Just the Six of Us Ch. 30

To all my readers over the past few years, thank you for coming with me on this journey. You guys have been the best part of writing this, and I'm sorry that it's taken so long. First, yes this will be the last chapter of Just the Six of Us. I loved writing about these characters, but for something to have real meaning it has to come to an end. That doesn't mean I won't write about the secondary characters.

Second, thank you to all my editors that have helped me refine this over the years that I've been writing it. Thanks to the Devildog and Drew for the help this time. Check my profile for details on how to get in touch with me.

Third, these chapters are personal to me. No one has permission to take my work and post it anywhere else. Please do not attempt to do so. I write this as a way of dealing with my past, a way of getting over a woman that I loved with every ounce of matter in my body. When it's taken and sold on other websites, you insult the reason for writing what I've written. I don't begrudge anyone trying to make money off this, but I don't do so for a very important reason. Please, leave my work on Literotica.

Finally, this is fantasy, not real life. Be safe and use a condom when you fuck your sister.

"You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear." - Oscar Wilde

For Jenni. I will always treasure the memories we created. Our song was beautiful, and it kills me that I know I'll never hear it again.

Chapter 30

Mike yawned and stretched in his bed. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. His chest felt like it had been punched repeatedly with a sledgehammer. Heartache was like that, Sarah had said. "You made your bed, you lie in it."

She hadn't been happy with his announcement. None of them had been. He knew it was just because they just weren't seeing as clearly as he was. He sighed and headed to the bathroom.

Mike stepped into the shower and couldn't help but think about all that had happened.

It's not like he had a choice in the matter. There wasn't any way things could continue like they were. He thought back to when he'd first realized that the time with his sisters was limited. They'd all die one day of course, but this was different. This had come out of nowhere, and when the thought found its way into his brain, it nestled there and wouldn't leave. He felt like his hand had been forced or that the decision wasn't really his to make.

It had all started about a year ago, four years to the day after Danni's accident. Mike and his sisters had been invited to go out to a barbecue with Matt and Missy at their parent's house. They arrived and could tell something was out of place. Something just didn't seem right with the two siblings.

Mike had hopped out of his truck and was walking with Danni. Matt opened the door and then swore as Missy pushed past him.

"Get the fuck out of my way," she said, glaring at her brother.

He rolled his eyes and ushered Mike and his sisters in. "Sorry about her," he muttered.

The barbecue was delicious, but they all found conversation lacking. Everyone could tell that something was wrong, except Matt's oblivious parents, and he'd had a downcast look on his face throughout dinner.

The Stuart siblings had been fooling around for a long time, apparently, Mike had later discovered. He'd finally let Matt know that they'd seen them at the river cabin a few years ago, and had in turn admitted that he was fooling around with his own sisters.

When Matt had told Missy about the revelation, however, she'd lost it.

Mike couldn't help but feel responsible for what had happened next. He had come in the next day for work and Mike could tell that something was wrong. It had taken some doing, but Matt finally opened up to him. "Missy left," Matt said.

Mike immediately gave him a pat on the shoulder and set about the tasks of work. He knew that Matt would talk to him in time if he needed to. They'd had a lot to deal with at work that particular day. Men weren't like women, and he knew that Matt just needed time. He'd be there if he needed him.

Matt, Emma, and Mike had all graduated the same year. The two young men then set about starting a business, an idea that they'd had in college. Matt's father had lent them some startup capital and the two men started their own construction company.

Business had started with small jobs, fixing things for little old ladies, maybe installing a cabinet or two. Mike was the face of the company at first. He was easier to talk to and seemed to have a way with people. Matt, while definitely a hard worker, wasn't as amiable as he used to be. He seemed to have a cloud hanging over him since his sister had gone.

Mike had assumed that he'd come and talk to him, but he was wrong. He tried approaching him a few times, but Matt had blown him off, focusing on his work instead.

