If There's Something

Chapter 2

Levi

I hadn't seen Farren for four years and my older brother Rush, probably hadn't seen her for longer. The last time I had seen her had been on our mother's funeral – something that Rush had missed because he was recovering from open heart surgery in the hospital. Part of me knew that it was the reason Rush had become the guy he was now. He was hurting that he hadn't been there for her when she left the world, he couldn't even say goodbye but if he ever found out that she hadn't died in a car crash, he would never forgive any of us. And if he found out how she actually died, I knew he wouldn't be able to continue living. That was why I kept in touch with Wes but not with Farren.

I had had a crush on Farren ever since we were kids, even through puberty when she had braces and had put on a few pounds. And I knew that if I kept in contact with her, I wouldn't be able to lie to her or hide the secret we had been hiding for so long. I knew I would tell her and I knew she would tell Rush. She had loved Rush for as long as any of us could remember, tagging along with us everywhere just because he was there, wishing she was one of us boys, trying to sneak into our tree house or room at night while we played games. Rush had kept her at a distance and Wes had been over protective of her, wanting her to be safe, even if it meant making her sad.

When Wes told me he was bringing Farren over for the summer, I had mixed feelings. I knew I still had feelings for her but I hadn't seen her in four years. I had changed so much and I knew she would have, too. I had been too shy to ask Wes for pictures and I had kept off her social media profiles. I wanted to see her. I missed her. But I was scared she'd see through me and know I had been lying to her for so long. On top of all that, Wes wasn't bringing her for summer fun like they always had when we were kids. He was bringing her to keep her out of something at home. Their parents were going through a rough patch and Farren was known for meddling in family problems and even creating them sometimes to get the attention she never got from her parents the way Wes did. So her parents didn't want her home and Wes wanted to protect her from it.

"Rush, Wes just called," I told my brother.

I was lounging on couch in the living room, watching reruns of crappy serials on the television as he passed me in a buttoned shirt and ripped jeans. He went to the fridge and pulled out a beer, popping the lid off with ease. He pressed the mouth of the bottle against his lips and took a few gulps before paying me any attention.

"And?" he asked, not sounding very interested.

"They left St. Louis," I tried to match his tone but I couldn't. I was excited to see them after so long. "They'll be here in four and a half hours or something. He convinced Farren to come."

"Cool," he deadpanned. "I'm going to go feed the horses. I might hang out with friends after."

"You mean shag another girl," I rolled my eyes.

I loved my brother but he had no loyalty when it came to girls. He had never had a girlfriend. When mom was alive, he had sworn off girlfriends because Farren had always been around in the summer and mom always loved Farren like her own. She'd joke about kicking his butt if he hurt her. But after mom died, he had started sleeping with any girl who said two words to him. He'd never sleep with one girl twice and everyone in town knew it, yet it didn't stop girls from falling at his feet for one perfect time. I wasn't sure why any girl would be okay with shagging my brother once and not getting the time of day from him after.

"None of your business," he retorted and left through the backdoor, into the fields and the horse stables.

I prayed Farren didn't like him anymore. Mom would be so disappointed if she found out Farren was going to be heartbroken by my brother. Again.

I sighed and went back to watching crappy drama on the television even though my head wasn't in it. I was too busy wondering what Farren had turned out to be like. Wes had grown up nicely and Farren had always looked like their mother, who was quite beautiful, so I didn't have a doubt in my head that she would have grown up nice, too. Wes had mentioned that Farren had changed a lot since we were kids, got popular and was even a pain in the butt sometimes but I had never asked questions even when I was dying to. I had kept my distance so I could keep our secret and I had no idea how I was going to keep the secret from her now that she was spending the summer with us.

I didn't even feel the time pass by, probably because I passed out on the couch and only woke up when I heard a car drive onto the dirt path that led to our house. I had missed lunch since Rush had never come back inside or woken me up.

I felt my heart pick up speed as I hoisted myself off the couch and to the front door as fast as I could. I pulled open the mesh door and padded onto the front porch to find Wes's Aston Martin parked in the driveway. He got out of the car and waved. I had seen him recently when he had come over during one of his breaks from college to ask us whether we were okay with him bringing Farren over for the summer. He looked like he had grown an inch or two since then and he looked like he had been working out. I kind of envied how muscular he had gotten while I did so much heavy lifting at the farm.

"Should I help ya'll with that?" I asked, watching him unload four duffle bags from the car with ease. He probably didn't need my help.

"Nah, I've got it," he called back. "Get out of the car, princess."

He pulled open the passengers' side door and I felt my heart stop beating for several seconds until I saw a long, pale, perfectly sculptured leg in a pair of red stiletto heels slide out of the car, followed by her second leg.

I didn't even notice how hard I was gripping the railing of the stairs until she got out of the car in a tiny red and white polka dotted sundress to match her heels. Her hair was pale blonde which I knew was natural because her hair had always been that color, only now her hair was flowing down past her hips. Her skin was pale, too, which set of her perfect blue eyes and even though I thought she never needed make-up, she looked pretty amazing with it, too. She had obviously lost the baby fat because now she was skinny, with the mass in all the right places. Maybe I was exaggerating her beauty a little bit but give me a break; I had been crushing on her since forever.

I watched as Wes carried all four bags effortlessly, Farren trailing behind him as if she didn't know our farm house inside out. Wes reached me first, dropping the bags at our feet before pulling me into a half-hug. Farren stayed behind, looking nervous and looking around as if things had changed since she last saw the place – which it hadn't. A low buzzing noise filled the air and Farren reached into her purse, pulling out a rose gold iPhone.

"Monique," she greeted in a slightly high pitched tone. "I'm not sure if I'm attending. I'll probably be late even if I do."

Wes rolled his eyes and picked up the bags again to take them inside. I stayed outside, wondering whether I should greet her or just follow Wes. I was about to turn around when she dropped her phone back into her purse.

She looked at me and her eyes softened. She carefully made her way up the stairs and stopped in front of me.

"Hi, Far," I mumbled and she forced her lips to curve into a smile.

"Levi," she said, her voice lower pitched than before and kind of sultry. And her saying my name was enough to make me fall for her all over again.