Brothers and Sisters ll

JUNE 2003, SUMMER BREAK

"Hello, Punkin," a deep, male voice sneered from behind us.

Adrienne turned and practically jumped into my arms. I quickly moved to interpose myself between Adam and Adrienne, holding up one hand in a clear "stop" gesture. "What the hell are you doing here?" I growled.

"It's a mall," Adam held his hands up innocently, looking around. "Clearly, I'm doing some window shopping."

There was a sickening grin on his face and the tall, blonde guy nodded past my left shoulder. The thing was: the children's carousel was behind my left shoulder, not any particular stores. And I got the decided impression that Adam was "shopping" for kids, not clothes. A cold shiver ran down my spine.

"You stay away from her," I barked angrily. Adrienne cowered behind me. "You have no right to be here."

"Like I said: It's a mall." Adam shrugged before giving me a hard look. "I have every right to be here."

I clenched my teeth and took a step back, nudging Adrienne with me. "You stay away from her," I said coldly. And then I half-turned, nudging Adrienne to keep walking away.

Adam just flashed me a lopsided grin as we left. "I'll be seeing you, Punkin!" he called out. "I promise!"

Adrienne didn't stop shaking until we got back home.

At this point, only one person could unsettle me more than Adam.

That person was my mom.

"You KNOW they're not protected, Ben."

A chill went down my spine and my shoulders tensed at the sound of Mom's voice. I'd already been on edge for most of dinner. Eden, always the bolder of the twins, had really been pushing the envelope tonight. We just HAD to have steamed baby carrots. And while the small, orange objects weren't big enough to be properly phallic, the young girl still got quite a kick out of miming oral sex on them whenever she caught me looking. It wasn't that she was turning me on; she was scaring me that we'd get caught.

I knew I should have just stopped looking. Without an audience, she would have no reason to play naughty with her food. But I just couldn't help myself. And Mom glaring at me from across the table didn't help, either.

After dinner, Dad went into the family room to watch TV while Adrienne and Brooke went into the kitchen to start the dishes. It was their turn.

Meanwhile, the twins had giggled flirtatiously with me before running off to their bedroom, no doubt to plan their next seduction of big brother. And I'd remained sitting at the dining table trying to calm myself. That's when Mom dropped her bomb of a statement about the twins being protected.

I propped my elbows on the table and dropped my head into my hands. Then I nodded slowly. This was it, we'd been caught.

Mom just waited for me to look up at her then she pointed across the living room. "Office. Now."

Ah, hell.

Obediently, I got up and moved into Dad's home office, a place Mom often dragged us kids into whenever we needed a stern talking to in private. I remembered being a 10-year-old when we just moved in, sitting on the couch looking up at the massive shelves of books and feeling quite intimidated. Now, nine years later and two feet taller, I was still pretty intimidated.

Mom closed the door with a heavy [thunk], shutting us in. Then she stood before me and folded her arms across her chest while her eyes narrowed. Then taking a deep breath, she said, "Tell me you're not having sex with the twins."

I took a deep breath of my own and looked her straight in the eye. "I'm not having sex with the twins."

She went through her Mom-Lie-Detector-3000 routine, and then paused to wait me out. I just held her gaze with what confidence I could muster and she finally sighed. "And you're not going to?"

"No," I answered firmly.

"How far have you gone?"

Now nervous, I bit my lip and glanced away before looking sheepishly up at her. "Oral."

"You on them? Them on you?"

"Both."

She exhaled slowly and dropped her arms before immediately raising one hand and rubbing her forehead with it. "I thought you weren't going to do anything more than kissing."

I winced. "The girls are kind of pushy. You knew things would progress."

Mom sighed, with more than a touch of exasperation in her voice. "Progress a little more slowly! Don't you kids have that baseball thing? I thought it would be second base next. Third base could wait for next winter ... or summer ... or college..."

That got a small smirk out of me. "Have you MET the twins?"

"That's why I was depending on you to keep them at bay a little longer." Mom glared at me.

I wilted a bit beneath her gaze. "I'm sorry," I mumbled. "I ... uh ... With this whole Adrienne thing..."

Mom sighed, rubbing her forehead again. "They're only thirteen, Ben."

"Thirteen and a HALF," I emphasized defensively. "And they're not that far ahead. Brooke was messing around with her boyfriend when she was fourteen."

"Brooke still waited to have sex until she was fifteen. Do you really think the twins are going to keep their panties on for another year and a half?"

I frowned. "They'll wait for me," I insisted. "They promised and I'll make them wait for me."

Mom came to a dead stop and leveled me with her gaze. "Will YOU wait for another year and a half? Look at them, Ben. They're almost as developed now as Brooke was at fifteen."

I winced, my body reacting faster than my brain. "I ... uh..." She was right. Even though the twins themselves thought they weren't developing fast enough, the girls WERE growing up fast.

Mom sighed. "You know, I'd be very tempted to use that dull butcher knife on you if I didn't think that would make the girls go straight to some stupid boy at school." She exhaled slowly while I subconsciously cradled my balls. "You're right about one thing, though: They will wait for YOU."

I felt just a little bit of my confidence coming back and managed a weak smile. But Mom looked at me sternly. "But they won't wait forever," she added.

I bit my lip and looked up at her. "What do you want me to do?"

Mom took a deep breath and moved to the door, leaning on the handle. "Don't hide anything from me. Or I WILL use the butcher knife."

I nodded quickly.

"And use your head, Ben, the BIG one. They may be ready physically, but they are NOT ready emotionally. Take care of your sisters. Always think of what's best for them. Understood?"

I nodded again, this time with more solemnity.

"And NO, I'm not putting them on the pill; I'm drawing the line there. The girls may look more grown up, but their bodies are developing faster than their minds. They're not ready." Then Mom opened the door and went out.

"Pleeeease? Oh, Ben! I'm so HOT. Please? I need you! I want to feel it! Maybe just put the head in?" Eden was practically shivering on the bed, despite being overheated and covered in sweat. Her lips were right in my ear as she clutched my head to her neck.

My own hands were on Eden's naked body. Mom had been right; the twins were just about as developed as Brooke had been at fifteen. They were sprouting like wildflowers, nearing 5'5" with coltish, but girly bodies. The breast I held in my right hand was a solid A-cup, its erect little nipple so hard against my palm. And as I slid my left hand down to cup her hip, just beginning to jut outwards in a womanly curve, I felt the urge to roll on top of her and brutally shove my way inside.

"Pleeeease? You know it won't even hurt me. Emma and I broke our cherries last year with one of Brooke's dildos. I'm big enough now, Ben! I can take you. I want you!"

The devil on my left shoulder whispered seductively. 'Go on. Do it. It would be so naughty. So wrong.'

The angel on my right shoulder pleaded. 'You promised! She's not ready. She's too young!'

'Clearly, she's ready. She wants this. What are you waiting for?' the devil insisted.

'Her hormones want; but her brain doesn't understand yet. And what's going to happen to her when you go back to school? Once you pop her, she won't be able to stop, ' the angel reminded.

'So she'll be sexually active. She can handle it, ' the devil argued.

'She might be able to. Might. But what boys around her will?' the angel shot back. 'Remember what Mom said. They may be ready physically, but they are NOT ready emotionally.'

Emma, on the other hand, couldn't hear the conversation between my angels. But my youngest sister was on the side of the devil as she pulled my throbbing cock out of her mouth and directed me over, aiming my prick between her sister's thighs.

My horny little twin baby sisters had been teasing me and titillating me for an hour now, not letting me cum and hoping I would lose control. Up until now, they'd simply enjoyed our usual sexual frolicking without directly trying to get me to take their virginities. But Eden had just today escalated things to pleading verbally with me in such a cute, erotic voice, and I could feel my control slipping further and further away.

