CHAPTER 12 - UNSPOKEN ANSWERS

"Son of a ..." Jason roared, launching towards the corner they'd just left in a hurry because Emily was heading right there. Though they lingered in there enough to witness his sister entering the cave he didn't even know about (their corner being just a few feet afar), then his best friend entering the same cave and now ...

"I'm gonna chop off his head, I swear!" Jason hissed, ready to wage war, so Vanessa held him back, wrapping her slender arms around him, also trying to calm him down. She'd seen what he had, but differently from him, she was glad about it. Finally Emily was letting herself go. Well, at least enough to enjoy her very first kiss.

"Let me go!" Jason roared, but she didn't move. "Vanessa, let me go! Now! This is his last day on Earth, I swear!"

"No. Don't be stupid. Let them be." He groaned, wanting to push her off him, and he did, seizing her skinny body in his arms like nothing, but she kicked his shin to be put down and he growled in pain, cursing loudly.

"It's none of your business what they do." Vanessa chastised him, arms crossed over her chest, standing there menacingly, as if to dare him to walk past her and go spoil his sister's moment.

Jason glared at her. "It is my fucking business what my fucking best friend does to my baby sister! I told him she was off limits! But no, he's the same asshole he's always been! Ughhhh!" He accompanied that hiss with a violent punch against a tree, so violent that the birds were scared off and flied away.

Vanessa sighed, knowing it wouldn't be easy to calm him down now. He was always so overprotective over Emily. He never showed his love for her in any other way but that one. And judging by how he was losing it, he loved his sister deeply. Well, when was that ever doubtable?

"I'm gonna kill him. I swear, I'm gonna kill him!" Jason continued, pacing back and forth while Vanessa remained there watching him and listening to the obscenities he kept muttering along with painful ways of murdering his best friend.

Vanessa glanced back towards the cave and smiled. Emily was still there, sitting on Riley's lap as they kissed, him seemingly having no intention of letting her go. Vanessa was sorry for Dean, but hey, her best friend's happiness was worth her brother's small heartbreak. Dean liked Emily more than a bit, he was completely crushed, possibly really in love with her, and while it had seemed like Emily liked him too, it was as clearly as the sun that it was Riley to cause her stronger emotions, therefore why divide them?

That's why she stood there like those gargoyles guarding the entrance to a gothic church, waiting for the moment when Jason would try again to leverage on his stronger frame to bypass her. let him try, the feelings she had for him wouldn't let him win. Not this time. For the first time since she knew her, Emily was letting herself go, even only a little, and Vanessa had no intention of letting her overprotective brother spoil all of that. Sure, Riley was bound to get at least a punch in the face at the very least, but for now let them be.

Meanwhile, Emily was still there, in her Riley's arms, him gently roaming her back while still kissing her. possibly, at least five minutes had passed. At some point she'd gasped for air, but he'd only given her a few moments to catch her breaths, then he'd assaulted her lips once more, unable to retain himself.

Emily felt really weird, there was a whole ensemble of emotions swimming inside her and she couldn't really pinpoint them all. All she knew was that she loved being in such situations and she didn't want to pull back, not so soon anyway, but she was also afraid, because the more he gave her such feelings, the more he was bound to hurt her.

He'd leave soon, as a matter of fact, in a few days, and she'd be left alone with her maddening emotions and thoughts again. Riley would abandon her. Like he already had once. And in Boston he'd build up a new life – a real one, that didn't involve her. There was too much distance between them. They'd been really close once, and maybe they could be again, but in a ... friendly way. She was too young, too insignificant to be more than that.

Besides, he had no idea what she'd been through those years and she would never ever dare tell him. He'd be only disappointed and she knew she could never endure the hurt look on his handsome face.

Actually, Emily didn't even want to know what she truly felt. Those weird emotions had crowded her mind when she was 13 going for 14, now she was 17 going for 18 and nothing had changed, if possible, those emotions had only multiplied, they'd been enhanced, and him coming back had only caused them to hit her like a ton bricks all of a sudden.

She'd been trying, for five years, to forget him and those feelings, and she'd succeeded enough to keep going, even if really plainly, but now ... now, having him pull her against him to kiss her more and more, his arms around her in such a different way ... it was all so confused.

The lonely tear had stained her cheek and there it had remained, her heart was aching but swelling at the same time. As if that intense kiss gave her indescribable emotions but at the same time scared her to death. Well, it did. Truly, it did. One other reason why she didn't want to part was that then they'd have to talk about it and really, she didn't want to. She had no idea what to tell him. Even only explaining why did he let him kiss her and why did she kiss him back was too hard.

As for Riley, he wasn't thinking at all. He was letting himself go, kissing her as fervently as he'd been craving to since a week at least. He knew the odds weren't really favorable, as a matter of fact, Emily was even a minor, so, technically, he could even get arrested for that, but right now he didn't even care. Hell, it was the best moment ever. It passed everything he'd ever lived in his 27 years of life. And he had no intention of letting her go, no, no.

