Thanks to Mused for all his help
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***
Brandon folded the last of his socks and crammed them into his over-stuffed suitcase. With a resigned sigh he zippered it closed and turned to Emma. He was done, packed and ready to leave. He was excited, apprehensive, and sad. Leaving his little sister was killing him, but he knew he had to go. He'd put off moving into student housing as long as he could, but now it was Friday evening, and he would have only the weekend before his classes started at the University of Chicago Law School.
They'd returned from the cottage Tuesday. Leaving the beautiful family cottage on Lake Michigan was always hard, but this year was especially difficult. Brother and sister had discovered a love for each other they had never known, though Brandon had felt something for Emma long before. More than sibling love, their feelings had turned to true love over the course of the season, and now they had to face Brandon's departure. All summer long they had tried not to think about it and take one day at a time, but summer's end had finally arrived, and with it their eventual separation.
"Guess that's it, Em," Brandon spoke quietly. He reached out and caressed Emma's face with his palm.
Emma was sitting cross-legged on Brandon's bed; she'd been there most of the afternoon, just watching him pack, engaging in small talk with him. They were going out for dinner later that evening with their parents and their grandmother but, until then, Emma wanted to spend as much time alone with her brother as she could. She leaned into his touch and gazed up at him, her eyes full of love. "Guess so," she sighed. "Sure you should leave your car here?"
"I don't want to mess with it in Chicago, and you'll need it here. Don't worry about it, babe."
Emma closed her eyes and nodded.
Several times throughout the afternoon Margaret had poked her head into the room to see if her kids needed anything. If she thought it odd that the siblings refused to be apart since their return from the cottage, she didn't comment. They had always been close and she knew the upcoming separation would be hard on them. She didn't realize just how close they had become, or how difficult it would be. She didn't know her children had become lovers.
At that moment Margaret stuck her head in again. She took in the scene before her, her son's hand softly stroking her daughter's cheek, and she wasn't sure what to think. Emma's eyes were shut and it looked as if Brandon was trying to comfort her, yet there was a certain sensuality to the gesture. "Everything okay in here?" Margaret asked.
Brandon jerked his hand away and Emma's eyes flew open, their hearts slamming a wild beat. Brandon forced a smile and turned to their mother. "Hey, Mom. Yeah, everything's fine. Emmie's just having a moment." He rolled his eyes. "You know how she can be." He turned back to his little sister and winked. True to form, she stuck her tongue out at him and he snorted. "So attractive, Emma."
Amused by her children's antics, Margaret forgot the scene she'd just walked in on, though she would revisit it later with her husband. "We're leaving in fifteen minutes. Be ready. We have to pick Nana up at six."
"Jesus," Brandon sighed when their mom left his bedroom. "That was close."
"Too close," Emma agreed, gazing up at him. She smiled, wanting to kiss him but not daring to with their parents in the house.
Brandon's breath caught in his throat. It always did when Emma looked at him that way. His Emma. She would always be his, no matter how far apart they were, that was for certain. Emma had discovered his feelings for her and somehow, by some miracle or curse, Brandon wasn't sure which, she had returned those feelings with full measure. He didn't know what their future held, whether they would be together or not, or perhaps they would find others. But for now, as it had been over the summer, they could only take one day at a time. He was leaving by train for Chicago in the morning, and wouldn't return home until Christmas.
"We need to be careful, Bran," Emma whispered. "If they start to suspect..."
"I know, babe." Brandon raked a hand through his dark hair, mussing it slightly. He glanced at Emma again, then hefted his suitcase off the bed and set it next to the doorway. "C'mon, let's get downstairs." He held out a hand and smiled when his little sister took it and pulled herself off his bed.
Emma tempted fate once more and wrapped her arms around Brandon's waist. She hugged him close, not wanting to let go. She thrilled at the sensations of his hands moving up and down her back.
Brandon moved his hands down Emma's slim, lithe body, feeling the gentle curve of her lower back. His hands settled there and, in a possessive gesture, pressed her body into his. "I love you, Em," he declared softly.
From downstairs their mother called up to them. They separated quickly and made their way down the hall to the top landing where they could see their parents waiting at the bottom for them.
Everything seemed to move too fast that evening. They all had a fabulous time together, but the minutes flew too quickly and suddenly they were dropping Nana off at her apartment and Emma was getting out of the car to walk her inside.
Ruth tucked her hand into the crook of her granddaughter's elbow as they made their way up the walk to the front door of the apartment building. The two had always been close. It was Ruth that knew all of Emma's secrets. All but one. "Tell me, dear, how have you been? I haven't seen you since you and Brandon came home from the cottage."
Emma smiled at her grandmother. "I've been okay, Nana."
"You were a little withdrawn at dinner tonight," Ruth noted. She could read her granddaughter like a book; she'd always had that knack.
"Did I seem that way? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be."
"You're missing your brother already, aren't you, dear?"
Emma held the door open and the two women entered and started down the hallway. She tried to make light of how she felt. "Nana, he's only going to Chicago. He'll be home at Christmas."
"That wasn't how you felt over the summer," Ruth pointed out, remembering how devastated Emma had been during a visit Ruth had made to the cottage one weekend over the summer. In tears, Emma had told her grandmother how much she was going to miss her older brother when he went off to school in the fall. Ruth had taken note of their closeness and had filed it away. Now it seemed as if Emma wasn't bothered in the least by Brandon's impending departure. It didn't fit, not in the slightest, and knowing the signs herself, Ruth was instantly suspicious once more. She wouldn't ask Emma outright. She knew her granddaughter would come to her when she was ready.
They reached Ruth's apartment and she dug her key out of her purse to unlock the door. Turning to Emma, she said, "I'm here, child, for anything you need. I'll always understand. Now kiss me goodnight and get back out to your parents and your brother."
Emma opened her mouth to say something, then snapped it shut. Her heart was pounding in her chest.
Does she suspect
? She nodded dumbly, hugged and kissed her grandmother goodnight, and beat a hasty retreat back out to the car.
