Accepted Fate (53 page)

"Just thought he should know if he screws up, there is always someone waiting to take his place. Right. Across. The. Hall." He winks, but it's to be sarcastic and not jokingly. As he walks past Breyson, he shoves him with his shoulder.

Breyson turns and pushes him from behind. "Breyson stop! Do you want my dad to make you leave while they're here? They've been friends since before we were born; they won't be the ones to leave." He stops at the words coming from my mouth.

"Watch your back, asshole. No one messes with me and mine." He calls out the words to Preston's retreating form.

"She's fair game until there's a ring on her left ring finger proving she's yours; just remember that. Until then, she can always change her mind." When the last word escapes his mouth, Preston vanishes from the room. Guys are exhausting. We are supposed to be in the Christmas spirit, not fighting. We have two weeks together and we're already off to a bad start. Presley and her family will be here until right after New Years.

Breyson looks tense, staring off in the direction Preston just left. "Why do you let him get to you? You know he's trying to ruffle your feathers and you let him win every time you're around him."

"He wants you. Do you not get that? How am I supposed to sleep for two weeks knowing he's across the hall? In a half naked form. How would you feel if you were in my shoes?" His voice is so soft. It sounds worried and scared. He won't even look at me.

"It doesn't matter what he wants Breyson. He will never get it without my consent. It takes two to have a relationship baby." I wrap my arms around his waist from behind, resting my cheek against his back that's expanding with every breath. "I only want you. My heart only recognizes one other person...You. Stop worrying about every guy that may or may not have an eye for me. What good is being in a relationship with someone that doesn't have the other half of your heart? My heart doesn't align with his or anyone else. It aligns with yours."

He turns around to face me and all the lines previously present from worry have now disappeared. "I'm sorry. Forgive me for acting a fool?" I nod. "It's just that you're the most special thing to me. I will protect it at all cost. I don't want someone to come and steal you away from me; especially not someone who has an advantage because they've known you longer."

"That's never going to happen. You're the only one I don't have any immunity to. All those other guys mean nothing to me. They are a dime a dozen and I've been turning them down for years. You're the only one who can break my walls. Everyone else can see it. Why can't you?"

"I guess because I love you so much it freaks me out to think of losing you. I don't care what I have to do to keep you, I'll do it. I'm not going to lie, I still don't like the fact that he's sleeping across from your room, but for you I'll try to get over it. I don't want to drive a wedge in our relationship by being irrational." He kisses my lips briefly.

"That's why I love you. Now let's go watch some Christmas movies and drink cocoa." For the first time since Grams died, I think I'm actually going to enjoy the holidays. My life is looking up. My career is beginning, I love my new friends as well as my old and I have a great guy by my side that loves me. Maybe living with love in your heart isn't as bad as I once thought it would be. Maybe I can actually have love and happiness working together instead of against each other.

CHAPTER 24

Kinzleigh

It's finally Christmas morning. I peek through my sleep crusted eyes and rub my hands over my face. Sitting up, I scratch my head through my matted hair and turn to place my feet on the floor. Pressing the home button on my iPhone, the clock reads thirty minutes after five; in the morning. This always happens to me. My internal clock always springs to life at the butt crack of dawn on Christmas, so why would I think this year would be any different? Oh... maybe because I'm eighteen and no longer a kid waiting on Santa!

I walk into my bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. Everything in the house is silent as I open the door in my Grinch pajama pants and green tank. I bought all the girls matching Grinch pajamas as well as the boys matching reindeer pajamas so when we take Christmas pictures we look festive.

Sticking my head out into the hall, everything is dark and quiet. I guess I might as well cook everyone breakfast if I'm going to be up this early. I walk down the hall to see if Presley is awake to keep me company in the wee hours of the morning. Usually, Presley is the early bird of the two.

