Chapter 6

With Jill closing up shop, Chance takes the opportunity to finally have that talk with his sister. The entire way home, his mind is filled with questions long asked and answers never given. He thinks about what he will say and what he expects Rory to say, where they will go from here and where they should be now. Like setting silver against gold on a scale, these thoughts have weighed on his mind since their last fight, the last time they really spoke to each other.

He pulls into the driveway and a feeling of nostalgia comes over him. He remembers the ride here, and the feelings he felt when Rory patted his leg, telling him to cheer up and how it won’t be bad. He remembers marveling at the house, watching his sister walk to the front door, and observing how nicely her ass shifted under the influence of her gait. He cuts off the car and steps out. Taking a deep breath, he heads for the front door. And that door opens just before he can reach it.

“I’m glad you agreed to talk,” Rory says, giving him a shaky smile.

Chance nearly weakens at the knees seeing it, her. He hasn’t forgotten all those years of obsessing over her, watching her, wanting to be with her. Their life changed that summer, for the better. Their life only got better when Jill became his wife and they shared their lives together. Everything was perfect until that night when the argument happened. Everything that was bottled up, that wasn’t addressed or put off, came out. After that night Jill became his whole world, yet it still wasn’t whole.

“I guess it’s time that we do,” he says, smiling back at her. “What about Emily?” he asks, referring to his and Jill’s daughter.

“She’s in her room, watching a movie,” Rory answers. “You know her; she’ll stay busy for hours.”

“I hope it doesn’t take that long to figure things out,” he says.

“I hope it doesn’t either,” she agrees.

And it’s not like the problem is something so overly drastic that everything needs to come crumpling down, collapsing like Rome did. Sometimes a relationship becomes a disconnection, like the two are orbiting one another to the point that their timing is out of tune. And it happens to everyone, just not to them. This isn’t the case here. But it was something that was breeched upon many times and just ignored or deflected. And that gap only grew steadily between them until it became the only issue in the house. Jill becoming pregnant didn’t help, nor did the birth of Emily. Then Rory playing aunt kept the feelings down, but like all things, not for too long and certainly not forever. Things were fine and then they weren’t. Nothing between them went on, no words were spoken.

“I have had a lot of time to think about things,” Chance says taking a seat at the edge of the bed.

“And so have I,” Rory informs him.

Chance hates that this has all been brought about because of fear—his fear. He adores and loves his sister beyond all measure and he constantly desires to have her again. Despite the months of being apart by only a wall he has awoken every morning wishing that she was in the bed when him and Jill like they were supposed to be. And every time he thought of Rory or fucked his wife, he fell in love with his sister over and over again. He has sex so much with Jill, knowing the amount can be overwhelming to her. But he does it because he hasn’t been able to have Rory, and that is no one’s fault but his.

“I’ve thought about all the things I ignored and I shouldn’t feel the need to be afraid,” Chance says. “I worried about what our parents would say and then I realized that we have gone beyond that. Why should I be afraid of what they would say if we had a kid? Shouldn’t I be more afraid of what they would say about knowing what we have done already?”

“That’s what I tried to tell you,” Rory says, her voice cracking. With the palm of her hand, she wipes tears from her cheeks. It is clear from the expression on her face that she is compromised by melancholy and self-loathing as Chance. She coughs a little to clear her throat. “I’m sorry I pressure you about it without really taking the time to really discuss it—everything.”

Regret and all his emotional pain is written all over his face in this moment. “It’s not your fault,” he says. “I was foolish to believe we could keep everything a secret. Secrets don’t remain hidden forever. And all that has happened is we lost time.”

She nods just a little and the words catch in her throat before she can finally speak them. “I only said what I said because I was angry. I knew it would hurt you, hurt us, and I’m so, so very sorry.”

Neither of them had said sorry, neither of them wanted to be the first to budge. Rory didn’t because she felt she was right and Chance felt she was wrong. In the end, with time not fully wasted, each has been able to reconsider things. Thankfully Jill was able to play mediator and bring them back together, because who knows if they ever would have on their own.

“You’re too hard on yourself,” Chance counters. “I’m the one who is sorry for jumping the gun and blowing you off.”

“No, you’re too hard on yourself,” she says. “Sometimes I want what I want and don’t like not getting it.”

“Isn’t that everybody?” he asks, smiling. “And maybe we’re just too hard on ourselves.”

Another tear runs down across her cheeks and this time she makes no attempt to stop it. Instead, she just smiles a little sadly, walks over to the bed and sits on his lap. They don’t speak for a while, just nuzzle their faces and reflect. All the intimacy an affection they have been missing these last few months is flooding back in.

Chance places his hand on her cheek and it feels cool and moist from the tears. He looks deeply into her beautiful eyes and remembers that he lost a piece of himself when he lost her when he gained his fear. “Let’s do it,” he says. “Forget our parents, forget the world. Let’s have a baby.”

“Or two?” she asks meekly.

“Or two,” he confirms.

When they kiss, their lips taste of the salt from their sadness. It is a powerful sensation and Chance knows that his sister feels the same. Yet their lips never felt so soft before as they do while they dance and gently caress together now. It is the perfect renewal of the love that was denied and found and nearly lost. Rory shifts atop her brother and Chance becomes aware of his arousal as her thigh presses against him. It actually surprises the man. She says nothing, yet she merely closes her eyes, breaks from the kiss and tilts her head a little. With the back of his hand, Chance brushes aside her hair and places his lips against her throat. Rory’s body tenses a little and then just as quickly relaxes, and a small sigh escapes her lips.