Page 64 of Corrupt Obsession

Lynne let out a long sigh and sat back in her seat. “Are we doing the right thing? This is his senior year. Making him quit football is a huge punishment.”

Dad rapped his fingers on the table. “We can’t let him get away with thinking what he did is okay.”

“Of course not, but his team could make the national championships, and he’s worked so hard.”

“The only way for him to learn his lesson is to have him give up something he cares about. Anything else won’t be a real punishment,” Dad countered.

Through the living room window, Violet watched Jesse pick up the basketball and start dribbling on the driveway. She assumed he was upset about them when he probably wanted to talk to her about dropping out of football. It was a big deal. He was letting his whole team down. Everyone would want to know why he was quitting. What was he going to say? Her shoulders slumped. Another thing to add to the never-ending list of things that were her fault.

Glumly, she turned when the kettle screamed and poured hot water over the oats and added brown sugar and milk. She sat at the table, only half listening as her parents debated what was an appropriate punishment for Jesse. She secretly hoped they would come up with something else and couldn’t conceal her dismay when Dad put his foot down.

“I didn’t ban him from playing sports completely, which I could do. Giving up football will make him think twice before he acts in the future.”

As Dad left the table, Mom focused on her. “Are you okay?”

“This is all my fault,” Violet said and dropped her spoon, unable to take another bite.

Mom didn’t deny it. “It’s better for both of you to learn these lessons now rather than later.” Mom chucked her underthe chin. “This seems like a big deal now. It may seem like your world is ending, but one day you’ll laugh over this.” When Violet gave her an incredulous look, Lynne’s lips quirked. “I swear you will. And as for your punishment, no going out with friends after school. Once Jesse talks to Coach Rick, you two come straight home.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Violet lingered over her oatmeal until it was time to leave. When she walked out the front door, she saw Lynne talking to Jesse on the driveway. He had his head bent as he listened to his mother and nodded. As Violet approached, he unlocked the SUV so she could get in and went into the house to get his backpack while she fidgeted in the passenger seat. Lynne backed out of the driveway as Jesse got behind the wheel.

“We have to talk,” he said as he fired up the engine.

Violet clasped her hands between her thighs. “I’m sorry that they’re making you quit football. I know how much you love it. Maybe if you talk to Dad, you can convince him to?—”

“I don’t care about football. I care about us,” he snapped.

Her heart skipped a beat. “We’re fine.”

“Are we?”

“Of course.”

He braked a little too hard at a stop sign as he navigated through the neighborhood.

“Is that why you’re locking me out of your room? Because we’re fine?”

A hint of the aggression he displayed the day he beat Tucker’s ass was coming back, making her anxiety skyrocket.

“I think,” she began stiltedly as she plucked imaginary lint off her jeans, “considering what happened yesterday that you would agree that…” Why was she so nervous? This was Jesse. She could tell him anything. “That what we did…” she fumbled and burst out, “We can’t do that anymore!”

The veins on his arms stood out as his hands flexed on the steering wheel. “No.”

She forgot about her rehearsed speech. “What do you mean,no?”

He shot her a searing look out of narrow, glowing blue eyes. “You don’t get to end us because you’re scared or have a guilty conscience.”

“I don’t have a guilty conscience,” she lied. “I just realized…” She dragged her hands down her face. “What were we thinking? You’re mybrother.”

“We aren’t blood related.”

“But we were raised as siblings. I never saw you as anything else until…” She shook her head wildly and held both hands up like a traffic cop. “No.No!This ends now. We never should have let it get this far.”

He reached over the console and gripped her thigh. “I’m not going to let you do this.”

“Did you see Mom and Dad’s faces when they found out about Tucker? Can you imagine how they’d react if they found out about us?” Her voice quavered as her mind conjured up all sorts of traumatic scenarios. “They don’t even believe in sex before marriage and we…”

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