When I'm standing outside her door, I turn the knob quietly to ensure I don't wake her if she's asleep. It's still dark outside so the room is dark as well. I stick my head in the door and I can see movement but I can't tell if she is awake or not. Opening the door further, I tip toe closer to the bed and when I get there I was in no way prepared for what I witnessed. That picture will be forever branded to my memory bank and every time I remember it, I will be scarred.

Konnor is lying on her bed in all his tattooed, naked glory because the blankets have fallen off the end of the bed. Someone must have gotten wild last night. Presley, also naked, has her leg thrown over his manhood (silently thanking the stars he's covered) and her arm across his stomach. I really don't think I could have handled seeing my brother's tool. Some things you just can't move past and that would be one. Instead, I get to look at Presley's derriere as she's wrapped over his body with her head laying on his chest.
Kinzleigh, why are you still standing here? How are you going to explain this if they wake up and see you standing over the bed staring? Stop being creepy.

Presley starts to move her leg, stirring in her sleep.
Please stop moving. Oh my gosh, please don't let me see anything.
I cannot believe my brother and best friend is butt naked in my parents’ house, while they're home. What if they walk in? I need to get them up, but what am I supposed to do?

I slowly back up quietly towards the door. Once I get the door open and pass through, I hear stirring and then moaning. Oh my...they cannot be serious. Thank goodness it's pitch black in the room and hall so they can't see the door. Putting my hand over my mouth to avoid being heard, I pull the door to being as quiet as a mouse, until it's lined with the frame and I release the door knob. The bed is starting to make a ruckus and I run in a tip toe until I'm back in the safety of my room.

When I get inside, I see Preston standing by my bed with his arms crossed over his bare chest. Startled, I fall into the door, throwing my hand over my chest. "Crap Preston, what are you doing in here?"

"I could ask you the same," he says with a knowing smile across his face. He's caught me doing something I'm not supposed to be caught doing. His hair is mussed, standing all over his head and he's shirtless with his black reindeer pajama pants on. "What are you running from?"

Should I tell him? It's kind of private. What the heck, if I have to be scarred after seeing that, then someone else should be too. "I. Just. Found." I'm breathing hard from trying not to get caught.

"You just found what? Spit it out woman. You're starting to worry me." He laces his hands on top of his head, making his muscles flex. Could the boy not have put a shirt on before he came in here? I'd be stupid if I didn't admit he is attractive; just nothing compared to my Breyson, but it's human nature to look.

I hold up my index finger, signaling to give me a minute while I even my breathing out. "I woke up early so I was going to cook breakfast, but then went to Presley's room to see if she was awake." I pause dreading this vision coming back.

"Go on. I'm starting to get old here," he teases.

"Oh shut up." I laugh. "Presley was, well Konnor was. They were naked! I was standing there with her draped over him and the covers were on the floor and I couldn't believe what I was seeing so I just stood there and then they started stirring so I hurried from the room then they started waking up for round... Oh I don't even know what round it was!" I'm talking so fast and rambling run on sentences one after the other to the point that I can't even breathe.

In the meantime, Preston is tightening his lips together trying to muffle his laughter. "Why are you so calm? This is not funny! Our parents could walk in and then what is your dad going to do! Don't you want to beat him up or something for...you know. Oh gosh, I can't even say it. Aren't big brothers supposed to be mad at this sort of thing? How do
you
know he's not deflowering your little sister?"

He walks over to me and grabs me by the shoulders, steering me towards the bed and pushing me into a sitting position on the edge. "Okay, for one thing, this has been building all week. I'm surprised they waited this long. Two, don't you think it'd be a little hypocritical for me to get mad at him for sleeping with my sister when I would sleep with his? Three, Presley was
deflowered
if that's what you want to call it, a long time ago. I don't like it, but it is what it is. Lastly, if I had to hand pick someone for her to sleep with, it would be Konnor. He's one of my best friends and I know he's a good guy no matter how much he's hurting right now. He may not be ready for a relationship, which will hurt Presley, but she went into this warned. I have already talked to her after seeing them in the kitchen the day we got here. She chose to lay in his bed, she will have to deal with the repercussions, whatever that entails."

