Story 5 of the 30 Day Writing Challenge!
Trope: The hero falls for his best friend's sister. She is strictly off limits.
Character Conflict: She may or may not be real...
Beep. Beep. The constant sound droned in
my ear causing my eyes to peel open. So
tired. The bright hospital lights stung as my vision came into focus. I see
her. My Amy. Hovering over me her
lips moved, but I couldn’t make out the words. Beep. Beep.
“Brian?” she
asked. I grunted. My throat felt like it was on fire. “Hold on, okay?” The soft
skin of her hand brushed my head. “You’re burning up. Let me get someone.”
She turned
to leave as my hand lifted weakly to stop her. The room went black.
***
I open my
eyes to the sound of tears. She held my hand. “Amy…,” I squeaked out as my lips
crack.
Her head
lifted from the bedside as the smile on her face melted my insides. “Your awake.”
“What…happened?”
Her face
sobered. “Car accident. You don’t remember?” I shifted to sit up as pain burned
down my leg like wildfire. “Careful. Lay still,” she soothed, covering me with
a blanket.
“It’s…fine,”
I objected.
“Always the
tough one.”
I squeezed
her hand. “Kiss me.”
She
laughed. “Dave is right around the corner.”
Her older
brother, Dave, would have my balls in a vice if he found out we were dating.
He’d made it clear–on several occasions–she was off limits.
“So?” I
croaked out. “Come here.” I lifted one arm, the other wrapped in a cast. She kept
one eye on the door as she leaned forward.
“Make it
quick,” she giggled. Her lips touched mine and it was as if my body sprung to
life. I felt every broken bone as the warmth from her kiss spread over me like
a sunrise coming over the horizon. She was my sunrise, my everything. “Are you
okay?” I suddenly wondered if we’d been together when the car crashed.
She grimaced
as her full lips tightened. “You should rest.”
I laughed,
the pain in my chest causing my eyes to close. She always put me first. “You
look gorgeous, Amy. I love you.”
She touched
my cheek. “I love you too.”
***
Two months
had passed before I started feeling myself again. Hoisting my body into the
wheelchair by the bed I moved my casted leg into the brace. Moving toward the
kitchen, the house was quiet without Amy. She’d become a ninja slipping out in
the night to bypass Dave. The last thing I remember her saying was breakfast
was in the fridge.
Making it into
the kitchen I swiped the egg burrito she had wrapped in foil.
“I see you
found my burrito.” I looked over the refrigerator door to find Dave walking into
our apartment.
“I thought
A…never mind.” I said with a mouthful of food almost slipping up.
He set a
grocery bag on the counter as if it weighed a ton. “Had a break in class.
Thought I’d check on you.”
I raised an
eyebrow. “You’ve checked on me every day since I got home.” He always had an
excuse to cut class.
“Who else
is gonna help?” He asked walking into the living room.
I carted
behind him. “Whatever, man. I’m good.”
“You look
like shit,” he said shortly.
Running my
hands through my hair and down my face the long stubble from my chin made me
realize I needed to shave. “Yeah, well. I ain’t trying to impress any one.” Except Amy.
He flicked
on the television, surfing the channels with the remote. “What do you want to
do today?”
I shrugged
knowing she wouldn’t be back until later. “You could help me shower.”
His hand dropped
to the couch. “No way.”
I laughed pivoting
toward the bathroom.
***
“Have you
been sleeping?” Amy asked as music blared around us at a frat party. I hated
these things. The usual beer pong and keg stand hoopla didn’t do it for me
anymore. Not since I found her.
“Not really. Just have a ton of catching up to
do before finals.” Missing two months of class and hobbling on a cane didn’t
help matters.
Her brow
furrowed. “You want to leave?”
“Only if
you do.”
“Brian, you
need rest. You’ve only been out of your chair a few days. We didn’t have to
come.”
“But you
wanted to.” Moving her long corn silk hair I touched the chain of the necklace
I bought her. Smoothing circles on her favorite spot with my thumb, it earned
me a delicious shiver as she bit her lip.
