7

“You okay there, Rabbit?” Bea asked via text during homeroom. The teacher had something to take care of on his laptop and he also wanted to let me have this chance to catch up. So we had self-study going on for now and I had been given a list of pages to take notes on. And while we did sit next to one another we opted to communicate through our cells. I didn’t want to get in trouble, after all.

“Of course I am.” I texted. “Why ever would you think otherwise?”

“Must be because of the way your notebook is screaming bloody murder.” She replied cheerfully, pointing at Evie’s heavy scrawling. “I saw how hard you’ve been writin’, girl. You’re obviously in a mood. ” She wasn’t wrong. My pencil had a chipped point and all the words were etched past the page and onto the ones beneath. Each line looked frightening like they were written by an angry ghost.

“That’s normal for me, actually.”

“Uh-huh. Let me guess, brother troubles?”

“What? No.” I insisted.

“Kid, you were fine the other day and now suddenly you come to school all dark and gloomy. It’s got to be him. So come on, out with it. What happened?”

And that’s when I hesitated. That whole conversation this morning was far from normal. A guy basically dating two girls at once...or whatever they were doing, since I don’t think they were just sex friends....that was totally not something one usually told people about when the person involved is their relative. Even worse, between a Professor and two students. But Bea knew him better than I did right now, probably. They looked close, at least.

Maybe it was alright to talk about it with her? Sharing the craziness of the whole thing with another rational human being might be nice. That way I can at least have the validation of being agreed with that it’s completely bonkers.

I didn’t want to speak out loud about it though and took to writing it out.

“So he’s essentially living the manwhore life and I got weirded out by it.”

“What, did you walk in on him giving a strip show or something.”

“Or something.” I replied. “Like, threesome.”

A GIF depicting a panting anime girl with a bloody nose came to life. “Woah. That’s hot.”

“The heck? No, it’s not! It’s weird!” I typed furiously.

“...How tho?” A thinking emoji. “Three consenting adult--wait, they weren’t underage, were they?”

“Well, no.”

“Oh, good.”

I sent a question mark.

“I mean I DID try to get into his pants myself once upon a time.” She admitted. “But the whole, ‘You’re a kid, you have as much sex appeal to me as a tomato.’ thing kept popping up. Which is bull, cuz even as a tomato I would be the sexiest dang tomato you’d ever see. Anyway, if they were actually underage I’d be pissed off. For he would accept some random thots, but refuse this Queen Bea here? Obviously unacceptable. You could tell he wanted me anyway, the liar. Must’ve just been intimidated by my radiant beauty.” A sigh. She put three dots and added, “...Of course, I don’t have that desire now, though, most days. Ahem. I’d rather see you two getting it on instead.” An emoji with heart-shaped eyes came at the end of this long reply.

I ignored it “Whatever. It’s still messed up whether they are old enough or not.”

“I’ll bite. Why?”

“Because he’s basically dating them both and they’re students at the University.”

“Oh shit?” Two eye emoji. “That’s whack yo. You’re totally killing my vibe. Wait. No, it’s still on. I fail to see the problem?”

She can’t be serious. “You can’t be serious.”

“I just don’t know if that’s, like, illegal? Other than for marriage and taxes. Besides they probably won’t marry anyway so THAT’S not a worry. They from his classes?”

“No.”

“No problem there, either, then. Socially it might get them all shunned if found out, possibly, but I think most people would just say, “Damn, dude’s good. Nice.” While others would go, “What did those sluts have that I don’t?!” and the rest would just be close-minded prudes so fuck them, yeah? Hell, I wouldn’t mind having two beauties hanging on my arm, personally. But I’m enough just by myself. I am a firm supporter of the harem/reverse-harem route, btw.”

I was a fool, I see, to have expected her to be a rational person. Everything out of her mouth was utterly incomprehensible.

“I feel so much better now. Thanks. “ Mental note: Bea is a bad person to talk about serious stuff with.

“But incest is wincest, so I think we should just tie up the competition with duct tape. Agreed?”

She does say good things every now and then, though.

“Heh.”

“No, no, I’m serious. Please, E. Let me hook you up with your brother. A few choice drugs, some rope. Boom. Cooked rice, you know?”

I blushed, slapped her, then typed, “Ohmygod, Bea, I’m not going to rape my brother!” That just wouldn’t be ethical.

Right, Angel Me?