I couldn't lose it.

I groaned in frustration and moved my hand off Eden's breast. Eden got to feel the penetration, but it was the penetration of my fingers as I dug into her and quickly found her G-spot. A week-and-a-half worth of exploring their bodies and searching out their buttons had given me all the user manual information I needed on them, and while my left hand found that sensitive nerve just above Eden's right hip, I fingerbanged my 13-year-old sister to a trembling, twitching orgasm where she grabbed my head and practically shattered an eardrum with her piercing scream.

"AAAAAAIIIIIII!!!"

Eden flopped around like a fish on the deck for a few moments, dragging me around with her before she finally sagged and went limp. No longer did she exhort me in such a sexy voice to deflower her, and I felt myself able to pull back from the brink of violating the promises I'd made to my mother and to myself.

But I still had to cum.

Freeing myself from Eden's grip, I rolled onto my back and seized my cock in my right hand. Still coated in her orgasmic juices, my fingers pressed down with perfect pressure as I rapidly jacked my hand up and down. It wasn't as mentally thrilling as having one of the twins do it for me, but I knew exactly what speed and with what force I needed right now as the climax built in my balls and radiated outwards, ready to explode.

Realizing I was about to pop, Emma greedily parked herself right over my crotch in anticipation of my load. I don't know if something genetic was passed through all my sisters to make them such sluts for my cum, but they certainly were. Perhaps I simply tasted better since we had shared DNA. Whatever the reason, the twins were just like Brandi in their desperate desire to swallow me down, and as I reached the point of no return, I suddenly released myself to grab Emma's head and force her down around my shaft.

"Mmph!" Emma mumbled as the thick head pushed between her lips. "Mmph!" she mumbled again when the first jet of semen splattered against her tongue. And then I pumped my spending down my skinny baby sister's throat, firing away over and again while she practiced her newfound swallowing skills.

When I was done, I finally rolled back to Eden, who was simply watching us with a beatific smile on her face. "That was very naughty," I told her, waggling a finger in her face. "You know we can't have sex yet. Not until Mom puts you on the pill."

The little cutie just grinned back at me. "And what if I can get her to put us on the pill early?"

I snorted dismissively. "Good luck with that."

She smiled grandly and looked at the ceiling. "A girl can dream." And then she opened her arms to me for a warm hug.

Annoyed or not, Eden was just WAY too adorable when she looked at me like that. I cracked a smile and dropped down into her embrace, letting my baby sister happily wrap herself around me.

"Then again," Eden mused. "If we're talking about dreams, then maybe I can get Justin Timberlake to pop my cherry instead."

"Hey!" I protested.

"You can have JT," Emma drawled. "I want Clark Kent from Smallville. Or that Dean from Gilmore Girls."

"Emma!"

"Or Aaron Carter," Eden giggled.

"Hey!" I whined.

"You and pop singers!" Emma teased her sister.

"Least they're real men and not characters on a show," Eden drawled.

"Hey!" I whined again.

"We're just kidding," Emma giggled and then pressed against my other side, sandwiching me between the two identical beauties. "We love you, Ben."

I sighed and said, "I love you too, my princesses." I patted Emma's back.

Eden then perked up. "Ooh, Em, you've got some cum on your lip."

Emma rolled her head back and reached a finger towards her mouth.

"No-no!" Eden interrupted her. "Lemme lick it off."

I am the luckiest shit in the world.

"So how goes the sexual education of the twins?" Adrienne asked off-hand while we walked into Lowes. Since I was home on vacation and had neither work nor school, my parents had seen fit to have me do all the fix-it stuff around the house they'd been putting off for the past year. For example, they wanted to redo the master bedroom with new light fixtures, crown molding, and paint. I didn't mind. I rather missed doing all my handyman-type things.

I glanced at Adrienne, looking for any signs of disapproval. After all, this was the girl who'd been sexually abused as a pre-teen, and by her older brother who was back in town, no less. But there was none. So I just shrugged and answered, "It continues. They're very eager students."

"I'll bet." Adrienne nodded. "I remember all the hormones shooting through me when I was their age. I was still half-afraid of sex, but I got SO horny. I think that was around the time I seduced my first girl."

I smiled at the momentary image of a precocious, stacked, 13-year-old Adrienne making out with one of her best friends. Then I arched an eyebrow at her and asked, "Speaking of which, when are you going to jump in on the instructing? I can only give the girls the male point of view. And I certainly can't teach them about girl-on-girl."

Adrienne shook her head and looked away. "I can't."

"Why not? Don't tell me it's because of their age."

"No. I'm okay with that."

"The monogamy thing with Grace?"

"Well, maybe. But then teaching the girls might not really count." Adrienne waggled her head in indecision.

"Then what?"

"I just can't get involved."

"You're already involved. You taught them how to masturbate last year."

"Not anymore. I'm not really their big sister. That's Brooke's or Brandi's role."

I came to a dead stop in Aisle 20 and glared at Adrienne. "Back to this again, huh? We've talked about this, Adrienne. Whether you like it or not, you've become a part of this family. The girls look to you as their big sister. And you've been shirking your duties, lately. They miss spending time with you."

"I'm not shirking anything. I'm not their sister, so there's no duty. It's that simple."

"They still miss you. You're their idol."

"Well they'll have to get used to it. I won't ever be totally gone, but they might as well get used to me not being around so often so they're ready when I move out."

I looked up and down the aisle to make sure we were still alone. This was the first time since Berkeley that Adrienne had explicitly talked about moving out. Then I stepped forward and held her arms. "Then don't move out."

Adrienne took a deep breath and looked at me sadly. "Ben, I'm only staying here until Adam's gone."

"And what if he never leaves?"

"Don't say that!" She shook herself from my grasp and moved a quarter-turn away from me, hugging herself as if suddenly cold.

"I'm sorry." I HATED to see Adrienne like this. She had turned from confident and collected into something so ... vulnerable. So beautiful and yet fragile. I hugged her for warmth and protection. "I just don't want to lose you."

"You're not losing me, Ben. This is all so that I don't lose YOU."

"If you don't want to lose me, then don't move out," I said petulantly.

"Doesn't work like that."

I shook my head. I'll never understand women, but sometimes I felt like I understood Adrienne even LESS than most. "So what prompted this?" I asked wearily, seizing on what little insight I did have. "You haven't talked about moving out for weeks. Something happened."

"I was never going to stay forever."

"Still, what prompted this? Did something happen in the lawsuit?" I inhaled sharply and looked alarmed. "Did Adam run into you again?"

"No, no. Nothing like that," Adrienne sighed, the air whistling between her clenched teeth. She hugged herself again, unconsciously thrusting her breasts up and distracting me. But her next words made damn sure I wasn't thinking about sex. "Adam got a judge to issue an injunction. The execution of my father's estate, the inheritance, everything is on hold while they hear his case. Adam's not leaving anytime soon."

I grimaced and moved in to touch her arm. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. This was expected." Adrienne sighed. "It's almost enough to make me give in."

"You can't."

"That's what my lawyers tell me. One of them, this woman with three kids, I think she's even more pissed off than I am. I had to tell them the story of why Adam left the family and now she not only wants to shut down this case without Adam getting a penny, but she's digging into his records trying to find a way to get criminal charges against him."

"Good."

"Ben, it's pointless. There ARE no records of what he did to me. No police reports. No medical files. Nothing."

I shrugged. "Maybe they can at least get a restraining order? Keep him away from you?"

