Tiny Tim

I wrapped my arms around her waist before I answered.

“Why? What did I do?”

“You made it possible. Without you, I wouldn’t have gotten to wear this dress, have that nice dinner, or even the opportunity to spend a few carefree hours with my friends. I love you, little brother.”

I smiled as she kissed me on the lips again.

“My pleasure. And I love you too, big sister.”

With that, we finally walked into the apartment to get rid of our constricting clothes. However, instead of simply walking into her bedroom, she grabbed Mom’s hand as she passed the couch Mom was sitting on, and pulled her into the bedroom as well. It took me a while of contemplation before I simply let that one go. Mainly because the only explanation my teenage-mind would come up with was that Ava wanted Mom to know about my now open relationship with Mia.

Those thoughts, however, didn’t seem completely unsubstantiated when Mom and Ava joined me in bed, wearing nothing but skimpy panties and shirts that looked to be two sizes too small. I have to admit that I had quite some trouble falling asleep that night.

Four weeks after prom, and ten days before the divorce would become final, came graduation day.

The ceremony itself was quite boring, to be honest, but John used that opportunity to let me know how much bigger the holding’s bank account had gotten. The money hadn’t been cleaned completely yet, but it would certainly be enough to achieve our current goal, as he had already made an offer for the house.

The end of the ceremony was anything but boring. I had expected Mia and Ava to repeat the pattern from prom night, spending as much time as possible with their friends. It turned out, however, that quite a few of them were already missing, and the whole affair became very emotional for them. I actually spent most of the day simply consoling both of them, though it was admittedly hard for me as Mia’s own date of departure was only a week away.

When the day finally came, our goodbye was even more emotional than what I had seen before. Yes, I was afraid that she would get attached to someone else, but I chose to just let things happen as they happened. That was one of the big lessons I had learned after I admitted my exhaustion over the constant need to deal with possible threats and problems.

I felt myself reminded of the time after Tess had moved away. Back then, the guys at work had done everything they could think of to keep my mind occupied, and distract me from missing her. This time, it was my family that jumped to the task. There were no invitations to their ‘orgies’, which had now significantly decreased in size, since Aaron and Logan were excluded, while Mom and Ava still had no interest in them. There were no more advances made by any female of my extended family since I made it clear that those weren’t appreciated. They simply wanted to show they cared for me, be there for me, and support me.

A favor I was determined to return.

John had managed to steer Mom towards accepting the offer for the house that was made by our holding company, without her realizing that it was our holding company. Since it was summer break for me, I spent the afternoons leading up to the big reveal by moving Mom’s old furniture from the storage unit back into the house, and completing the picture with new stuff to replace what Aaron had claimed for himself.

I was a little concerned for Mom, though. According to Danny, she still refused to take part in any sexual activities that I wasn’t part of, not just their get-togethers. So, with my continued refusal to do anything with anyone but Ava and Mia, she was still refusing herself any release. True to my new resolve, I decided to let things simply play out. She was sharing my bed, though nothing sexual ever happened in it. I would let her decide whether she wanted to change that.

On Friday, June 13th, almost exactly seven months after my seventeenth birthday, the divorce was final.

Much like the day of the divorce itself, the family came together to make sure Mom would be alright. John and I decided to use that opportunity for our reveal, so, shortly before it was time to leave, he slipped me the deed for the house. I already had the keys, since I needed them to put the furniture in.

“Alright everyone, we’ll have to take Claire home now.” John declared loudly, causing a confused murmur to travel through the room, but he ushered them towards the door without a further word of explanation.

Seeing him happily smiling, they collectively decided to not ask any questions, and simply let him surprise them. Naturally, Mom and Ava drove with me, and I could see their confusion grow even more when I didn’t turn to drive towards the apartment. However, Mom’s face did not only show confusion. I thought to see uncertainty, that morphed into fear after a minute.

“Don’t worry, Mom. Do you trust me?” I asked in a soft voice.