2 comments/ 53451 views/ 5 favorites Hardest of Choices By: loved4eternity "Chuck! Are you home?" I yell out as I shut the front door behind me and drop my keys onto the small at table beside me. "Chuck?" I ask, I think I hear something in the kitchen and head in that direction. "Hey honey." I jump at the voice that comes from behind me. "Don't do that you scared me." "Sorry you must not have heard me, I was upstairs." "It's fine. How was your day?" I reach up to kiss him gently but he will have none of it, he grabs me into his arms and leads me towards the stairs. I laugh as I try to pull away. "Not now, I have to make dinner, I'm starving." He groans and releases me. "I get apology sex tonight then." "No you get hot dirty apology sex." I tease. "Oh even better." He tries to grab me into his arms again but I move away and hurry into the kitchen. "So guess who called today." Chuck says as he follows me into the kitchen. "You sound nervous to tell me but also kind of excited. I'm going with your mother." "She did call today but no that's not what I'm talking about. Henry called." I turn quickly back to face him. "You're joking right?" "No, he was really disappointed that you weren't here. I told him when you'd be home but he said he only had the phone for a few minutes." I sink down to the floor against the cabinet. "Did he say anything?" "He wanted me to tell you that he missed you and that he loves you." "That's it?" "And he has 2 weeks of leave coming up." I raise my eyebrows, completely surprised by this. Henry is my older brother. The day he turned 18 he signed up for the military; against my wishes and our parents. But Henry was brave and believed in what was happening over in the Middle East, none of us could convince him to stay. "He has 2 weeks, did he happen to say where he was staying?" "He wants to come here and stay for the entire time. He misses you a lot, I could hear it in his voice. I told him he could." I jump from the floor and into my husband's arms. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." "It's not a problem. I know how much your brother means to you." "It's not just that, I haven't seen him in 4 years." "Mel, it'll be fine." "I know it will but now I'm nervous." "You're nervous? He's your brother, your strong, army brother. Who has never met your husband in person and could absolutely hate me." "Don't be silly. He knows how much I love you, he would never hurt you...against my will." "Don't joke, I've seen the pictures from years ago, he could kill me." Chuck wraps me in his arms. "Forget about food, come upstairs with me." He whispers into my ear and then starts to kiss down my neck; one of my many weak spots. I moan, he knows I won't resist. "Only if you make me something when we're done." "Sure." He mumbles against my collarbone. I moan again, long and drawn out as his hands slide down my sides. "Don't even bother going upstairs. We haven't done it on the table in a while." I taunt him. "Oh how I love it when you're horny." He groans. I giggle as he scoops me into his arms and carries me into the dining room. He lays me onto the table, the cold surface touching my arms and the backs of my calves. I smile to myself and close my eyes, I feel his fingertips slide up my arms. "If you don't mind I think I'll get this out of the way." He says referring to my blouse. "I don't mind at all." He un-tucks it from my skirt and slides his hands underneath and onto my smooth stomach. "Your skin is so soft." He states. The blouse gets pulled over my head and my skirt pulled down my legs. I'm left in a black lace bra and matching panties; his favorites. "Did you plan all this?" I laugh at the silly smile on his face. "I wish then I could take the credit but it was just a coincidence." "Whatever it was, I now have my beautiful wife on the dining room table in my favorite "clothes" and I've been promised hot, dirty, apology/ thank you sex. How can life get better?" "You could stop talking and make love to me already." "Good idea." He strips quickly but then squats down so that he is eye level with my cunt. From my knees down my legs hang off the table. He places my legs on his shoulders then kisses up my thighs; one of my other weak spots. I moan deeply and intertwine my fingers in his hair. "Eager tonight aren't you?" "Me? I walked in the door and you were on top of me. At least I waited till I got to the kitchen." He smiles that silly smile and resumed his kisses. Finally he reaches my cunt. He blows gently over my clit and I shiver, his tongue takes one long lick all the way up my cunt before he spreads me with his fingers. "Your dripping." "Then clean it up." "Sure thing." He inserts his tongue into me and laps at my juices. I can hear myself moaning uncontrollably. With his expert tongue and knowledge of just how to set me off, he has me cumming all over his face and the table in minutes. He stands back up and kisses me, I can taste myself on his tongue but I could care less, I just want him inside me. He places his cock at my entrance and slides in slowly, trying to tease me but I thrust my body up at him, which he wasn't expecting, and he is soon buried inside me. He pulls me closer, my legs wrapped around his waist