Adrienne sighed. "Maybe." She started rubbing her forehead. I smirked, noticing it was the exact same way Mom rubbed her forehead. The more time Adrienne spent with us, the more she picked up our family mannerisms. She was even arching her eyebrow from time to time.

"It's all just so exhausting," Adrienne exhaled. "I know I supposedly have nothing to do but relax for summer vacation; but I feel three times as stressed out now than I ever have for a stupid test!"

I patted her arm. "You shouldn't have to do this alone, Adrienne. Maybe you should let Mom and Dad talk about-"

"No!" she cut me off. "This is my thing, not theirs."

"You're their daughter."

"That's the point." Adrienne shook her head sadly. "As much as I would love to be, I'm really not."

Daughter or not, Mom and Dad still treated Adrienne as one of the family. Even though she had not yet informed them she planned to move out, she had begun to distance herself from the core family activities, something which our parents noticed and made extra efforts to draw her back in. They thought she was just feeling upset with Adam's return, and they went out of their way to shower her with extra affection and support.

One very important example was the family's annual trip to Morris Camp. We were scheduled to go a little later this year, from July 5 to August 2, but it was still fast approaching and the legal case with the Dennis Estate didn't look like it would be coming to an end anytime soon. Midway through June, Adrienne made her first big decision to step away from my family.

"I'm not coming to camp with you guys."

Conversation around the dinner table came to a dead stop. Dad sat up straight and arched his eyebrow. Brooke looked confused. And the twins were ashen.

Mom was a little more pragmatic. "This is because of the legal case, right?"

Adrienne nodded. "I can't leave until it's done."

"Really, dear. Do you think anything would be served by you staying in town?" Mom asked gently. "We'll have phone access at the camp so you can stay in touch with your lawyers. And I think it would be good for you to get away from this town for a little while. He can't come near you at camp."

Adrienne shook her head. "Maybe. I thought about that. But I just couldn't relax and enjoy myself knowing everything that was going on. I don't want to ruin your guys' vacation."

Mom glanced at Dad, something communicating in her eyes. She turned back to Adrienne. "You wouldn't be ruining it. Everyone has things going on in their lives. And honestly, I don't think any of the kids would be distracted from their activities anyways."

Eden and Emma just frowned, wondering what the heck was going on. It was telling that even here, at home, they weren't really aware of Adrienne's legal troubles. Heck, they were too busy finishing their school year, being 13-year-olds, and trying to crawl into my pants. Even Brooke seemed only peripherally aware of the legal wranglings, since Adrienne never wanted to discuss them with her, either.

Adrienne sighed. "More than that, I couldn't help but worry about not being here in case something does happen. If they call a hearing, I HAVE to be there. I have to deal with it. And I have to see it resolved one way or another."

"We could always drive back," I put in quickly. "I'd be happy to bring you back down here, and we could let the rest of the family stay up north."

"No," Dad entered the fray, his voice carrying much more weight and silencing everyone. "We're not going."

"What?" I barked in surprise, with similar exclamations following from the twins.

"If it comes to it, we're not going to camp this year." Dad sighed heavily and reached across the table to Mom, where they joined hands and squeezed each other firmly. Clearly, this was something they'd already discussed. "This is a family; we're not splitting up. The problems of one are the problems of all, and we'll stand by you, Adrienne, until this is resolved."

"Dad!" Adrienne gasped in surprise. I found it ironic that she still naturally called him 'Dad' despite her insistence on separating herself from us. "But you've been going for years."

"And the camp will still be there next year," he replied patiently, giving Adrienne the calm, measured look only an experienced adult could pull off. "It's not like this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity being missed out. We've been to camp before."

My younger sisters were conspicuously quiet. They obviously looked forward to this trip each and every year; but it was a testament to how fond they'd become of Adrienne that they weren't immediately protesting Dad's decision. I, myself, had already decided I wasn't going anywhere without her.

"You can't just cancel it," Adrienne protested.

Dad shrugged. "I'm still hoping we won't have to. From what the lawyers are telling us about the case, there's still a good chance Adam's suit will be thrown out in the next few weeks. And we won't have to cancel."

"But-"

Dad waved her off. "Besides, we still have the vacation time set aside. I'm sure there are lots of things we can all do together as a family right here."

At first, Adrienne seemed to shrink in her chair. She'd worked up the nerve to make her bold statement about not coming with us at camp, only to have the whole thing snowball into none of us going to camp. I reached my hand out and dropped it on her knee, squeezing and looking at her reassuringly.

She blinked several times before glancing over at me, seeing the look of love, warmth, and support on my face. I made absolutely clear that I would stay with her no matter what. And as she turned to scan the faces of the others in my family, she was met with similar expressions. And at that, a smile crossed Adrienne's face.

"Thank you," she said softly. Despite all her insistence that she wasn't a part of our family, it still had to feel really, really good to know that we were all behind her in this time of need.

I reached out with my arm, wrapping it around her shoulder as I pulled her to me in a hug, pecking her cheek with a soft kiss. "We all love you."

She sighed. "I know."

It was after midnight and time for me to go to sleep. But before getting into bed, out of curiosity I went to the window of my bedroom. The curtains were cracked just enough for me to see out across the street, and sure enough, there was the silver Ford Taurus parked on the curb, as usual in front of the Malicks' house. I'd seen the car start showing up for a couple of weeks now. It wasn't there every day; but when it was, it was only at night. Initially, I'd thought that it was a neighbor's new car or more likely a rental. After all, I didn't think there were ANY generic American sedans on this street. It was Orange County, after all. Everyone around here drove a Japanese or European import, with the odd Lincoln or Cadillac thrown in. But never a Taurus. And I never saw one of the neighbors, including the Malicks, getting into or out of it.

Shaking my head and wondering what it meant, I finally dropped into bed and went to sleep.

The last week of June turned out to be the most dramatically intense week of my life. I'd lived through my cheating problems in High School. I'd dealt with Dawn's rape. And I'd gone through my Adrienne drama at the same time as the Drew Walker incident with Brooke. This turned out to be far scarier.

But before the fit hit the shan, I had one day of fun: Adrienne's birthday.

June 21 fell on a Saturday this time, and the family spent the entire day together celebrating. We went to Boomers and played mini-golf. We ordered pizza and threw her a birthday party, despite Adrienne insisting that she was nineteen and too old for birthday parties.

But after Adrienne had blown out the candles and made her wish, the older teens packed up and made ready to leave for Adrienne's more "adult" party.

Mizuho had driven a big Lexus LX470 that sat seven, and she loaded in Adrienne, myself, Candy, Heather, and Lynne for the drive out to her dad's place in Newport. And with enough begging, Brooke managed to wrangle permission from our parents to occupy the seventh seat. She was 17 now, and thrilled to be coming along with the "big" kids.

I was pretty excited as well. I was sitting in an SUV with six beautiful babes, all of whom I'd had sex with. And if last year's birthday party was any indication, I'd soon be reacquainting Mr. Happy with their nubile bodies.

Only two things might have stood in the way, but both of them had been resolved. The first was Adrienne's commitment to monogamy with Grace. All this time, she'd kept her word by not having sexual contact with anyone else, managing to keep her libido in check and helped in that her usual temptations like Candy, Heather, and Brooke respected her commitment. But Adrienne had been keeping Grace informed about everything going on in her life, especially the Adam- situation. And after all the stress, it had been Grace's idea to let Adrienne blow off some steam for one night, as long as Adrienne promised it would just be the one night.

Second could have been Brooke. But after some short discussions, we realized she wouldn't be a deterrent to the sexual activities. After all, every one of the girls had been made aware of my less-than-appropriate relationship with my little sister, with Candy, Heather, and Lynne having been brought into the secret during the resolution of Adrienne's and my "nottogetherness", and all seemed accepting of it. We were all friends and they knew me well enough to have an open mind.