It wasn't that hard to understand where was his heart going. It was weird, absurd, foolish, but really, all he'd been thinking of since he came back was spend more time with his Honeybee, yet not in the same way. The first night he'd thought his best friend was a fool to even only fathom the idea of him having thoughts about the girl he used to babysit, but now ... in two weeks his thoughts and emotions had changed to abruptly that he had no idea where did they even come from. Was it only the fact that Emily was so beautiful? Sure, he'd dated girls just for that, but no, it wasn't nearly enough for a reason.

Especially because a relationship with her entailed many obstacles and troubles and certainly, he was mature enough to get over the beauty thing not to risk for nothing. Hell, he could really, really be arrested for that. The American law was clear: as long as she's still a minor, it's a crime punishable with jail.

Hell, his own sister was a lawyer, he should know that. Well, just to be sure, he might ask better her info, but for the time being, the thing was, he could get in serious trouble. Not to mention his own best friend would kind of skin him alive if he came to know. Yet, Riley didn't really care at the moment. There was only his Honeybee in his arms and kissing her felt like freaking Heaven.

In the end, they had to pull back, because neither of them was able to breathe anymore, but Riley held her there, with no intention of letting her go. Smiling gently, he caressed her cheek, leaning her forehead against hers, feeling content at the sole fact of her abandoning herself in his arms so easily.

There were thousands of words that could have been spoken, but neither of them uttered a sole one, instead, Emily leaned her head on his chest, trying to get that soothing feeling he usually gave her, and Riley welcomed her gladly, embracing her better, leaning his chin on her head after having kissed her hair. And like that they remained for a few moments, only nature being heard around them, well along with some people in the distance, but all of that didn't matter.

In the end, Riley felt it was the moment to speak, though. His fingers gently traced the skin of her hips underneath the hoodie for a moment, then they retrieved, knowing that had been a hazardous move. Taking a deep breath, he spoke: "I don't even know where to start." Pause.

Both their hearts were thumping furiously, he could feel hers against his chest as much as he could feel his against his own ribcage, though her body was almost relaxed, abandoned to him, just the same as she always let it be when she was a child. Maybe it was a good sign? His hand moved up to rub her scalp, which had her emit a low appreciative sound he half smiled at, knowing she loved it when he did that.

"The odds aren't exactly favorable, but ... maybe ... uh ... we-uh ..." Jeez, he had no idea how to put it. Was asking someone to be your girlfriend ever so hard? He'd never had troubles in that. Well, his ex's didn't happen to be the little girls he used to babysit. Hell, his ex's never made him feel like that.

How could things change so much only in two weeks? He'd come back that she was still only his Honeybee, even when he'd seen her, he'd felt a little different, yes, but mostly, what he'd wanted was to help her get rid of the complexes she clearly concealed behind shyness. And then ... sure, throughout those five years he'd missed Emily more than anyone, but always in a very brotherly way. How could he change point of view so quickly?

And yet he had, God, he had indeed. He wasn't exactly sure of what he felt, but he knew where his heart was going and ... well, if he had to be honest, he didn't exactly mind. Better said, he knew he ought to get rid of such desires and emotions, but be it that she was in his arms right now, Riley couldn't really find a reason to deem those same feelings as wrong or to want to resist. All he wanted was to be with her, in a very different way from the usual.

Taking a deep breath, Riley tightened his grip on her, placing a small kiss on her hair as he spoke in a sigh: "Emily, I ..." Come on, it's not that hard. Yet his breaths were itched and his heart was racing. She was so peaceful in his arms, as if she'd come to peace with their renewed bond and even ... sort of agreed. Or maybe that was only wishful thinking from his part. He knew her for being a very peaceful girl of her own, so her being that in that moment didn't mean anything. Hoping didn't hurt, though, did it?

Emily, from her part, had let herself go enough to enjoy the moment, even while knowing it wouldn't last long more. She knew it would then hurt, but for now she needed to bask in it. She heard his words, and her most rational side wanted to believe they were what she thought, but they couldn't be, right? And even if they were, it couldn't happen. There were too many things against them. Starting from her own self.

Hence, before he could say anything more, she pulled back, despite his grip being so tight around her. Her hands and eyes on his chest, all she mumbled was: "I should go."

Before standing up. With her heart aching and swelling at the same time, tears already prickling behind her eyes, Emily let herself only mutter: "Bye, Riley."

Then she left. He remained there, dumbfounded. In one moment she'd gone from abandoning herself to him to leaving him with nothing more than a racing heart that thundered against his own ribcage to reach her. Did love feel that way? If so, then damn, was he in love with his Honeybee.

Too bad she seemingly didn't want anything to do with it. Maybe she was right. She was clever enough to see the wrongness of the thing before him. But maybe she was holding back for a whole different reason than social acceptability. In that case, he ought to do something. Soon.

