The Wright Brother

by Marie Hall

  She still hadn’t given him a name yet. She just called him Jules, which he never seemed to mind.

  Not sure what to say to that statement she decided to confess something that’d been nagging at her for the past few weeks.

  “I don’t know what to do.”

  His fingers moved furiously as he asked, “About what?”

  “School. Life. Plans.”

  “What?”

  Rolling to the side, she saw the confusion that scrawled across his forehead.

  “I thought you wanted to be a doctor.”

  “No.” She sighed. “That’s not me. That’s my dad. He’s the one that wants me to go into sports medicine. But that’s not really my passion.”

  “Then what is?”

  She plucked at his thumbnail with her fingers for a second. Why had she never noticed how calloused his thumbs were? There was still a lot about Julian she didn’t know. Like his time in New York and what he’d done there. Why the Wrights had packed it all up to come back to Sunny Cove. That was still a total mystery to her.

  “I don’t know,” she finally admitted.

  He gave a soft throaty chuckle, which tugged a smile to her lips. It was always so easy to talk with Jules. He just seemed to get her.

  “That’s not good. Isn’t there anything you love?”

  She paused. “Not really. I mean, I love swimming. But that’s not a career.”

  “It can be.”

  She shook her head. “Yeah, but I’m not sure I want it to be. I don’t want to be my dad and chase one race after another.”

  Opening her palm, because now she was getting frustrated and didn’t know what else to say that wouldn’t come off as sounding bad, Elisa gazed up at the sky. She hadn’t told that to anyone. Not her mom, her dad, not even Chastity. Everyone thought she had everything so together. Elisa the goody two shoes, the champion swimmer, the perfect daughter, perfect friend… She was terrified of what was coming. Terrified of the unknown, of moving on.

  “Smile Girl.” Julian’s fingers danced across her palm a minute later.

  Not wanting to sign anymore, she slipped her hand out of his and stuck it between her thighs. His pretty eyes studied her face for several breathless seconds. His eyes had always drawn her.

  The way they were so blue around the outer edge but how right by the pupil they turned a dark shade of green. Like he’d captured the best parts of the ocean and sealed them inside himself.

  Her lips tingled as she was bathed in a sense of déjà vu. As the world seemed to take a collective pause, suspending her and Julian inside a bubble where it was only the two of them and nothing else.

  His throat worked hard and she couldn’t help but wonder what he would have said if he could hear his words.

  He scooted close to her and her stomach dropped to her knees because she knew what he was going to do.

  She should move away.

  But she didn’t. She was frozen, almost paralyzed by her conflicting desires.

  Her lashes fluttered when his large, warm hand framed the side of her face and his touch wasn’t just friendly. It wasn’t the kind of touch she was used to from him. This one was a slow, gentle stroke. Her pulse thundered in her ears as the calloused tips of his fingers traced the soft lines of her face.

  Elisa had every intention of making him stop. This wasn’t right. They shouldn’t be doing this. Julian was her friend. Her brother.

  She was too old for him. She knew better, knew how wrong this was. He was only sixteen, but his touch didn’t feel unsure or hesitant. His body heat brushed against hers.

  Stop, Jules, please stop.

  But the words never left her tongue. Her brain and her heart were in utter chaos from the sensations wreaking havoc within her.

  His fingers tapped out her name on her cheek.

  “What?” she huffed, wishing she hadn’t come out here with him by herself. Wishing she hadn’t admitted what she had. Wishing so many things that she’d never confess to herself even within the privacy of her own thoughts.

  He tried to grab her hand, but she refused to let him. “Don’t, Julian.” Somehow she managed to pull the words out from the depths of her soul.

  His lips turned down into a deep frown and she hated that she’d hurt him, but she didn’t like how she was feeling right now.

  “Are you mad at me?” he signed quickly.

  She squeezed her eyes shut. “No. I’m just. I’m…”

  Rolling onto her back, she flung her arm over her eyes. She needed to get away from here, from him, from Sunny Cove. She was terrified of the future, but Elisa was also terrified of the things that Julian sometimes made her feel.

