Chapter 2

The three of us were already standing up as we faced off our parents; at Laura’s wordless turn towards the door, we walked out of the den without a backwards glance, leaving our parents so shocked they didn’t even call after us.

We hurried upstairs and locked ourselves in Laura’s bedroom, where Jessie and I held her tight as she noisily cried some of the initial grief out of her system. We were all still buck naked, but there was no sensuality to our close contact, just us wanting to protect her and be as close as we could possibly be.

But what can you possibly say to comfort your sister when all her happy family memories get turned to ash? When suddenly she isn’t the much-loved daughter she’d always thought she was? When her parents reveal themselves to be abusive and manipulative?

You know, ‘we love you so much that we traded you straight in’. Jeez, what a fucking positive vote of confidence! There had been no discussion, no word of thanks, they’d just gone ahead.

Just one week ago, when I’d asked Laura to re-examine her opinion, she’d considered my question, and had stood by her belief that Mom and Dad had not abused her by seducing her into their bed just as soon as she turned eighteen, and that it had been an affectionate and loving experience. I had expressed my doubts, believing that a bad experience with a jock had made her far more susceptible to their grooming, but had held my peace.

But the situation had now changed. Our parents had just openly admitted that she had indeed been their sexual plaything; and, as soon as she’d gone off to college and was no longer available every weekend for their pleasure, they had very quickly replaced her with somebody else. It sounded to me like they’d had a temporary renewal of interest when she was able to deliver Jessie up for their use, but not enough to call her and encourage her to come home more often. Jeez, using your own daughter for a booty call...

Can parental betrayal get any more extreme? In a way it was far worse than what they’d done to me – Laura had been used and then discarded. I’d not even been picked for the varsity team in the first place, so I hadn’t experienced the thrill and then been dropped.

The only thing Jessie and I could do for Laura was to convince her that we would always be there for her, and hope like hell that she’d come through this okay. Jessie was stroking her hair and kissing her, but I have no idea whether or not she consciously knew we were there; she seemed stuck in deep despair.

My mind was racing as I held Sis close, trying to get my breathing into sync with hers to help her relax.

I really wished that Mom and Dad hadn’t come down to the basement the previous evening, and that we hadn’t foolishly fallen into the honey trap they had set. We’d have been far better not having had sex with them until after we’d gotten the whole sorry story out of them. I’d been fooled by a pair of smooth operators, but I was determined not to let it happen again. I could have kicked myself for letting my lust rule my brain; the important thing was to learn my lesson and not give them another opportunity to screw us over.

Two or three long hours later, Sis was pretty much wept out and talking to us again; she seemed mostly back inside her head, but it was the longer term I was more worried about. She might have been my older sister, but she still wasn’t yet 20. That’s physically; as a woman she could have been anywhere between 13 and 30 emotionally; I hoped like hell it was nearer the older end. I didn’t know whether she had finished weeping, or her tear ducts had dried up and she just couldn’t cry any more. I hadn’t had a whole lot of experience of comforting upset girls.

We got her into the bathroom and we all washed our faces. It actually helped more than you’d think.

I was getting hungry, and looked at my wristwatch to find that it was getting on for seven o’clock. We decided to get dressed and leave the house to get some food. We couldn’t yet face seeing our parents; there was no way we wanted to fix ourselves something to eat in the kitchen and risk having to talk to them so soon. I couldn’t see us returning that night, and I said so.

“I’ve got enough cash for a motel room?”

Sis’s voice was real flat; reflecting her current misery.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. I wonder if I’ll ever come back to this room?”

That was pretty much what I’d been thinking. At least she’d managed to say that without bursting into tears again; she sounded almost disinterested, as if it was a purely theoretical question. Not that being so unemotional seemed like a good thing to me. I hoped that she wasn’t in some kind of delayed shock; I’d have to ask Jessie for her opinion.

We packed up our stuff and grabbed our bags. I unlocked and opened the bedroom door, and Mom and Dad fell backwards into the room. They must have been sitting against the door, trying to listen, or to stop us leaving. They too looked awful. Mom’s eyes were red with tears, and Dad’s weren’t a whole lot better. They were still naked, we were now clothed. Mom grabbed at Sis’s legs at the knees and wailed again.

