Caitlyn struggled with addiction all her life. Finding herself holed up in a decrepit hotel room, its walls caked with peeling, yellowed wallpaper and nearly as much dirt upon the floor that it appeared to be thick like a lush carpet, she didn’t know where she was headed. A syringe had been hanging out of the crook of her arm and a shoestring held her last decent vein prominently against the skin. She wanted one more hit, but couldn’t score. There wasn’t any money in her belongings or what amounted to them.
She summoned the energy to remove her kit and set the items down on an end table, next to a lamp. The cupboard were barren. Inside the refrigerator was a box of baking soda and truly, she saw herself chopping it up with a razor and…no. Caitlyn might be down and out, though not low enough to mix chemicals on the countertop. She caught her reflection in a mirror above the bathroom sink and freaked out.
“There’s no way I look that horrible…”
Her voice sounded hoarse, like tires over a gravel road. Without so much as a penny to her name she needed to do something drastic. Quickly, before she had time to regret it, the phone rang.
“Emily?”
The woman on the other end audibly hesitated and replied cautiously.
“This is she.”
“Hi. It’s your sister, Caitlyn. How long has it been?”
“I’m so glad to hear from you, sis.”
“The feeling is mutual. Look, I need to turn my life around. Is there anything you can do to help me?”
“Hold on. Mackenzie is here. I’ll have the two of you talk.”
The phone was set down on what sounded like a table top and another female voice answered, somewhat sternly.
“Hello? Is that you, Caitlyn?”
“Yes. I’m in a strange hotel room right now. I don’t remember how I got here and I admit, I’m an addict. Please help me. I’ll go into a detox program if that’s what it takes. I’d like to be able to see my daughter once before I do myself in…”
Makenzie heard her sister weakly sniffling and knew the tears must have been falling because hers were too.
“Sis? I-I’ll come and get you from the hotel. Do you know which one it is?”
Caitlyn scrambled for the room key and looked at the tag. ‘Rooms 4 Cheap’.
“It’s called Rooms for Cheap. I’m scared, please get here as soon as you can.”
“On my way.”
She hung up and turned to Emily.
“Our sister is strung out and she’s turning to us for help. Do you want to see her or should I take Bryan with me?”
“Maybe we should all go. It will show Caitlyn that we support her decision to turn her life around.”
Bryan entered the room, bare chested and fresh out of the shower.
“I heard you talking on the phone, Em. What’s the news?”
“We got a call from Caitlyn. She’s in a hotel room near the slums and needs us to help her get back on her feet.”
“And we were thinking of the three of us picking her up and checking her into detox this afternoon.”
Mackenzie added.
“It’s been almost a decade since we last heard from her. I always thought she was dead. I’d love to see her again, no matter what condition she’s in.”
Bryan strongly stated.
The three of them went down to the carport and took a trip downtown.
———————————————————————–
Upon arriving, it was obvious that the little string of a thing was their sister. Other than her weight, she hadn’t changed one bit. Her hair looked overgrown; frayed like cut power lines but strangely healthy and full bodied for the condition she was in. The jeans she wore were in tatters and covered the most important parts. Her shirt had been a babydoll type flowery blouse, though with the passage of time seemed to appear equally worn to match Caitlyn’s unkempt physical state.
Emily tried to remain strong but failed miserably. She cried, hiding her face on the dashboard as Bryan turned to greet their sister. He pushed open the backdoor and ushered her inside. Her cloudy blue eyes managed to shimmer with an underlying brightness, emphasizing their struggle to embody the sister they believed themselves to know.
“I’ve missed you, big brother.”
She said, exasperated and breathed a sigh of relief. Her arms trembled nervously as he held onto his younger sister. Her tears fell plentifully, gathering on her jeans.
“Words can’t describe how much seeing you again means to me. Please don’t ever disappear on me. I thought you were dead after losing contact with you eight years ago.”
He held her at arms length and saw the intense sadness summoning more tears to the surface.
“I was on a mission. Nothing mattered to me after mom left. I wanted the pain to stop. I tried to keep my head clear of everything but I couldn’t. There are things I had to do in order to stay safe. Men used me, night and day. Repeatedly, at least once a week I was raped by men that didn’t think I was worth fifty bucks. I hope none of you ever EVER have to go through what I did.”
Caitlyn said this as Makenzie looked in the rear view and Emily bravely turned around to look her sister in the eyes. Renewed crying stopped their questions from being asked, at least for the time being. She didn’t speak again until they returned home, the same place she’d left all those years ago. Together, as a family the four of them entered through the front door.
