state of him still in last night’s suit, before assessing us both again.
“Not today, Mom,” Ever tells her, gently pulling out of her grip, but she holds his stare, keeping him rooted in place.
“Everest, please, I’ve barely seen you this last year,” she pleads, and emotion clogs the back of my throat, because I know deep down that it’s my fault.
I know the reason he hasn’t been coming home is so he doesn’t have to spend time with me, and now I think I know why.
The only problem with that, is that I know Everest better than I know myself, and I know one thing he cannot resist is our mother’s guilt trips.
Which is how forty-five minutes later we find ourselves showered, dressed, and in the car with our parents.
We’re heading to Griffin's parents for brunch, and when my mom told me that's where we were going, I wanted to laugh. Not because of what happened between us last night, although I guess we do need to talk about it, but because of the reasoning for the brunch. Mr. and Mrs. Blake never do anything that’s in the best interest of their son. They never came to any of his games, although they’d get on his case if the team lost. They never showed any interest in school, but bragged about his good grades, and the only reason they ever concerned themselves with any of his friends is to maintain their image, hence the brunch.
My mom threw another one of her huge and successful parties last night and now they need to claw back some brownie points for their social standing.
It’s pathetic, but sadly not uncommon in our circles.
Everest is silent for the entire drive, despite our parents trying to drag him into conversation, but his stare remains unwavering in watching me.
There are a thousand words left unsaid between us, but right now we just need to put our bullshit aside and get through this brunch.
I try to convey that with my stare, but by the time we arrive at Griffin’s house, I’m not sure it’s fully transpired.
Still, he holds out his hand for me to exit the car, and guides me up the stairs with said hand at the small of my back.
The house is bustling with people when we step inside, and I plaster a fake smile across my face as guests rush to greet us.
Everest excuses himself instantly and I sigh, as I subtly scan the area looking for Griffin and Harden.
It doesn’t take me long to spot them out on the patio, and with Everest over at the food table, I use his distraction to head outside to the guys.
Both of them look to be in a heated discussion, but I only catch the tail end of it.
“You’re being ridiculous, it’s all going to be fine,” Griffin snaps, before the two of them jump apart, as the door closes behind me.
“Hey,” I start, my heart racing, and Griffin’s entire face lights up as he takes me in, whereas for once I can’t read the expression on Harden’s. “I really think we should talk,” I say to Griff, and he nods with a knowing smile.
“Sure sweetheart, what’s up?” Griffin replies, taking a step toward me, but just as I open my mouth to respond, Everest is there, throwing the plate in his hand to the floor, and slamming his fist into Griffin’s face.
The force of the punch is enough to send Griffin to the ground, as I scream his name. “Everest!” I scold, staring at him in disbelief, a look that is mirrored in Griffin’s eyes, as he whips his head back around to stare up at his best friend.
“Ever, what the fuck man?” he roars, as Harden reaches down to help him up, but he just shoves him away.
Everest takes a step forward and points one finger at him. “Touch her again and I’ll fucking kill you,” he promises, his voice as cold as death, and Griffin’s eyes snap to mine in confusion. He’s wondering why I told him. “Don’t fucking look at her,” Everest snaps. “We had a deal.”
Griffin laughs now, wiggling his jaw and spitting blood on the ground, before he scoffs, “Your deal was bullshit and you know it, Everest, you don’t fucking own her.”
His smirk is instant, his eyes flicking from him to me, but he ignores the pleading in mine before he looks back to Griffin and replies, “Then why was she begging me to come last night, and not you?”
My blush is instant, and Griffin looks at me for half a second before he lunges at Everest, tackling him to the ground. They both start to brawl and Harden is there in an instant, stepping in between me and them, shielding me, as I scream at them.
“Stop it, both of you,” I cry, but they are too far gone to listen to me.
They both throw punch after punch, until Harden jumps in, ripping them apart, and the second he creates some space, I am there, forcing myself between them. The place I’ve unknowingly been all along.
“You’re a fucking dick,” Griffin spits, as Harden helps him to his feet.
“Just stay the fuck away from her,” Everest snaps, as I help him up and he holds onto me like I am his lifeline.
I open my mouth to speak when another voice cuts through us all. “Oh my goodness, what is happening out here,” Gemma Haze coos, her voice like nails on a chalkboard, and I feel the tension as it snaps through Harden’s body in her presence.
Their relationship is something I have never been able to figure out. She appears to be the perfect mom, always wanting to take care of him and be involved, but Harden acts as if she is poison.
Gemma looks between us all, before she turns to Everest first, reaching out and gently squeezing his shoulder. “Everest, you’ve ruined your nice shirt,” she notes grimly, brushing at the stain on his chest, but Everest slaps her hand away from him.
“It’s fine, it’s just a shirt,” he seethes, stumbling back, before casting one last lingering look at us all, then storming off around the side of the house.
It isn’t until he’s gone that I take in the broken plate he tossed to the floor. There are strawberries, blueberries, a croissant, and a lemon muffin.
All of my favorite breakfast foods.
What a fucking mess.