Page 24 of The Storms Between Us
twenty
I'm alwayshappy to see my sister. I think it's been almost a year now since I’ve hugged her. But having her show up in the middle of this shit-storm with Ember’s ex is just horrible timing. Still, when she told me the reason for her making the trip, there was no way I could turn her away. I’ve always thought her on-again off-again boyfriend, Erik, was a piece of shit. But that mostly has to do with the fact that every time she tells me anything about him, it's bad.
Pulling into the driveway, I park my bike close to the garage door to give Rory room to park her Bronco. Why she’s kept that truck all these years, I have no clue. It gets shit gas mileage and there’s always something broken on it, but it's her baby, so she just keeps fixing it up. I hold my hand out, helping Ember climb off behind me, and she unlocks the side door to the house.
“Who’s hungry?” Rory says the second she walks through the door.
“Only you, Bug. I told you we could have stopped for food on the way home and you said no.” That girl has always had an appetite bigger than mine. She walks over to the fridge and opens the door wide.
“Holy shit! There’s actual food in here!” She says, faking shock. I roll my eyes at her sarcasm.
“Ha-ha, real funny. There’s been food in there every time you’ve been here,” I say.
“Yeah, leftover Chinese and hot pockets. Real gourmet shit there, bubba,” she says and I hear Ember suppressing a laugh beside me. “I like this girl, bro. She’s an excellent influence on your eating habits.”
“You say that, but you didn’t watch her eat 2 pop tarts and half a Snickers bar for breakfast,” Ember smacks my shoulder for revealing her secrets, which only makes me laugh harder.
“Rude,” Ember says with a grin, “it was only 1 pop tart.” The way she fits so seamlessly into my life is amazing. Seeing her here with my sister, smiling and talking with her like they are old friends, it makes me so damn happy.
Rory grabs a bag of chips and falls down onto the couch. “Anybody got an extra blanket?” She asks.
“What? No. You don’t need to sleep on the couch,” Ember says beside me.
“Well, there are mosquitos outside and I’m not kicking you out of your bed, so I’m cool with couch surfing,” Rory replies.
“It's ok, Bug. Ember can sleep with me. She already does pretty much every night anyway,” I say without thinking, eliciting a smile from Ember’s face that warms me all the way to my core. As soon as I extend the invitation, I want to take it back, but it’s too late. I don’t sleep with anyone for their safety and mine, so I’m not sure why I even suggested that.
“Yeah, it's totally fine. I just washed the sheets and everything, so it's all clean.” Ember says, leaving Rory no room to argue.
“I guess as long as you haven’t been banging my brother in that bed, then I’ll take it,” Rory replies and Ember turns ten shades of red as she silently walks upstairs. Rory and I both watch her from the living room as she grabs her pajamas and heads into my room.
“I like her, bubba. She seems like she’s really good for you,” Rory says, smiling up at me.
I put my arm around her and pull her in for a side hug. “Yeah, I agree. She’s really incredible, not sure why she picked me,” I laugh.
“Because you’re pretty incredible too, big brother,” she says, standing on her tiptoes and kissing my cheek. She heads up the stairs in front of me, turning into Ember’s room.
“By the way, the bathroom is out of commission in there, so you’ll have to use mine or Everett’s,” I say, noticing the shiver of disgust when I mention Everett’s bathroom.
“Ok, no problem,” she says, turning around and closing the door.
I walk into my room and see Ember standing in the bathroom, brushing her teeth. She’s wearing my t-shirt and a pair of boy short underwear that makes her ass look delectable. I lean against the door frame, just enjoying the view. We lock eyes in the mirror and she grins. This woman will be the death of me, I swear. Not only is she so beautiful and strong, she’s also incredibly fucking sexy, a temptress without even trying. I don’t think she even realizes how many men watch her every time we go out.
“You should take a picture. It’ll last longer,” she says, pulling me from my thoughts.
“If I thought you wouldn’t kill me for it, I just might,” I say with a smirk.
“Not gonna happen, honey. You’ll just have to commit me to memory,” she says, smiling and coming over to wrap her arms around my neck. She threads her fingers through the long hair at the nape of my neck and I love that feeling. It’s something I’ve come to expect from her every time she’s in my arms and it’s just so exclusively Ember. Just having her near me, touching me, is instantly relaxing.
“I couldn’t forget you if I tried, Sunshine,” I bend down, stealing slow kisses as we back up to the bed. “I guess I kinda sprang this whole ‘sharing a room’ thing on you. I should probably tell you that I’m not the most sound sleeper. Sometimes I have nightmares. It’s not something I’m happy about and I’ve been working on it, but it is what it is. I don’t wan’t to hurt you or scare you. Are you sure okay with this?” I ask.
“Spend all night lying next to my hot boyfriend or spend all night alone on the couch with my poptarts? How ever will I choose?” she rolls her eyes and I laugh as I strip out of my jeans and pull her down onto the bed next to me. We lay tangled together in silence for several long minutes before she speaks, “I’ll be okay. A nightmare next to you is better than a daydream anywhere else,” she grins at me, and I’m so in awe of her. I don’t know how she remains so optimistic, even with everything going on around us. We could be standing in the middle of a hurricane, but according to her, as long as we’re together then the storms don’t matter.
“I really like your sister,” she whispers.
“Yeah, she’s great. She really likes you, too. She’s always hoping somebody will ‘tame my wild ways’ as she calls it,” I tell her.
“Is that what I'm doing? Taming you?” She asks with apprehension in her voice.
