“Hey.” Casey greets me with a smile on his lips and a warmness to his gaze. “Is it okay if I come in?”
I want to tell him no, because it’s not, but this isn’t my room to shut him out of, so instead I nod and take a step to the side.
“Thanks,” he says as he runs a hand back through his hair and walks into the room. I turn my face away from him when I notice his smile slipping into a grin, and he chuckles. “You can close the door if you want, Skylar. I’m just here to check up on my sisters and make sure that everything is okay before we go to bed.”
“I’d rather not,” I manage to squeak out. I’d hoped to sound more defiant than I do, but I can’t seem to hold my ground against him for some reason.
Casey is just so much different than Richter in the way he treats me, and I think it’s starting to have an effect on how I see my brother.
“Fine by me,” he acquiesces with a shrug as he breezes by me and crouches down in front of the fort. “I know—no boys allowed—I’m not gonna come in. I was just wondering when everyone thought they’d be ready for bed?”
“Never!” comes the reply from whom I’m assuming are Sierra and Cleo, and Casey shakes his head with a laugh as he gets back to his feet.
“Were you this difficult to get into bed?” he asks me with a smile.
“No. I listened when Mom told us it was bedtime,” I respond with a shrug. It’s the trust; there was never a moment that Mom asked us to do something that we disobeyed her. She never hit us, but the slightest misstep against either of the adults in the house would flip Dad’s switch and he’d threaten to tan our hides.
After Mom heard his threat one time, she made us promise that we’d never talk back to either of them or tell them no to anything she asked. Her, not Dad—she wanted to keep us safe from what he was doing to her, which I later found out is exactly what Richter’s doing to me.
“Can I ask you something?” I say to Casey nervously. He nods, moving over to where I’m still standing by the door, and holds a hand out to me. I stare at it uneasily before I take it and let him lead me to the bed.
“What’s on your mind, Skylar?” he asks, the smile never faltering from his lips as we sit down.
“I… um…”
“You can talk to me, you know. I get that we don’t know each other really, but family is family and I always take care of mine,” he states in a gentler tone.
I take a deep breath and fold my hands in my lap. Staring at the top of them, I wonder if it’s worth causing even more friction between our family and his, but I have to know the truth and the only way to get that is to ask.
“Does…” I bite my lower lip nervously.
“Does what?” he prods, resting a hand on top of mine.
“Does Bryden force you?” I ask, stealing a glance at him.
“Force me to what?” The confusion in his tone is genuine and I can tell that beating around the bush isn’t working with him.
“To… uh, love each other,” I stammer out.
“No.” His reply is instant, firm, and fierce. But not in the way that Richter would say something, and definitely not with the fierceness that Dad would speak down to Mom. “Our family is built on love—mutual love. We respect each other, know that we all deserve to feel happy, and being together the way we are is how we show it. Why? Has Richter forced you to love him?”
A change in the timbre of his voice sets me slightly on edge, but it’s too late to turn back now.
“Sometimes,” I confess, a tear rolling down my cheek and landing on the back of his hand.
A low growl escapes from somewhere deep within Casey as he turns to face me, bringing his hands up to either side of my face.
“Love should never be forced. It’s something that you need to experience, that you both should be willing to give. I can show you how to love the right way if you’ll let me.”
I want to say no.
I want to get up and walk out of the still open door, but I don’t. Instead, I go against my instinct, lean forward, and press my lips to his.
He smiles, a small breath escaping him, and I pull away. Maybe that was too forceful of me, maybe it’s the exact opposite of what he wants to teach me, however, it’s the first time that I’ve initiated a kiss with a boy, and I like the way it felt.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him, feeling ashamed of my actions.
“For what?” he asks in a soft tone as he rests his forehead against mine. “I want you to love me, Skylar. You’re not taking anything I’m not willing to give.”
My breath shudders as Casey moves one of his hands away from my face, wrapping his arm around my waist to pull me closer.
“You have every right to claim what you want, you know. We’re family, and this is how you’ll know for sure that I’m not lying to you.”
And there’s that word again rearing its ugly head and trying to stop what suddenly feels so natural.
“Just follow my lead, okay?” he whispers before he lowers his lips to mine, brushing them gently. It sends a shiver through me, and for the first time it’s not one of repulsion. It’s hunger, need, and wanting the man that’s before me instead of running away from him.
Casey lets go of me long enough to pull his shirt over
