Loving Siblings: Aidan & Dionne by Catharina Shields Page A

flared in pent up aggression, she glared up at
him, but the hurt he knew she saw was not because of the slap. It
was because he’d upset her so, that she’d resorted to an
aggressive, physical act that would hurt her more than him. He
instinctively knew that, and he knew she’d hate herself for it.
    A thousand words flooded his mind, but none
poured from his lips. He wanted to say whatever it took so she
wouldn’t feel the horror and pain of having lashed out at him. But
words failed him.
    Instead, all he could say was, “I’m
sorry.”
    Dionne quickly snatched around before she
disappeared into her room and slammed the heavy door in his face.
She barricaded herself in her room for the rest of the day. She
didn’t go to work. She didn’t come down for dinner. She just locked
herself up in her room with the volume of her music set high. But
no matter how high she set the music, he could still hear her
weeping inside, and it shattered his heart. She was the only person
in the world who could do that to him.
    Aidan sighed as he parked his car by the
curb across from the big house. Evening had fallen, and all was
dark. The engine was still running as he looked up at the bay
window of his sister’s attic room. His handsome face stood stark,
hidden in the shadows, as memories of that awful day slowly slipped
to the back of his mind.
    “ Things have gotta change,” he said to
himself. “We can’t go on like this,” he added with a more
determined tone, and a look to match.
    She had to understand how he really
felt.
    He turned off the engine and got out, but
something caught his eye up in her bay window. A movement. He
narrowed his eyes and remained utterly still. On the outside. On
the inside, he felt his heart thud hard against his chest.
    It was Dionne.
    She hadn’t seen him down in the street. She
had seated herself with her pretty face up, looking up at the
stars. He knew she loved doing that. He also knew she never knew
how he’d sometimes just stand outside in the shadows to watch her
in her bay window, daydreaming as she looked up at the stars;
wondering what she was thinking.
    Then his full lips tightened when a less
pleasant thought hit him.
    She was probably thinking of
Hel butt ! That’s what she was
doing. She was looking all dreamy up at the stars thinking of that
blond boyfriend of hers. What the fuck did she even see in that
sorry asshole?? He felt the fire of pure jealousy burst to the fore
inside him, never failing to make his blood boil.
    “ Yeah,” he mumbled beneath his breath.
“This shit’s gotta change, and now’s as good a time as
any.”
    With his competitive nature fully aroused,
he exited his car and closed the door before he crossed the street
to the big craftsman house. His heart beat hard, and his step was
determined. Dionne’s got to know, once and for all, how he really
felt about her, and she had to know it in a way that left zero room
for any doubt.
    No more Mister Nice Little brother!
    **~~**
    “ Urgh!” Dionne cried, furious with
herself.
    She snatched her hand out of her panties and
sat up on the bed.
    “ Damn it, girl, you’ve got to stop
this!” She nearly snarled. Then she deflated and looked utterly
defeated. “I know I do, but it’s so freaking hard .” She sighed. “But I also know I can’t keep
torturing myself. Even if it’s in secret. It’s bound to get so out
of hand I might not be able to control myself and jump his bones
the moment he gets within ten feet of me.”
    She made a wry face.
    “ Yeah,” she mumbled, cynically. “Like
I wouldn’t do that now .”
    She swept her legs off the bed and gathered
the photo albums into a stack before she rose with them. “I really
do hope there’s a five gallon bucket of Haagen-Dazs in the
freezer,” she muttered as she walked to the door on bare feet.
    Dionne wasn’t expecting anyone to be
home. She was 200% sure everybody would be out and about since,
well, it was Saturday, and the family was never home