Page 10 of Betrayed

Sunny doesn’t seem to have noticed my problem, or at least, she doesn’t say anything about it.Shejust smiles when she pulls away and then takes me by the hand.

“Come on—let’s get comfy on the couch so we can talk.”

She leads me back to the living room which contains an overstuffed sofa with a faded floral print.I’mwilling to bet this was also one of herNan’soriginal possessions.There’sa hand-braided rag rug on the floor and aTVon a stand across from the couch.Everythingis shabby but extremely neat and clean.Itappears thatSunnylives in gentile poverty but you’d never know it by the pride she obviously takes in her home.

The living room is lit by two chunky, old-fashioned lamps with broad shades.Theycast a warm, golden glow in the room which is good, since the outside light is fading.

It’s going to be time to go back to my truck soon,Ithink, noticing the rapidly approaching dusk.ButsomehowIcan’t bear to leave yet.Iwant to sit withSunnyand talk—to catch up on all the people’s lives she told me about in her letters.

I told her some about prison life and the inmates around me too, but none of the violent, scary parts.Itold her the funny stuff—like the timeIwas working in the kitchen and made a cake out of mashed potatoes and frosted and decorated it with whipped lard.

Everyone in the chow line was eager for a taste butIwas saving it for a certain inmate who had given me trouble.Icut him a fat slice and he dug in before he even examined it.Hisface when he got a mouthful of cold mashed potatoes and lard “frosting” was fucking priceless!Sunnyhad gotten a real kick out of that story.

“So what’s going on?”Iask her as we settle on the couch, which is surprisingly comfortable. “Didyour friendLucyfind out if she’s pregnant or not?”

Her eyes widen.

“Yes—and sheis.Butlet me tell you, her husband isnot happyabout it!”

And we’re off.Shefills me in on what happened since her last letter andIdo the same, thoughIdon’t talk nearly as much as she does.That’sfine with me though—Icould listen to her sweet voice and watch her gorgeous face as she “spills the tea” all night long.

God,Ican’t believeI’mactually here with her!Iimagined this so many times—thought about sitting with her and just talking, like we are now.Justbeing able to communicate face-to-face instead of with letters.Thereality is even better than my fantasy—her smile warms me all the way through.

I had some concerns that we might not be able to connect in person the way we did on paper, but those prove to be completely unfounded.Ifanything, we get along evenbetterin person.Wefit together so well,Ican almost hear an audibleclick.

We end up talking for hours and the windows are completely black by the timeIfinally sigh and say,

“Well,IguessIshould get going now.”

“Get going where?”Sunnydemands, narrowing her eyes at me suspiciously. “Yougot somewhere to be?”

Actually,Ido—IpromisedBransonthis “errand” wouldn’t take long.Butthe fictionalKaneIbuiltdoesn’thave anywhere to be or anyone to see andSunnyknows that.

“Well…”Isay slowly. “It’sjust getting late andIknow you usually have to get up early to bake pies and make dinner rolls for the diner.”

“That doesn’t meanI’mgoing to kick you out!”Shesounds horrified at the idea. “You’restaying here tonight.”

“Here?”Ilook around blankly. “Really,Sunny—you don’t have to?—”

“Yes,Ido!” she says firmly. “You’remy big brother—where else should you stay but with your little sister?”

“Well…”Isay again, butSunnytakes that for an acceptance.

“Great, but let’s watch a movie before we turn in—they have monster movie marathons every night on theSlashTVchannel.Areyou up for it?”

“Well…sure.”Ishrug, defeated.Itlooks likeI’mstaying here tonight.I’llhave to textBransonand let him know.

“Okay,I’mgoing to change into my jammies soIcan get comfortable,”Sunnytells me. “I’llbe right back.”

She disappears into the back of the house andItake the opportunity to letBransonknowIwon’t be seeing him until tomorrow.Bythe timeIput my phone away,Sunnyis back.

She’s wearing a silky white nightgown that falls to mid-thigh and a white silk robe that goes over it.Itry really hard not to notice how her full breasts and tight nipples poke at the thin material or the way her short but shapely legs show under the lacy hem.Whydoes she have to be so fucking gorgeous whenI’mpretending to be her brother and she’s completely off limits?

Sunny settles on the couch beside me and grabs for the remote.Sheflips to the channel she wants and it turns out to be a movie about werewolves, of all things.

Inwardly,Isigh—the human world almost never gets it right when they talk about my people.Butthis one is fairly accurate—only the males in the story haveWolvesin them—that’s right, at least.TheyallShiftin the most gruesome, slow-motion way with lots of blood and guts, though—it’s not really like that, thank theMoonGoddess!

All the time we’re watching the movie,I’mwatchingSunny.I’mstill trying to figure out if she has anyWereheritage or knows anything about theWereworld.It’shard to tell by her reaction—she gasps and gives cute little screams when the bad werewolves attack.Atone point she grabs my arms in fright andInotice how cold her hands are.

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