“Please, Laura, I beg of you, please listen to me! I know I did wrong, but I’m your mother, please give me a chance!”

I’d never seen Mom looking and sounding so pathetic. But, she’d acted a part the night before, and I guessed this might just be another ploy.

It didn’t wash with Laura either.

“Fucking tough, mother. You should have thought through the consequences before you did it. We’re out of here.”

Laura kicked Mom’s arms away roughly, and headed down the stairs.

We were in the two cars and headed down the drive before they appeared at the door, frantically pulling on bathrobes to cover their nudity. They tried chasing us, but even with having to wait for the gate to open wide enough, we were still away before they got more than a hand on the trunk of Laura’s car.

I pulled in at the strip mall opposite the gas station; Laura followed me in and drew level so we could talk through the windows.

“Sis, there’s a decent diner where I’ve had breakfast after the parties, it’s about twenty minutes?”

“You lead, we’ll follow you.”

I drove more slowly than usual, wishing I’d gotten Jessie to drive Laura’s car. Then I reckoned that it would do Sis good to be doing something that required action, rather than just sitting there brooding, so I speeded back up. She kept with me just fine.

We sat in the diner with a coffee, me on one side of the table, the girls on the other, and Jessie started off the talking.

“Mike, last night, did you ever actually believe your parents were genuinely sorry about their behavior, or did you just want to believe it?”

“Shit, Jessie, that’s a real hard one! Let me think on it.”

I thought for several minutes about what Jessie had just asked me. The only conclusion I could come to was that I did want to believe them.

“Yeah, I suppose that I so desperately want to put our family together that I took their word for it. Are you saying that they lied?”

“I don’t know. I just can’t believe that they rolled over so quickly last night, and then fucked up so badly today. You gave them several chances to open up to you, and they didn’t, and even when you confronted them, they, or at least your Dad, tried to deny it. And then suddenly an hour later your Mom was offering herself to you. It seems too good to be true.”

“Anything in particular make you suspicious back then?”

“Not at the time, no. Thinking back; there was a real weird expression on his face when Laura asked you if she could fuck him.”

“There would have been! He wasn’t at all happy about that.”

“No, it was much more than that. I didn’t take note of it at the time, but it tied in to his admission that he wasn’t at all keen to bring you into the group. It was like you were butting in on his private preserve. I think that’s probably his motivation.”

“You mean like you’re all his harem and I’m the interloper?”

“Exactly so. He probably thinks he’s the herd stag, and we’re his hinds, and he’s either trying to run you off, or see if he can buy you with a couple of hinds from someone else’s herd.”

There was a silence for a few minutes as we mulled that over. I reckoned that Jessie might just have hit the nail on the head.

The waitress refilled our coffees and asked if we wanted to order some food. I told her that we had indeed come out to eat, but asked for a couple of minutes.

“There’s a motel next door. It’s getting dark outside. I take it that there’s no way we’re going back to the house now? How about we eat and then get a room for the night, and go back to our dorms in the morning? That way we can talk as long as we like.”

“Just talk?”

I grinned at Jessie’s question. So did Laura. That was a good sign.

“To start with. I guess I do need another night cuddled up between you two!”

We ordered and ate; the food was freshly cooked to order and was well worth the short wait and the tip for the waitress. Then we headed over to the motel, paid cash for a room, and quickly showered before climbing under the sheet.

Jessie and I both made slow and gentle love to Laura; the sex wasn’t the priority, it was far more important that she feel both loved and wanted, and we cuddled her all night. The frantic coupling of the previous night had been replaced with a more sedate and thorough loving; none of us knew what the coming days would bring, and I guess we wanted to prove our love to each other, to ensure that if dark nights were on their way, we’d have some pleasant memories to fall back on. Sis had a couple of decent orgasms, and I hoped that they, together with our bodies protecting her, would help her sleep through the night.