as I sit on the table and he stands above me. He leans down to take my right nipple into his mouth, gently biting and then sucking. He switches back and forth as he increases his tempo. I can tell he is getting closer; his breaths coming quicker and so are mine. "I'm almost there Chuck." I say breathlessly into his ear. "So am I." He slams into me relentlessly. One of his thrusts hits just the right spot and I erupt onto his cock. I bite down into his shoulder and that sends him over the edge. His cum floods my cunt as I come down from my high. "Don't think that's it baby." Chuck groans as he picks me up and starts kissing my neck again. "Food first please." I beg, my eyes pleading. "How can I resist that face." "You can't, that's the point." ~~~ 2 months later. We stood at the watching the flights arrive and depart, the board changing quickly. His flight was scheduled to arrive at 3, it was already 6 and it was still delayed. "Why is his flight having problems, all the others are fine." "It's probably nothing, it will be here soon." "You've said that about 30 times already." "Have I?" I roll my eyes and look back up at the board. "His flight has arrived! They must not have updated it, lets go." I drag Chuck in the direction of where my brother will be. "Melanie slow down let me walk." "Sorry but I don't want him to not see us." And then I see him. He's still in his uniform which is one of the reasons its so easy to see him, the other is his height. Henry is 6'5 and towers over everyone. "Henry! Henry over here!" I yell across the groups of people. But I have the disadvantage; at barely 5'0 no one can see me in a crowd. "Melanie wait for him to get over here." "You yell for him, he'll be able to see you." "He doesn't know who I am." "Good point." There is a break in the crowds and I run through, getting closer to Henry. "Henry!" I yell again, this time he sees me. A huge smile appears on his face. He forgets about his bags as he takes giant strides to reach me. I'm suddenly being crushed in his arms and I try to breath but I'm crying to hard. "Lanie, oh god I've missed you." I can't speak, I just keep crying. He finally puts me down and wipes the tears of my face. "I've missed you too." I get out. Henry's eyes leave mine for a minute and I follow what he's looking at. "Oh I almost forgot, sorry Chuck." I grab Chuck's hand and bring him next to me. Now Chuck isn't short really, he's 5'11 but next to Henry he looked smaller than usaul. And Henry looks a lot bigger than I remember; he must have grown even more while he was away. And he's strong, he has more muscle and less fat, his short hair cut makes him look so much older than he really is. "Charles this is Henry; Henry, Charles." "I can't believe you're married Lanie, you're barely 21." "You joined the army at 18, we're even." "I guess you're right, anyways it's nice to meet you Charles. You better not hurt her." He says the last part in a deeper, darker voice, one that means what he's saying. "It's nice to meet you too, and I would never hurt Mel." "Good to know, so could we get going. I'm exhausted, I tried to sleep on the plane but it didn't really work." "Of course." We head back over to where his bags are and then head for the parking lot. "I brought some photo albums from the past couple years, it's a long drive home." "Here's our wedding day, it went so smoothly thanks to Chuck." Henry and I are sitting in the back seat while Chuck is driving. I look up into the rearview mirror; Chuck is watching me, when he sees me looking at him he quickly looks away. "Right Chuck?" "Yeah, right." I feel a bit of jealousy and anger radiating from him, but what is he angry and jealous about? "You look beautiful Lanie, the photographer did a great job." "I'm going to ignore and take that as a compliment." "I'm just joking with you, you look beautiful; in the pictures and now. You really do." "Well thank you. You look so strange, have you grown even more?" "Just another inch or two." "Just another inch or two, you're a giant. Why did I never get any of the height in our family?" "You were always the unlucky one." "You're right about that." Henry starts laughing and begins to tell a story about when we were younger. "Remember when I ran straight into that glass door, slammed right into and nothing happened. Then a few minutes later you walked into it and slipped off the step. You ended up with a broken nose and a broken leg." "That's not that funny, it hurt really bad." "I'm just proving my point." "Hey Mel you never told me that story." Chuck says from the front seat. "There's no way I haven't. I told you I broke my leg, you must have just forgotten." "Yeah, you're probably right." "But you've broken your leg, what like 5 times, so maybe you hadn't told him." "Good point." It took over an hour to drive from the airport back to our house. Chucks' parents had money and when they died almost every cent went to him. We had bought the house before we had gotten married. It was an old house; out in the country, away from the loud noises of the city. It had 3 floors plus a basement and an attic. It needed some work but Chuck had had that taken care of. The attic and basement had been redone, all the rooms had