Oh Brother - S01 E33

2 years ago

Oh Brother - S01 E33

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 33

Continues..

I woke up twenty minute ago, but I stayed lying on the ground of my room, staring up at the ceiling. My heart still felt heavy from yesterday, even though this should have been the closure I needed. I told him why we couldn’t be together and my brain seemed to agree with me, but that didn’t seem to help with my aching heart.

I groaned as I realized I was becoming such a lovestruck girl. A girl who had heartache over one guy. One guy she knew would only hurt her if she continued to fall for him. But even knowing that, I knew this was different. That I wasn’t one of those girls because Christian was worth fighting for. It was just one stupid word that was stopping us from happening.

“Why are you on the floor?”

My eyes flew up to my bed, to where Christian was sitting up on. He looked confused, but more tired as he stared at me.

“You kind of stole my bed,” I replied casually, sitting up as I stretched.

From his confused face and ability to talk to me, I knew he didn’t remember what happened yesterday. He had been too drunk it seemed, which was a blessing now. I didn’t think I would have been able to face him if he remembered.

“From my headache I’m guessing I was drunk.” He frowned as he touched his head, but a small smile fought its way to his lips. “And I’m guessing you took care of me.”

I shrugged, wanting him to leave my room. “Kind of. Well, we just hung out here for a bit. You fell asleep after.”

His smile grew. “Well, thanks.”

I shrugged, not knowing why he was so happy. It wasn’t like I saved his life. Glancing at him, I was glad to see him packing up my present and opening the door.

“Let’s hang out again later.” He smiled. “Okay?”

“Okay,” I replied quietly, even though I didn’t want to.

The door soon closed and I sighed in relief. Now I could officially drown in sadness because Christian could never be mine. His stupid, drunk kiss gave me hope that we could be something more, but the word incest told me otherwise. Suddenly, my life was becoming overwhelming.

*****

“We’re going to Niagara Falls,” my mom announced, catching me off guard.

Stephen smiled and planted a kiss on my mom’s head. She smiled at him and I rolled my eyes, slightly annoyed by the fact that they made up – probably from their day together. I couldn’t believe it. My cruel mom had everything she wanted in life and I had nothing. I wondered what I ever did to deserve this.

“We are?” Christian asked, frowning.

“Yeah, for your birthday.” My mom smiled. “We didn’t get to do anything as a family, so we might as well now.”

At that, I huffed. I knew for my birthday I would be getting nothing from her. Not even a birthday wish. I smiled bitterly to myself, suddenly feeling sorry for myself. Everything s----d and I just wanted to hole up in my room. Too bad I had this trip now.

Seeing that nobody would say anything, my mom said, “Guys, get ready. We’re not staying overnight so no need to pack, let’s just go.”

I turned around and left at that, glad to be able to brood on my own. Even for a bit, every second away from these people was beneficial.

*****

I stared at the enormous waterfall with amazement. It wasn’t the first time I had been here, but I was still amazed by its beauty. It was huge and incredible. That was all I could think about right now, which was the perfect distraction.

“Autumn,” Christian suddenly said, snapping me out of my amazement.

I froze in my spot, shocked that he was right beside me. With my arms gripping onto the rails that kept people away from the natural wonder, I fought the urge to run off. I wasn’t in the mood to see him now – or ever.

“Yeah,” I said, keeping my eyes on the waterfall.

“What’s wrong?” I could hear the concern in his voice, which made it more painful to be next to him. “Why do you look so upset?”

“I’m not upset,” I lied quickly, ignoring the yearning I had for him.

He cared about me and he was such a good guy. Such an incredible guy even, who could deal with my baggage. All those factors made it so hard to forget about him.

“Liar.” He moved closer to me. “You can tell me. I thought we were close now.”

“We are,” I said, finally looking at him. “I’m just so tired.”

“Tired of what?” he prodded gently.

His eyes softened up and I knew I couldn’t hold back anymore. Not my affection for him, but genuinely what I was so tired of. Even though the memory of yesterday was fresh in my mind, it didn’t mean I would let it destroy what we had.

“Everything,” I admitted. “Just… Everything.”

He sighed lightly at that and looked away. I frowned as I watched him stare at the waterfall, unsure of why he suddenly looked tired as well. Wasn’t he supposed to be helping me?

“You know, you remind me of Niagara Falls,” he suddenly said, still staring at the waterfall.

I frowned at that. “Um, are you trying to call me fat?”

“No! Of course not.” He chuckled lightly. “I mean, you’re strong. Just like its currents, you can knock down the obstacles in life.

Something in me softened up. The one thing I wanted him to see me as was exactly that. Strong. Not delicate. Not weak. But simply strong. I wanted to be that girl who could handle anything, which was what I hoped I was.

“You think I’m strong?” I asked, wanting him to say it again for reassurance.

“For sure.” He smiled at me. “Look at you. You’re still full of life, even when your own mom won’t talk to you. Even when you’re forced to make a family out of two strangers, you still keep pushing through life. I don’t blame you for being tired because others would of lost their minds in your shoes.”

I smiled, even though I knew I did lose my mind. Over him though, which was what we weren’t talking about right now. What we were talking about was life and family, something he had to be strong about too.

“You’re strong too,” I said, grinning at him. “You had to deal with what I had to, and someone like me. Being around me alone should have had you checking into an mental institution.”

He laughed and the sound gave me a warm feeling. He was nineteen, yet his laugh was so childish. Almost high, which would’ve been a turn off to most girls. Not to me, though. I loved his laugh.

“Well, you actually kept me sane through everything.” He grinned. “So thank you.”

My eyes softened as I suddenly wanted to hug him. With his thank you from yesterday as well, I really wanted to embrace him. I knew that was something siblings could do, but it still felt wrong. Anything related to touching Christian would make my brain scream incest, I knew by now. I sighed quietly at that, but smiled anyways.

“Thank you,” I said. “I’m sorry I was such an a-----e to you before. But thank you so much for not giving up on me.”

He smiled and shrugged. “Hey, it’s not everyday you meet a girl who hates you for being perfect.”

I laughed and rolled my eyes. My heart felt light as we continued to talk. Even though I wished for more, I was satisfied with this. Satisfied with just having him here as my stepbrother. It was all I could get from him, and I knew I could live with it. Just being at his side was okay.