I didn’t sleep all that well; I guess I was half-listening for Sis to have a nightmare or start weeping again, but she didn’t. I noticed the daylight returning through the window drapes round about half past six; I was warm and comfortable so just lay there with my two girls.

We got up at eight, showered, had breakfast at the diner, and then headed back to Jessie and Laura’s college room to talk some more. Sis and I spent some time clearing our ‘missed call’ logs and voicemail; it looked like our parents had spent much of the night trying to get hold of us.

The three of us were quickly agreed that there was no way we were going to roll over and forgive our parents’ behavior; the point which we hadn’t yet agreed was whether forgiveness was indeed possible after a second betrayal. Laura and I had both been badly hurt by their actions; Laura more so because her natural affections and emotions had been used – in my case, only my pride had really been damaged, and I was now more pissed about what they’d done to my sister.

We had lunch and supper together on campus as we continued to talk, and then I set off back to my dorm ready to start the new academic week, the last but one of the semester. I tried to gather my thoughts as I drove.

I was physically and mentally shattered from the events of the weekend, but I could see some kind of a future now, even if we never did get back together with our parents. I knew for sure that I had gotten my sister back, and there were no more secrets between us. Jessie was with us 100%, and that was great, because I couldn’t be beside Sis all week, but she could, and would. It was comforting for me to know that Sis wouldn’t be sleeping alone.

I was going to keep an eye on Jessie too; she had also been used as our parents sexual plaything, but she had to some extent expected it, and in her favor she didn’t have the eighteen-year emotional link to our parents that Sis had. She’d proved herself a real friend to both of us, and of course a week earlier I’d promised to be the brother she’d never had. It was time for me to deliver on that promise, and look after both my sisters as best I could.

I called them up to tell them I was safely back, wished them a good night, then crashed.

Monday morning, we quickly talked again and compared the number of missed calls and voicemail messages we’d received from Mom and Dad. That evening, we regretfully agreed that one of us would need to at least listen to what they had to say. I quickly volunteered for that duty; Laura needed time away from their malign influence far more than I did.

Tuesday lunchtime, Dad called me for something like the hundred fourteenth time since we’d stormed out the house.

This time I accepted the call.

He sounded surprised when he actually heard my voice, and thanked me for taking his call before cutting to the chase.

“Mike, I’m going to be in Boston tomorrow afternoon. Please, Son, give me another chance to explain? It’s killing your Mom and me. Any chance we could talk after I finish with my meeting? I know you’ve got exams coming up, so you pick the time. I’ll be free after four.”

“Sure, Dad. Four would work. Can you find my residence? Call when you’re on your way, and I’ll come down to meet you.”

I called Sis straight away to consult her and Jessie; she suggested that I find a private meeting room and that I record the whole conversation on my smartphone. I reckoned that was good advice. I was pleased that she was thinking rationally; we needed to temper our emotional response with logic and common sense. Our parents had far more life experience than us; we couldn’t afford to let it give them an advantage.

I met Dad in the residence lobby; there were some interview rooms on the first floor that were mostly used at the beginning and end of semester; there had been no problem with me getting a key. I didn’t offer my hand to shake; he made no attempt to hug me.

“I’ve found a private place where we can talk.”

I laid my smartphone down on the table between us.

“Dad, I’m going to record this conversation so that I can share it with Laura. If you want to do the same so Mom can hear it, go right ahead.”

“Guess that means our relationship is at a pretty low ebb right now?”

“Like I said, Dad, your trust and respect ratings are at an all-time low. Even Bernie Madoff is more popular than you. So, what did you want to discuss that’s suddenly so important that you come all the way to big-city Boston and visit little old me for the first time in eight months? I’m impressed that you could remember where I live, or was it still in the satnav’s memory?”

He looked offended by my words, which was exactly what I’d intended. Neither of my parents had asked to visit me since the day they’d helped me move in; I hadn’t really taken note before, but now it was obvious.

“Son, your mother and I don’t like the way this is going. We know we fucked up, but we’re hurting too. Really hurting, especially your Mom. Man to man, can I ask, what is it going to take for you to forgive us?”

I somehow managed not to laugh in his face.

