A/N: This story is a completed standalone. Please note that there is a lack of clear verbal consent in both sexual scenes, but it's not necessarily NonCon. There is some build up and characterization before the main event. All characters are over 18. I'm unfortunately my own editor, so any mistakes and/or typos are mine. All feedback is welcome and vastly appreciated to this struggling, wannabe writer. Happy reading. ~
*****
June - Four Years Previous
When his phone went off shortly past 1:30 in the morning, Brent Hawley knew nothing good waited for him on the other end of the line. He'd been an EMT while working his way through nursing school, and some of the worst calls came in the dead of night.
That wasn't to say that people weren't idiots in the daytime. There'd been the one lady that ended up with a rake halfway up her ass on a sunny Monday afternoon...but that was neither here nor there. Blindly he reached out, half asleep, palming the smooth top of the nightstand until he landed on his cell. He pressed the little green button without looking at the caller ID.
"Hello?" he asked, his voice sounding rough even to his own ears.
"Brent," the caller said, a note of panic suffusing the word. "I fucked up."
Autumn. He sat up in bed, suddenly wide awake, as he recognized his sister's voice. "What? Where are you?"
"I...uh...I'm not really sure. Winnetka. I'm at a party with Jess and she was supposed to drive us home, but she's wasted."
Damn it. Winnetka was an hour away. A muscle in his jaw ticked as he stared into the darkness of his room, listening to her shallow, but even breathing. He had a twelve hour shift in less than five hours.
"Brent," Autumn whispered, breaking him out of his reverie. "I'm sorry to do this to you. Please don't make me call Mom and Dad."
"All right, fine, I'll be there as soon as I can," he snapped, rolling out of bed. "Has she thrown up?"
"Who?"
"Jess, Autumn!"
"Oh...just once."
"See if she can keep down any water," he said, pulling on his t-shirt and jeans from yesterday. "Have you had anything to drink?"
"Well, yeah, it's a party."
He was going to kill her. He paused as he slipped on his Vans, taking a deep breath. He knew it was the end of the year, and there were tons of parties as she'd just graduated high school. He'd been in the same situation five years ago. But her lack of good judgement and planning, so unlike her, was grating.
"But I'm not drunk," Autumn said quickly, correctly interpreting his silence as an annoyed one. "I promise. I've had one vodka cranberry. And a beer. And just one shot!"
Brent ignored her as he grabbed his keys and wallet. "Okay, just make sure Jess gets some water and food in her if possible. Find a quiet place until I'm able to get to you. Are you safe?"
Autumn snorted. "Yes? It's just kids from Jess's school, geez."
He delighted himself in thinking of all the ways he was going to make her pay him back for this, especially if she wanted it kept silent from their parents. Maybe washing his car weekly for a year? Doing his laundry for a month or three? Promising to never hang out with her skanky friend again? Jess had hit on him more than once. She was certainly fuckable, but not much more than that.
"Just text me the address," he said, exiting his apartment. "Be there soon."
Nearly an hour and a couple tolls later, Brent pulled up to a house in the suburbs that had no business being a big as it was. Cars cluttered the driveway, and he felt a little self conscious pulling his aging Hyundai up near the myriad of Cadillacs and BMWs. To his relief, Autumn was out front, Jess between her and another one of their friends. He stepped out of the car and his foot crunched an empty beer can near the curb. How the cops hadn't been called for noise complaints already was beyond him.
When he looked, really looked, at his little sister, his eyes widened, nearly bugging out of his head. Autumn was a bookish nerd on the newspaper staff and an honor roll student set to start school in Champaign come the fall, most of her tuition covered by a scholarship. She didn't concern herself with partying, and the most he'd seen her put into her appearance regularly was her morning shower.
This girl was dressed in some light blue crop top and high-waisted skirt combo, the bottom flaring over her curvy ass and tanned, shapely thighs. Her dark brown, shoulder-length hair spilled out of her loose bun, probably from the excitement of the night. Though not dramatic, her makeup certainly stood out, accentuating her hazel eyes and thick black lashes. Strappy white sandals decorated her feet, shell-pink toes catching his eye. She hadn't been this dressed up for her actual graduation ceremony.
"Brent!" Jess cried, her head lolling between her two friends. "A hero ish born!"
Autumn rolled her eyes, wrinkling her pert nose. "Finally, you're here. I don't know how much longer I can put up with her like this."
Brent stared at his sister incredulously for more than one reason, and tried not to notice the way her tits bounced in her top as she struggled to support Jess. When had those things sprung? He supposed, though, that you missed a lot being out of your childhood home for almost five years.
He opened the door to the backseat of his car and moved to meet the girls halfway. All around them the party raged, though it was nearly three in the morning. Even though she smelled like her mom's expensive perfume and vomit, he lifted Jess off her feet and carried her to his car. Autumn said goodbye to her friend and followed suit, sliding into the backseat with her drunken friend.
