Sam

"You sure you don't want me to get you inside?"

The sun was just setting, and it was kind of dark out, with people still being shadows instead of humans. Hayley had been drinking, not as much as she would've if we'd brought June the alcoholic with us, but enough for her not to notice her hair was a real mess. She was sitting beside me, head leaning against the back of the seat, face completely white from tiredness. It took her some time to turn to me, but when she did, she rolled her eyes in the perfect Hayley-way. "It's literally ten feet away," she said. "I think I can manage."

She unfastened her seatbelt, threw her whole body against the car door to open it, and jumped out. I thought she wasn't going to look back anymore, that this was it, when her slightly red eyes focused on me again: "I like that we're friends now," she said. "June is being weird."

See? I wasn't the only one who'd detected it. I sat up straight, trying to keep the big grin from my face. "You're weird too."

She smiled at that. I liked it when she smiled. "You're weirder." Then, she stepped back, almost slamming the door shut, changing her mind at the last second. "See you in a few hours?"

"Okey-dokey."

As soon as the words left me and she started to laugh, I wanted to slap myself. Which dipshit said 'okey-dokey' anymore? She was about to respond, so I interrupted: "Just go in. You're driving me wild."

Another eye roll, and she left. I waited until she was well inside her house before I drove off, stealing glances towards the empty seat next to me every once in a while. Knucklehead. I was going to see her again today. Since when did I actually miss Hayley when she wasn't there? It was all June's fault. If she hadn't been acting like she was, Hayley wouldn't have been bored, and I wouldn't have had to put up with her. Now that I thought about it, it was Nathan's fault too. If he'd come home already, I'd be doing stuff with him, and I wouldn't have had to do them with that bouncy girl. It was just a matter of time, though. No doubt it wouldn't be long now.

While I entered the hallway, I let out a yawn, stretching my arms above my head. Mm. There were two options here, and both were equally tempting. I could go to bed directly, catch some sleep before Hayley would be here to help prepare June's birthday breakfast, or I could get a snack. I scratched the back of my jeans, weighing out the one against the other. Food meant I had to put in effort, and I was too tired to do so. Nah, it could wait. I turned to the stairs, lifting my foot, just when my stomach rumbled. Okay, okay. Got it. Snack first.

The kitchen smelled off, overwhelmingly sweet, like something was rotting. I paused at the sight of the table, littered with the leftovers from an elaborate meal. That was weird. Judging by the number of plates, there'd been more than one person here last night. But June had never said she was expecting someone. Maybe her dad had canceled his shift to surprise her, or something. Both he and her mom were working today and tomorrow, and maybe he'd felt guilty about it. He was a good dad, after all.

I sighed. Great. Hayley and I weren't only going to be baking pancakes, we'd also be taking care of this mess. Would it be too unfair to call the cleaning lady and ask her to come over? Probably. Maybe she wouldn't mind if I paid her double. Hm. Pretty sure Hayley and June wouldn't like that. Oh well... Let's think about that after your nap, Sam.

I walked towards the fridge, just in time noticing something red and sticky on the floor. I jumped back, waving my arms to regain my balance. Shit! Was that... blood? For a second, my heart hammered in my chest, then, I noticed the wine glass beside it. Oh, thank god. No blood. Just June the alcoholic at work again. She must've been really wasted to leave it like this.

That was when I noticed the second glass on the counter. And the chair out of place. And the clothes.

Holy mother of...!

Those were just socks, but those, those were definitely jeans, and the white heap here... I picked it up, holding it between thumb and index finger, and grimaced. A guy's T-shirt. Immediately, I dropped it again.

There were clothes on the floor. Actual clothes people had worn. Actual clothes people had taken off.

Which meant a number of things. First of all, it hadn't been her dad who'd joined her for dinner, because that'd be — well, let's keep it at unthinkable. Secondly, someone or multiple someones were either naked or partly naked, possibly including June, and someone or multiple someones got laid last night, also possibly including June.

I shook my head. Nah, that was out of the question. She wasn't even seeing someone. Right? Plus, June didn't even want those things. She was a girl, and she was too smart to spend her time thinking about sex. Right? Oh shit, stop this — June and sex in one sentence hurt my brain. It was like walking in on my brother getting it on. Like, I knew, but at the same time I didn't need to see it.

