Dave was in the living room, resting on the couch with Emily, watching TV, but his mind drifted back to the moment when he divulged the hurtful truth to Wren. She has been avoiding his texts and calls for the past four days and he couldn't blame her though. He was concerned about her, he knows her when she's hurt but he also knows that she has Madeline and will keep her safe from any harm she could do to herself.
He looked down at Emily who was leaning her head on his shoulder with her eyes focused on the TV, watching something that made her laugh softly. She felt his eyes were staring at her, so she raised her head from his shoulder and met his eyes, smiling.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing. I just love it when you laugh."
She blushed slightly and averted her eyes away from him, hiding her shyness.
"Em?" he asked softly.
"Yeah?"
He swallowed softly and grabbed the remote from the coffee table, to mute the sound so that he could talk with her.
"You know how much I love you and I don't like keeping secrets from you because I don't want to hurt you, like ever."
"Okay." she said waiting for what's coming next.
"There's something you should know about me, but before I say it, I want you to hear me out till I finish what I need to say." She nodded. "I did something... something terrible to Wren and she didn't know about it, but I guess I was wrong because it turned out she knew about it." He sighed heavily.
"What are you getting at, Dave?" she frowned in confusion.
"Okay, umm... a long time ago when we were in college, I, uh," He looked down at his hands then met her eyes. "I slept with her girlfriend, ex-girlfriend, Georgina... I slept with her behind Wren's back when they were in a relationship." She looked down, feeling a little bit hurt even though those weren't news to her. "I feel awful about myself these past days because I regret it, like fully regret it and I keep wishing if I've never done something stupid like that and but I'm a different person now all because of you."
She met his eyes and smiled weakly at him. "Dave, I know about you and Georgina."
His brows knitted in confusion. "Yo- You know?"
She nodded. "I do."
He grabbed her hands in his and locked eyes with her hurt ones. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I'm sorry I hurt Wren. I know she's your best friend and you always cared for her and protected her from anything harmful, but I wish if you protected her from me when I acted so selfish and stupid back then and I'm sorry for not telling you about this before."
"Dave, it's fine. It was the old you." She reached up and caressed his cheek. "We all did stupid regretful mistakes in our lives and I did too. And if there is someone you need to apologize to, it's not me... it's Wren. Babe, you did nothing to hurt me. I know you."
He blinked twice. "I did talk to her or should I say tried and she was so mad at me. I've been trying to call her ever since we had the conversation, but she's ignoring me and I'm a little bit worried about her. She's my sister after all and I love her."
She pecked his lips and he smiled a little. "I know you do. I'm gonna talk to her tomorrow, okay? And she will listen to me and don't worry I'll fix the problem."
"Have I ever told you that I love you?" He smiled.
"Every day." She replied, giving him a soft kiss on his lips then pulled back. "I love you and I promise I'll handle it and you'll be happy about it, but right now please smile and watch this movie with me, it's so funny."
He laughed softly at her as he kissed her forehead and pulling her closer in his embrace, stroking her hair gently before settling comfortably on the couch again enjoying the comedy movie with her.
................................................
The following morning, Wren was inside her office, having a phone call with a client and she heard a knock on her door then Emily opened it and stuck her head inside. Wren motioned for her to enter and she did as Wren was still on her phone, finishing her call.
Once she hung up and put the phone back on her desk, she looked at Emily with a smile but she sensed that Emily had a reason to come here because her face was weird like she was hesitant to speak and wanted to spill her guts out.
"What's up?" asked Wren, leaning against her chair.
"Can I talk to you about something other than work? It's kind of important and personal."
She saw the worried look on her face again. "Is it Dave? Is everything good between you too? Did he hurt you?" she asked a little bit concerned.
"No, no, no!" she said quickly. "Everything is perfect with me and Dave." She sighed, looked down for a sec then back up at her. "But it's about Dave. To be more precise, it's about you and him. He told me that you talked about... him and Georgina, and he's worried about you for not returning back his calls." Wren sighed and stared at the floor. "He wants to apologize."
"I'm not sure I'm ready yet for that. The news struck me hard, Em. I thought he was my brother."
"Well, he is. He regrets it. Very. He can't even touch his food or sleep well at night. He's punishing himself for you." Emily sat across from her desk and reached for Wren's hand. "Just please give him a chance like you gave..." She sighed. "Like you gave Georgina one. They both hurt you badly, but you decided to forgive her despite what she did and I think Dave deserves your forgiveness as well. I mean why only let Georgina to be forgiven and not your brother, Dave, who did the same mistake as her? In my opinion, that's gender discrimination." she joked at her last statement and Wren chuckled softly then smiled at her. "Please do it for me or better yet do it for yourself, Wren. When he told me last night he thought that I would break up with him, but I didn't, not because I knew about it before, but because he changed a lot through the years and mostly changed for me and I love him so much. I believe in him."