The tiny white-winged me sat on my shoulder in quiet contemplation. “Right.” She said, taking way too much time with her agreement.

Angel Me, what the hell?! You’re supposed to be the voice of reason!

She refused further input while being teased relentlessly by Devil Me. “Falling for mortal temptations, are we?”

Bea had no idea in regards to the scene playing out atop my shoulders. “Yeah I would prefer the more romantic option anyway.”

“Can you stop? I’m not going to have sex with Day. That’s gross.”

“Pfft. You all but cream yourself whenever you look at him.”

I was stunned. It took me several seconds to even respond. “I do not.”

“Ok.”

“I don’t.” I glared.

“Yeah, no, obviously.”

Why am I even defending myself? This girl is just weird. Probably better off not taking anything she says seriously.

“Anywho,” Bea typed away. “Who were the lucky gals, then?” A new text came a second later. “Wait, I forgot you’re new. You wouldn’t know.”

“Triss and Cami.”

“Seriously? Those two?”

“What, you know them?”

“Uh, yeah, I know lots of people. But damn. I get Triss since she’s had a thing for him for a while, but Cami? Holy hell. That’s big news. Okay, not surprising news, but I didn’t think she’d actually do it.”

“I don’t get it. What about Cami?”

“Ah, well, it’s not my place to say.” She evaded. “ It’s a surprise, but hey they’re all consenting adults. Since that’s the case, threesomes or whatever, it’s hardly a crime to get your fuck on.”

“Do you not hear me? They’re like, going out. Sex buddies I get, but this? It feels, I don’t know, scummy?“

“Again, adults. It’s not conventional but its nothing to freak out over.” How the girl was raised to be able to say that with a straight face, I had no idea. “ Don’t celebrities usually have a bunch of women to fool around with? It’s like that and I don’t see people calling them out.”

“Fooling around isn’t exactly the same as this.” I still couldn’t let it go.

“Maybe. I don’t know enough about whatever relationship they have to say for sure, I guess. But forget that, you need to up your game if that’s what you’re competing with. Those two are hella sexy. And while you got all kinds of hotness yourself, it’ll be hard to win over a guy who already has two stunners hanging all over his cock.”

“You don’t have to be so vulgar.”

“I tell it like it is.”

I sighed in exasperation, attracting a few curious stares from the other students. “And will you knock it off? I am NOT trying to win him over. I’m his sister, I don’t need to compete against anyone. Obviously he’d like me more regardless of who it is.” I wished I could say that with the full confidence I had a few years ago, but even to me the words sounded a tad weak.

“Whatever you say, chicka. But fine, if you want real advice that isn’t rooted in my own self-interests and fetishes, I say just wait and get used to it. Because the way I see it you only have a few options. 1, you get his attention as a woman, which I would be oh-so-happy to help with. This way you can break them up and bag him for yourself. But you keep saying you don’t want that so we’ll shelve this for later. 2, you appeal to him as his sister and repair those sibling bonds--I would prefer you do so through carnal sins of the flesh, but that’s not what option 2 is about. Or 3, you try to sabotage their relationship with him, which is a total bitch move and while I’d help there too I’d have to think less of you. It would be fun, sure, but he’s like my bro too so I wouldn’t wanna cock-block him like that. Shouldn’t his own interests come first? I mean if I had a brother, and I wasn’t sexually attracted to him like you are, I’d want him to get all the pussy he desires.” Bea sent a thumbs up coupled with a good old Lenny face.” I’d want that for him as his sister, cuz I’d love the dude and would maybe also have a good laugh if he gets crabs or something. Plus if he was that hot to get so many girls I could send him to all the bitches I hate and say, “break their nasty little hearts to pieces.” Sounds gloriously petty and I live for that shit. What were we talking about?”

The girl sent a giant wall of text that ended with her forgetting the original topic.

“You were telling me how I either do nothing and wallow over the whole stupid thing, or I try to selfishly break them up and risk him drawing away from me even more.” I saw her typing. “Don’t say it.” Too late. Damn she’s fast.

“Or you seduce him.”

“I’ve never seduced a guy in my life.”

“ So its not from a lack of will, but confidence? Hehe. “

“This conversation is done.”

But was she right? Maybe. It’s just, I don’t think he looks at me the same way I did him. No. I knew he didn’t. And that was entirely reasonable. That’s probably why the dream played out the way it did, because I don’t believe he’d ever touch me like that unless he was tricked into it.