been cleaned and new walls had been put in where needed, the floors had been refinished, there were new windows, new doors, a new heating system cause it got cold out here in the winter. Almost everything had been fixed or replaced but it still held the charm it had the first day we saw it. It was a home by all means of the word. It was cozy and nestled on 5 acres of land. It was where I wanted to raise my kids, where I wanted to spend the rest of my life, and now my brother finally got to come and see it. "This is a great place Mel." "I know, I love it here." Chuck took his bags from him and headed for the stairs. "Follow me and I'll show you where your room is." "Chuck go on ahead, I want to show him something first." I saw that flash of anger cross his face again but he quickly pushed it away. "Sure." He headed up the stairs without us. "You have to see this Henry, it's amazing." I led him through the first floor of the house, towards the back. When we reached the room I wanted to show him I pulled the key necklace from around my neck. "Cool hey?" "Very." "Chuck made it for me, he made this whole room for me. He didn't even ask me about he just did it." "You really love him don't you?" "Yeah, did you think I didn't?" "No, it's just you're so young and he's not old but he's older than you." "You're only 23, you aren't much older than me. And who cares if Chuck is 28, that's only 7 years older than I am. There are people who are together with much larger age differences." "I just don't want you getting hurt Mel." "I'll be fine. Chuck is good guy, he wouldn't do anything to hurt me." "Okay how about you open this door already and show me what's inside." I smiled at him as I turned the key. Henry hated the mushy stuff, I was surprised he had said any of what he just had; I think he was just trying to make sure he was protecting me. The door swung open and I flicked on the light even though I didn't really need to. The room had high ceilings, 20 feet tall. The back wall faced the back yard and was all windows, the light poured into the room. The other walls were covered in huge wood bookshelves. Every inch of the bookshelves held a book. "Oh Mel, its like they made you into a room." He was right, this room screamed MELANIE CORT. From the dark woods and antiques chairs and lamps, to the titles of the books on the shelves. Henry looked out the window and smiled, I had planted the garden outside the window and filled it with all my favorite flowers. "This is amazing Mel, I bet you spend all your time in here." "As much as I can. I'm trying to write again. And I'm taking classes online. I would go to an actual college but the drive to the city is so far." "You're doing real good. I'm proud of you. I wish I had gotten this far by the time I was 21." "Henry you served your country for 5 years, I'm proud of you and you should be too. I can't even begin to imagine what you saw." "Can we not talk about over there, please Mel, anything else but that." "Yeah, of course. I'm sorry for even bringing it up." "It's not your fault. It's just that, it's hard to talk about that stuff, you know?" I raise my hands as if I'm surrendering. "Hey I stopped talking about." He smiles at me, the smile I remember from so many years ago. "How about some food?" I suggest but he looks at his watch. "I'd love to but I called up the guys and asked if they wanted to go out tonight." "Oh yeah sure, go ahead. You could probably use a drink." "That's not exactly why I'm going out but yeah I could." "What do you mean?" "I umm...Mel there aren't really girls over there... do you get where I'm going with this?" I blush a dark red, I feel it burning on my cheeks; I should have known what he meant. "Yeah I got you." "Thanks Mel." He moves towards the door and pauses. "Something else?" I ask, his hand taps against the door. "If I don't come home tonight don't worry, okay? Or if I come in late, I'll try not to wake you." "Fine." I feel the blush creep onto my face again. Henry and I were close but we never really talked about sex and his girlfriends. Any time we talked about relationships it was about mine; him trying to protect me from every guy who ever passed by. "By the way your room is on the second floor, take a left at the top of the stairs and it's the third door on your right; incase you want to get some of your things or change." "Shower?" He asks nervously. "Left at the stairs, last door on the left." "Thanks Mel." He gives a feeble smile and heads off. "No problem." "You just act different around him, that doesn't mean I don't like him." Chuck and I are sitting in our bed, he was on his computer and I was trying to read but had read the same sentence about a hundred times. "What do you mean I act differently?" "I just didn't expect him to be so...protective? He watches you constantly Mel, his eyes never left you for a second." "I didn't ask about him, I meant how do I act?" "You just seem younger, like a little girl who knows her brother is there to look out for her." "What's wrong with that?" "Nothing, except that that is my job now." He places his computer on the nightstand and crawls on top of me. He takes the book from my hand and puts it on the other nightstand. "I'm your