Jess's house was twenty minutes away. They were almost there when Autumn finally spoke. "Brent...I'm sorry."
He glanced in his rear view mirror. Jess's head rested in his sister's lap. She stroked her friend's sweaty bangs away from her face.
"Just make sure she doesn't puke in my car," he said, the tiniest amount bitter his sleep had been interrupted.
Jess's parents were vacationing somewhere in Morocco, so in twenty minutes they had her safely delivered home and in bed. He made sure that she was on her side with an empty bowl and a glass of water in reach, but surmised she'd be fine as she hadn't puked on the way over. They locked the door behind them as they left, Autumn slightly unsteady in front of him.
"Watch that - " he started to say, indicating the uneven sidewalk, but she was already pitching forward.
He grabbed her around the waist, bringing the back of his little sister's body flush against his front. Because he was a guy, he immediately noticed how perfectly the curve of her ass fit against his groin. He knew she'd been teased throughout high school for being on the chubby side, but he'd always had a thing for girls with a little extra meat on them.
He wasn't tall by any means; average at 5'10, but Autumn had always been short, reaching her peak in middle school at 5'2. She rested her head just under his chin, and he smelled warm vanilla and not-so-warm vodka. He gritted his teeth. Why was he so hyper-aware of her?
"Whoa. Thanks."
Her skirt fluttered in the early morning breeze, and he thought he caught a flash of white lace. "Yeah, no problem. You good?"
"Yeah," she said, and the word came out breathy.
They were on the expressway before either of them spoke again. "So...I feel like I haven't seen you in ages," she said, fiddling with the hem of her skirt. He tried to ignore the way it rode up on her thighs.
"I was just at your graduation," he said, keeping his eyes on the road. It neared four in the morning.
"Yeah, but like, you don't come around anymore. Mom misses you. She won't say it but she does."
"Autumn, I'm busy. I'm working 48 hour weeks at the hospital. Mom and Dad both know that."
"But I'm gonna be leaving soon," she said, her dark brows raised. Her eyes looked luminous in the glow of the streetlights. "And then we really won't see each other except for holidays."
"You act like you're going to school across the ocean or something. You're three hours away by train," Brent said, unable to suppress a chuckle. Then he sobered. "Don't try to change the subject, though. What you did tonight was stupid."
"Oh, because you never partied." Her voice was sullen as she turned to look out the window.
"I didn't have the scholarship you had, which you could easily lose. But we'll see what Mom and Dad say in a bit, won't we?"
She turned on him, eyes wide. "Brent, you can't bring me home. Take me to your apartment until tomorrow morning. I'm supposed to be sleeping at Emily's. That's where Jess was going to drive us."
"You can't just invite yourself over," he said, outraged.
"It's an emergency!"
"My apartment is not a safe haven for drunk teenagers."
He almost swerved into the next lane when she placed a hand on his thigh, the pads of her fingers pressing against the material of his jeans. "Brent," she said, her voice pleading. "I'll literally be grounded for the rest of the summer."
"You should have thought -
"I'll make you a deal."
He was silence, suspicious. Finally, he bit. "What is it?"
"Let me crash by you and you can make me do anything you want."
He swore under his breath, but took the exit coming up to get to his place. As he drove, gears began to shift in his mind. Surely she hadn't meant it as it sounded. He contemplated his options. He could keep it clean, or...no. What the fuck was he thinking? This was his baby sister.
"Tyler Ballenger said I had a nice ass tonight," Autumn said suddenly, keeping her gaze straight ahead.
The name sounded familiar. Brent wracked his brains. Ballenger. "I think I had one of his sisters in my class."
"Yeah, Sarah. Did you think she was pretty?"
"I don't really remember her."
"I think Tyler's pretty cute. I kinda wanna fuck him."
He stopped a little too hard at the red light. "Jesus, Autumn." His hands tightened on the wheel as he imaged his sister wrapped around some faceless douchebag kid, her tits bouncing on each thrust of his cock.
She giggled, and covered her mouth with her hand. "Right, right, sorry. Girls like me aren't supposed to have thoughts like that."
Ten minutes later he was parked, and they rode the elevator up to his floor in silence. Though comfortably spacious, his one-bedroom apartment was the epitome of bachelorhood, decorated to the point it was almost bare. A couch and flatscreen sat in his living room, and the fridge in his kitchen held a few cold cuts and condiments. His bedroom was much the same, with only a bed and wardrobe giving hints that someone lived there.
"So. The deal," Autumn said, coming to stand in front of him.
"Sis, I'm tired," Brent said, fighting not to snap at her. "I have work in two and a half hours. Let me go get as much sleep as I can."
