@2

I hope that you don't."

"I'm thinking life's too short not to be with who we love, you know?" he asked, rolling over and flopping down on the bed beside her. She took his hand in hers and sighed happily.

*****

Mike had to work later that day, Sunday did not. She was humming around the kitchen, waiting for some meatloaf to come out of the oven, when her parents came home. The morning that she had spent with her brother had brightened her spirits considerably, and she felt better than she had in ages.

"Something smells wonderful, honey," Al said.

"Thank you, Daddy. I hope that you're hungry," Sunday replied, smiling. Beth snorted with derision.

"And just what are you so happy about?" she asked. Sunday blinked at the question and stopped smiling. She had momentarily forgotten that her step-mother expected them all to be miserable for the rest of their lives.

"I just had a nice day with Mike and felt good for a change. I thought maybe we would be able to enjoy dinner together," she replied.

"Together? Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? We'll never be together again, Barry is in the ground, Sunday!" Beth hissed.

"Enough, Beth!" interjected Al. "Barry's gone. The rest of us are still here and we love you. Your daughter loves you and you need to realize that!"

"She's not my daughter, she's yours. Just like Barry wasn't your son, he was mine. You two will never understand that. Just look at Sunday! She could care less that he's gone, she's probably happy about it to tell you the truth. She never liked him..."

By this time Beth was taken by big, gasping sobs and she was loosing her train of thought. Sunday had fled the room, overcome by tears herself. Al reached out to grab his wife by the shoulders, then held her tight to him. He wanted desperately to ease the pain that she was going through, but it seemed that nothing that he did or said made any difference. Instead, he held her until she stopped sobbing and guided her to their bedroom so that she could lay down. After a quick trip back to the kitchen to turn the oven off, he went off in search of Sunday. He found her on the porch swing with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry Sunday. Your mother's not taking this well at all. She doesn't know what she's saying," he said, sitting down beside her.

"I know. I wish that she just wouldn't hate me so much, I mean she's the only Mom that I've ever had. She doesn't even want me to be her daughter," she sniffed.

"She just needs some time to get herself back together. I'm thinking that I might try and get her to see a doctor or something. I'm sorry honey, I really am. Just hang in there, OK? Are you gonna be alright? I need to go check on your mother."

"I'll be OK, Daddy. Mike's gonna be home in an hour or so, he'll make me feel better," she replied.

"You've gotten pretty close with your brother, huh? He's a good boy," Al said.

"I don't know what I'd do without him," Sunday admitted.

"I turned the oven off, by the way. I want to try your meatloaf, but it will have to wait for a minute. Make sure Mike gets some, I'll talk to both of you later," he said as he got up to go back in the house.

Sunday stayed outside on the swing after her father had left her. She had no desire to go inside and possibly run into Beth after the woman's outburst had basically ripped her heart out. It was bad enough to lose her brother, whether she liked the guy or not. Now she was fairly certain that her mother would never see her as anything more than an unwanted house guest.

She sat there with nothing but her own thoughts to keep her company until she heard Mike's vehicle in the driveway and ran out to meet him. She threw her arms around him as soon as he stepped out of his car and quickly related the events of the evening to her brother. She was unable to stop her tears from returning even though holding onto Mike was profoundly comforting.

"That's enough of that," Mike said, wiping her cheek. "We've all done enough of that lately. I'll go talk to her."

"Don't bother, Mike. Not tonight, anyway. She's either going to get over it or she won't. There's no reason to get her mad at you, too. Just hang out with me for a while, huh?" she asked.

"Sure."

Neither Mike nor Sunday saw anything more of their mother that night. Their father did come out of the bedroom long enough to grab a quick bit of dinner, but nothing more was said of Beth. The two spent most of the night in front of the TV in the living room before trying to get a little sleep.

*****

It was pretty early the next morning when Sunday opened her eyes to greet the day. She had managed to get a good night's rest, although she was certain that she wouldn't be able to sleep. The opposite had actually happened and she had slept like a log. She felt refreshed and relaxed, and she had another day to look forward to spending with Mike. She made sure that her parents' vehicle was gone when she went to the kitchen to grab herself something to drink. Sunday had decided to greet her brother the way that he had done with her the previous morning.

Mike never locked the door to his bedroom and Sunday was pleased to see that he was still asleep. She wanted to be the one to wake him up. He was sprawled out on his back, head turned to the side with a slight bit of drool dribbling down his cheek. Giggling to herself at the state of her sleeping brother, she peeled off her night shirt and panties before pulling Mike's sheet back and climbing on top of him totally naked. He began to stir as she planted kisses on the side of his neck.