Emma had gotten a degree in Accounting, and after hating the company that she'd joined right out of college, she decided to quit that and help her brother and Matt out with the business side of M&M Construction. It was a welcome addition to the company, and she'd help to grow their budding business. They had several work crews now, with Mike, Matt, and even Paul running one each. Mike and Matt were co-owners, but they gave Emma and Paul a share of the profits. Business had grown, and Matt had settled into a quiet, withdrawn funk from which Mike was worried he might not return.

He sighed as he reminisced. Sliding out of bed, he stood and looked around his room. 'So empty,' he thought. He walked to his bathroom and hopped in the shower, turning the water as cold as he could stand.

He should have taken care of this problem a long time ago. It had turned ugly when he'd finally told his sisters what he had to do. He should have realized it a long time ago. It was so obvious to him now, not that he liked it very much. He thought back to that conversation he'd had with Matt.

It seemed like forever ago, but was in fact only around a month. The thoughts brought about by that conversation had caused all that had transpired since.

He'd been in the office, looking at the blueprints of a new job they were starting that week.

Matt came in and glanced over and nodded. He looked as depressed as he'd ever been.

Mike sighed and went back to the blueprint. Lunch came and Mike offered to treat Matt, but he refused.

"Come on man, just come have a drink with me. I miss the old times," Mike told him finally, that evening.

He'd sighed deeply, but consented.

"It's been 4 years now, man. What's the deal?" Mike told him after he'd gotten him a second beer, Matt having downed the first.

"You wouldn't understand, Mike, and I don't like talking about it."

"I wouldn't understand? I'm in the same situation you were, only more so." Mike sighed. "You've got to talk to someone. Who better than your best friend?"

Matt downed the second beer, and then the third.

"Just talk to me, man. It doesn't have to be about Missy."

Matt nodded finally. He was quiet for a few minutes, thinking quietly. He started to speak several times, but fell quiet. Mike continued to listen without saying anything.

"Fine, but you're not going to like what I have to say. I know everyone thinks that I'm just a redneck with a drinking problem that can't seem to get enough pussy."

"You know me better than that, man. I know the real you," Mike told him. "You're the brother I never had."

Matt nodded. "It's not just the fact that Missy left. It's not that I miss her. I know that the woman I was having sex with is gone, but she was also my sister. You know? That part of my life is gone too. I mean, I would have been fine with not having her anymore, but now I've lost my sister as well, and my parents have lost their daughter. And it's all my fault."

Mike nodded understandingly.

"I mean, we weren't together all that much. I know it's weird, but I really do miss her. She wasn't my first, but I thought what we had meant something to her."

"So what happened?"

He sighed and drank another swallow of beer.

"After you told me that you knew about us, and admitted that you were... well, you know..."

Mike nodded.

"Well, that night I had to let Missy know. She was less than happy when I told her you guys knew. She cried at first, embarrassed beyond belief. I never even got a chance to tell her about you being with your own sisters. She screamed at me to get out, crying into her pillow as she threw things at me."

He nodded again, silently listening as Matt finally got stuff off his chest.

"I tried to calm her down, but she finally shoved me out of the room and locked the door. When you guys came over, she left. I figured I'd talk to her in the morning. I woke up late and saw that she'd packed her car early that morning. She said she was going to stay with our cousins in Dallas, and that she had to think. I fell to my knees then and apologized. I told her that I was sorry for letting all this happen and that I'd do anything to make it right. She left without saying another word."

Mike motioned for the bartender and got another beer for Matt. He glanced over and saw a single tear working its way down his friend's cheek.

"Mom and Dad got a call from her a month later. She didn't tell them where she was, but said she was doing fine. I tried to talk to her, but she hung up. I called the number back, but she never picked up. Weeks, months passed. I called, and she never answered. She spoke to Mom and Dad, but never to me.

"Finally, I borrowed Dad's phone without him knowing and called her. 'Please don't hang up,' I told her. I just wanted an explanation. I told her that I would make it right, that I would leave and she could come and stay with Mom and Dad. They didn't deserve to be treated like this."

Mike took a drink as he swallowed the lump in his throat, seeing his buddy in pain as another tear forced itself from Matt's eye.

"She told me that she never wanted to see me again. She said that it was a mistake, what happened between us. Once people had found out about us, she'd never be able to live it down. She was the older sibling, and people would blame her."