husband and as your husband I get to watch out for you, your brother still can but he falls to second place." He tries to kiss my neck but I push him away. "I'm really not in the mood right now. Can we just go to sleep?" I see the disappointment in his eyes but he smiles anyways. "Sure thing." I woke to something smashing downstairs and without even thinking I jump out of bed and rush down there. Henry is sitting in a chair in the living room; a lamp is shattered on the floor next him. "Henry what did you do?" He turns around and looks at me, he's completely drunk. "Hey Mel, sorry bout the lamp, I didn't see it." "I thought you said you wouldn't be home tonight." "Yeah, that didn't go exactly as planned. Guess the girls around here don't dig the army dudes." "Surprising." "Don't be sarcastic with me Mel, you know I don't like that shit." "I wasn't being sarcastic, honest. What woman doesn't like a hot man in a uniform?" "Are you saying I'm hot?" "No...I was just...saying that, you know...in general." I stutter like an idiot. "I know Mel, I'm just teasing you. Besides you got someone to fuck already." "Jeez Henry could you be more blunt." "Oh you know how I am." "I guess." "You guess? Mel, come on. We lived together all our lives, you've been one of the most important people in my life." I stood there, not knowing what else to say. "Hey Mel?" "Yeah?" "Enjoy him while you got him, understand?" I nodded and he smiles. "I should get back to bed." I mumble. "So should I." But neither of us moves. After a few minutes of nothing he stands up and comes over to me. He's close enough to reach a little and touch me but far enough away that we don't look like we're about to hug. And now I wish at that moment that hugging me was all he had done. He reached out to me, taking my hand into his; so much larger and stronger than I am. He laughs like my size is funny. He raises my hand to his lips and kissed each finger gently. I suddenly feel aroused, something must be wrong with me. The silence is driving me insane. I've never seen Henry so calm, he takes my other hand and does the same thing. And then without even realizing it, I'm pressed against the wall and he's holding my hands together above my head. "Henry wait." But he just keeps going. His lips move to my neck and hover there, I can feel them, feel his warm breath; I can feel my pussy getting wetter too. "Henry please." But he takes it the wrong way. He moves up my jaw, barely touching me but that made it all the more erotic. His lips found mine and pressed against them. His mouth opened and his tongue slid out hoping to meet mine, which it did because in my surprise I had opened my mouth. He continued to kiss me, I wasn't even sure if he knew who he was kissing. He pressed himself against me; oh god he's hard. He pulls away and just looks me in the eyes. "Night Mel." And with those simple words he walks off like nothing out of the ordinary just happened. Hardest of Choices Ch. 02 I touched my fingers to my lips; what the hell had just happened? "Mel?" I heard Chuck call me from the top of the stairs; thank god he hadn't come down moments ago. "Right here." I answered, pulling myself out of my daze. "What are you doing down here? It's 4 in the morning." "I um- Henry just got in, I was talking with him." "He just came back?" "He went out with some friends." "Oh. Come on back to bed Mel, you look tired." "I'll be right up." "Okay." He waited another second, watching me, before climbing back upstairs. I touched my lips again, they tingled and I could still taste the beer he had been drinking on them. "He's your brother." I reminded myself. "He's your brother and Chuck's your husband. End of story." I couldn't convince myself. I sighed and went back to join Chuck; Chuck my husband, Chuck my husband, Chuck my husband. Ahh! If only that could have stopped me! "Mel! Breakfast! Get you ass down here!" I groaned, Henry's morning call. "What the fuck." Chuck growled next to me. I leaned in to kiss him. "It's Henry and you'll get used to... I hope." "I don't want to get used to it. I like our morning wake ups." He cuddled up to me, pressing his hard cock against me. "Chuck we can't. Henry will come up and get us if we don't go down." "Mel." He groaned. "Later, I promise." "I get to pick the type of sex. And where." "Of course." I laughed. "We haven't done it in the shower lately. And you also haven't done that thing with your throat..." "Chuck!" He growled at me and threw himself on top of me. "I'm horny Mel." "So am I but Henry's waiting." "If that kid gets in my way again..." "He won't" I interrupted. "You can have me whenever you want, just not at this moment." "Fine. I'm hungry anyways." I grabbed my robe before heading downstairs after Chuck. Henry had made the works; pancakes, bacon, waffles, sausage, eggs, fruit, and orange juice. "It looks delicious." I said wide-eyed, surprised he would do this the day he got back. "Yeah." Chuck said unpleasantly. I elbowed him and he just glared at me and mouthed: "I want sex more than food." Chuck and I can understand almost anything we say silently. "What was his problem?" Henry asked me after we had finished breakfast. We were walking out in the woods behind the