……………….. Ben put his arm round my shoulders.
“I can’t believe she’d do all this just to get back at you guys” Gabe said looking at me and Ben.
“Oh I can she doesn’t care who gets hurt at the end of the day as long as she thinks she’s won” I sighed.
“Proves how we all took for granted what she could actually do, we thought once she’d gone that would be it” Ben said looking at Skye who was looking at the floor tears falling down her face, he moved his arm from my shoulders and hugged her “I’m sorry you got dragged into this, you and Justin would probably still be together if you hadn’t…”, she looked at him.
“No we wouldn’t. If that was all it took for someone we hated to say a couple of words to him it wasn’t supposed to last” Skye sniffed. “It hurts the way she’s played mind games with the people you’re closest to”.
“All of a sudden I feel like just going home” I said putting my hand on Skye’s back and smiling at her.
The four of us walked back in silence to the parking lot and got in Gabe’s car and headed back for the base I sat with my head resting against the back seat thinking of what Lilly had just said to all of us trying to work out why she said soon all Ben and me would have was each other, I ran my hands over my face my head was totally upside down and inside out I couldn’t think straight, we pulled up at my house.
“You guys can come in if you want I think Ollie and Nick are out and Mom went to work” I said looking at Gabe and Skye.
“No I need to go home” Skye sighed “I want to talk to…” she looked down “I need to get a hug”.
“Okay” I nodded "call me later and come over"; she gave a slight nod Ben but his arms around me as they drove away. He kissed the top of my head. “At least we know why it’s been so weird round here” I said looking at him.
“Tell me about it” we walked inside Nick was sitting in the living room watching sports on T.V.
“Wow you guys are back early” he smiled I sat down on the couch next to him.
“Let’s just say we bumped into an unwelcome visitor in the Mall” Ben sighed sitting on the other couch nick looked at us.
‘Lilly and she gave us a good insight into how messed up she really is” I said getting up and walking into the kitchen nick looked at Ben.
“Lilly seems to have worked out the best way to get back at me and Tess for getting together” Ben said.
“But you guys have been together almost a year, and she’s still bothered”. Nick groaned
“Oh yeah she’s the one that had something to do with Skye and Justin breaking up and him hooking up with Katie” I said walking back in and throwing Ben a bottle of water. “To screw with Ben and we all know what Megan did for her with Ollie”.
“So she’s getting to you two through your best friends and family” Both Ben and I nodded “God that’s wrong”.
“Yep my best friend lost her boyfriend and his best friend messed around with his sister which was just so wrong” I said closing my eyes and leaning back in the set “Then she picks on Ollie my quietest sweetest brother and messes with his head with Meg”.
“Hey, what am chopped liver” Nick pouted.
“No I meant that you’re tougher in that way than he is, he’s the easier target out of the two of you” I smiled at him “Urgh I hate feeling like this it feels like I had a balloon and she popped it” nick put the T.V. control down on the table.
“I’ll get out of the way so you two can have some time” he stood up “Tess can I take your truck Mom won’t let me use Dad’s yet and Ollie is out in ours”.
“Sure keys are in the dish” I nodded. He walked out Ben came over and sat next to me on the couch. I lay in his arms.
“I wish we were somewhere else but here right now” he sighed.
“On a deserted island just me and you and none of this crap” I smiled.
“Now that sounds so good” Ben laughed, “What do you think she meant by we’d only have each other”.
“That’s the thing that’s been bugging me, and now we know Skye’s mystery guy is younger” I sighed “Did you see Skye’s reaction when she said about it”.
“I know I was kinda hoping that Lilly would spill the beans on who it was” Ben said.
“Oh lets stop thinking about her we can’t change what she’s done and she’s only here for a week” I said looking at him “You want to watch a movie”.
“In your bed” he grinned.
“No here on the couch, I just want a cuddle and to veg out” I smirked.
“We can do that naked in bed as well” he teased. I started to laugh.
“You know it’s a good job I love you” I said as he pulled me down on top of him.
“I can’t help it if I find you sexy and hot” he winked………………………………….
……………………. We were still sitting on the couch when Ollie walked in with Emma a girl I knew from his year, with a pizza.
“Oh we thought you were out” Ollie said looking at me and Ben. “We were going to eat dinner and watch a movie”
“Nope Nick borrowed my truck” I said looking round at them.
“We’ll go upstairs” Ollie shrugged looking at Emma who turned bright red.
“Er… I think you should stay down here, Mom will be back from work soon” I smirked as the front door opened and Nick walked in followed by Skye.
“Look who I found” Nick said I got up.
“Hey is everything okay” I said looking at her she shook her head.
“I need to talk to you” she said quietly.
“Sure come on” I looked at Ben he shrugged I opened the back door and stepped out on to the deck, Skye sat down on one of the chairs, “You haven’t broke up with him have you”, she shook her head and started to cry. I crouched down in front of her. “What’s wrong, Skye you’re worrying me, you haven’t been yourself for a few months like I said earlier it’s killing me that you won’t tell me about it”.