“I know you’re probably not hungry, but I made an early dinner. Have something. Please Caitlyn.”
Mackenzie disappeared into the kitchen with Emily and could be heard setting their table with glasses, cutlery and plates. Bryan sat in the living room with her on a couch.
“Four years ago, I don’t know if you remember. I went driving around on a hunch by an area of downtown that junkies frequent. I think you came to the window of my car and propositioned me. Your eyes…they had grown cold. I didn’t recognize you at first, only later after thinking it over did I realize it was my own sister. I would have taken you back and given you a warm bed to sleep in, no questions asked.”
Her bottom lip quivered, though she neglected to respond. He continued.
“A week or so following that incident, you were down at the Burger King and I distinctly recall seeing you counting change between yourself and another two people to pay for a burger. I know you saw me because I handed you money, I also paid for what the three of you wanted. But I never mentioned any of that to my sisters. As you’ve said, you were on a mission and who was I to judge? I spent eight years worrying about whether your body was lying in a ditch. Eight years of my life. In that time, I welcomed a daughter into this world. I’ve told her about the aunt that she hasn’t met and it is so sad to see her cry. To have to reassure her that one day, Aunty Caitlyn will return home and get to see the pictures she’s drawn and how much she’s grown. Do you know what that is like?”
Caitlyn held onto her brother’s hand and silently, wordlessly begged him to stop. He knew she was close to breaking down in his arms again, but things needed to be said even if he risked losing her again.
“I’ve been raising your daughter too. She asks me, ‘Where’s mommy?’ and I have no clue what to tell her. Emily tries. I hate lying to either of the little ones but mentioning where you actually ended up would break their hearts. They’d suggest we could go and bring you home, but I knew in my heart that it wouldn’t be so simple. I had to wait until you reached out to us. Believe me, I was this close to going down there and raising hell to get you back.”
By this time, Caitlyn delved into her sadness and grabbed for a shard from a lamp she’d knocked over. Bryan wrestled her waifish form to the floor and knocked the ceramic piece across the room.
“I wanted to die, Bryan. Why couldn’t you let me die?”
She screeched in a low whisper, their faces remained pressed, forehead to forehead and nose to nose.
“Why…couldn’t you…l-l-let…me…”
His sister convulsed a little in his grasp and tired herself out. She lost consciousness on the living room floor and woke sometime later in a bed. Emily sat on the very edge of the mattress and must have been crying. Caitlyn struggled to sit up. Her feeble arms strained and struggled to cooperate, failure was imminent. She collapsed back into bed under her sister’s watchful eye.
“Bryan cares for us, you have to understand that.”
She noticed that Caitlyn mulled over what was meant by that comment.
“He cares a lot about you, Caitlyn. You were his favorite and none of us could compare. We’re blondes, you’re the only one that is brunette. There is something about you that neither of us can compare with. Even when he makes love to me, I can tell his mind is somewhere else.”
“The two of you? I don’t know what to say.”
Caitlyn gazed wide eyed at her sister.
“It helps relieve the tension. I’m on the pill so I don’t see the harm.”
Emily giggled playfully and seemed distracted.
“There’s still food left if you want anything. Just rest up. One of us will be awake, so if you need anything come and find us.”
She left the door open a crack and disappeared down the hall.
“I can’t believe they are fucking. He promised I’d be the only one, maybe I let a good thing slip by.”
Her chest rose and fell, eventually she became drowsy and fell asleep.
————————————————————————
Downstairs, Bryan and Emily were sitting on an armchair together. Once Makenzie departed for bed, the darkness of their living room made for a romantic setting. His sister had changed into a large Boston Bruins jersey and wore a pair of white ankle socks. Bryan wore boxers and a muscle shirt. It had been dark outside for hours and Emily’s light summery scent had made him hard. He nuzzled her neck, kissing its nape softly as she cooed appreciatively.
“Are you gonna put your cock in me? Hmm? It’s poking me, big brother.”
He groaned and felt the tip of his cock slip against the notch between her thighs, from inside his boxers.
“I want you, Em. I want to be inside you so bad, it hurts. Help me…”
She moaned cutely and caressed the bulbous tip through the fabric, squeezing it firmly until her palm touched a patch of wetness. Her hand fumbled with the button fly and unleashed his shaft into the open air, stroking it teasingly. He thrusted his hips desperately, hoping against hope that he might slide up her velvet soft pussy.