But it was either that, or someone broke into the house, cooked, drank our wine, and banged each other. Kind of farfetched.

What now?

What if she was still somewhere around here, not wearing clothes?

Maybe I should get back in the car and flee. Before I walked in on something traumatizing.

Ha! June with a boyfriend. Who would've thought? I mean, not that she was ugly or something, because she wasn't, but there were so many dickheads like Malik on this planet. Yeah, she might be disabled, even so, it wasn't like she was drooling all the time or something. She was pretty and funny. If you were the right kind of guy, she'd be a good girlfriend, I supposed. Might be better to not let her give you a blowjob though. I snickered, entertaining myself with the thought of her startling and accidentally biting someone's dick off. Wait, why was I picturing this again? Gross.

I needed to text Hayley. She'd love to know about this. Maybe she could tell me who the guy was. On the other hand, wouldn't it be great if I was the one to break the news? The one to uncover the secret identity of what I assumed to be the first person to ever kiss June? Yeah... I'd just get some cereal, watch some TV, and wait for them to come down from her room. She'd be really embarrassed, and I'd record it with my phone. Master plan.

I was grinning contently, carrying my bowl into the living room —

and that was when, almost June-like, I nearly lost my grip on my breakfast.

Because there she was, on the carpet, in a shirt and panties, curled up to a bare-chested guy, both fast asleep.

My mouth went dry, my mind working overtime as I stared at the scene before me.

Not just a guy.

My brother.

Shit.

No, this wasn't real — he was in London, with Charlotte... Not here with his arm around June, only in his jeans — it wasn't real. I shook my head, blinked — maybe it was another guy, just someone who looked like Nathan...

But no.

There was no other possible conclusion.

These people lying here were Nathan and June, and they had done something together I never in a million years wanted to know about.

There was an intense longing to drop the bowl of cereal on his head and then kick the shit out of him. Who the fuck did he think he was? Coming back for her, a barely seventeen-year-old girl, June, just to... just to... bang her, or whatever he did? She was seventeen. She was his baby sister. She was June. This wasn't normal. I was never going to be able to watch Game of Thrones anymore, with the real-life version of Jaime and Cersei Lannister nailed to my mind. This. Wasn't. Normal.

Chill, Sam. Maybe it wasn't what it looked like. Maybe there was some other reason for two people to be asleep together half undressed, some reason that didn't involve incest or any of the like, some reason that made sense.

And so I waited. And waited. And waited. Trying to come up with an explanation. I wasn't having any success, and then, then my brother woke up and confirmed what I didn't want to get confirmed.

He hadn't seen me, only had eyes for her, a smile on his face that made me sick to the stomach —

and there it was, a long kiss on her lips, proving to me that my suspicions were true.

"I think I'm going to throw up."

In a flash, Nathan shot bolt upright, staring at me like a deer in headlights. He didn't say anything, didn't even seem to blink. I didn't want to focus on anything but his face, because any lower and I would be forced to meet his bare torso. And I didn't want to meet his bare torso, and I didn't want to think about how it came to be that way.

"Welcome home, bro," I said, my voice weird, like I was practicing for one of those crappy toothpaste commercials. "Sleep alright? I didn't know you were coming. Too busy fucking my best friend to give me a call, huh?"

"Sam, I—" But he didn't finish his sentence, just kept on sitting there with his mouth open.

I'd caught him in the act. He was very well aware there was no defense. Nothing he could say would be able to get him out of this. If the girl in her panties next to him hadn't been proof enough, that kiss surely had been. "What did you do to her?" Hoping it would help me survive the answer, I gulped down a spoon full of cereal. No one could think when they were hungry or about to barf.

His hands went to his hair, pulling at the strands like a mad scientist. His gaze flickered from me to June, still sleeping like the baby she was — in comparison to him, then. "I — no... I didn't... We didn't — we — she..."

The last time I'd heard him stammer like this, I'd been nine, and he was telling me grandma had died. It was one of the few memories of me as a kid I still had. I didn't like to be reminded of it. I hoped he realized the similarities, I hoped he realized him blabbering meant something was really wrong. Because something was really wrong. I gritted my teeth, bracing myself for what I was about to ask. "Then why are there clothes all over the kitchen? Then why were you... just now... when you woke up..."