Mizuho, of course, had actually participated in an incestuous foursome with us, although that wasn't public knowledge. Only Adrienne and Mizuho had ever actually seen the little nymphomaniac in action, but from the tension in the air, the others wouldn't have to wait long.

Soon enough, the seven of us were streaming through the huge crystal-clear front doors and into the massive Newport Coast mansion. We wound up in the Solarium, staring in awe at the breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean far below. With the walls of windows and even the ceiling of transparent glass, I finally got to the see the brilliance of sunset from our perch atop the elevated bluff.

It's strange now, looking back at that night. We were so carefree, so happy. For a few hours, Adrienne forgot about her life, forgot about Adam, and even forgot about her place in my family. She had absolutely no idea that this night nearly became her very LAST birthday. I had absolutely no idea that I very nearly never saw another one of mine.

It was better that we didn't know. Not knowing let us just cut loose for an evening, enjoying all of the pleasures we could find that night. And even if our lives had ended the following week, at least we would have died having experienced one final out of control party.

Chatting while enjoying the sunset view was accompanied by lots of drinking. Lots of drinking led to Candy's suggestion to play strip poker. And strip poker inevitably led to sex.

I won't bother you with the details of the poker game. Suffice to say, everyone ended up getting naked, which was even more of a thrill once the sun went down and we felt gloriously exposed in this massive room made of glass. Mizuho assured us no one on Earth could possibly see us due to the angles. But we always had to wonder if there was anyone floating above the Earth in a helicopter with a powerful zoom lens or anything like that.

Also, as with any stripping game, people didn't get naked at the same rate. Those who wound up without any more clothing to give up had to perform tasks to remain in the game. Lynne, as always, felt a little awkward at first. But with judicious use of tequila, she quickly found her courage and got herself into the mood to re-practice her developing Sapphic skills.

Brooke, on the other hand, was absolutely fearless in diving into her tasks, whether on the giving or receiving ends. She looked around and saw five gorgeous babes, three of whom were brand new to her. My little sister stared at them as if she was a predator lioness and they were the juiciest steaks imaginable. In fact, it was actually Candy, Heather, and Lynne who were initially nervous about her. But they quickly found she was an adept kisser and even better with her tongue in ... other ... places.

Later on, I'm not sure which sent the room into a tizzy more: a gaming outcome which required Brooke to go down on me, or an outcome which required me to go down on Adrienne. Either way, I won. Listening to the girls oohing and ahhing when Brooke slurped my dick into her mouth only heightened my pleasure and nearly made me cum. I know Candy actually did cum, suffering a self-inflicted orgasm while watching my little sister's head bobbing up and down my rod. I always thought that girl had a long-buried crush on her own older brother.

And while it would turn out to be my only sexual contact with Adrienne, that night, I was very happy to find that her pussy tasted just as sweet as I remembered. I also swore to myself I would never again wash my hands after I'd gotten to grope her massive tits. And she practically made me blow my load when she gave me a nuclear kiss in thanks for the orgasm I gave her.

Not unexpectedly, Heather was the first to declare, "Fuck the game" as she literally vaulted across the coffee table and shoved her tongue down my throat. At first, Lynne protested that this was Adrienne's party. But beside me, Brooke simply took my cock in hand and aimed it while Heather straddled my lap and promptly impaled her juicing pussy onto my cock. I soon filled my palms with the perky asscheeks of the raven-haired, aqua-eyed beauty, guiding her up and down thrusts while she wrapped her arms around my head and pulled my nose into her big, bouncing bosom. And my little sister was right beside me, turning Heather's head so that the two of them could passionately lock lips just inches away from my face.

Candy and Mizuho then moved to take care of Adrienne, Candy turning to Lynne and curling her finger. "Put your mouth where, uh, your mouth is," Candy stumbled momentarily over the idiom. "We let you off the hook last year because Adrienne was feeling sore. Now we're not gonna let you up to breathe until you make the birthday girl cum."

Emboldened by alcohol and her own lust for the stunningly gorgeous blonde, Lynne simply moved to kneel on the floor between Adrienne's spread legs. And then all I could see was Lynne's soft brown locks, held up by a hair clip, as her head wriggled in Adrienne's crotch. Candy ducked down to slurp one of the birthday girl's pink nipples into her mouth. And Mizuho took the top, exchanging tongue-filled kisses with the birthday girl that smacked wetly in the open air.

The orgy devolved from there.

Heather shrieked her way to two orgasms while riding me before flopping off onto the floor and panting for oxygen. That led Brooke to follow the raven-haired beauty down, molding herself chest-to-chest on top of her, while the two of them made out and ground their pussies together.

I saw the opportunity and knelt between the girls' outstretched legs, re-fucking first back into Heather before pulling out, aiming higher, and burying myself in my little sister's snatch.

Brooke screamed a climax into Heather's mouth and I was getting close myself when Candy suddenly showed up next to me. Her blue eyes were aflame as she watched me fucking my sister, and she leaned in, stating breathily, "I have a fantasy I HAVE to make come true."

A minute later, I was seated on the couch with Candy humping up and down my cock in a reverse-cowgirl position, my lips against the back of her shoulders and my hands reaching around to grip her big tits. Meanwhile, Brooke was completing Candy's fantasy, kneeling between her spread thighs and licking her clit. The beautiful, blue-eyed brunette was in seventh heaven, getting double- teamed by a brother-sister combination, sending her into pleasure orbit while she screamed her pretty little head off.

Candy screamed even louder when she felt my spunk erupting into her pussy.

After that, Candy and I just rested for a few minutes, enjoying the view of what the other girls were doing to Adrienne while Brooke slurped my spending out of Candy's crotch. For Candy, it was a period of rest. She'd had so many orgasms she appeared ready to go to sleep. For me, it was my first time watching Adrienne have sex since she was having sex with me back on our anniversary. And I couldn't take my eyes off her.

She was glorious. Those massive F-cup tits (G-cup!) were firm and didn't sag much despite her lying flat on her back. It helped that Brooke had moved over and was currently fondling them and raising them up so that she could nibble on the erect, pink nipples. Adrienne's tummy was still tight and flat. And her legs were so long, creamy, and smooth as they extended over Heather's shoulders while the raven-haired babe ate her out with enthusiasm. Only Adrienne's face was fully obscured, since petite Lynne was currently sitting on it, getting eaten out in return. Overall, I'd forgotten just how unbelievably gorgeous and sexy she could be when aroused, and I couldn't help but feel a pang in my gut watching her.

It didn't seem fair that we could still love each other, still be attracted to each other, and NOT be able to have sex. Hell, there went Brooke, moving into a sixty- nine with Adrienne while Mizuho returned with a strap-on and started fucking Heather from behind. My own sister could still have sex with Adrienne; and it seemed like I was the only one in the world who couldn't.

But I tamped down on my dark thoughts. Sex wasn't a requirement for me to love Adrienne, and we were at a point in our relationship where she needed this separation so she could make a clean break from dating me. Only the poker rules had brought us together for that one momentary act.

Hmm, maybe I should come up with more contrived situations, huh?

But I didn't have one at the moment, so I was resigned to watching Adrienne get fucked by the other girls around me. Believe me, it was stimulation enough. Mizuho had brought more toys than just the strap-on, and Brooke was currently working a pink vibrator in and out of Adrienne's pussy while they continued sixty- nining.

Plus, here came Lynne.

"Hiii, Ben," the pretty brunette said shyly. The lust in her eyes was unmistakable. Plus, Lynne was still toward the hetero side of that Kinsey scale, and I was the only male present. It only made sense that she'd come to me at earliest opportunity.

