“Well, you might want to tell those seventeen guys I fucked. I don’t think they got the memo when they zipped up and left to not ever call me again. When I walked through the town square, I recognized a few of the guys I fucked. They crossed the street. They crossed the fucking street just to avoid me.” Kelly chuckled to herself. “You know what the fucked up thing is, Rob? If we didn’t start up. If you didn’t make me feel like there was a guy out there that could truly love me for what I am. If those guys even showed me some interest and treated me like a person, I would have fucked them right then and there.”
“Kelly… don’t say that.”
Kelly shook her head. “It is the truth. I’m pathetic. I know I am not perfect like Emma. I realize this. But, like I said before, I always thought you had my back. This hurts, Rob.”
I reached out to her. Kelly shied away from me and started walking down the street. “Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“I drove here. Let me take you home.”
Kelly looked back at me with tears streaming down her face and offered me a weary smile. “No thanks, Rob. You’ve done enough.”
I watched in silence as Kelly walked away. My life was tumbling about. I was being torn in two different directions. I stood quietly and watched Kelly walk until she disappeared from view. I turned slowly turned around and started back to my car.
*
I stepped into the house. My heart skipped a beat when I heard the twins yelling at each other. I hurried through the kitchen and through the living room making my way up the stairs. I saw Kelly standing outside of Emma’s room. Her face was wet with tears. Her mascara ran down her face as she tried to talk to Emma.
“Emma! I’m sorry!”
“No, I don’t want to hear it from you. This is exactly what you do to me all the time!” Emma said from inside her room. “I didn’t care about the guys in the past, but Rob? Why did you have to take him away from me?”
“I didn’t mean to!” Kelly cried out in frustration. “It sort of just happened. I’m sorry!”
“Sorry? That’s all you have to say to me?”
Kelly threw her hands of in frustration. “I can’t control my feelings just like you can’t control yours! Emma, it was just something that happened.”
As I walked up the stairs quietly, the door to Emma’s room ripped open quickly. Emma’s appeared from the darkness of her room. I stood for a brief moment and took in the stark contrast between the two. Kelly stood there disheveled, but still a very sexual being. She cried heavily now. Her breasts heaving uncontrollably under the tight-fitting top that she wore from when I ran into her in town. Her hair was wild and framed her face perfectly. She was pure sex, an animal of pure instincts and desire. Emma stood in defiance at the doorway to her room. Her face was elegant. Her features were soft and desirable. She stood in her work uniform, but her clothes hugged her curves perfectly. Her hair was pinned into a neat ponytail. Emma was the picture perfect woman any man would kill for. Kelly was right, what man would choose her over Emma? Emma’s eyes were fierce from her temper, but then softened when she noticed that I stood at the stairs.
“Rob?” Emma said.
Kelly turned to look at me as well. I stood there frozen. I didn’t know what to say, but I knew something had to be done. I cleared my throat. “What time do you have to go to work, Emma?”
“I have a closing shift, so I have time.” Emma said softly. Her tone was nowhere near what it was when she was arguing with Kelly.
“We all need to talk.” I said.
“We do?” Kelly asked as she wiped away her tears smearing her mascara.
I walked up the rest of the steps and stood near my two lovely sisters. I reached over to Kelly and helped her wipe away the smeared mascara. “I am the source of the problem. We all need to clear things up before this family falls apart.”
Both of the girls nodded and followed me down the stairs and into the living room. I sat in the recliner that our father used to sit in. I remembered those family nights where we all took our positions in the room and played board games until we couldn’t stay awake anymore. I watched as Kelly sat across from me in the recliner our mother used to frequent and Emma sat on the couch where we had furthered our physical attention together. My hands were trembling. My thoughts were racing.
“First off, I want to apologize to the both of you. I stepped out of line. I did what no brother should do to two amazing sisters like the both of you. This was all my fault. I lost control.”
“But…” Kelly tried to say, but stopped when I held up my hand.
“I don’t care what had happened or how it happened. I am the man of the house. I should have had more control over everything including myself. Dad would have been disappointed knowing that I lost control and I wouldn’t blame him. I lost control of my feelings.”
“Rob,” Emma said firmly. “These feelings you have? Kelly and I have them too. Sure, the three of us have been put into a situation where none of us were really prepared for, but it happened. You can’t discount the past.”
“No, I can’t, Emma.” I said slowly.
“Do you love us, Rob?” Kelly asked.
I looked over to her and nodded. “I love the both of you. But, the love I know you are speaking about is a little more complex. In regards to that, I love the both of you differently.”
“How?” Emma said with her arms now crossed.
“I don’t know…”
“No,” Kelly said cutting me off. “You brought us down here to talk. You wanted to hash things out. So, let’s hash things out.”
I nodded. She had a point. I cleared my throat and looked over to Kelly. “Kelly, you are every man’s idea of what a sexual woman should be. You are aggressive. You don’t play around with what you want and what you need. You wear all your emotions on your sleeve and you let people know it. You are the bold person I want to be. I love you for that. I love that I don’t have to play games with you. I am a man and I have needs that need to be fulfilled. You know and you do it without pretension. If someone would take the time to get through your exterior, they would see what I see, a kind and loving woman that has needs. As tough as you are, you are very vulnerable. I love that.”
While I spoke, I saw my words sink into Kelly. There was a sense of understanding and gratitude in her eyes when I finally showed her that I knew and loved her for what she was. But, I spied Emma making a face and she did everything she could to not roll her eyes.
“Emma,” I said as I turned my attention on her. “Kelly is right about one thing, there is no man in town… no, in this state that wouldn’t kill to have you in his life. You are the epitome of what every man wants. You are caring. You are loving. You are gentle. You are sensual. You are sexual without having to bare skin. You are what I would want as a wife.” I glanced over to Kelly and found my words stung her like they did in town. I looked back over to Emma, there was no turning back. My mind raced to find some sort of solution to everything. A lump formed in my throat as I couldn’t. “Emma, you have been the back bone to this family. You took the lead and kept everything together. Not discounting what Kelly has contributed, but you were the glue that has kept us as a family. And, I have been tearing us apart.”
“Rob…” Emma said softly.
“I don’t know how to solve any of this. I don’t know how to be fair to both of you and still love both of you like I do.” I leaned back into the seat and took a deep breath. “So, I am going to do something rash.”
“What are you talking about?” Kelly asked.
“I’m leaving.” I uttered.
Both Emma and Kelly sat in their seats stunned by what I said. I looked to Emma and saw tears streaming down her face. I turned to Kelly and saw the anger in her eyes.
I shook my head slowly. “I am going to talk to my boss. He has a new shop that opened on the other side of town with an office above it. He had plans on having me run it. I am sure he won’t mind me turning the office into a temporary place to stay until I find a place of my own.”