"Okay" She nodded with a smile.
"Okay what?"
"Okay, I'll call him and meet up with him tonight if he wants."
"Yay!" She jumped from her seat and went to Wren, hugging her tightly. "I know you still had your kind heart."
"Is that an offence?"
She pulled away from her, grinning. "No. I love you, stupid."
"I love you too, four eyes girl." Emily smacked her on her forehead. "Ow!"
"Don't ruin the moment!" she scolded, wrapping her arms around her again.
"Okay, sorry. Chill."
"Should I call him or you will?" asked Emily, pulling away.
"I will."
"Alright. I'm going back to work." She walked around the desk and headed for the door, but stopped in her tracks when she remembered something. "Hey, Wren?"
"Yep?"
"Thank you for worrying about me... about my relationship with Dave."
She smiled warmly. "Don't mention it."
...................................................
Dave was waiting at the bar, having a drink to cool down his nerves. Wren called him this afternoon, saying that she wants to meet him to talk this time, real talk and he approved. He figured that Emily talked with her and convinced her to meet up with him after work. Elise came behind the bar counter, drying some glasses and looked at Dave as he glanced at his watch checking the time.
"Need another one?" she asked, noticing his tension.
"No, I'm good." he said. "Thanks." She nodded and continued then turned her back to him. "You know what? I think I need a refill."
She whirled around, chuckling as she grabbed the bottle and poured him an ounce. "That's enough for you so you could drive home safely, buddy."
He raised his glass, smiling softly. "Appreciated."
Elise's eyes went to the door as it got opened by Wren, making her entrance and that made him turn his face to the side, meeting Wren's eyes. He gulped and tensed a little in his place as she made her way to him, taking a seat beside him and took off her jacket, rolling up her sleeves.
He thought that she was rolling them up, getting ready to fight him or something, but then he knew she won't do it, not in a public place because she doesn't like to be the center of attention... unless if she needed to beat him up.
"Hey, Elise."
"Hey, friend. The usual?"
"Yeah, but just a little."
"You got it, mon amie."
As she was grabbing a clean glass and the bottle of whiskey, fixing the drink for her, Wren turned to Dave as he took a sip from his drink and groaned a little from the bitter taste that hit down his throat with a burn.
"So... Emily said that you wanna talk with me." Elise handed her the drink and she mouthed 'thanks' to her. "Then talk. I'm listening."
He took a deep breath and tapped his empty glass a few times before meeting her eyes. They were soft and calm unlike the last time they spoke and that gave him an ease of mind, but still they were somehow intimidating.
"I'm sorry. I really am, Wren, and you have every right to be mad at me and ignore me for the rest of your life." She took a sip, looking down at her liquid, listening to his words. "You're my sister and I love you. I was supposed to take care of you, not hurt you in any way, but I was selfish and jealous of you. Now I'm not that person anymore." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Could you please give me another chance... to be in your life as your step-brother at least?"
She stayed silent for half a minute, looking at her glass then inhaled softly. "You're lucky that Emily loves you and wants me to forgive you. If it wasn't for her I wouldn't have considered her offer about listening to you. She always knew how to reach for the soft Wren within me." She met his eyes. "But like my dear mother taught me, everyone deserves to be forgiven no matter how bad they harmed you. It's painful... but I choose to let it go than have it hunt me down for the rest of my life." She gave him a smile and he released a comfortable sigh. "You're my brother and not my step-brother, Dave and I know you changed. I can see it."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he said repeatedly and she chuckled at him. "You're literally the best sister ever and I promise I'll take care of Em and make her the happiest girlfriend on earth."
"You better or I'll have to kill you myself." He looked at her with wide eyes from the fear. "I mean it. She got hurt before several times so if I saw her once crying because of you, the next thing you'll know is your messed up face." she said sternly returning back to her tough act.
He gulped knowing that she was talking serious. "I won't hurt her. You have my word."
"Good then we have a deal." She looked at Elise. "Can I get another two for me and Dave?" She gave her a nod.
"Put it on my tab." said Dave and Wren gave him a look. "It's the least I could do. Just let me pay for the drinks, Wren."
She sighed. "Okay, but only this time."
.......................................................
Wren returned home and opened the door of her house, entering, causing no disturbance with her footsteps. She entered her bedroom and found Madeline sitting on the bed, with her back leaned against the headboard and she was wearing her glasses, reading a book and twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
Madeline noticed a figure watching her closely, so without looking, she closed the book and took off her glasses, putting everything on the nightstand then met her eyes with a smile across her face.
Wren walked to the side of the bed and took a seat close to her, bringing their faces close together, for a sweet kiss that wasn't too hard nor rushed, it was a gentle kiss.
"I'm going to take a shower then join you, okay?"
"Alright." She stroked her cheeks lovingly. "You taste like whiskey."
"I had a few drinks with Dave. I was just catching up with him today."
"Okay"
"I'll be with you in 10 minutes."
