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“I’m confused. So you regret becoming a priest? Is that what you’re saying?” Eric needed him to clarify what he meant because it was the first time he’d ever heard that his brother regretted his decision.
“I don’t know anything anymore.” Again, Dante glanced at the women and Eric realized it wasn’t ‘the women’ his brother watched, it was their sister, Emelia.
“Let me ask you something else then. What’s going on with you and Emelia?” he whispered the question, and his tone held a note of dread. The last thing he needed was her to overhear them talking about her. Their sister had a temper and half. He sure as hell didn’t want it unleashed in front of Sylvia. “And don’t lie to me,” he added before Dante could reply.
“I wasn’t about to,” Dante hissed.
Eric didn’t really believe him, but let it go when it was obvious his brother was struggling with something.
“Emelia,” he said softly, “is nearly fourteen years my junior. We were never brought up together because I’d already left for school when she was born, and we’ve never lived in the same house. I know I spent a few nights here and there during school holidays, but they were so far between, and only a day or two, that they don’t even count. At first, I never looked at her as my sister out of spite for how quickly father remarried, and as time went by, I never saw her as my sister because I could only see her as…a beautiful, young woman.”
His head started to spin at Dante’s confession. Eric’s thoughts had drifted close to that outcome on more than one occasion, and he’d even hinted at such to Sylvia. He had no idea how he was supposed to react because Eric did consider Emelia his sister. She’d gotten under his skin as a baby when she used to cling to him and refuse to let go.
“It’s wrong on so many levels, and now she’s moved in with me and refuses to leave. She says she has nowhere else to go. Apparently, Diego’s a manwhore and lives with a revolving door, and Dad and Lucia constantly throw single guys at her.” Dante frowned. “I don’t want her around any of that.” Dante looked tormented when he finally met Eric’s gaze. “I’m a priest, Eric, and she’s my fucking sister,” he hissed, his voice breaking.
“You need to tell her to go home…Wait, how does she feel about you? Is this one-sided or does she…shit.” Eric stood beside his brother. “All the shit she’s done has been to get your attention. I heard about the night she went to Poles and you took her out of there. That’s it isn’t it?”
“I think so,” he admitted, resigned.
“Has anything ever happened between you
? Something that made it clear about this…this…attraction you both have going on.” He could hardly get the words out.
His brother and his sister! It was wrong because, while Emelia had a different mother, she was still their half-sister.
“It doesn’t matter.” Dante stood beside him and the silence washed over them until Dante admitted, “She kissed me on her twenty-first birthday.”
That surprised Eric because, back then, Emelia had been shy, but beautiful. Eric and his brothers had been fighting prospective boyfriends away from her since she’d turned sixteen. They were guys so they knew that boys that age only wanted inside a girl’s panties, and no way was anyone touching their sister. She hadn’t been interested though. And now he knew why.
“Are you telling me something else happened?”
Dante shook his head. “Not really.” He sighed. “You might as well know it all. She kissed me and turned me on like no one else ever had, so I ran to the church.” He laughed, but not in a happy way. “I was thirty-four and never had a reaction like that with anyone else. I prayed for answers and then followed those answers to the priesthood.”
Eric didn’t know how he felt about his brother’s confession, but, “They say confession is good for the soul,” he said out loud. “So maybe you’ll get some peace now.”
“Not as long as she’s living under the same roof as me.” He glanced at Emelia again, and cleared his throat. “This is between us, right?”
“You know it is.” Eric felt like he held the world on his shoulders with Dante’s heartfelt words. No wonder he’d been tormented all these years. No wonder he ran to the church.
Dante had always been deeply religious, so what happened back then would have been more difficult than it would have been for Eric or his brothers to deal with. Eric felt for his brother, no matter how wrong he thought what happened between Dante and Emelia was.
“You two have been in deep discussion,” Sylvia commented, and slipped her arm around his back. Emelia stayed sitting on the rock and, after a quick glance over to them, turned back to the view in front of her.
“Yeah, we have.” Eric kissed her brow, and brought her into his embrace. “Thank you.” He was thanking her for letting them talk. He thanked her for just being there with him and offering comfort when she knew he needed it.
“Can you guide everyone back to the truck?” Dante asked. “I want to check on something first.”
“Yeah, sure.” Eric agreed, and watched as his brother disappeared into the forest of trees.
“Is he okay?” Sylvia asked, concern for Dante clear in her voice as she rested her head against Eric’s chest.
“I’m not sure.”
“Oh, great! He’s left us,” Emelia sulked, standing behind Sylvia with her arms crossed and looking pissed as hell.
“He wanted to check something out, and stop acting like you’re twelve,” Eric snapped.
Emelia glared in Eric’s direction and then turned away as she stomped back down the trail.