house, following random paths, not really in any hurry to do anything else. "Nothing, it's stupid." "It's making you upset." "He's being a man." "What's that supposed to mean?" "Oh Henry, I obviously don't want to say what Chuck wanted, okay?" "Okay." We continued on silently for a few minutes. I glanced at him occasionally. Watching the sun stream through the tops of trees and strike his brown hair, glinting it red and making his eyes shine. His strides were so big and I had trouble keeping up, he must have noticed because I suddenly could keep up. I twisted the key on my necklace, feeling every inch of the antique key that fit so perfectly into the door that led to my room. I started daydreaming, random stuff really. The day I met Chuck, the day I kissed Chuck, the day I married Chuck. I can truly say that no other day will beat the day I married him. It may sound cruel but I know that even the day I have my first child or my second or my third, will not beat that day. It was a beautiful summer day, not to hot because the sun hid behind a light layer of clouds and there was a breeze that tickled my skin as I sat next to the window. "You look beautiful Mel." Henry said through the cell phone. "You can't even see me." "I don't have to see you, you always look good." "I'm getting married Henry." "Cold feet?" "No not at all. But can you believe it? Me, Melanie Jacobson, getting married." "That's not the surprising part, you've always been a romantic Mel, it would stupid to bet against you not getting married. The surprising thing is that you're so young." "Don't be silly Henry." "Don't let him hurt you." "I wouldn't dare." "I'm not joking." "Neither was I. I wish you could meet him, then you'd see." "I wish I could see you. I can't believe all I get when I tell them my sister's getting married is a phone call. A phone call Mel, a god damn phone call!" "Don't yell, I know that if you could be here you would be." "I'm glad they at least gave me a phone call. I can't believe this is the first time I've actually talked to you in years. I miss you so much." "I miss you too." "Mel?" "What?" "I love you, you need to know that." "Of course I know that. And I love you too." The day had gone on, after they had had to reapply my makeup because I had been crying. There weren't many guests, which is what I had wanted. Just close family, mostly Chuck's, he had a lot larger family than I did. The thing I remember the most about that day was the look on Chuck's face when I was walking down the aisle. It was the kind of look you give a good friend when you see them and think of an inside joke; you just can't help but smile and almost laugh because it's just such a good memory. Chuck had that smile, like him and I had a secret that nobody else knew at that moment, and I saw the twinkle in his eyes. Then when I was almost to the end I couldn't help myself and I started to laugh. Everyone thought I was crying but Chuck knew what he had done. When I had finally settled down and stood on the alter before him, his fingers intertwining with mine, I became Mrs. Melanie Taft. Henry finally broke the silence. "He doesn't like me much does he?" "No he likes you. He's just...jealous I think. At least that's what I think he was trying to tell me yesterday." "Jealous? Of me? Why?" "He likes to protect me. He thinks that since you're back you're going to steal that away from him." Henry nodded, trying to process what I had said. "We have different things to protect you from though. I need to protect you from him. He needs to protect you from almost everything else. There should be no jealousy in that." I shrugged; is this what men think about all day? "Mel?" He was right to me suddenly, his hand wrapped around my upper arm. It sent electricity though my body and I gasped. We continued on walking, slower though. "Did something happen between us last night? I feel like it's a dream, I was so drunk last night though it could have been real." Moment of truth; do I tell him and risk our relationship or lie and risk my sanity. "You kissed me." I said, looking away, not wanting to look at him as I said these words to my own brother. "What kind of kiss?" "Like Chuck kisses me." He stopped walking and crinkled his eyes at me. "I did?" I nodded, the tears beginning to well in my eyes. "Oh I'm sorry Mel. I didn't know what I was doing. Don't cry." His arms wrapped around me and I felt that familiar feeling surging through me. The feeling I should only feel for Chuck and especially not feel for my brother. He pulled away to look at me but he doesn't say anything. And then it's déjà vu; his lips are on mine again, his tongue begging to be let into my mouth. It's like he's taken over my body. I kiss him back, my mouth opens for him willingly this time. His hands cup my face to pull me closer. My hands are on his chest; were his abs always this hard? The feel of his shirt under my hands feels wrong, it should be off. I pull at the bottom and he pulls away. "Mel." His voice is so sad I want to collapse and die right there. His eyes are heartbreaking and I see his hands shaking. "Henry I-" He puts his hand up to stop me. "I shouldn't have done that. I just couldn't remember last night and I just