After a few minutes, Wren finished her shower and stepped out of the bathroom, wearing her PJ shirt and pants and a towel wrapped around her neck as she dried her hair. She stopped the drying process when she saw Madeline wearing her clothes, her full suit, shirt, pants and dress jacket and her hair was tied in a bun.
"What are you doing?" said Wren smiling at her.
Madeline whirled around smiling sheepishly. "I'm just trying to see if your clothes would fit me, but I guess I was wrong."
Wren laughed softly at her when she realized that her clothes were bigger than Madeline's petite frame and the sleeves were dangling a little from her hand, hiding them.
"Stop laughing at me!" she said but she laughed with her.
"I'm sorry." She covered her mouth, suppressing her laugh then cleared her throat. "Okay, you look cute in my clothes. Like a midget or a child wearing her dad's work clothes." She chuckled again then stopped when Madeline glared at her.
"I don't look cute. I'm you now and you are hot, not cute."
"I'm flattered, thanks." She smirked, drying her hair.
"So, I'm gonna act like you and you're gonna give me your review after I finish."
"I like the sound of that."
Wren walked to the edge of the bed and placed the towel beside her, intrigued to see how Madeline will act. Madeline cleared her throat and squared her shoulder, turning her face into a serious one.
She started walking like Wren, trying to imitate her walk, but Wren grinned at her and chuckled softly. Madeline composed herself from laughing at herself and continued with the acting.
"Hey," she said with a deep voice. "I'm Wren Clermont, would you like to spend the night at my house?" She winked at Wren and Wren laughed at her. "Emily! I need coffee! Now! The twins are coming and they're driving me insane! Especially Isabella she's all over me! I think she's trying to have some of me tonight!"
Wren cracked up and Madeline joined her, covering her face. Their laughs echoed through the room filling it with joy and amusement then their laughs faded.
"Okay, I have to say you're a bad actress at imitating someone but you're good for a comedy movie." said Wren getting up from the bed and walking to her. "First, I don't walk like you did."
"Yes you do!"
"Nope" She shook her head. "Just watch me" She started walking around the room like a normal person not like how Madeline did a minute ago.
"Yeah, you're right" she mumbled with a frown.
"Second I don't yell at Emily except when she really makes me angry." She sighed. "And third... I don't flirt with a woman like that. That's not how you get them home with you for a night."
"Oh really?" she asked crossing her arms over her chest and arched an eyebrow. "Then show me how you do it." she said with a hint of challenge in her tone.
"Alright" she said confidently, getting in action. "Can I buy you a drink?
"They say yes if you said that?" asked Madeline with wide eyes.
She shrugged. "Not the best pick up line but it works every time. I guess it has something to do with my looks though. They don't care about my words if they were sweet or sour. The women I met in my life wanted nothing to do with me but sex. No strings attached. Sex with no emotional entanglement."
"Oh" she said softly. "Makes sense, but still I wouldn't fall for it if you tried reaching for me in a bar or a club." She shrugged and Wren smirked.
Wren grabbed Madeline from the hem of the shirt and pulled her closer, capturing her lips softly with hers. She felt Madeline's lips curl into a smile against her lips and her hand went around her neck. Wren grabbed the blazer that Madeline was wearing and took it off of her throwing it on the floor, never leaving her lips.
Her hands went to the pants and slid it down her legs, leaving her underwear and surprisingly Madeline didn't notice that Wren was undressing her slowly as she unbuttoned the shirt, leaving just one button in the middle. She pushed the shirt down her left shoulder with her hand then moved her lips to the exposed skin, kissing and biting around her shoulder softly as Madeline moaned in her ear. She pulled back, smirking at Madeline who was still closing her eyes and her lips were slightly parted.
She finally opened her eyes and felt a cold breeze hitting her bare legs and her left shoulder and then looked down seeing that she was only dressed in Wren's shirt halfway opened.
"When did y-"
"My lines may be bad and not appealing for you, but I don't need lines to make you scream my name all night." She looked at the shirt she was wearing, taking a glimpse of her cleavage. "And that's how I like it on you."
Wren bent down quickly and caught Madeline in her arms, lifting her off the ground and Madeline squealed in surprise while Wren walked them to the side of the bed and sat down with Madeline sitting on her lap, straddling her hips.
"Can I keep your shirt?" asked Madeline, playing with the collar.
"Don't you like have two of my shirts already?"
"But they're casual and I like this one, it looks good on me, so can I?"
She sighed dramatically. "Fine, keep it then." She looked at her again, admiring the beauty in her shirt. "It looks great on you anyway."
"Thank you." She grabbed her face and kissed her cheek.
Wrenlaid down on the bed and Madeline rested her head on the crook of her neck andinterlaced their legs together while Wren pulled the blanket over them both.She kissed her forehead and whispered goodnight to her and so did Madeline andsoon they both drifted off to sleep.