He sighed then, and lowered his head as the tears flowed freely, his shoulders bobbing softly.

A few seconds passed and he raised his head and brushed the tears away.

"Finally, I told her, please Missy. Please tell me what I can do to make this right. She was quiet for a long time, but then she said that she was going to regret what happened to us for the rest of her life and that she would never see me again. She told me that she wished I was dead, so that she didn't have to lose her parents too."

Mike had been floored. "How the fuck could she say something like that to you?"

Matt looked at Mike sheepishly for a second.

"You fucked someone else, didn't you."

Matt smiled weakly and shrugged. "I fucked up," he said, and downed more of his beer. "That was about 9 months ago. None of us know where she is, or even if she's alive. Missy must have told Mom and Dad what happened, because they barely speak to me. Or maybe they just know that I'm to blame for Missy leaving."

"Fuck that, Matt," Mike said. "I don't buy that for a minute. Missy leaving is on her. You guys could have worked something out."

Matt had started shaking his head. "No, don't you see brother? She was right. I did this to us. I tore my family apart because I was thinking with my dick. Not anymore though. That part of my life is over."

Mike had sighed and shook his head. "You aren't a bad person, Matt."

"You need to be careful, Mike," Matt had said, raising his eyes and looking at him.

Mike cocked his head in curiosity. "What are you talking about?"

"How fucking long do you think you can keep your family together?" Matt said. "I fucked up my family with just one woman and you're with four. What¸ are you fucking kidding me? That's a fucking time bomb, man."

Mike was shaking his head. "My family doesn't have anything to do with this."

"You don't get it, man," Matt said. "Everything has to end. One of your sisters will eventually want to have a real relationship, or want to have kids. You can't do that. You know the risks with that. So, you can't be responsible for tearing your family apart, because you and your sisters are all that y'all have. You know I'm right. Either you tear your family apart, or someone else finds out like what happened to Paul and they tear your family apart."

Paul had been caught by a friend of Ashley's, fucking his sister. The friend had initially kept it secret, but word spread and Paul had reluctantly had to move out. They were still friendly with one another, but Ashley had found a boy that was pretty understanding about the whole incident. They rarely spoke.

"You know I'm right," Matt said.

Mike fell silent then, and stood without a word. He dropped forty dollars on the bar and left without a word.

He hopped into his truck and drove around for hours.

"Fuck that," he said. He said it again. And again. And again.

The voice immediately began to protest, and then to threaten, then beg and plead.

Mike felt like his whole world had been shattered.

He didn't speak to Matt for about a month after that night, unless it was about work. He was a ghost in the office, barely seen. Then, finally, he decided that he needed to clear the air between them.

"I think you're right," Mike said. "I didn't want to admit it at the time, but I'm beginning to see what could happen. I can't be responsible for tearing my family apart. Every time that we get in to an argument, sex comes up and they nearly tear each other apart. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I need to break up with all of them. Fuck."

"NO, FUCK THAT AND FUCK YOU."

'It's not your choice,' Matt thought.

"I'm not some demon possessing you, or some ghost, you idiot. I'm a part of you. I'm obviously a part of you—one that knows that this is a fucking mistake!"

'You're just the part of me that doesn't want this to be true. That doesn't change the fact that I can't risk tearing my family apart.'

He'd been unable to sleep for days, catching only a few hours at night. That evening, he called all of his sisters into the living room. One look at him told them that this was serious.

"Listen," he said, his eyes downcast and his heart heavy.

"Don't fucking do this man. I'm fucking serious. I'm fucking leaving if you do."

He sighed and felt a tear roll down his cheek. "So I spoke to Matt and he finally told me what had happened between him and Missy."

Mike told the four of them what had happened, and at the end, finally raised his face as the four girls saw the tears in his eyes.

"Don't," Sarah said, tears coming to her face. "Don't you say it." She was the most perceptive that evening, and realized what was coming.

"Sarah..." Mike said.

The others looked at Sarah and then back to Mike, slowly piecing it together. Mike wiped a tear away.

