Arianna's Tale: The Beginning by D. J. Humphries Read Free Book Online Page B

for a while now… since my
classmates started dating… I started recognizing the way you treat
her as more than brotherly.” He chuckled distantly as he fell onto
the sofa, staring at the can he opened. “Besides… if you two get
married… we won’t ever have to be apart….”
    “We need to go to sleep… we have a lot to do
in the morning… and I won’t lie, it’s not going to be an easy day,”
Austin evasively added before climbing into the chair beside the
loveseat, his feet resting on the ottoman while Jason started one
of our favorite horror flicks.
    “You sleep,” Jason countered with a smirk,
“I’ll sleep after the movie ends and this popcorn is gone.”
    I laughed and jumped onto the sofa beside
him, grabbing the popcorn from the table and setting it between us
on the cushion but Jason set it back on the table and scooted over
to close the distance between us, his arm wrapping around my
shoulders.
    Austin started to say something, I saw him
move like he was upset, but instead he shook his head and curled up
in the chair. I heard him mumble something beneath his breath;
something that sounded like “It’s not my business.”
     
    The last thing I remembered was Jason and me
laughing at the really fake blood that was ‘gushing’ out of the
neck of the ‘slaughtered’ victim in the movie. The next thing I
knew, Austin was gently shaking my shoulder to wake me up. As I
moved to settle deeper into the warmth of the sofa, I realized it
wasn’t the sofa that was warm and my eyes widened. Austin laughed
distantly and nodded over my head while I woke up enough to realize
that Jason was stretched out on the sofa behind me, his arm draped
over my waist.
    “Yeah… I’d say you two need to figure
something out pretty quickly,” Austin faintly remarked, a distant
smile on his lips, “We have to get to the police department to meet
with Detective Gaines. Dad called and said we should be there
within the hour.”
    “You think he…” I trailed off. I didn’t even
want to be considering that idea and pushed it out of my mind
before carefully slipping out from under Jason’s arm and heading
upstairs. “Give me about fifteen minutes,” I stated and Austin
nodded, not moving from his spot on the floor.
    “Jerk,” Jason grumbled, not moving anything
except the eyes which he opened and shifted to his older brother,
“What’s wrong with liking my not-sister?”
    “Oh, is that how you’re going to reason your
way through this?” Austin chuckled, ruffling Jason’s hair which
sent a scattering of dried gel flying. “You’re too young, for one,
little brother, to be chasing after our ‘not’ sister. For another,
she’s not going to immediately stop seeing us as her brothers.”
    “I’m not that young, Austin,” Jason growled
back, “It’s my thirteenth birthday next week.”
    “It’s her seventeenth birthday next month.
It’s four years difference, Jay,” Austin laughed faintly, “But that
isn’t even the point… I’m sorry I haven’t been paying better
attention… I should’ve realized you were going through this….”
    “Jason! We need to leave soon!” Dad called
while he closed the door from the garage to the kitchen and Jason
groaned as he pushed himself to sit up.
    “I’m guessing you didn’t get much sleep,”
Austin quietly commented but Jason laughed and stared into Austin’s
eyes.
    “I slept better than I’ve ever slept in my
life and I do not regret it at all,” Jason clearly recited, his
blue-green eyes intense, “Butt out, Austin… it’s really not your
business….”
    “I know you feel that way, but I’m here if
you decide you want to talk, or need to talk… the only thing I
really want you to understand, is this isn’t just about you and
your feelings, you have to remember Anna,” Austin insisted before
standing up and heading to the bottom of the stairs. “We need to
leave, Anna!”
    I hesitated at my bedroom door, feeling the
ghost-like sensation