Chapters: Stories on Sean & Kaycee

Deadline Part 2

Serris' POV

A few weeks have passed since we had that talk with Sean where he dropped his "deadline" bomb on us. We haven't talked about it since, and as far as I could tell, neither our parents nor Kaycee even know about Beyond Babel's off-Broadway run.

It's been business as usual for the duo, which I hate, knowing that my brother is a ticking time bomb.

Some days, when their laughter echoes through the hallways of the house or when the petite brunette is seated at her usual spot at our dining table, I just want to hit Sean over the head and confess everything to Kaycee. But so far, my self-restraint and loyalty to my little brother have won out.

Because no matter how much I hate it, I know he's right to do this. He has the right to be angry, to be hurt, and to protect his heart.

"I forgot how tiring this is." I panted, stretching my sore legs on the garage floor.

On the other hand, the ever-giggly Kaycee Rice continued to twirl around effortlessly, doing god knows how many pirouettes that I lost count after 500 million or something.

My phone is plugged in to the speakers, playing some random song I don't even remember downloading anymore.

"Show off." I jokingly mutter when she finally stood still on both feet. Kaycee laughed it off, plopping down next to me.

"Why'd you stop dancing anyway?" She asked as she stretched her legs next to me. Her inhuman flexibility is not lost on me, and I really had to bite my tongue to keep from making another sarcastic remark.

"I guess I kinda just outgrew it." I shrugged. "Sarah and I were both competition kids too. But when we finished with that whole circuit, dance just kind of fell to the side and we found other things to be into. Sean picked it up after us, and it just stuck with him."

"But do you miss it?"

"Sometimes," I laughed, leaning back on my arms. "I don't need it the way you and Sean do. But it feels good to do it every now and then."

Kaycee smiled warmly at me. "Well, I'm honored that you dance with me when you're home."

Goddammit, I really wished she was my sister.

Ignoring the twisting in my chest, I chuckled and patted her knee. "Excuse me, Ms. Rice, Short Award-winning Dancer, but I'm the one who should be honored!"

She looked like she was gonna say something else, maybe another joke, but this was all starting to sound very sisterly that I wanted to puke.

"I'll go check on dinner," I said, jumping to my feet.

"He's spent most of the day cooking than dancing," Kaycee chuckled and resumed stretching her legs. "Should I be scared that he'll trade me in for the kitchen?"

No, but he might just trade you in for Keone Madrid.

I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and, with some dramatic shooing away from Sean ("Go away! You're disturbing my peace and quiet!" he yelled. In his defense, I did stick my finger in his freshly-made salad.) I made my way back to the garage.

From the hallway leading up to the garage, I could hear sounds still coming from the speakers. But my phone wasn't playing music anymore.

It was playing a recording I had almost forgotten about.

"I spent years just giving and giving, respecting that she doesn't owe me anything, not even a single shred of her heart. But somehow, in the end, I'm still the one who owes her?"