Christmas Candy(83)

Annalise





A sharp intake of breath woke me. I sat up.

Mom and Brent were in the doorway. Shit. I had fallen asleep in Niles’ bed, naked.

Mom reached up and slapped her hand across Brent’s eyes. I looked down and scrambled to pull up the sheet. My tits had just been hanging out for all to see – but mostly Brent – because I’d been so startled.

“What in the name of all that is holy are you doing, Anna!” Mom’s voice was probably heard on other floors of the hospital.

My neurons couldn’t fire. I couldn’t even begin to come up with a plausible explanation for why I was naked in my stepbrother’s bed. “I just, we’re just—”

“We’re together.” Niles sat up and drew the sheet tighter around me.

Brent slapped mom’s hand away and took in the full scene, sans breasts this time.

“You can’t be together. Your siblings for Christ’s sake!” An edge of hysteria crept into Mom’s voice. Usually I would tell her she was overreacting, but at this point, after what I’d done, maybe she was right to lose it a bit.

“Oh, sure they can.” Brent shrugged and strode the rest of the way in before plopping down on the sofa. He beamed at us, clearly not an awkward bone in his body.

“But they’re siblings, Brent.” Mom zombie walked, unable to take her eyes from us, and collapsed on the couch next to Brent.

Niles stroked my back before apparently thinking better of it and giving me a reassuring squeeze.

“They aren’t blood, Ellen. This sort of thing is common in England. Step siblings getting married and such. It’s only a thing to you yanks. It’s not a big deal. Truly, love.”

“Whoa, we aren’t getting married or anything. I mean, not that I don’t like him, but it’s not … I mean, we aren’t … all we’ve done is—” (fuck).

“Started a relationship.” Niles jumped in before I could ruin it further. I looked back at him and he smiled, far more confidently and sexily than any man should be allowed. “It’s brand new to us, too.”

“I just don’t know what to think.” Mom leaned back against the sofa and stared at the drop ceiling. “I mean, I would never have guessed this. Brent, did you guess this or something.” She whipped her head to him. “Did you know?”

“Of course not, love. I just thought they were acting the polar opposite of how they used to around each other. I hoped for the best and—” he gestured to Niles and me “—the best happened.”

I began to feel more and more creeped out as Mom appeared shell-shocked and Brent looked happy as a lark. I was still naked and I was almost certain I could make out Niles’ morning wood beneath the sheet.

I cleared my throat. “Well, I really need to get dressed, so if you two could give me a second.”

Mom stood and gave me another bewildered look before walking to the door. Brent rose and followed her. He turned back to us and mouthed “she’ll be fine,” before leading her from the room and closing the door.

I pulled my knees up and dropped my head onto them. “‘Fucked up’ isn’t a strong enough phrase to describe that.”

He rubbed my back some more. It was comforting, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be comforted right then. I slid away from him and pulled on my clothes.

“Don’t do that.” He sighed.

“Do what?”

“Get all up in your head and regret us, yeah?”

I yanked my turtleneck down and turned to him. “There is no us, Niles.”

Hurt flashed across his blue eyes, but somehow, I felt the pain, too. It was as if I had jammed a splinter into my heart. But it was true. We weren’t a couple. We were practically strangers. I’d let my body make my decisions and it had to stop. Even if he’d changed, it didn’t matter. Mom was right.

“I need to go back to the house. Get cleaned up.” I didn’t look him in the eye. I couldn’t.

He sighed. “Fine, Annalise. It’s fine.” Resignation and disappointment all rolled into four words.

Tears rose in my eyes. I rushed to the door and almost collided with the nurse. I sprinted past her, past Mom and Brent in the hall, and burst into the stairwell right as my tears started falling. What was I doing? I took the stairs as fast as I could, even as my vision blurred.



I stayed in my room, only coming down to the kitchen for food when I knew Mom and Brent were out. Mom came by and knocked a couple of times – the second time saying she was sorry for acting like she did at the hospital. I gave in and told her it was fine, but I didn’t open the door. I knew my eyes were puffy and I looked a wreck. Funny, I hadn’t shed any tears over my last ex-boyfriend, Gavin. Now I was a blubbering mess after Niles.