I just stare off in space. He does have all good points, but still he doesn't have to be so calm. I, as much as anyone, know they are good for each other but that still doesn't make it easy to witness. "If you had seen what I saw, you wouldn't be this calm. They could have done it somewhere else! Do you really want to see your sister naked?"

He looks at me with a look of disgust. "Hell no! Why would I want to see that shit?"

"Precisely, which is why you can be so calm right now! I was this close," I hold my fingers apart to state a centimeter before continuing, "to seeing his huh huh. I had no forewarning of what I was walking into."

He bites his lip with a smile on his face and his brow dips between his eyes. "His huh huh? Is that what you're calling it these days? Can you even say it Kinzleigh? It's not a bad word, you know."

What does it really matter what I call it? He's missing my entire point. "Yes. For your information, I can say it, I just choose not to."

"Say it and I'll leave you alone. I want to hear something a little bit dirty come out of your mouth. I need to know you have it in you." He moves closer to me and suddenly I remember that it's just the two of us in here...alone. I promised Breyson that I wouldn't allow him in here without someone else.

Holding out my hands, they are now resting on his pectoral muscles as he is in a close proximity. "Come on, dirty boy. You can help me make breakfast. I don't feel like saying anything dirty right now. I reserve that for special occasions. You must have caught me at a bad time." I smile and turn to walk out of my bedroom. 

  After consuming a large portion of scrambled eggs, toast, and ham, we all made our way to the Christmas tree for presents. I won't see Breyson until later today since he is with his family as well. I take a seat on the couch and Preston, Presley and Konnor sit as well. Konnor and Presley keep eying each other as if they did not finish getting each other out of their systems. They haven't even been out of the bedroom but like half an hour.

Breyson and I can't be that bad. Can we? Surely not... no way. I am convinced we are not near that bad. I wonder where they are going to go from here. From the way Presley keeps looking at him, there is no going back to the way they were. She looks like a girl in love. The kind of love you don't recover from. I hope he doesn't hurt her. I can't read his emotion. He looks completely void of any feeling. That scares me. He was always the passionate one. I really hope he hasn't become numb to emotions because of Sophia.

Christmas morning with my family has come and gone so fast. Looking around, wrapping paper is littered all over the floor and everyone is looking at everything they got. I need to get a shower and load everything in my car to go to Breyson's house. My parents invited him here this morning but this was a rare occasion his parents weren't working at the hospital on a holiday so he had to spend Christmas morning with them. He tried to convince me he was picking me up, but I have got to stand my ground somewhere. My poor car is going to hate me if I don't drive it at least a couple times a week.

As I'm getting out of the shower, smelling fresh and clean as well as smooth from a fresh shave, I see Presley sitting on my bed crying. What is wrong with her? If I had to guess, it has something to do with Konnor. "Are you okay?"

She shakes her head and wipes underneath her eyes as the tears fall in a thick curtain down her face. I have never seen her cry like this. Tucking one side of the towel underneath the other to hold like a dress, I sit on the edge of the bed beside her and place my arm around her. Placing my hand on the side of her head, I pull her to rest on my shoulder. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Kinzleigh, I'm so sorry. I should go. I'm probably keeping you from Breyson. I'm a stupid girl." She is rambling and still crying.

"Presley, shut up. You're my best friend. Breyson can wait. It's just opening presents and we have plenty of time. Tell me what's wrong. You're scaring me." My shoulder is now wet from her tears.

"I made a mistake Kinz. I don't know what to do. I couldn't help myself though. In the moment, I let my heart make the decision over my brain and I've just ruined everything." I exhale knowing exactly what she's referring to.

"Is this about Konnor?" She nods and lifts her head from its position.

"How'd you know?" Well this is going to be a little embarrassing to admit.

"I kind of walked in your room this morning. I was going to see if you were up and because I didn't expect him in there, I didn't knock. I managed to slip out when you two were starting another round," I say nervously.