***

Riley tapped nervously on the table, biting his bottom lip. They'd just finished dinner and his sister was already washing dishes while their mother and grandma were in the living room chatting or watching TV. Sighing, he stood up and reached the kitchen.

"Hey, sis, uh ... may I ask you something?" Renée, who'd been soaping a plate, turned her head to him, confused, but seeing him torn, she nodded. Rarely did her baby brother ask for her advice, if anything, it was her to ask him, therefore it was serious if he came to her now. And she might have an idea about whom did this delicate thing was.

Riley took a deep breath and went to lean against the counter, facing his older sister that pretended to be still soaping plates while asking what was wrong. Their bond hadn't been the usual of every pair of siblings, Renée wasn't the typical older sister that gave advice, she was more of a mess herself, therefore often it was the other way round, and the times Riley had had to cover up for her and get her out of trouble were countless. Never anything too serious, though.

Their father passed away that Riley was merely a child, so he barely even remembered him, but Renée, well, she had kind of a crisis and started frequenting bad people, even got hooked on drugs, but their mother never knew anything about it. There was once that she came home high and completely wasted, Mrs. Evans was sleeping, just as her mother, only Riley and Jason were up, the two 13-years-old were having some sort of sleepover, the excuse being Mrs. Robinson needing peace because of baby Emily being so noisy at night, therefore when Renée stumbled into the living room, she found the two boys watching a movie they really weren't supposed to.

Riley kind of knew already what had his sister gotten herself into, therefore he only sighed and, helped by Jason, he took care of her, only to then scold her to no end, which had her, finally, get back on top, be it only for her baby brother, as she said, because "the disappointed look on his face was too much to take".

Now, their bond had strengthened since then and Renée had done her best to walk on the right path, but she'd still need advice now and then. Rare was the other way round, and now it was one of those cases.

Riley took a deep breath, raking a hand through his hair. "Um ... I-uh ... kind of need some ... legal advice, um ..."

"If this is about who I think it is, just know that yes, it is illegal, but only if you have sexual intercourses with her. And with sexual I mean even only foreplay or petting. Hell, even caresses. Everything that implies you adult man touching her teenage body in any way other than brotherly is illegal till she turns 18." She cut him off. Riley gulped, but Renée didn't lose her phlegm as she went on, seemingly calm: "You risk from one to three years of jail, little bro."

"But I ..."

"Even if you don't do anything, people will imply you do, and even only a report can stain your record, which means that for the rest of your life you will be, in the eyes of the law, a sexual offender. Even if she is consensual, yes. And because it is not possible to be sure nothing happened, only a report can be held against you. Hell, even only some bigot old woman seeing you kiss and caress the teen can get you in trouble."#

Riley remained there, mouth hung open, more at the fact that his sister already knew everything that at the description of his eventual felonies. Renée looked up and grinned at him. "Cheer up, though. For what I know, Emily turns 18 in December. You just need to wait three months more or less. Some people have to wait years."

He didn't find it amusing, though. Riley sighed, passing a hand over his face. He did have a fair idea of what he'd face because of her being a minor, he just didn't know details ... but was this enough to stop him? He sighed, cursing lowly. "I think I'm in love, Renée. Seriously."

His sister allowed herself to giggle, claiming that was pretty clear. "Then what do I do?" He asked.

She shrugged. "Wait three months."

"Renée ..."

She got peremptory: "Seriously, Riley. Wait. It's not long. Just wait. And then everything will be easier."

"But ..."

"I know this law is weird, but it doesn't give discounts to anybody, no matter if there is love or not."

Riley dropped his head back, sighing. Well, that made things only worse. Then again, it seemed Emily didn't want to have anything to do with it anyway. "I guess you're right." He said. "Besides, if law doesn't punish me, Jason will kill me."

Renée chuckled lightly, shaking her head. "Maybe. But I don't think he's one to judge." Riley opened one eye to look at his sister, confused. She grinned. "A good lawyer has eyes everywhere, little bro. And ... birdies tell me Mr. Robinson Junior has been cheating on his pretty fiancée with a very enterprising teen."

Riley frowned. "How do you know?"

She shrugged. "I saw them kissing in the park while jogging the other morning. I'm not sure, but I think the teen was Emily's friend, that ... how was the name ..."

"Vanessa."

"Yeah, that one. If she's a minor, your friend is in deep trouble too."

"Nah, she's a major."

Renée nodded. "Good for him. Though I know guys like their girls younger, but I didn't think you too ..."

"It's not that simple, Renée."

She grinned impishly. "For you, maybe no, but for him, yes. It's merely attraction." She shook her head in fake disapproval. "I've always known Jason was impulsive. Since that time we kissed –"

"You what?" She grinned, biting her lips, shrugging in a "oops, my bad" way. Her brother gave her a dirty look but didn't say anything. After all, who was he to judge? He'd kissed his best friend's sister too, and his was, technically, a crime even.

Well, it didn't change much anyway. Judging by the way Emily kept ignoring him, she'd made up her mind and the response to unspoken question was, definitely, a heart-stabbing no.