thought... I should not have done that. I'm sorry Mel." He runs off before I can say anything. My fingers turn on the lock and it clicks shut. Chuck turns to speak but he sees the look in my eyes. He smiles his little devil smile and slowly walks over to me. He's taking off my shirt before I can even tell him I want him to. His fingers brush my skin and I hear myself moan. "I don't think I have ever seen you this turned on." Chuck tells me as kneels and kisses my stomach. "Just fuck me." I moan, my head is pulsing rapidly. He pulls my pants down and helps me step out of them. I stand before him in my bra and panties; a matching dark purple with lace trim. His eyes are rolling in his head; if he wanted me this morning he wants me even more now. I take my bra off myself as he slowly pulls down my panties, which are soaked. His lips are at the top of my thighs, barely touching me as he brings himself lower. I know he can smell me and I know how much that turns him on. I can't even believe he's taking the time to do this, figured he would just want to fuck me. He sucks me into his mouth and I feel my knees shake. I spread my legs further, out my hands on his shoulders for support, and then push towards him. He continues to lick me, he moves a hand to my ass and gently rubs, his other hand busies it self with filling my cunt. My orgasm comes out of nowhere and hits me like a ton of bricks. My knees go weak and dick my nails into Chuck's shoulders. I feel him tense at the pain I'm inflicting and as my orgasm subsides I kneel down on the floor with him to see what I've done. "It's fine." He grovels. "Just let me look real quick." It looks like it hurts; I drew blood on all ten spots. "I'm so sorry." "It's fine, really." "You sure?" "Yeah. Want to know what won't be fine if we don't ignore this?" "What?" "My balls." I laugh and push him back on the floor. "I think I know just the antidote for that." I say as I seductively climb on top of him. "Do you now?" I nod. My legs straddle his waist and my hands are on his chest ready to lift me up. I lean down to kiss him as I raise myself up and move his cock to my pussy and sink myself down. He moans into my mouth as his entire cock is plunged into me. I raise myself back up and slide back down; I'm so wet it's easy. "Mel, have I ever told you how much I fucking love your cunt." "You might have mentioned it before." "God you're tight." He started to thrust up into me. And yet again my orgasm hits me like a brick. I scream and he covers my mouth to try and lower it. I feel him shoot his hot cum into me, filling me. I slow down and eventually stop moving and he removes his hand from my mouth as I slide off onto the floor next to him. He kisses my nipples, sucking them into his mouth. I reach down and caress his cock and balls; he wants more. I crawl down and lick the tip of cock. I can taste our mixes juices as I swallow him into my mouth. I sink down all the way onto his cock and he reaches the back of my throat, I constrict my throat; suctioning him in. This is what he wanted me to do. It hurts and makes me want to gag but I've learned to control it. The head of his cock is rubbing against the back of my throat. I squeeze his balls gently in my hands. I hear him moan above me and I look up. My eyes stare into his. "I love you Mel." He moans as his cum shoots into my mouth and slides right down my throat. The clock strikes midnight and I'm still sitting in my library. I've been here for hours. I'm sitting in the big maroon leather chair that faces the window. The moon is just a sliver in the sky, casting a single lined shadow over the floor. The doorknob twists across the room but it doesn't open since it's locked. I know it's Henry because Chuck isn't home; something about his grandmother falling and having to go to the hospital. I feel bad now, I hadn't really listened when he was trying to tell me. Henry and I haven't spoken for 3 days now, I feel bad about this too. He only has 9 days left before he has to go back. The doorknob stops turning and releases, I think he's still standing there though, I haven't heard footsteps walk away. Should I go and open it? Should I risk it again, being so close to him? "Mel." My heart snaps, it's the same depressing tone he had the other day before he walked away from me. "Mel I know you're in there, I already checked everywhere else." I don't move, afraid to make the slightest of noises. The floor creaks outside the door but still no footsteps leaving. "We need to talk Mel. You can't ignore me forever." I sure as hell can try. Silence again, dead silent, the silence that makes me nervous and think something is wrong. "Oh Mel." This voice is different; it's pleading and desperate. "I know I shouldn't have kissed you, it was stupid so stupid. I just couldn't stop myself. When you told me I had kissed you already and I couldn't even remember...I needed to know what it was like, I wanted to remember it." What is he saying? "Do you remember your wedding day when I talked to you on the phone?" How could I forget? "I told you I loved you. But I didn't mean it the way you thought I did." How did he mean it? "I was trying to tell you I'm in love with you. I wanted to tell you not