"Sunday? Good morning," he greeted with a smile.

"I thought that I would pay you back for yesterday, you know, help wake you up," she replied.

"I could wake up like this more often," he said, running his hands up and down her back, enjoying the weight and softness of her breasts pressing against his chest. He was fully erect within a matter of seconds, Sunday could feel him poking her through his boxers.

"It feels like you're up," she said with a little giggle. "Let's get you more comfortable."

Sunday lifted her body from Mike for a moment just long enough for him to slide his underwear down around his ankles. In almost the same motion, she sat back down, impaling herself on her brother's cock. He slid all of the way in easily, Sunday sighed with pleasure.

"That's better," she said, leaning down and forward for a kiss. Mike agreed and began to thrust up and into his sister. His movements were limited with her being on top, but it still felt wonderful. Sunday purred with her brother's short, penetrating strokes, beginning to rock her hips to match his rhythm. The two were just getting into sync when a shriek from the doorway froze them both in mid-coitus.

"Get off of him!" Beth's shrill voice cut through the room as she advanced toward the bed.

Sunday's heart nearly stopped and her stomach felt as though it momentarily turned inside out. She had checked to see if her parents' car was gone, it had never occurred to her that they may have not left together. She never checked their room to make sure that she and her brother were truly alone. There was little time to contemplate the mistake, Beth had a hand wrapped into her tight curls and was in the process of yanking her off of the bed on onto the floor.

"You dirty, little whore!" Beth screamed as Sunday tumbled off her brother. Mike somehow found his voice.

"Mom, you're hurting her, stop!" he pleaded. Beth released her grip on Sunday's hair once she was on the floor. Sunday looked up at her mother in terror.

"I'm done touching her, she's disgusting. Go to your room, get out of here!" she screamed. Turning to Mike, she shook her head in wonder. "Put your clothes on, I'm calling your father. How could you do this? She started it, didn't she? She's taking advantage of you."

Sunday stumbled out of the room in shock, following Beth's command. She shut and locked the door once she had entered her own, not having any clue as to what she should do. She had just committed a colossal fuck-up that was sure to change both hers and her brother's lives forever.

Mike pulled the covers over his naked body. Getting busted by his mother was the last thing on his mind. He was still sleeping only a few minutes ago and was having a hard time comprehending that this was really happening. Beth was still there, staring down at him with fire in her eyes.

"She wasn't taking advantage of me, Mom. We love each other. I know that you probably think that what we've been doing is wrong but..."

"What you've been doing? You mean this isn't the first time, then? How long?" she demanded to know.

"We've known for a while, I guess. We've slept together a couple of times," Mike admitted.

"That's just great. While your brother was killing himself with drugs you and your sister have been fucking. Did he know about this?" she asked.

"There's no way that he could have known," Mike surmised.

"Are you sure Mike? It would explain a lot about what happened to him," Beth said.

"What are you talking about? What Sunday and I have together has nothing to do with what Barry did! We love each other, Mom!" he shouted.

"What in God's name is going on with this family? What did I do wrong?" she lamented. "I'm going to go call your father and have him come home. Get yourself presentable." Beth left her son's room, slamming the door on the way out.

*****

Approximately forty minutes later, the family was gathered at the kitchen table, Mike and Sunday looking as though they were about to face a firing squad.

"So you say you found them in bed together?" asked Al, scratching his head.

"They were naked and fucking, Al!" Beth shouted. Al raised his hands out in front of him, cringing at the word 'fucking'.

"Alright, I get it. Mike, Sunday, what on earth were you guys thinking? How could you let your mother see something like that?" he asked. Beth was fuming, she began to yell again before either one of them were able to answer.

"Let me see something like that? How could they do something like that? What would make your daughter decide that it was a good idea to spread her legs for Mike? It's sick, it's just sick!"

"Mom, I told you, we love each other. We weren't doing it just because we're some kind of sexual deviants. I'm sorry that you had to see us, we didn't want to upset you. I'm sorry," Mike tried to explain. Sunday remained silent.

"Upset me? How could you love each other? You're brother and sister!" Beth roared. Al scowled.

"I don't know what to tell you guys. You're old enough to know better and you've really upset your mother, not to mention me. I understand that you think that you're in love, but for Christ's sake, you shouldn't have acted on it like that. I just don't know what to do," he said.

"I'll tell you what we're going to do!" Beth interjected. She pointed to Mike. "Your going to see a priest or a psychiatrist or something and get your mind straightened out." She shifted the direction of her pointing finger at Sunday. "You! Your getting out of this house. I can't stand to even look at you. You've done enough damage to this family and you don't deserve to be a part of it anymore!"