"Hi, Lynne," I answered warmly, reaching my hand out to wrap around her waist and pull her onto the couch beside me. Candy just giggled, kissed my cheek, and then moved off me to go back and shower more pleasure on the birthday girl.

"I missed you," she said softly, reaching down to wrap her small hand around my throbbing shaft. Her dark eyes focused on my dick for a moment before she flicked her gaze back up to my face. "You think we'd have found more ways to meet up during the school year."

I shrugged. Stanford was pretty close by, but life had certainly been busy. "I missed you, too. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too. And you're sorry. So now that we're done with that, how about we forget about it and get to the fucking?" Lynne giggled.

My dickhead twitched agreeably. My bigger head nodded as well. Then I grabbed the petite girl, flipping us over to plant her butt at the edge of my seat while I nudged my new erection into her folds. She squealed when I flipped us and then moaned when she felt the pressure at her gates, her tight labia stretching only reluctantly to fit around my thick member.

"Will you cum in me, Ben?" Lynne asked huskily. "Will you spill your hot essence inside me?"

I grinned. "I think I can manage that."

The aforementioned last week of June was the most dramatically intense week of my life for more than just scary moments. It was intense in both incredible high points and terrifying lows.

Sunday started off with the twins becoming absolutely livid with our mother.

"It's not fair!" Emma protested at the top of her lungs.

"You're being unreasonable!" Eden yelled just as loud. They were in the kitchen with Mom while I was in the family room trying to watch TV. And every time they screamed my splitting headache was made worse. Ordinarily, I was very good about controlling my alcohol intake so as not to get hangovers this bad. But apparently (A) my sense of control wasn't what it used to be before the breakup with Adrienne and (B) I hadn't had any alcohol since Berkeley, which meant my system was a bit out of practice.

Plus, I was pretty dehydrated. After all, with six girls and one me, I'd been drained rather completely dry last night. I had managed a fifth ejaculation: Mizuho riding my dick while Heather sat on my face as the two of them pawed at each other's tits and french kissed. That final orgasm meant I'd "spilled my hot essence" inside every girl present but Adrienne, but there wasn't much left to spill. Brooke certainly didn't get much slurping my jizz out of Mizu's box.

The point is: I wasn't feeling very well. I certainly had neither the energy nor desire for sex at this very moment, which was ironic given the topic the twins were currently arguing over with Mom.

"I am NOT putting you two on the pill early and that's FINAL," Mom insisted. It was a good thing Dad was out of the house at the moment, golfing with some of his business partners. I was certain Dad knew I was messing around with his daughters, but it wasn't a subject we ever talked openly about like I did with Mom.

"But Ben absolutely REFUSES to have sex with us until we're protected!"

"That's the point."

"But we're ready! You're not seeing reason!" Emma insisted.

"You're not ready until you prove to me you're ready," Mom said as calmly as she could, which meant her volume was still short of yelling (barely) and all her annoyance was in her tone. "And throwing a tantrum is NOT going to prove your readiness to me."

"This is SO unfair! I wish I'd never been born!" Eden yelled. Good lord, was I this annoying when I was their age? I guess this was the definition of being thirteen (and a half): Physically, the twins looked fifteen. Seductively, they could seem seventeen. But when they didn't get their way, suddenly they were NINE.

The twins never convinced Mom to get them on the pill. But like I said, at least for now, it wouldn't have mattered.

I think I'm going upstairs to take a nap.

So no, Sunday wasn't the end of the world, although the twins might have disagreed with me.

Monday wasn't the end of the world, either. Actually, Monday started off as a GREAT day.

"Ohmigod!" Adrienne came rushing into my bedroom, waving me towards her frantically even though she was coming to sit on my bed. I sat up in curiosity, taking note of the cell phone welded to her ear and the tinny sounds flittering out from the speaker. Her hazel eyes were bright and she had the biggest smile on her face. "Ohmigod!"

Adrienne looked right at me and beamed a smile. Then she looked down and nodded her head, her mind clearly going through the phone. "I understand. I understand. This isn't over, but it's a very good step. Uh-huh ... Uh-huh ... Okay. Yeah ... This is something you can tell them? Great! Okay! Thank you SO much. Uh-huh. Buh-bye!"

Adrienne hung up and then dropped the phone onto the mattress, throwing her arms into the air. "The judge dismissed the case! And Adam's GONE!"

My own face lit up in a smile as I thrust my arms out and Adrienne gleefully threw herself at me, letting me wrap her up in a warm hug. I still had the vivid memory of her naked body, thrashing in the throes of orgasm while three hot girls titillated her to ecstasy, but I shoved aside those thoughts and concentrated on being happy for her. "What happened?"

"Ohmigod! So much!" Adrienne could barely contain herself. She had so much to say and only one mouth to say it with. "That lawyer I told you was going into Adam's records? She did some digging and found out he's wanted in Alabama, New Mexico, and possibly other states on multiple counts of lewd acts with a minor and sexual assault on minors, using different names."

"What?" I stared at her, goggle-eyed.

"Adam's GONE! They sent some cops to arrest him and extradite him to Alabama, but he took off! The judge dismissed his lawsuit, so that's all done. And now he's on the run. He's GONE!"

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed. "So it's all over?" I asked while hugging her tightly, holding her while she wriggled in my embrace and crushed those glorious tits into my chest.

"It's over!" Adrienne crowed, panting out of breath. She sat back and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "I think it's really over!"

I smiled, Adrienne squealed, and she dove back in for another hug. I wrapped her up tightly and she hugged me back so hard that we lost our balance, rolling over and onto our sides on the bed while Adrienne threw her head back and giggled in delight.

Hearing the happy tone in her voice and the musicality of her giggle, I suddenly felt playful and my hands slid lower to tickle her sides. Adrienne cracked up and started wriggling against me, laughing uncontrollably while also getting her own hands to my sides to tickle me back.

"Wha-ha! Hee-hee!" she giggled while we fought back and forth, escalating the tickle fight. Heads thrashed, bodies rolled, and hands were everywhere as we simultaneously tried to get to each other's sensitive spots and twist out of the way of the other's attempts.

But then Adrienne stopped trying to get away from me. Her hands went up around my head, yanking my face to hers while she rolled on top of me and slammed her lips against mine. Her tongue snaked into my mouth and she moaned heatedly while giving me the most explosive nuclear kiss I'd felt from her all year.

"Ohhh..." I couldn't help but groan, feeling every nerve in my brain lighting up at the exact same moment.

"Bennn..." Adrienne groaned into my mouth, kissing me harder and even more fiercely than before.

My hands automatically slid upwards to grip her shoulders, only I found that my hands were sliding underneath her blouse and across her naked skin to get there. I pulled her and shifted to settle her crotch directly over the growing bulge in my shorts, and Adrienne instinctively began grinding herself against it.

"Oh, Ben," Adrienne gasped, pulling her mouth to the side while I continued kissing her cheek. She was panting oh-so-sexily and my skin felt like it was on fire. This was me and Adrienne, doing what we did best. It just felt so right.

"I want to fuck you," Adrienne moaned. My hands tightened on her shoulders and my hips surged, pressing my boner against her pussy.

"Oh, I want to fuck you," she groaned in an even deeper tone. But after turning her face and madly kissing me for another few seconds, she abruptly rolled off me and rolled off the bed.

"Adrienne!" I barked in surprise, sitting up and staring after her as she got to her feet and practically sprinted for the door.

"I'm sorry!" Adrienne whimpered as she literally turned the corner and started pounding on Brooke's door. A moment later, I heard it swing open and then my little sister grunted in surprise.