to marry him, that you were making a mistake. But you sounded so happy, so sure of it that I couldn't ruin it." I stand up and walk to the door. He looks surprised when I open it, like he didn't hear me opening it. I feel stupid standing there before him after what he's just said. It doesn't help that I'm wearing a lavender babydoll that barely covers anything. His eyes scan my body and shivers shoot down my spine. "What are you trying to say?" "I want to be with you. I've wanted you for as long as I can remember." "Henry you're my brother." "And you're married. Don't you think I know this? I have played through every possible scenario in my head over the past 6 years." "We can't." "Think about it Mel, think about how happy you could be." "I'm happy now!" "But it's me." "You're going back to Iraq in 9 days." This wakes him up. He twists his hands together and searches for something else to say. "This was a mistake. I should have known it wouldn't work." "Henry stop." I demand as he goes to walk off. "I don't know what these feelings are that I'm feeling for you, they're wrong and I know they are. But they keep resurfacing. I'm not saying I don't want to be with you. I'm saying I can't be with you." This doesn't seem to make any difference to him. "I'm going out." I sigh as he walks off down the hall. Shutting the door behind me I return to my maroon leather chair; but it doesn't comfort me like it always has. I recognize the drunken giggle immediately. Henrys brought back a girl. I lean over to turn on the light and Chuck is there. It's 5 in the morning; he must have just got back. He's snoring lightly beside me and I opt to keep the light off. I tip toe to the top of the stairs where I peak over to railing to look for Henry and this girl. They're beside the front door. Henry's lips are pressed to hers, she's pressed to the wall, a beer in her hand is threatening to slip and crash to the floor. I watch as she moans and shoves her body at him. His hands maul her; they search her body for something he knows he won't find. She has fake blonde hair and big breasts that strain against the top of her dress. The dress falls on her thighs and is beginning to ride up. I can see the outline of her panties now, thin and not even worth being there. The muscles in Henry's back are tensed, his shoulders broad and defined. She giggles again and tries to take a step away from the wall but he pushes her back. "Harry." She moans. Stupid slut doesn't even know his name. This doesn't seem to bother him though; he's probably drunker than she is. I head back upstairs and go back to sleep feeling sick to my stomach. When I walk into the kitchen the next morning Chuck and Henry are arguing. Chuck's angry, his fists are clenched and his eyes are mad. Henry's mad too, he yells back until they notice me standing there. They were arguing about Henry and how he had brought a girl back. "Morning honey." Chuck says as he walks over to me and gives a small kiss. "Sorry we woke you." "You didn't, it's fine." He throws an angry look towards Henry who returns it. "What are you fighting about?" "Nothing." Henry spits at me. "He brought a girl back last night." "Oh." I say trying to sound surprised. "He's being a dick about it Mel. What's the problem?" "First of all you should probably sober up before you say anything else. And what's wrong about it Chuck?" "What's wrong about it? Maybe because I wouldn't be surprised if he paid for her or because this is my house and I won't have you exposed to that or the fact that she left moments ago wearing barely anything." "He's overreacting Mel. I would never pay for a girl." I stand there as they look at me as if now it's up to me to decide who's right. "Don't do it again." I say. I see Chuck smile as if he's won a game. "And don't be so smug about it." I walk off, not hungry anymore. The tears that fall from my eyes sting like needles yet are so alleviating I can't stop. It feels as if years have passed yet its only been days; 5 more days and he leaves. He doesn't talk to me much. Just says a passing hello, sometimes I don't even get words, just a nod. Chuck seems happy by this but he sees how sad I am and stops his grins. "Mel he's your brother, forgive him for whatever he has done. I can't watch you sulk around like this." "It isn't that simple." "Why not? Did he do something to you?" I shake my head no but my hand goes to my lips. What is wrong with me? "You're not yourself Mel. I hate seeing you so sad." "It'll be fine." "I hope so." ~~~ -Chuck- "Henry get the fuck down here!" I yell up the stairs. He comes down looking annoyed and confused. "What do you want?" "I want to talk to you and Mel went out for a little bit so I figured it would be the best time." "Well..." "What did you do to her? She's so sad and withdrawn, I've never seen her like this or at least this bad." "Why do you assume I did something? It could have been you." I feel my blood start to boil; I could kill him now if only it wouldn't hurt her even more. "I'm pretty sure it's you." "Well I don't know what I did. If I did anything at all." "She was fine before you got her and the first day but after that it's like Mel disappeared." He shrugged before me; did he not