I hated knowing that he held other women instead of me, and that I couldn’t even voice these feelings because of how wrong they were. I hated that he didn’t want me like I wanted him.

But as Damien had made abundantly clear, what I felt didn’t matter.

***

The mornings were always the same now. I would wake up, get ready, and come down for breakfast. Simple, right? Not.

For the first week it’d just been Triss. She would sneak out during the night and show up early the next day. Then she’d gotten bolder and stayed the night. She’d sometimes catch me going to get water or a snack and smile at me or try to make conversation. I resented her for the attempts. Maybe she was sincere, but I didn’t care.

Next had been Cami. She’d show up one day on a weekend and just made the excuse of wanting to help him with whatever work he had to do for his classes. But after a while she would suggest a break and would drag him to the pool out back, have him clean it, and strip down to her underwear. She would always make a show of slowly taking off her clothes and allowing him a direct view of her ass, where she’d bend down and glance at him with what I’m certainly would be a sultry little smirk on her face.

I could see them from the window upstairs or sometimes when I was already out there myself. And while she didn’t ever do anything outrageous, there was one instance where she’d walked up behind him and started kissing his neck. I wasn’t outside myself back then, but I’m sure she saw me looking down on them from my room. Maybe he noticed, too. Perhaps that’s why she decided to let it end there, but not before spending another minute tasting him.

From then on I would intrude upon these breaks of theirs each time. Triss learned of Cami’s visits, inevitably, and decided to increase the frequency of her’s as well. When they ran into each other the first time sparks flew, and not the good kind. When they spoke to each other they were curt and their words clipped, as if they couldn’t wait to stop talking to the other.

This only lessened after they spent the night over. Together. With Damien. Eventually, they realized they didn’t have to hide the relationship, at least not there. They had grown quite comfortable with showing him their “affection.”

I think it was a competition between them, almost. A lingering touch, a kiss. Sitting close to him, doing his tie.

And, more recently, coming over to cook. Most mornings Triss got here first. Most evenings it was Cami. They were both rather excellent cooks, no complaints there. It was them trying to act friendly to me that was annoying.

One moment they would smile at me and chat about this or that, paying compliments or offering gifts at times. Even asking about an accessory I had or what products I use, trying to coax stories out of me about Damien.

And the next moment they were all over him like bitches in heat. He would enter the room and whoever was closest would slide into his arm, kiss his lips and thread their fingers through his hair. By this point, they weren’t shy about admitting they both sleep with him, but outside of sexual acts they would take every opportunity they could to endear themselves to him over the other.

The two acted like my long-lost older sisters. They thought they were winning me over. And maybe they were nice enough people like Day said, but the more they demanded his attention the more I hated them.

I invited Bea over a couple of time but she was weird whenever she saw Cami. I caught the two having a stare-down once. Bea was looking at her from the other side of the kitchen after the woman had just fed Damien a grape, from her mouth to his. The stare only lasted a few seconds but there was still something unnatural about it. Like Bea had caught the girl doing something she shouldn’t be but the latter did care.

I did ask why later on but the girl just huffed and didn’t answer.

But yeah. I’d gotten used to the two women being in and out of the house. Whether I like it or not. They rose from his bed in the morning, made breakfast, sometimes gave me a lift to school, and would often be back over during the evening or the night.

Four out of seven days a week, they were there. It’d been going on for a full month and a half now. But worse than that was Day barely speaking more than a few sentences here or there to me in all that time.

The two were there so often that they just dominated his attention and he was happy to lose himself in their bodies rather than talk to me. It’s like ever since that talk we had he was actively avoiding me. I was sick of it and didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want this. I didn’t want to lose him again. But why? Why weren’t things the same as they used to be?

We lived together again after so long and yet I’ve never felt further away from him.

I would ask Bea what to do but she gave terrible advice.

The frustration and heartache grew to the point where it just came out on it’s own. It was during lunch period one day when I was helping Mrs. Roberts, our English teacher, clean the room. Bea was right, the woman was cool and easy to speak to. What’s more, she had a mature, experienced aura about her and was very down-to-earth.

Because of that the question slipped out. “How do you get a guy’s attention?” Just like that. Without any warning or preamble, as I was staring into space while sweeping the floor. The words just came on their own.

Now let’s be honest. Most teachers would say something like, “be yourself”. Mrs. Roberts was on a whole other level. She heard me, looked over, and calmly asked. “Have you tried naked yoga?”