“It’s about the guy I’m in love with” she sniffed “I want you to know I tried not to fall in love with him I only went out a couple of times because we seemed to be in the same place at the same time and just had a good laugh” I got up and sat down opposite her “It turned in to something more just before you went to Green Bay”.
“Yeah I know” I said looking at her with a sick feeling in my stomach.
“I’m in love with Nick” She said not looking at me.
‘Nick who” I said before it sank in “My little brother Nick” I got up “This is who you’ve been sneaking round with, since last fall. Who you’ve been having sex with in the school bathroom” my voice getting louder Ben and the others walked out. “O.M.G. no wonder you didn’t want to turn up to prom with him”.
“Hey the whole base can hear you” Nick said I looked at him.
“Why the hell did you two think you have to sneak around” I snapped. “Nice to know you two trust me enough to tell me what almost 6 months after you hook up”. Nick looked down. “Thanks” I opened the door and walked inside. Ben looked at Skye then at Nick.
“Did you think she’d be mad that her best friend and her brother got together” He said.
“We saw what happened with you and Justin over Katie” Skye shrugged “and didn’t want to hurt Tess”.
“So her brother and you keeping this a secret wasn’t going to hurt her” Ben said shaking his head. “Justin took my sister to bed 4 months after her 14th birthday he was 18 and he knew it was wrong he was using her to try to get back at you for something you hadn’t done, Damn it fucking Lilly strikes again this is what she wanted all along for you and Tess to fight over something it just happened to be Nick” Ben sighed.
‘Yeah but the fact is I was still doing basically what Justin did” Skye moaned tears streaking her face Nick put his arms round her and hugged her
“There’s only what 16 months between you and Nick he turns 17 in September, there was 4 years between Justin and Katie” Ben said leaning on the table in front of her.
“You need to go talk to your sister” Ben said looking at Nick “leaving this all to Skye isn’t fair”.
“I know and I should have told Tess” Nick shrugged “She just went ballistic with Megan and Ollie”.
“Just get in the house and talk to Tess” Ollie said looking at him, Nick looked at Skye she nodded. I was standing in the kitchen.
“Hey Sis” I looked at him.
“Why, what have I done to deserve you and Skye to lying to me, am I so hot headed that even my friends and my own brother don’t want to tell me things. Jeez even Ollie had the balls to tell me he was seeing Megan” I said sitting on the counter top.
“We saw how pissed you got with Ollie about Megan that’s why we thought it would be best not to mention it” Nick said standing in front of me.
“Big difference there is that I couldn’t stand her, I hated the things she’d done” I said “I love you and Skye, so what if you get together” Nick raised his eyebrows “I don’t care”.
“You really don’t mind that we’re together” he stammered, I shook my head “But not even the fact we… and you and Ben went mad at Justin and Katie for doing the same thing”.
“For a start he shouldn’t have ever gone near her there’s a 4 year age gap and she’s still a kid” I said looking at him “You turn 17 in September Skye’s about to turn 18, God if you and Ollie had been 6 days earlier you’d be finishing your Junior year now not your sophomore one”. I rubbed my temples
“Sorry Tess” he sighed, I shrugged and got off the counter as Skye walked in with Ollie and Ben and Emma.
“It comes down to the fact that you both didn’t feel like you could tell me you were seeing each other, that’s what hurts more than, Ollie and Megan together” I said tears springing to my eyes “I have always told you stuff” I looked at Skye “You know things about me that even Ben doesn’t” she looked down “You told me things about you and Justin and your Mom when you didn’t want to tell Justin” I turned to Nick “I’ve always tried to be there if you wanted to talk to me the times we’ve sat talking about Dad when we’ve been scared when you got in trouble at school and was too scared to tell Mom” I wiped my eyes on the back of my hand “I obviously thought too much of myself that I actually believed that I was a good friend and a good sister”, I walked out of the Kitchen and up to my room Ben appeared in the doorway.
“You need a hug” he asked. I nodded as I pulled on my running shorts he wrapped his arms round me.
‘I think they really thought the were doing the best thing” he sighed.
“It’s okay” I sniffed looking at him “I’m okay, I’m just not going to wear my heart on my sleeve as much as I did it gets hurt too much,I love the fact Skye is with Nick” I said with a half smile “but they can’t think that much of me or youfor that matter that they didn’t tell us” fresh tears splashed down my cheeks.
“I need to run” I sadi slipping on my running shoes. “You want to go with me”.
“I’ll wait here” he said stroking my hair “I don’t think you’re really in the mood for company” I nodded he lifted my chin and kissed me. “I love you and I don’t have any secrets from you”.
“Thank you I needed to hear that, I love you too” I grabbed my I-pod and walked down the stairs.
“Tess” Nick said stepping forward.
“Nick, just let me go run” I walked out and headed away from the house……………………………………………….
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