  She was a woman now. What the hell was wrong with her?

  His touch was gentle as he swept his fingers up her arms. Stroking her bicep and causing her flesh to break out in a heady wash of goosebumps.

  Wanting to jerk away from him, even while she wanted to lie still so that he could continue to glide his fingers over her skin, she growled.

  “Julian, stop.” She glared at him and jerked away. “This is wrong, okay?”

  “What is?” He asked, and she noted his heavy breathing. The way his dark pupils were now dilated.

  All she would have to do was move in just a little bit closer, wet her lips, any sort of a hint on her part and he’d be all over her. She could sense it, feel it in the way his body was so tight and tense beside her.

  “You’re my brother.” She tried one more time to let him know they couldn’t do this.

  He shook his head. “I’m not your brother.”

  “Julian, please.”

  “Smile Girl, I—”

  “No!” She jumped to her feet and, with a graceful swan dive, slipped into the waters, working her muscles furiously as she swam as fast as she could away from him and the things he made her feel.

  Elisa wouldn’t allow herself to be alone with him anymore after that. When they came to dinners, she’d smile and play nice, but she always made sure to sit as far away from Julian as possible.

  And even when she’d be sunbathing in her back yard and could feel his stare on her from across the way, she wouldn’t look up, she wouldn’t encourage him. Whatever this thing was, it was wrong. And she was suddenly so grateful to be going away.

  ~*~

  The night before her parents were to take her to campus, a knock sounded on the door. It was past eleven at night, way too late for a casual visitor.

  Mum looked up with a frown dappling her brows.

  “You expecting someone, Elisa Jane?” Dad had asked.

  Muting the silly reality show she was watching to help waste time before bed, she shook her head.

  Chastity had already come over earlier in the day. They were both headed off to the same campus, which was great. Even better was that Mom and Dad had surprised her by saying they would help rent her an apartment off campus so that she and Chas could room together. Chas had squealed like a little girl when Elisa had told her the good news.

  But apart from that, Elisa hadn’t been expecting anyone else.

  “Not really.”

  A knock sounded again.

  “Hm.” Getting up, Dad went to the door and Elisa heard his surprised, “Loribelle? What’s wrong? Are the boys okay?”

  And just the thought of it caused her gut to wrench almost violently.

  “They’re fine, Dean. I’m…um…well, I’m actually here because I wanted to talk with Lisa if I could.”

  She frowned and glanced at her mother who only shrugged. Apparently she had no idea what this was about, either.

  Clicking off the TV, Elisa glanced up just as Mrs. Wright came in. Her tiny form was swallowed up by the long, amber-hued turtleneck she wore, which, coupled with the dark gray stretchy pants, made it obvious to Elisa Mrs. Wright hadn’t planned on dropping by at all.

  “Mrs. Wright?” Elisa made to stand, but she held up a hand and shook her head.

  “I told you, hun, call me Lori.”
/>   “Oh…okay, Lori. What’s wrong?”

  Turning on her slippered foot, Lori glanced down at Elisa’s mother. “Bethy, could I have about five minutes with your daughter?”

  Mum glanced up at Elisa with a soft little frown.

  “I promise it’s nothing bad, it’s just sort of private is all.”

  Feeling as though she might puke, Elisa waited until her mother and father had walked out of the room before turning back to Loribelle.

  She was now sitting on the section of the loveseat her mom had just vacated and was staring at her mother’s glass-sculpted collection of seahorses hanging on the wall.

  “What’s wrong? Is Julian okay?” Elisa cringed the moment she said his name. The problem could just have easily involved either Roman or Christian, but deep down she suspected Mrs. Wright wouldn’t have come over for either one of them.

  Picking up a wrapped mint from the candy bowl her mother always had set out on the coffee table, Loribelle flicked at the plastic tip. The room was pregnant with unspoken words.

  Elisa had no clue why Lori was here, but she really, really hoped it wasn’t about the other day. She and Julian hadn’t done anything.

