Fathers and Brothers

Heather returned, phone in hand, to find Brandon sitting on the couch alone. She glanced around the room, scanning for Ashley, but not finding her in sight, she looked back to Brandon as he sat watching a highlight of sports headlines and news from the day.

“Where’s Ashley?” she asked.

“Toilet, uh, I think,” Brandon bluffed, and then distracted her. “So, did you find out where the others disappeared to?”

“Kurt didn’t pick up, but I did get Zack. Apparently, they went out to a night club while Kurt went to Shawn’s apartment with Jennifer,” Heather began to explain, glancing suspiciously down the hallway towards the bathroom.

“Jennifer?” Brandon queried, noticing Heather’s mind was still on Ashley. “Who is that?”

“Jennifer White. She’s a Park Ranger, heads up the summer camp here at the lake every year which is how I got to know her. Kurt too, though he also volunteered with her last year, and Dustin was volunteering with her this year. She’s the one who found Victoria, so I guess she’s kind of invested by this point,” Heather clarified, finally seeming to forget about Ashley as she crossed in front of Brandon and sat beside him on the couch.

“Got it,” Brandon said, relaxing back into his seat. “Did he say if they found anything at the apartment?”

“No, but Kurt showed up at the club and said he got a look at Victoria’s phone. Supposedly she was meeting someone at the club, which was why she suggested they go out tonight. Kurt thought she was meeting Shawn, so they split up to find her, but so far Zack hadn’t seen either of them,” Heather finished explaining, adding, “He said he’d gather everyone up and come back right away.”

“Awesome. I guess now we wait then,” Brandon replied, slouching further into the sofa.

“Mmm.” Heather hummed in agreement, turning her head to look down the hall again. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something just seemed off about Ashley ducking out to the bathroom. It wasn’t surprising that nature would call, they’d been on the go practically all day, but her gut feeling was that something was going on behind her back.

Seeing Heather looking down the hall again, Brandon hastily straightened up and drew her attention, “Actually, there was something else I wanted to talk to you about, while we’re alone.”

“Oh?” Heather faced Brandon again, her mouth lifting into a grin. “Are you about to proposition me, Mr. Cole?”

“Ha, I’m not sure that would work for either of us, which is what I want to talk about,” Brandon chuckled wistfully. “The whole **** thing, I mean. I’m guessing this is what became of the daddy-daughter roleplay between you and Kurt.”

“You’re not going to start judging me too, are you?” Heather rolled her eyes and lay her head against the top of the back cushion. “Everyone is fine with it when it’s siblings, it’s all ‘you don’t choose who you fall in love with’, but when it comes to a father and a daughter, suddenly its sick and immoral again.”

“No, of course not. I mean, I do think it is kind of weird because it’s like, that’s the man who sired you. Once upon a time you were just another gob of cum shooting out the end of his cock, and now here you are, drinking other gobs of the cum down your throat. I mean, yeah, he got the snip, so it’s not dangerous, but you still came from that, so I do think there’s a whole level of taboo around a father daughter relationship that doesn’t exist between the likes of me and Madison, who share DNA but not through any personal action of our own,” Brandon mused, though he quickened to add, “But I don’t think you’re sick or immoral. I can see that you’re happy. Happier, in fact, than I think I’ve ever seen you.”

“Yeah, it’s complex when you think about it like that, but I remember when we talked about your relationship with Madison a couple of days ago in the park when we were looking for Victoria. You said it was about the ****, but it also wasn’t, that the fact that she was your sister wasn’t the main appeal really and before this week you never really entertained the idea of fucking her,” Heather said, quoting the Quarterback verbatim. “It’s the same for me. I’m not really in love with my father, I’m in love with the man Robert Ravers, who happens to be my father. The sexual side of it came when I caught a glimpse of him exiting the shower once and honestly, I believe I was in love with him for a long time before that.”

“But what about the future? You know you can never tell anyone. That’s why Hannah’s threat is so effective. But even if we ignore or remove that…what is there for you two? He can’t have children and you can’t get married,” Brandon said, growing melancholy. “I’m sure your father wanted those things for you when you grew up, but don’t you want them?”

“This is about what you were arguing with Madison about at the camp site, right?” Heather deduced shrewdly.

“You heard that?” Brandon frowned.

“Just a bit, near the end. Something about her being free to do whatever she wants with her life. Listen, I don’t know what the future holds,” Heather admitted, grimacing. “I suppose at some point I will have to consider birthing an heir to my father’s company but I’m only 18 right now anyway, so I don’t need to have kids yet. Right now, I’d just like to focus on the present.”

“Don’t you think that’s short sighted? By the time you do want them, they may not be possible anymore,” Brandon argued, determined to give his twin sister the best life she could have. “The choices you or Madison make now will affect the future, so it’s careless not to even consider it.”

“I have considered it, but marriage isn’t something I need. Forgetting about **** for a moment, let’s say I meet a great guy who I love, but he’s been married before and his first wife was a horrible shrew of a woman, so he’s been put off marriage for life. But we move into together, go to bed together, separate the bills and the chores and write each other and our children into our wills. At what point are we everything but married but in name? Should I **** him into a ceremony he thinks is bullshit because it ticks something off a checklist? OR should I dump him too and find a guy I don’t love but wants to marry me?” Heather posited hypothetically, cutting in before Brandon could respond. “You can’t live your life neglecting your desires just to follow a series of checkpoints. For some, the grow up, get a job, get married, have kids model works, but for others that trajectory is like flying a plane into the side of a mountain.”

“I understand what you’re saying, and I don’t really disagree. Madison made the same point,” Brandon conceded. “I just hate the feeling that Madison is giving up her life to be with me when I know what she’s capable of. I feel like I’m holding her back.”

“I’ve known Madison for a while through cheerleading and I can safely say she’s almost as headstrong as I am,” Heather said, smiling gently and rubbing Brandon’s hand conciliatorily. “If she thinks you’re the best thing in her life, she’s not going to settle for second.”

The conversation was interrupted by Ashley, in her pyjamas, padding bare foot back into the room, a wide, bright smile upon her face. Seeing Heather on the couch, she asked, “Oh, hey. Did you hear from the others?”

“They went out to a night club. They’re on their way now.” Heather’s eyes looked Ashley up and down, narrowing at the petite blonde in her night clothes. “Where were you just now?”

“Um…” Ashley began, internally debating whether to tell the truth or lie. The truth would surely infuriate Heather, because Ashley had given her word that she’d wait until they got Zack’s verdict before coming up with another plan. On the other hand, Heather already seemed suspicious and Brandon might have already covered for her. Worse, if she didn’t answer quickly Heather would definitely know that Ashley was hiding something.