I managed to roll to my feet and headed for my door, turning the same corner and coming to a dead stop in the doorway into Brooke's bedroom. Adrienne was already half-naked, her blouse and bra on the floor while she practically assaulted Brooke on her bed. Clearly, Adrienne was hyped up with sexual energy and she had to let it out ... somehow ... just not with me.

"Fuck me, Ben," Adrienne crooned as she rolled onto her back, now naked with those glorious tits pointing to the ceiling. For a moment, I had the urge to march into Brooke's bedroom and do just that.

But I didn't. Adrienne had her neck arched away and her eyes closed while she was gripping the bedsheets tightly. Brooke was now naked, a strap-on dildo buckled around her waist with the head of it pressing against Adrienne's sopping wet labia.

"Fuck me, Ben," Adrienne repeated, still with her eyes closed. She wanted me. She still wanted me. But she couldn't really have me. And I couldn't really have her.

I turned away and closed the door while Brooke leaned her hips forward, pushing the fake cock inside. And then as the erotic moans of two beautiful women floated through the air, I went back into my bedroom to jack off and dream.

Tuesday started off quiet. Adrienne made no comment about the previous day's "almost-sex". But she also made no comment about moving out, so I decided to let things just be as they were. We were cordial, but quiet, to each other for the rest of Monday, even at the restaurant when we'd gone out as a family to celebrate the end of the whole Adam-incident.

Since Adam had left town to escape extradition and his lawsuit had been dismissed, I harbored hope that nothing new would surface. As long as nothing did, we could all go to summer camp as a family. And once Adrienne was up there with us for a full month, I felt certain that I could talk her into staying with the family permanently, as well.

I then went out to visit with old friends. Now that my entire High School crew was out of school, we all met up at the beach as a group. It was quite a pleasure for me to see how much the girls in the group had been growing up. I'd seen them go from skinny, pre-pubescent 10-year-olds to very pretty high schoolers. And now that we were turning nineteen, it was amazing to see what beautiful young women they'd become. Elaine and Megan, while still petite, had developed full curves. Cassidy was becoming quite the stunner, her freckles only enhancing her beauty as her face had elongated into that of a runway model's. Even Abbie and Allie were now recognizably adult females, no longer possible to mistake them for children. Abbie was quite the little hottie with her streaked blonde hair and Allie was quite a bit more "sexy" than "librarian". Plus, even Stephanie Vo joined us this summer, the elegant Asian babe looking more exotically beautiful than I remembered.

And I got to see them all in bikinis. Yeah, it was a different type of group than Adrienne's birthday party filled with naked cheerleaders, but no less exciting. For one, this crew wasn't nearly as casual about sex and it didn't seem likely I would be jumping into bed with any of them anytime soon. But I still had the memories of what it had been like to bed each of them, save Elaine; and the glimpses of skin I got and the various opportunities I had to rub sunblock onto them or give them backrubs were quite pleasant on a subtle level.

In a different kind of excitement, I also got together with the boys and we agreed that it had been FAR too long since we went mano-a-mano on a basketball court. Despite finding the occasional time to ball with Ryan, Matt, Kevin, and the others at Berkeley, I knew I was quite rusty. Kenny gave me his usual trash-talk and we all agreed to meet up on Thursday morning to play. I was eagerly looking forward to it.

And so I was in quite a good mood when I returned home. The twins were feeling frisky and we had our little playtime for an hour before our parents got off work. Brooke had spent the day with her friends, but hadn't gotten a good chance to fuck Kenta's brains out; so she was making eyes at me that indicated she would want to burn off her sexual energy later that night. And even Adrienne had gotten over her initial awkwardness over the previous day and seemed back to normal with me.

But then Adrienne dropped her bomb on Wednesday.

Adrienne told me what she planned, shocking me to my core. I had known this day could come for a long time, but actually hearing that she would announce her decision made me sick to my stomach. I very nearly heaved up that night's dinner.

"What are you talking about? You're moving out?" Mom wasn't too happy. This time, her idea of "as calmly as possible" was a full on YELL.

"Have you thought this through?" Dad asked a little more gently.

Adrienne had sat my parents down in the living room while Brooke and the twins were entertaining themselves in the family room. Knowing what was coming, I'd insisted on being present myself. And of course, the sound of Mom shouting had instantly brought my younger sisters scurrying to the doorway. So the entire family was together for this.

Adrienne's eyes flickered nervously to the doorway once she realized she had a larger audience than originally intended. "Please, Mrs.-"

"Don't you DARE start calling me 'Missus', young lady," Mom cut her off. "Not when you've been calling me 'Mom' for the past year. Not when you've become a part of this family!"

"But that's just it," Adrienne practically whimpered. "I'm not actually a part of this family. I'm Adrienne Dennis. I have blonde hair. We share no DNA. Technically, I haven't even been your ward since I turned eighteen."

"That's legal mumbo-jumbo and family is more than just blood," Mom hissed. "You're our daughter now and that's all that matters."

Dad was a little more calm. "We agreed to take responsibility for you, Adrienne," he said sagely. "That doesn't magically go away with some date passing."

"Believe me, I'm appreciative of everything you've given me," Adrienne said placatingly. "But I'll be just fine on my own and I can take care of myself."

Mom sighed, shaking her head with a knowing expression on her face. "Is this because you and Ben broke up?"

"No!" Adrienne replied quickly.

Then Mom did what she does best. She leveled her gaze at Adrienne, boring her eyes into the back of the blonde girl's skull. She folded her arms across her chest. And then she waited ... and waited...

Adrienne cracked. "Okay, maybe a little," she blanched and turned her head to the side.

"Sweetie, you can't just run away from your feelings."

"I'm not running away!" Adrienne insisted.

Mom stopped, gave her the look, and waited again.

"Okay ... maybe a little..." Adrienne crumbled. Clearly, she had no experience dealing with a concerned parent and she was cracking faster than the twins would have. "But it's so hard to be this close to him, Mom," Adrienne whimpered. "I still love him."

"I know you do."

"But we can't be together forever."

Mom sighed. "I know you can't."

Adrienne perked. "You do?"

Mom nodded. "Ben loves you. And you love him. But more than that, you need him."

"I do," Adrienne said softly.

"But you don't need him as a husband, as your partner in life. You need Ben as your rock, as that guy you can always depend on when things go wrong. You need Ben only sometimes, not all the time."

Adrienne nodded, looking surprised. "Exactly."

Mom leaned forward and held Adrienne's hand in both of hers. Gently, she patted the blonde's knuckles, staring down at them before flicking her gaze up into Adrienne's eyes. "You need Ben as a brother."

Adrienne whimpered.

"And we're your family, Adrienne. Yeah, we're new. Yeah, it's only been a year. And yeah, you managed to survive almost eighteen years without us. But were you really happy for all those years by yourself? We're here for you. You are NOT intruding. And we DO want you here. Eden and Emma adore you. Brooke loves spending time with you. And you know Ben just plain loves you and needs you in his life."

"Stay with us, Adrienne," Dad added warmly. "We've welcomed you into our family and we want you to be a part of us, right guys?" He looked around the room and got confirming nods from his biological daughters. I nodded and squeezed Adrienne's leg.

The gorgeous blonde exhaled slowly and hung her head down before putting her hand on top of mine. She squeezed my fingers for a moment before turning to me, abundant moisture in her eyes. I knew, as Mom had also recognized, that this had nothing to do with Adrienne feeling like an outsider to our family. It was only ever about her and me.

"Can we really do that, Ben?" Adrienne asked as twin tears overflowed her eyelids and began rolling down each cheek. "Can I just be one of your sisters, forever? Can you just be my brother?"