  “I don’t know what—” she started to say, but Lori held up her hand.

  “I’m just going to come out and say it, because I trust that if there is anyone in this world who might love my boy as much as I do, it’s you.”

  It was like she’d swallowed a bag of stones. Her eyes flicked toward the kitchen where she suspected her mother and father listened in.

  “What are you talking about?” she asked as she dug her nails into the recliner armrests.

  “Elisa, when you go away, don’t forget him. Please.”

  Thundering heart slowing just slightly, she cocked her head. “What?” That hadn’t been at all where she’d thought this conversation might lead.

  Crossing her legs, Lori pinched the bridge of her nose. “Julian has no idea I’ve come over—in fact, he’d probably kill me if he knew. But I had to, I had to get this out to you before you left.”

  Her blue eyes were rimmed with dark circles. Loribelle didn’t work. The Wrights lived off of her husband’s stocks and insurance, which was substantial to say the least. Elisa didn’t know exact amounts exactly, but she’d heard it whispered that it had to be close to five million.

  They didn’t live like they were uber wealthy, so she wasn’t sure whether to believe it or not, but then again the East Coast wasn’t the cheapest place in the world to live.

  The obvious stress Lori was under didn’t come from bills, but more than likely stemmed from the fact that she was a young widow with three teenage triplets, one of who had health issues.

  Lori’s nervous finger tapping was starting to make Elisa anxious. She wiggled on her seat.

  “I don’t want to put pressure on you, Elisa. But you have no idea what you’ve done for my boys. Most especially Julian.”

  A hard lump wedged itself in her throat, making it hard to swallow.

  “You know his problems. That’s obvious. But when Carter died, Julian took it harder than the rest of them. Carter was his world. His dad made Julian feel alive.” She smiled, her eyes distant and remembering a memory. “He’d always tell Julian that no matter how he was born, he could be whoever he wanted. Carter was so proud of our boys, but I think he secretly favored Julian most. I mean”—she shrugged, blinking back to the present—“he needed a lot of help in the first few years of his life. Deaf and colorblind, it was so overwhelming. I just thought it would be impossible, that Julian would never have the kind of life like his brothers would.”

  “But it hasn’t stopped him at all.”

  “I know.” She nodded and gave her a gentle smile. “He’s perfect. And Lord if that boy ain’t handsome.”

  Elisa’s grin wobbled. That was a statement she’d like to stay far away from.

  Lori sighed and the sound of it was so full of sadness that it squeezed Elisa’s heart. “Kids were so cruel to him, even his own brothers at one point.” She shook her head. “New York was no good to Julian. He suffered. He will probably never admit it, but the loss of his father has left a lasting impact on him. Where Roman and Christian threw themselves into sports and the validation of their peers, Julian withdrew into himself.”

  That much was fairly obvious to her. Julian had always been quieter than his brothers. “Julian’s always been different.”

  “Yes.” She looked at Elisa. “Quiet and shy. But in New York he grew wild and angry. Started hanging out with the wrong crowds. My parents tried to help the best they could, but”—she took a deep breath—“he was just too much for all of us. He started dealing drugs—”

  “What?” That didn’t sound at all like Julian. “Was he using too?”

  “No, thank God.” The relief in her voice was short-lived. “But he was getting into fights, and, well, you’ve seen the tattoos.”

  Elisa wouldn’t admit to his mother that those tattoos were part of what intrigued her so much about him. She nibbled on the corner of her lip.

  “My last hope was to come back here. But I was afraid you know. Would Carter’s memory haunt those halls and make it harder for our boys?”

  “And did it?”

  “At first, a little. But”—her smile grew wide—“then they saw little Elisa Jane Adrian, and it was like my boys were five all over again. Bit by bit they came out of their shells. Roman grew less sarcastic, Christian, well…” She shrugged and laughed. “He’ll always be Christian. But Julian,” she said, nodding proudly, “Julian became my Julian again. It took a while, but soon I began to notice that you made him laugh, you brought him out of that shell and…” Her eyes began to swim with tears, and yanking a tissue out of the box from beside the candy bowl, she dabbed at them.