“Hey, Brian!”
I looked up
from my daze quickly dropping my hand. “I’ll be right back,” Amy said leaving
the room.
“Hey,” I
called after her.
“Dude, you
look good!” Dave exclaimed smacking me in the chest.
“Ow.
Thanks.” Where did she go? I looked
back around the corner.
“You okay?”
He followed my line of sight.
“Yeah, just
your sister…” I trailed off crooking my thumb at the door.
“Amy?” His
lips thinned as he slung his arm around my shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get you a
drink.”
***
“Come here,
baby.” Her naked body rose from my embrace to straddle me. “I love you.”
“I know,”
she said with a sigh. Her green eyes pierced me like they always did, saying so
much.
“You okay?”
I twirled her hair in my fingers.
“We need to
talk.”
Here we go. I moved her aside, swinging my
feet to the floor. No better cock block than bringing up her brother.
“We need to
tell him, Amy.” I stood pulling on my sweat pants.
“That’s not
what I was going to say.” She covered herself with the sheet. “I got some news
today.”
“What?” I
asked sitting on the edge of the bed.
“I was
accepted into an internship program.”
My eyes
widened. “That’s great, Am! Was it the job in New York?”
“Well, not
exactly.” She exhaled. “It’s in Japan.”
It felt
like I took a punch to the stomach. Not what I expected. “Okay, that’s like a
world away.”
“It’s a great
opportunity and I accepted.”
“You
accepted already?” I asked as my voice shook.
“I had to.
The deadline was today and I was accepted at the last minute.”
I stood
pacing the room, my anger percolating with each step. “Okay. We can make this
work.” My breathing spiked as my heart felt empty. I was going to lose her.
“Brian,
look at me.” My eyes met hers.
“I leave
tomorrow.”
***
My body
jackknifed off the bed. Crunching sounds and screams haunted my dreams lately. I
needed Amy.
Rubbing my
face, my eyes settled on her necklace neatly coiled on the nightstand. How
could she pull the rug out from underneath me? And what’s with leaving her gift
behind? Was this a sign to forget me? I hobbled into the kitchen to get a glass
of water just as the front door opened.
“Oh hey,”
Dave said slightly slurring his words.
I grabbed a
glass from the cupboard. “Where were you?”
“Out.” He
stumbled to the couch and I heard his body fall into the cushions.
I joined
him in the adjacent chair. “Good party?”
“Not a
party.” His voice muted by the throw pillow where he landed. He turned his
face. “Just me..and a bar.”
“Are you
okay?”
His face
held anguish as he stared at the carpet. “Yeah. It’s just hard, ya know? With
Amy and all.” His eyes were bloodshot as if he’d been crying. They were very close.
I could only imagine how he must feel with her leaving.
I felt the
same way. Something inside furled in anger. How dare she go without even a
good-bye? I looked at him. If Amy wasn’t going to tell him, I would. “I know. I
wished she would’ve said something sooner.”
He sat up.
“What do you mean?”
I sighed
scooting to the edge of the chair. “I need to tell you something.”
“Forget
it.” He rubbed his face throwing his hands in the air. “I don’t want to talk
about Amy.”
“We need to.”
He stood.
“No, we don’t,” he said through his teeth as his fists clenched at his sides. Did he know?
“Did she
tell you?”
His chest
heaved as wetness spilled down his cheeks. “Tell me what? You were the last
person to see her.”
“Dave, you
should sit.”
He exhaled
visibly shaking with rage. “Just tell me.”
I swallowed,
never seeing him this riled up. My stomach took a nosedive, wondering if I
should back track. But what did it matter now? Our relationship was over. She
was leaving. “Amy and I…We’ve been seeing each other.”
His body
towered over me as I sunk into the chair.
“Even if I
was okay with this. Which I’m not.” He halted as his lip quivered. “It’s
impossible for you to be with her.”
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