I sighed and nodded firmly.

"But you wanted more from me." Adrienne furrowed her eyebrows. "You wanted partnership and family from me. Can you handle not getting it?"

"I have to," I replied wearily. I took a deep breath and squeezed her leg again. "I love you, Adrienne. I want to be here for you, however you need me. And maybe this is the best way for me to do that."

Adrienne hung her head and leaned forward. I met her halfway in a hug, her chin over my right shoulder and mine over hers as I wrapped my arms around her back while she clutched my biceps.

"We talked about this before, Adrienne, last year. You've got me. I'm your rock. As your brother, I can love you forever and always," I sighed. "You'll never lose me."

"But won't it hurt if you want me to be more than just a sister?"

I sighed and patted her back. "It would hurt more if you left." I bent my head over her shoulder and fought back tears of my own. Strangely enough, it felt like I was breaking up with her again. "Just don't leave me."

I woke up Thursday morning feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, better than I had in more than a month. I hadn't realized the tension I'd been subconsciously carrying around since my ill-fated anniversary with Adrienne. There had been enough highs and lows since then to make me feel like I was stressing and then relaxing it all away. But as it turns out, there was an underlying stress that had never actually gone away for that entire time ... until now.

Adrienne wasn't leaving.

Yeah, we were still broken up.

Yeah, we still couldn't have sex.

But she wasn't leaving. Even though we were not bound by blood, Adrienne had accepted a place in our family, a place in our hearts. We'd rallied around her and made her one of our own, and she would forever and always be one of the most important people in my life. We would never again have to worry about losing each other.

Plus, Adam was gone. His lawsuit was over. Adrienne would be getting her inheritance. He was currently on the run to escape his criminal charges, and I sincerely hoped we never saw or heard from him again.

In little more than a week, we would be able to get away from this all by heading up on our annual trip to summer camp. Adrienne and I would have a full month to redefine our relationship, to figure out how we could love each other and come to understand each other within the boundaries of what we each wanted. Magical things always happened at camp. I knew with certainty that my newest sister and I would find our way.

And right now, I was going to play basketball again. I was excited. I anxiously looked forward to the competition, the rediscovering of how to play the game, and re-bonding with my old friends.

I was happier than I'd been in more than a month, happier than I'd been since my anniversary. I was living on an incredible high.

The lowest low was just hours away.

"BENNN!!!" Adrienne screamed so loud into the phone that I had to jerk my head away and wince in pain. "BENNN!!!"

I recovered enough to shove the microphone end of the cell phone under my jaw, ignoring the bead of sweat that dropped off my chin to impact against the silver aluminum. "Adrienne? What? What happened?"

"It's Emma!" Adrienne shrieked. "He TOOK her!"

"Emma? What? Who?"

"ADAM!" Adrienne shrieked even louder. "He TOOK her!"

My jaw dropped. My skin went pale. And I nearly dropped the phone. Holy SHIT.

Daniel Chen was right beside me, patting my shoulder. "Hey, man. You okay?"

I didn't even answer him. The phone was back up in my ear and I was sprinting to my car. "Adrienne! WHERE ARE YOU?"

I didn't do a very good job parking the Mustang. I didn't really care, either. I just left the key in the ignition and the door ajar as I dashed up to the front door while Adrienne came racing out. She was bawling in tears, and Brooke was right behind her.

I wanted to freak out as well, but now wasn't the time. I was angry and upset but remarkably clear-headed. I simply gathered my two sisters in my arms and ushered us back into the house. Dad was on the phone, talking to the police. Mom was comforting a sobbing Eden on the loveseat in the living room.

As calmly as possible, I sat Adrienne down on the couch and held her cheeks in my hands, forcing her to look straight at me. Once I knew I had her attention and she stopped crying for the moment, I looked her dead in the eye and asked, "What happened?"

Adrienne sniffled and explained, "The twins were going out to visit a friend a few blocks away or something. Eden says Adam screeched up to the curb, jumped out and chased them. The girls ran screaming, and Eden got away, but Adam got to Emma and tackled her. Eden was too scared to turn around and go back while Adam threw Emma into his car and drove off. That's all we know."

I glanced over at Eden, who was sitting with her knees pulled up beneath her chin, rocking and crying and looking absolutely scared shitless, no matter what Mom tried to do.

To the left, I heard Dad yelling in exasperation, "I've said it three times already! We're SURE of his identity! My daughter has MET the guy! It's Adam Dennis! There's a warrant out for his arrest! He's driving a late-model silver Ford Taurus! He snatched my daughter off the street and drove off!"

I felt my mouth go dry at the mention of the silver Taurus. Ah, hell...

Adrienne squeezed her eyes shut and hunched over. Brooke molded herself against my side. But just then, Adrienne's cell phone went off. Confused, she dug into her jeans pocket, struggling a bit even though the phone was tiny because her jeans were so tight, and she showed me the display. It was a 949 area code, but we didn't recognize the number.

Nervously, Adrienne answered the phone. "Hello?"

"It's me," Adam's voice came through menacingly, just loud enough for me to hear.

"Oh, God..." Adrienne whimpered. She paled and just about dropped the phone.

Just before it tumbled from her grasp, I snatched it out of the air and pressed it to my ear. Brooke was hurriedly asking, "Who is it?" But I just waved her off and listened.

"You come to me, Punkin, alone, and I'll let the little one go. I just want to talk to you. But just you! If I even hear a fucking cop siren I swear to God I'll kill her."

"You sick fuck!" I couldn't help but growl in response. "You expect us to believe you'll really let Emma go?"

"Who is this? Ah, the boyfriend?" Adam snickered. In the background, I heard Emma scream, "BEN!"

I gritted my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut at the sound of Emma's voice. At least she sounded alright.

"Tell you what, boyfriend: You can come too. I'll give you your little sister, I swear. But I just HAVE to talk to MY little sister. But remember, no cops. And you two come alone. If I have any reason to think you're bringing any help along, I'll make you watch me rape this sweet young thing before I slit her throat."

"Where are you?" I gruffed.

"Tustin. Red Hill and El Camino. The Key Inn. I'll be watching. I see a cop and you'll find nothing but a dead little girl. You take too long to get here and I'll know you're setting something up."

"What room?" I asked, but he'd already hung up.

I should have thought about things more clearly. I probably should have still called the cops. At the very least, I should have told my parents.

But I was nineteen and impulsive. And I HAD to rescue my sister.

So I grabbed Adrienne's elbow and ran out the door.

I pulled off El Camino and into the small parking lot of the Key Inn. The place was a hop, skip, and a jump away from Red Hill and access to the 5 Freeway in both directions. I rolled along until I saw a familiar silver Taurus, and then immediately glanced around looking at doors at the two-story strip motel. Just then, I saw Adam come out and stand at the railing on the second level. I immediately opened my door and poked my head out as I double-parked the car. Adrienne was quickly getting out of the other side. Adam saw us and then he rapidly backed away toward the open door, scanning the street for any signs that we were being followed.

I ran around the car, grabbed Adrienne's hand, and we headed for the stairs.

Now up until this point, I had been relatively calm over the whole situation. Yeah, Adam had threatened to kill Emma if we brought police with us, but I'd thought those were just idle threats to ensure we came alone. There was nothing to make me think Adam was a particularly violent person, or that this was a situation that couldn't be handled with an intense conversation. He'd made it clear he wanted to meet with Adrienne, and kidnapping Emma had simply been his means for getting her to come.

So I was surprised as all hell when I turned to enter through the open motel doorway and came face to face with the barrel of a gun. I stopped dead in my tracks and nearly soiled myself.