  Elisa knew exactly what Lori was talking about. She’d witnessed the transformation herself. Just thinking about it brought a smile to her face, but reality came crashing down hard.

  “He’ll be fine. He has to be, I’m leaving.”

  Lori’s brows gathered into a tight vee. “Elisa, I don’t know what happened the other day when you guys went swimming.”

  Squirming, she plucked at her nightgown. “No…nothing happened.”

  But Lori didn’t seem entirely convinced by her weak words.

  Waving a hand, she said, “I’m not here to talk about that. Because like I said, I don’t know. All I do know is he came back that day devastated. I suspect my boy has developed a serious crush on you.”

  Cringing, Elisa shook her head.

  But Lori only nodded harder. “Not only do I believe that, but I think you know that. Which is probably why he returned to me as he did. I understand there’s a fairly significant age gap—”

  “Mrs. Wright—”

  “Lori.” She raised her brows.

  Huffing, Elisa corrected herself. Habits were hard to break. “Lori. I’m nineteen. Yes, there is a huge age gap, and I’m sorry for how he feels about me.” She squelched the little voice reminding her that he’d not been the only one affected that day. “But I would never cross that line.”

  “Oh dear Lord.” She grabbed her chest. “I hope you don’t think I’m asking you to. I would never.”

  Elisa flicked her wrist. “Then what are you doing?”

  “I’m only asking for you to understand that it’s a phase, and he’ll get over you. He’s got two more years before college, he’ll understand it could never be, what I don’t want though is for you to ignore him. You’re good for him, Elisa.”

  Why had the thought of him getting over her made her feel such a heavy flash of sadness? It shouldn’t, because the fact was that was exactly what she wanted. What she needed. Elisa was going to college and she was going to flirt, she was going to date, and, hopefully, she’d find the man of her dreams, graduate with honors, and forget all about that stolen moment on the pier that’d made her heart beat faster than it ever had before in her life.

  “Write
to him. Email him. Text him. Just every once in a while. Just let him down easy, Lisa, that’s all I’m asking. I’m afraid what will happen if you shut him out. Once he realizes you two could never be anything, he’ll move on, and he’ll be happy again, but I’m begging you, please, don’t lock him out.”

  She knew Jules. And the fact was, she knew Lori was right. What Julian felt for her was puppy dog worship, an infatuation that would end. But when it did the one thing Elisa wanted was to know that they would always remain friends.

  “I really do love them all.”

  Lori dabbed at her eyes again. “I know you do, sweetheart. And I’m so grateful for that.”

  Then she got up and Elisa assumed their conversation was over, but Lori stood there fidgeting, glancing between the door and her, before with a loud sigh she reached under her shirt and yanked out a sheet of paper that looked as though it’d been crumpled at one point and tossed away.

  She stared at the paper. “I wasn’t going to give this to you. I figured you wouldn’t want it anyway. But…” She glanced up and started to walk over to Elisa. “Julian is an amazing artist. One of the best I’ve ever seen, but this drawing…” She sighed and smoothed her fingers over the sheet lovingly. “It has his soul stamped on it. You can keep it or you can toss it, like he did, but…”

  Then, with a twitch of her lips, she thrust the paper at Elisa. She took it without glancing down.

  “Good luck in college, Elisa Jane. I’ll always be pulling for you.”

  And without so much as a wave, she turned and walked away. Elisa waited for a good minute after Lori had left to finally glance down and when she did her vision began to shimmer.

  Staring back at her was an image of her face. It was a charcoal sketch. Nothing but black and grays, and yet life had been breathed into the picture. Her eyes were wide and luminescent, her button nose tilted up just slightly at the tip. A smattering of freckles lined the bridge of it. Her lips were wide, but not too wide. Slightly thinner on the top than the bottom, and he’d even managed to capture the tiny dimple that sometimes dotted her left cheek when she smiled wide. Long strands of hair billowed off like wispy clouds in a strong breeze behind her.