"This isn't easy," he whispered, fighting to hold back the flood, and to stay strong. Everything in him was screaming at him that this was wrong.

'That's just your mind not wanting you to be hurt, and not wanting you to hurt them,' he told himself.

"Matt was right. We can't keep doing this."

Danni was crushed. The look on her face was like a thousand daggers piercing his heart.

"Mike..." Emma said, a tear finding its way to her face.

"I have to move out, and I don't think we should be intimate."

"I'm fucking done. Adios," the voice said.

Sarah lowered her head and began to cry, as did Emma. Beth sat quietly and cried softly as she held Danni.

"Fuck you," Sarah said, anger flashing across her face.

"How long do you really think we could have kept doing this?" Mike asked all of them. "What about your futures. Did you think of that? What about kids? What about marriage?"

Emma looked up then. "We would have crossed those bridges when we came to them."

Mike shook his head. "Missy told Matt that she wished he was dead. SHE WISHED HE WAS FUCKING DEAD. I've seen that guy cry one time in my life, and it was the other day at the bar. He was crushed. As much as it hurts now, I can't put my family through what he's going through. I can't. I love you too fucking much to do that to you."

"We aren't the Stuarts, Mike," Emma said.

"Mike's right," Beth interrupted.

"What?" Emma said. Danni sat back and moved away from Beth. "I can't believe I'm hearing this."

"He's right. It makes sense. I mean, we were having sex with our brother. We've all demonstrated in the past several years how much we suck at sharing. What did we think we were doing? How many fights have we had with each other. How many times has he had to put us back together, only for us to tear it apart again."

"That's easy for you to say, Beth, you're leaving for South America," Emma said.

"Fuck you, Emma, this isn't fucking easy for me. I love Mike just as much as you, but I love my family more. This has the potential to rip us apart without hope of ever being the same again. Besides, the trip is only six months. Once the research expedition is finished, I'll be coming home. This hurts me just as much as it does you."

"Oh Bullshit!" Sarah said, standing and moving towards Beth. "I can't believe you agree with him! Like Emma said, you're leaving for South America. Just because you're already going to be hurting, doesn't mean you have to agree with him hurting us too!"

Beth looked confused. "What does that have to do with anything?" she yelled.

Sarah glared at her, suddenly lunging forward and grabbing a handfuls of her hair in both hands.

Beth screamed in pain and surprise as Sarah slammed her back into the wall behind her. "Fucking Bitch! You put this in his head!"

"Sarah!" Mike yelled, stepping between her and lifting her bodily away from Beth as Emma helped pry her fingers from Beth's hair.

"Do you think this is easy for me?" Beth screamed at her. "Who's the one he came to when you three were trying to slut your way into his bed? Who's the one that he saved for last? Who's gotten to spend the least amount of time with him since all of this began? ME! I'm the one that he came to talk to. It was my body that was driving him crazy at the table all those times, and in the shower, and by the pool. It's me he's thinking about when he fucks you!" she screamed.

"Fuck you!" Sarah screamed back.

"This is exactly what I was talking about," Mike said. "Beth, you have no right to say that to Sarah. That's mean and untrue. I came to you when all of this started happening because you weren't one of the ones trying to seduce me. Yes, you have an incredible body, and it turns me on, but I find Sarah's, Emma's, and Danni's just as exciting."

Beth was still furious, her face still red and hair a mess. The looks that she and Sarah were exchanging could kill.

Mike turned to Sarah. "I know you probably hate me right now. I'm going to leave and let things calm down." He stood then, "Sometime this week, I'll go find an apartment. Emma, I'll understand if you don't want to work with me at M&M."

"You can't be serious about this," Danni said, standing. "Please don't do this to me. To us."

Mike wept quietly as she came up to him. She had streaks across her face. He'd dreaded facing Danni most of all. She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. He squeezed her gently and ran a hand through her hair.

"Because I love you so much, I can't stay. I can't hurt you. If we're lovers and we break up, it will tear the family apart. At least right now we have a chance of staying close. At least you four will. I understand if you four don't want to see me again after this. At least you'll have each other."