understand that I wanted her back to normal? That something had to be wrong? "You're not telling me the truth, are you?" "You don't want the truth." He growls, his eyes go dark and cold. "I want to know what's wrong with her." He's gripping the railing hard; his muscles are tensed in his arms. "I told her something she didn't want to face but something she wanted to know." "And that would be...?" "That would be something I can't tell you." "Just give me some idea of how to help her." "Just do whatever it is you've been doing, that's all she wants apparently." He starts to climb back upstairs but I stop him. "Is she cheating on me?" He freezes and taps his fingers. "No." "Is that the truth?" He looks like he's struggling to tell me something but isn't sure about it. "What do you consider cheating?" I sink back against the wall. Had I done something wrong in our marriage? She was always so happy and loving. "Chuck calm down she's not sleeping around. I just know she kissed someone but she stopped him. She loves you, I know that much." "Who was it?" He shrugs again. "I don't live around here." "Is that her problem? That she's mad herself." "Partly." He closes his mouth; he knows he's said too much. "Partly?" I repeat. I want the full story. ~~~ "Chuck?" I ask tentatively. I walk forward a little barely able to see. Why are all the lights off? I flip the switch closest to the door and light floods the main hall. "Chuck?" Hardest of Choices Ch. 02 I say a little louder but still no answer. "Chuck are you home?" "He's out." I jump and drop my purse on the floor. "Henry you scared me." I gasp. "Sorry. Chuck left a little while ago." "Where'd he go?" "The bar." "But Chuck doesn't drink..." He shrugs. "Should I have stopped him or something?" "Did something happen? There must be a reason, right?" "I told him you kissed someone." "What! What the hell Henry! What else did you tell him?" I'm furious. He doesn't know how Chuck can react to things. "Everything Mel. I couldn't stop myself. I've needed to talk to you about it but then he was there asking the questions and I had the answers." "You told him I kissed you?" "Yeah. That probably wasn't the greatest idea." "No! It was the worst idea ever!" "Sorry Mel." "Shut up." I pick up my purse and head back towards the door. "Where are you going?" He asks. "To find my husband." I can see him at the stool at the bar. He's talking to some whore that oblivious to the wedding ring he's wearing. He has a beer and she has some pink concoction in front of her. She reminds me of the girl Henry brought home. She has the same fake blond hair, large breast, and strange tanned skin. She wears a tight pink top and tight jeans; 4-inch leopard print heels top it off. He looks bored but continues to sit with her. I'm standing right inside the door, the bar smells and is dimly light. I feel completely out of place. My skinny jeans, converse, and flowery shirt don't belong in this place. Chuck doesn't belong here either. But he fits in somehow. I think it's just because of his depressing expression. He looks like a regular, chatting with the slut of the night, and drinking the same thing he drinks every night. But Chuck doesn't drink, and Chuck isn't single, and Chuck shouldn't be depressed. He takes a sip of the beer; it disgusts him but he continues. He glances around the room and eyes land dead on me. The blond realizes he isn't listening and tries to see what he's looking at. I'm biting my lip nervously. He says something to the girl and throws some money on the counter before getting up. He gets a few feet away from me and motions to go outside. I walk to his car, which is closer to mine. "I'm not mad Mel." "You aren't?" I know I sound genuinely surprised. He shakes his head no. "I was at first but then I realized I was being a hypocrite." "How are you being a hypocrite?" "Did I ever tell you I had a sister?" "You've mentioned her. She died when she 17 right?" "Yes. And up until the moment she died I would have given anything to be with her, the way your brother wants to be with you." This shocks me even more and he continues. "We used to joke about it all the time but I don't think she ever truly realized. I kissed her once, a week before she died. She punched me in the face after, your brother lucky you didn't." "I didn't like it Chuck. I love you." "Mel trust me when I tell you I know how strong a bond a brother and sister share." "He kissed me both times but the second time...the second time he had to stop me." "You remind me of her. I think that's part of the reason I love you so much. I hope that doesn't make you angry." "No, not at all." "You're bubbly like she was and beautiful. I'll do whatever to get that Mel back." "I haven't meant to be so depressed I just didn't have anyone to talk to about it." "I want you talk to him. Whatever you decide I'll support you." "What do you mean?" "If you want him more than me, go ahead." "Chuck I could never leave you. You must not understand how much you mean to me." "I understand but I understand that sometimes a sibling means more." "Is it wrong that I want both of you?" He thought about that for minute before pulling me into his arms. "No. And both of us is what you shall have."