If There's Something

Chapter 24

  "Is that a hickey on your neck?" Wes demanded, grabbing my arm to spin me around.

"No, it's a bruise," I joked. "Like the one that's going to appear on my arm soon."

"Sorry," he let go quickly. "I'm going to break his neck-"

He turned toward the back door and I grabbed his hand. What the hell was he thinking? That Micah gave me a hickey? Had he lost his mind?

I couldn't help but smile though. Wes had always been over protective but I had never appreciated it. It was kind of cute. But not as cute as Rush had been earlier, telling me that he was sorry and that he couldn't hide his feelings for me anymore. But that's a story for another time.

"Where are you going?" I asked, laughing.

"You're laughing?" he asked, his eyes wide. "Laugh at his funeral when I break his neck."

"You're going to break my neck?" Rush appeared in from the staircase. He had begged me to stall Wes because he had 'something' to take care of in the shower.

"W-what?" Wes asked, looking at him and then looking at me.

I felt my cheeks flush pink and I let go of his hand and stepped away. I wasn't sure whether he'd be happy for us – me, that Rush was finally acknowledging my feelings for me and liked me back or whether his brotherly protectiveness was going to get the better of him.

"I did that to her neck," Rush stepped up, pulling me to his side.

"What are you? A vampire on steroids?!" he demanded, staring at the hickey on my neck.

I choked back my laughter because I didn't want to be the next person on his hit list. Rush squeezed my hand, assuring me that he would sort things out.

"Nice one," he nodded. "So when you going to break my neck? Want to take a go at it?" He jokingly stuck his neck out.

"You're fucking my sister?" he asked, doing a double take.

"Uh, firstly, I don't think you'd want to know the answer to that-"

"Rush!" I shoved him. "No, we haven't slept together."

Wes let out a breath of relief. "But what? You guys are together now?"

"Shouldn't you be happy for us or something?" Rush asked, running a hand through his hair just as Levi walked in through the front door.

He glanced at us for a second before walking straight to the kitchen without a word. He placed two brown bags of groceries onto the kitchen counter and started unpacking them straight away.

"Did you know about this?" Wes asked him and Levi shrugged without making eye contact. He seemed kind of out of it – indifferent.

"If he grabs and kisses her in front of Micah's house, I guess it would be impossible not to know," he said, putting away the vegetables in the fridge.

"Okay, wow," Wes shook his head. "Way to go public about it."

"I don't see a point in hiding it," Rush shrugged. "Need some help with dinner, brother?" He strolled into the kitchen, picking up random ingredients to examine.

"Did you drug him?" Wes asked me and I laughed, elbowing his ribs. "He's never cooked a day in his life."

The day passed in a haze of Rush being happier than ever and everyone wondering what was wrong with him. Wes continued to joke about our new relationship even though I knew he was secretly happy for us and I tried to contain my happiness myself. It was kind of impossible because Rush was finally acting like himself. He had shaken off the stone cold armor he had had on earlier and he was finally acting more like the boy I used to know. Levi, on the other hand, was acting odd, slightly upset and indifferent. It was weird and I kind of knew the reason why but I was too happy about Rush finally accepting my feelings that I didn't bother talking to him about it.