He had a gun.

He had a fucking gun. Not some toy kids played with. This was a real fucking GUN. I have no idea what kind of gun it was. It was big. It was black. And did I mention it was a fucking GUN? I'd never even SEEN someone actually holding and aiming a gun in real life before. And this one was pointed at ME.

But after another second, the gun tracked to Adrienne. "Stay right there, Punkin," he said almost sweetly, gesturing to her feet with the gun. Adrienne rooted in her spot.

"You," he pointed at me. "You can have your sister."

My baby sister was huddled on the furthest of the two double beds, duct tape wrapped around her wrists and ankles while she sat with her knees pulled up to her chest. Another piece was across her mouth, gagging her. I moved quickly, perhaps too quickly. And as I moved forward I found the gun barrel quickly aiming back at me. "Whoa, whoa," I held my hands up defensively.

"Don't come at me," Adam said crossly. "Climb over the bed."

I did as he asked, getting onto the nearest bed and knee-walking my way across it, still with my hands in the air. At the same time, I grimaced and mentally cursed myself for being so stupid as to not tell anyone where we were going. I hadn't wanted police or anyone following us so as not to alarm Adam, but now that he had a gun on us, I seriously wished someone had been following us. Hell, the guy could potentially kill us and get onto the freeway before anyone realized what had happened. This was REALLY poor planning on my part. But in my defense, I never dreamed it would escalate to anything like this.

Once I got to Emma, I reached out to begin peeling off the duct tape. But Adam cocked the gun and growled, "The tape stays on."

Adrienne started moving forward.

"I said 'don't move'," Adam barked, turning to re-aim at his sister.

With a preternatural calmness, Adrienne slowly turned to her older brother and said, "You promised you would let her go."

"Not yet," he growled.

"Yes, right now. You're not going to shoot me, Adam," Adrienne said softly. Hopping over the bed just like I had, she kept her distance from Adam and yet stared him down the entire time. And then she moved forward to take the tape off Emma's mouth, interposing herself between us and Adam. I bit down on my urge to move myself into a more protective position to defend Adrienne. Right now, it really did seem like he wouldn't shoot his sister, and sighing, Adam just let us go to work.

To her credit, Emma barely whimpered once her mouth was free. She didn't scream or say anything further. Adam looked visibly upset, but he didn't move to stop either of us. He simply stood there, shaking slightly while both Adrienne and I slowly removed the rest of Emma's binding tape one piece at a time.

Eventually, Emma was completely free and Adrienne pushed her in my direction. I wound up sitting on the bed while my baby sister crawled into my lap and quickly huddled up to my side, hugging me firmly while I wrapped an arm around her waist. She cried softly into my shoulder, her back to Adam.

Only then did Adrienne turn to face her older brother. With a strength, fire, and confidence as if she were staring down incoming-Freshman cheerleaders, she drew herself to her full height and asked clearly, "What do you want, Adam?"

"It's simple: I want you," he said plainly.

"Excuse me?" Adrienne took a step back, her eyes going wide.

"I want you, baby sister. He can have the girl. I get to keep you."

Red adrenaline shot through my veins at that pronouncement and I practically shoved Emma off me while I got to my feet. "You can't take her!" I barked.

Instantly, the gun tracked over to me and I saw the tension in Adam's trigger finger. He didn't fire, but he glared at me. "I can do whatever the fuck I want."

I gulped in the face of the gun barrel. Adam waved it and said coldly, "You: stay right there."

And then after making sure I wasn't about to jump him, Adam returned the aim over to Adrienne. "As for you, back to the doorway. We're leaving, Punkin."

"I'm not going with you," Adrienne replied harshly.

Adam shook the gun in her face. "Yes, you are!"

"We already established that you won't shoot me, Adam."

"The fuck I won't!" He pulled back on the gun slide, re-cocking it and then aiming with both hands right at her face.

"Okay, okay..." she said softly, raising her hands. Adam was now standing by the motel room's television while Adrienne and I both stood next to the bedside table in between the two beds. With her head down, Adrienne slowly began walking toward him to get out from between the two beds.

"Adrienne..." I whimpered, feeling helpless. Fuck it, man! I'd just gotten Adrienne back! I was NOT about to lose her again! Right in that moment, I wanted nothing more than to rush the guy; but some part of my brain was awake enough to tell me not to try anything stupid against a guy with a gun.

Apparently Adrienne held no such compunctions. When she reached the foot of the bed, bringing herself achingly close to Adam in the process, she suddenly threw herself into him, reaching for the gun with both hands and screaming a howl of pure rage.

"AAAHHHH!!!" Adrienne shrieked as she attacked him.

"Wahh!" Adam barked in surprise, throwing his arms up and shoving Adrienne away.

[BANG!!!]

The gun had gone off. And Emma was screaming.

Everything happened so fast. One moment, I was clenching my jaw and scrambling to think of something to do while Adrienne calmly walked to the doorway and certain doom. The next, the gun had discharged and Adrienne had been flung against the TV, knocking it and herself to the floor. And Adam staggered to keep his balance.

I saw Adrienne fall. Nothing else mattered anymore. I ran at Adam.

"ARRRRGHH!!!" I yelled.

"BENNN!" Emma screamed behind me.

[BANG!!!]

The gun went off again as I tackled Adam against the dresser, bending him over the top of it. A searing pain lanced across the left side of my face, but I ignored it as I focused on pummeling his head in with my fists or knocking the gun from his hands.

I'd been in a fight or two in my life. I was never very good at them, but I was relatively big and relatively fast. I basically flailed around, hitting him as hard as I could before I saw his gun hand and went to grab it with my left hand.

[BANG!!!]

The gun went off AGAIN. This time, flaring pain exploded along my left side near my hip. I cried out in pain, and far worse, I felt the hot metal slide out of my grasp. Adam once again had control of the gun. I braced myself and winced, certain that he would now be able to get in a killing shot.

But all of a sudden, the weight in front of me was gone. Adam was no longer trying to fight me; he was trying to escape. A second later, I watched him run out the door while I sank to my knees, holding my left hand to my side. And then to my great surprise, he grabbed the second-story railing and literally vaulted himself over it, arcing into the air before passing out of my sight.

There was a ringing in my left ear that drowned out a lot of the sound, but I swore I could hear shouting coming from outside the room, followed by the noise of police sirens in the distance. Someone had heard the gunfire.

Only then did I take a deep breath and look around. Desperately, I glanced back at Emma. My baby sister was curled up in a ball, crying in absolute terror. But she seemed to be unharmed. I couldn't say the same for the headboard behind her. The wood was splintered from a bullet hole, only a few inches away from her. She'd been that close to getting shot.

As for me, I looked down and saw that there was blood on my left hand, where I was holding my side, and more blood spreading outwards along my shirt. Ah, FUCK. I'd been fucking SHOT! Plus, my left cheek still burned, and I raised my hand to touch it, wincing at the stinging sensation. There was more blood on my fingertips, but I wasn't entirely sure if my cheek was bleeding as well or if it was leftover blood from my side. I'd gotten lucky with the face, but more blood was leaking out my left side and I was starting to get dizzy.

And then my eyes drifted to the right, looking at Adrienne. She was facedown on the carpet, her left arm pinned awkwardly beneath her torso and a broken TV beside her. She wasn't moving. From what I could tell, she wasn't breathing. And then I saw the blood trickling out from beneath her body.

Holy fucking SHIT.

Oh, no...

Oh, no...

Oh, dear GOD no!

I'd just gotten her back...

Adam had gotten away. Emma was crying. I was bleeding to death. And Adrienne might very well already be dead.

My world was coming to an end.