“Dad, there isn’t enough money in the world to MAKE me forgive you; any forgiveness has got to be earned by deeds, not your checkbook. You can’t buy my respect. I’m going to be merciful this time and not automatically assume that you’re trying to buy me off, but don’t push it. Guess it doesn’t help any when you arrive fresh from a meeting and you’re still in business mode, not family.”

“I guess it doesn’t. I’m real sorry, Mike, I didn’t mean to put it quite that way. I wouldn’t insult you like that. Let’s start off again, please. Hi, Son, how are you doing? Great to see you!”

I couldn’t help but smile. At least he was making an effort.

“Not too bad, thanks, Dad. How are you, and how’s Mom?”

“We’re just about okay, thanks. We desperately want to get back to where we used to be, before we fucked up so badly. Please tell me that there is a way back?”

“We can probably do that, IF we all work together at it. Laura and Jessie and I have talked long and hard, and we would like to get through this, but it will have to be on our terms.”

“Thank god for that! Your Mom and I have been praying that you would come back to the table. When we chased you down the drive, and didn’t catch you, I thought your Mom was going to run down the road in her bathrobe and bare feet, she was that anguished.”

“Don’t count on it, though, Dad, you’ve hurt us real bad. It will take time and a whole lot of effort, and even then we may not make it.”

He looked closely at me, and seemed to read the message that I wasn’t bluffing.

“Okay, Son, I totally understand that, and I’ll take that message back to your Mom.”

“Dad, I think you’re deluding yourself if you truly think that you understand. Let’s talk about exactly what the two of you did to me for a moment. You shut me out of what was going on, you never took me into your confidence or treated me as a nearly-adult; this past year you found ways of getting me out of the way when I was an inconvenience. Yeah, I guess I do still love you both a bit for what you’ve been to me in the past; even if at this time I don’t show it. I HOPE that this summer vacation we can actually get to know each other again, without the secret of the parties creating a wall between us. I didn’t really notice it last summer, what with the excitement of getting into college, but looking back on it, about the only Dad/Son thing you and I did together was stacking the firewood. I guess we probably played a game or two of golf, but as you were hiding so much from me, I don’t recall the conversation being very free-flowing.”

“Yes, with hindsight, I can see that I really let things go between us. We’d like to get back to the old days too. It was real difficult for us Saturday, watching you suddenly go off like that, and knowing that we had the possibility of losing our kids hanging over our heads. And then neither of you would pick up your phones.”

I shrugged.

“I know, Dad, the timing sucked. You fucked up again, and we didn’t have the time available to sort it right then. We were just so pissed with you that we couldn’t face seeing you right then, but we’d have liked to have gotten further at rebuilding our family. We’ve got our exams next week, and we can’t afford to let our GPAs slip and risk our scholarships. We can only spare Friday night to see you; we’re going to need to be back at college studying Saturday and Sunday.”

“It will be so good to see you, even just for the night.”

Then his face fell.

“Oh shit! You know there’s a party on? Do you want us to cancel it?”

Laura, Jessie and I had discussed this possibility at some length.

“No, it’s not the parties we have a problem with, and your guests seem to enjoy them. Go ahead, but you won’t see much of us; we’ll lock ourselves in Laura’s bedroom and come down for some food later on. We can talk over breakfast Saturday.”

“Thank you; that’s real good of you; everything’s organized and it’s a pain to cancel the party arrangements. Quite a few people have babysitters booked.”

I rolled my eyes.

“We’re doing it for them, not for you, otherwise we’d insist on you cancelling if you wanted to see us.”

He grimaced, but took it.

“So we’ll talk further Saturday morning, and you and Mom had better decide beforehand exactly what you are going to say to us, because you kept digging the hole deeper last time. Yes, we know that we will hear some unpleasant truths about your motivation, but for god’s sake don’t try to flannel or lie to us again. It’s the lying that really hurts.”

“I can’t say enough, Mike, how very sorry we are that we took the decision to exclude you.”

“WE, or I?”

He paused.

“I guess it was mainly my decision; your Mom backed me up on it.”