Love and Decay by Rachel Higginson

even him. “Not right now,” he said. “Let the prodigal son
return home. Then we shall decide what to do with him.”

Episode Six

Chapter One
     
    If I had to do it over again… I would change
nothing.
    Not even the aftermath.
    Okay, that’s a lie. I might change the
aftermath.
    I would at least change this part of the
aftermath.
    This part. Right here.
    I knew why they brought me here. I could see
it in their shifty eyes and fidgeting hands. They thought they were
doing the right thing, but there was just no possible way any of us
would come out on the other side of this unscathed.
    They were about to damage me.
Irreparably.
    “Here’s the thing, Page…” Hendrix cleared his
throat for the third time and refused to lift his gaze from his
shoes. “The thing is… The thing about it is…”
    Nelson nudged him with his elbow and took
over. “Page, I know this is confusing, but when a man loves a
woman-”
    “Oh, my god.”
    “Dude,” Hendrix laughed. “You can’t start
with that!”
    Nelson glared at him. “Because you’re doing
such a stellar job?”
    “At least I’m not-”
    “Please stop,” I begged. They both dragged
their eyes to meet mine. They looked so awkward as they sat next to
each other on a beat up table I wasn’t sure could hold their
combined weight for much longer.
    Hendrix folded his arms and grimaced. “There
are things you need to know, Page. There are things that… that we
have to tell you.”
    “No,” I assured him, “you don’t.”
    Nelson gathered some confidence and sat up
straighter. “I know it’s fun to…”
    Oh, god. They’re not going to stop.
    “Kiss,” Hendrix finished for him.
    Nelson nodded and it looked painful. “Right.
Kiss. But sometimes… being young and human and… and… young… you
might not want to stop at kissing. You might be compelled to
do more than kiss.”
    “Compelled?” Hendrix snickered.
    “Shut up,” Nelson growled.
    I jumped up from the pew I’d been sitting
cross-legged in. My brothers had brought me to this abandoned,
overgrown church for a talk, but I hadn’t realized it was going to
be the talk . I’d have found any excuse to avoid this had I
known it was coming.
    Babysitting duty.
    Dinner duty.
    Laundry duty.
    Zombie duty.
    Jumping off the nearest cliff duty.
    I would have seriously given them any excuse
to delay this epic awkwardness. “You have to stop,” I told them.
“Or I’m going to have to run away and find a different family to
live with. A family I can actually look in the eyes again.”
    Hendrix frowned and I winced. He’d put on his
“dad” face. The one he gave his children when they were acting up.
The one he always used on me when he didn’t agree with my actions
or decisions. The one that meant, I mean business .
    “Page, I know this is uncomfortable, but
there are things you need to know. Especially if I’m going to find
you and Miller making out every time we turn a corner.”
    I ignored the sense of dread that spiraled
through me at his statement, turning it into healthy denial. “But I
already know those things,” I promised him. “Please don’t make me
run away. I like this family! I feel settled here. I feel like we
have a future, you know? Plus, it sounds like a lot of work to find
another one. I’m not sure I have the energy for it.”
    “Stop being cute.” His frown deepened. “The
problem is… you think you know things. And it’s partly our
fault. We’re such awesome brothers that we’ve set you up with false
expectations for males around the world. But the truth is we
haven’t exactly been on top of your… education when it comes
to…”
    Hendrix’s voice faded away and awkward
silence hung in the air.
    Fine.
    But they asked for it.
    “Sex.” Someone had to say it. I didn’t want
to torture my brothers but… No, that was a lie. I totally wanted to
torture them. Especially after I’d had to suffer here for twenty
minutes while they worked up the courage to give me the