The Rules My Brothers Made

Chapter 13

*Note: Some mild adult context.  Be mature please!

Later that night, I found myself wrapped up in Evan’s arms in his bed.  I had told my dad I was sleeping at Kate’s, but honestly, I have no idea where she went.  I hadn’t seen her since after the whole kitchen drama, when I decided it was finally time to stand up for myself and become my own woman.  It had been a risky move, kissing Evan in front of Mark like that, but I felt like I had to do something.  I understand why Evan was upset about what happened with Jackson, given my prior opinions on obeying my brothers’ rules, but once I learned that Evan was going to sacrifice our relationship to wait until June, I realized I just couldn’t go through with it,  That fact scared me more than anything my brothers could do to me.

The fact that I might possibly be falling for Evan sooner than I ever thought imaginable, that is what has me freaked out right now.

When I watched him walk away from me, I felt it stirring inside me.  We had become really close over the past few weeks, but there was no way that I should be feeling such things.  I am being ridiculous, and I know this.  I decided to smolder these feelings for now, and just focus on the fact that we could openly be together from now on.  Well, as long as Mike wasn’t around.  He would have to find out about it all in June.  I would have to formulate some sort of plan for pretending to start a relationship with Evan at that time.

Never in my life have I been such a plotter and schemer.  I’m not really crazy about it, but I’m hoping that the benefits of having Evan in my life will outweigh the costs of the feelings of despair I have deep in the pit of my stomach.  I don’t like being the manipulative, dramatic sneak.  It just isn’t me.  I’m a good girl, I swear.

“Meg?  You zoned out again.”  Evan poked me in the side.

I snapped back to attention and nestled further into him.  “Sorry, Ev.  What did you say?”

“You’ve been zoning out a lot lately.  What’s on your mind?”

I instantly felt guilty.  I was supposed to be paying attention to him, not letting my mind swim around in all these ridiculous thoughts I have in my silly brain.  “I was just thinking about the rules.  I never was a rule breaker.  I don’t even know who I am anymore.”  I frowned, avoiding eye contact with him.

“Hey, stop beating yourself up over it.  You’re still a good girl, and you know it.  You had no problem telling Matt or Mark, maybe it will be just as easy to tell Mike.  But just so you know, whenever you tell him, I will be right there with you to make it easier.”

I smiled up at him.  “Thanks.  I’ll need all the support I can get!”  I said with a giggle.  “So, sorry I kind of put you on the spot like that earlier.  I really thought you were breaking up with me.”

He kissed the top of my head and pulled the blanket tighter over us.  I was wearing a pair of his boxers and a long sleeve tshirt, but it was still kind of chilly in his room.  February in LA was like that.  One day it was warm, the next day it was cool.  It was unpredictable.  Of course, cool meant 60 degrees, but hey, that’s cold to us.  We’re just big wimps.  “No, I didn’t want that.  I just thought that you would need to back off and wait until graduation like you were supposed to.  I would wait, but I couldn’t keep making you sneak around knowing that it was eating you up inside.  Believe me, you threw me for a loop when you kissed me in front of your brother.  He was so red, I thought he was going to burst that blood vessel in his forehead.”  He said with a laugh.

I rolled over onto my stomach and looked at him.  “Yeah, it is eating me up inside, but I want to give this a shot.  I have played by the rules for five years, and it’s time I did my own thing, starting with you.”