He rubbed his face, aggressively, as if he was trying to erase himself. A coward he was, for not answering me, for not looking at me. "Please, Sam... I just..."

"You just what?" For some reason, I couldn't stop eating my cereal in between words, the milk dripping down my chin, onto my brand-new shirt. "You just came back to Palo Alto because she's seventeen now? Is that it? Is this something you planned?"

No. It couldn't be. Not my brother. My brother, who practically raised me, could not be this creep I was seeing right now, coming back for her, because what? She was a girl, and I wasn't?

"No!" He shook his head violently. With the way he was trembling, it surprised me June hadn't woken up yet. How much had he let her drink? Just enough to make her go along with everything? "No... That's not — I hadn't... It just... happened." But he already realized how weak of an excuse that was, especially for someone who was supposed to be a lawyer. This was illegal, and he knew it.

"Did this happen before?"

Thousands of nights had she slept under this roof, just a few feet away from him, and only now did I see how vulnerable she'd been. What if... what if this wasn't the first time? What if... what if this was only the first time I'd walked in on them?

"What? No!" More shaking of the head, hands still yanking at his hair. "No! I'd never... Come on, you know that's not me."

"It's not you? Then who am I talking to right now?"

"I don't—"

I didn't want to hear him, and I couldn't believe him. My birthday hadn't been important, while hers was, of course, so he could... he could... whatever the fuck he'd done. He could be lying to me, easily. Was he lying to everyone? To his girlfriend? "What about Charlotte?" I asked, and he pretended to be shocked, gripping his hair even tighter, all of his muscles tensing. That was enough of an answer. Unbelievable... The guy I'd looked up to all my life, who taught me how to treat people and girls and stuff, taught me about the polite things to do, blowing it all. "So, you're a cheating, pervy, sick, creepy son of a bitch! Think that sums it all up real nice, heh?"

He wasn't going to cry. If he did, I was going to kick him till there was nothing left of him. He'd gotten up now, unsteadily, his shoulders huddled, hands shaking. "I'm... I'm sorry. It was like... I just forgot... I didn't mean to, but then...." His eyes traveled to the girl at his feet, as if he had any right to, face screwed up like I had actually attacked him with my fists. I just forgot. Sorry, I just forgot I was dealing with a teenager, I couldn't help it, mistake easily made, right? I just forgot this was June, my baby sister, and that I had no right to touch her like that. Well, if that was something he so easily forgot, there was no place for him here.

"Don't. Ever. Look at her again!" I said, trying not to shout, because she couldn't wake up — I wouldn't be able to handle that, not yet, and he wasn't allowed to explain stuff to her, make it seem like he was the good guy here. "I want you out."

"But...—"

"Out, now. I don't want you talking to her."

"Sam...—"

Was he really going to fight me on this? Hadn't he realized what he was, what he'd done? How he'd screwed up everything, all these years together, me looking up to him? Suddenly, he was nowhere as impressive as he'd seemed when I was younger, my big brother taking care of me, picking me over everything else. Seemed that now, he picked young girls over everything else. Picked June. "You cheated on your girlfriend with a seventeen-year-old you've known since she was fourteen. You came back, just to do that. What kind of guy does that make you?"

He'd broken the law before. Drinking before turning twenty-one. Smoking weed. Forging our parents' signatures. All of the things Lena had ever dragged him into. I'd made peace with it because those weren't crimes that had any consequences for innocent people. But now he'd slept with a minor. That was something I couldn't ignore. Maybe he didn't have that much respect for the law, I'd still always believed he had morals.

Seemed like I'd finally gotten through to him. Half running, half stumbling, he left for the kitchen, returning seconds later with his shirt put on backward. Something about the way he was moving reminded me of the night they called him to tell him Lena had killed herself. For a second, I thought he was going to say something. Then, he fled into the hall. The sound of him hastily grabbing stuff was followed by the door closing, and that was when I realized I was alone with June.

She was still asleep, her arms and legs more relaxed than I'd ever seen them, her mouth open, chest going up and down. If I hadn't known any better, she was still the innocent fourteen-year-old I once tried to save from Matt Granton. The thing was, I did know better.

Shit. One thing was certain.

I was never going to be able to look at her or my brother the same.