Emily guided his tip between her folds and abruptly smothered his cock with her wetness. He groaned aloud into her chest, his balls rested against the curvature of her cheeks, where they met the tops of her thighs.
“Does it feel good?”
“You are an angel! You have no idea how good you feel around me.”
“No, I don’t. I’d be happy to hear what you appreciate about our little trysts before I let you finish inside me again.”
She lifted her ass up, out of penile reach and waited for him to reply.
“Everytime, when we’re together I know it is you. But I sometimes imagine I’m with Caitlyn. I’ve been the happiest with her, inside her. But I honestly thought she was gone. Your pussy feels identical to hers and I would rather continue imagining, on occasion, that you are her. If I didn’t, I see no reason to live another day on this earth.”
Emily sank defeatedly onto him and she gave her brother the biggest hug she could manage.
“I had a feeling it was something like that. I don’t want you to leave me. I’d be empty without you using me for your own purposes. When the time comes, ask her. See if she is up for being intimate and while I won’t be happy, I don’t see a reason why you shouldn’t be.”
His cock sank all the way inside and he groaned, fucking her from beneath with both arms around her waist. Her little ass stuck in the air, vulnerable to the spaciousness of the room. He grabbed the two halves and held them tightly as his cock sawed passionately in and out of her sopping wet pussy.
“Cum in me, Bryan. I want to know that I did a good job. Please! Please!”
His thrusts grew rougher. The head of his prick mashed her soft insides, stealing her breath everytime he bottomed out. She smiled greedily and moaned in surprise as his cock throbbed repeatedly. A warm paste slathered her insides in a buttery cream, some of it seeped where babies are made and she distinctly knew that the end of his prick was resting against her cervix. She sucked the last few drops out unconsciously, trapping him until he softened.
————————————————————————–
Several months had passed and Caitlyn hadn’t touched as much as an aspirin. She’d started a daily workout regimen, ate three meals a day and was employed at a clothing store. Everything was looking up for her.
Bryan had abstained from Emily’s charms and picked up shifts at work. He rarely spent time at home once his little sister got on her feet. They worked at the same place but in different departments. He managed the stock room and she kept things tidy on the shop floor.
After having spent fourteen hours at work, both of their shifts concluded. Of course, Caitlyn’s started later but it panned out. He found himself unable to drive home, every part of him hurt. Especially his feet. She took the car keys and having known how to drive before, it was like having ridden a bike. You never really forget.
She got the two of them back home in one piece, more or less. Parking the car would be an obstacle to settle some other night, namely one that he hadn’t survived on an hour and a half’s sleep. They stumbled in at around midnight. Caitlyn helped her big brother undress, pulled off his sneakers, socks, jeans and shirt, set those in a folded pile atop his dresser and put him to bed. He squinted up at her, already half asleep and pulled her close.
“It’s been so long, Caitlyn. I’ve missed you. Every night, I cry out your name and wonder if things will ever be how they used to be between us. You’ve been through a lot, I know, but that doesn’t change the fact that I miss you.”
“But I’m right here, Bryan. I’ve been here for nearly a year-”
“That’s not what I mean. I miss you and me. The time we spent together as lovers. I remember how soft and inviting you were. I’ve tried to relive those memories vicariously, but it doesn’t work. I-I-”
“Shhh. Don’t speak. Sleep. In the morning, we can talk more. I know you must be tired big brother. If you want, I’ll cook breakfast, whatever you’re up for as long as we have it, I’ll make it for you. Okay?”
He mumbled something and Caitlyn’s ears perked up.
“What?”
“I said, I love you Caitlyn.”
Her heart skipped a beat, but deep down she knew that he loved how she made him feel. He didn’t truly love her, or did he? Their relationship was, for lack of a better term ‘fuck buddies’ that happened to be brother and sister. Yes, she did enjoy some of it. Especially the first time they made love. He was gentle and paid attention to every little thing she said and did. Bryan was an attentive lover, but things had changed between now and then.
Caitlyn couldn’t put her past behind her. She had a daughter to survive for, a niece and a second one on the way. Being a mother and an aunt meant more than subjecting herself to further debasement.
“I love you too, Bryan.”
She slipped quietly out of the room and into Mackenzie’s bedroom.
“There are some things I have to tell you. Can we talk for a little while?”
Caitlyn whispered. Mackenzie patted a spot next to her on the bed and her sister sat. She elaborated on the events of the past eight years and left nothing out. There wasn’t any amount of consoling that could help her little sister stop crying, but it was better than holding the pain inside.