"Beth! We're not kicking Sunday out of this house, don't be ridiculous," Al said.

"If Sunday goes then I go!" Mike shouted, taking his sister's hand.

"Nobody's going anywhere, just calm down," Al said, trying to keep the peace.

"You two think that banging your brains out is worth destroying what's left of the family, then have at it. You're not going to do it in this house! You can keep each other company while you're burning in Hell. Get out!" Beth screamed. Al leaned forward with his head in his hands while Mike and Sunday rose from the table.

"I'm sorry, Dad, but I love him. He's the only one who has ever loved me," Sunday cried.

"It's OK, honey. Where are you going?" Al all but whispered.

"I don't know but I can't stay here," Sunday replied.

"And I'm going with her," Mike stated.

"Can't you two stay and we can try to work it out? I mean this is kind of sudden for all of us here," Al said.

"It's OK? Stay and work it out? There's no fixing this, Al," Beth fumed. Both Mike and Sunday frowned at their mother and went off to pack their bags. Al looked at the person that he once thought of as his loving wife.

"Is this really what you want, Beth? You want to spend the rest of your life angry and bitter, with no children left? I don't agree with what they've done, but I don't want them just to disappear. They're our kids for Christ's sake. We've worked our asses off to raise them, we can't just kick them out of our lives forever. Think about what's happening here," he said, pleading with her.

"They're not our kids anymore, Al. They've turned into abominations. Sunday's destroyed us, turned Mike against us. There's nothing we can do," she replied, staring off into space. Al put his head back into his hands and groaned in mental anguish.

Al caught up to his two children just as they were backing out of the driveway in Mike's car. Mike stopped and rolled the window down in order to speak with his father.

"Look Mike, I don't know what the hell is going on anymore. Where are you guys going?" he asked.

"We don't know yet," Mike nervously replied. Al reached into his pocket and took a credit card out of his wallet. He handed it to his son through the window.

"Just don't do anything stupid like leave the country, OK? You guys go get yourselves a room around here somewhere and keep your cell phones on. I'll be calling you later. If not today, then tomorrow. I imagine you two have a lot to talk about with each other, too. I want you to think about things, I mean really think about things. No matter what you decide I'll still love you guys, even though I can't really get a handle on what you've been up to. I might have to put your mother into a hospital for a while or something, I have no idea what I'm going to do with her. I don't know what to do with you, either. Just promise me you won't do anything stupid like run away, OK?" he asked.

Sunday and Mike nodded their compliance. They could tell that their father was in a terrible position, mainly because of their actions. It was even hard for them to argue with their mother's rage, really. They had nothing left to say, so they waved at their father and drove away filled with fear and shame. Sunday couldn't stop crying, Mike felt as though he was close to vomiting. They didn't get very far down the road before he had to pull over into a parking lot to compose himself. Neither one of them would admit it, but what they were going through was more difficult on them than it was to deal with the death of their brother. The pain that they were experiencing was a direct result of their own actions.

"I'm so sorry, Mike. You didn't have to come with me. I've ruined your life!" Sunday blurted out.

"Nothing that we did was just because of you, Sunday. I love you and I'd never let you be alone," Mike replied.

"I was so stupid. I thought she was gone. I just wanted to cuddle with you and make love to you like you did me yesterday. I'm so sorry," she repeated.

"Sunday, baby, you didn't know that Mom was home. Mom's lost her mind, but I think that we're only partially to blame for that. I don't think that Dad's real happy with us either, but at least he doesn't want to never see us again. I never thought that things could go so bad so fast. It's my fault, too," Mike told her.

"It's not fair. It shouldn't be wrong to love you. What are we going to do?" she wailed.

"I don't know. Find a hotel, I guess," he said. He held his sister for a few moments before they got back underway. He didn't think that he would be able to drive with her sitting there crying beside him. He did his best to quell the flow of tears, somehow keeping his away, as well.

The two headed to a Budget Inn that was just off the highway, figuring it was as good of place as any. They tossed their bags on the floor of their room after checking in and sat next to each other on the bed, leaning shoulder to shoulder.

"Are you hungry? Do you want to get some breakfast?" Mike asked.

"No. I'm pretty much sick to my stomach. I'm so sorry, Mike." Sunday replied.

"Don't be, please. Stop saying that you're sorry. Are you really sorry that you and I fell in love?" he asked.

"No, you're the only one that ever made me feel good. But now we're both being punished for it. Not to mention Dad," she replied.

"Do you still want to be with me?" Mike asked.

"Do you still want to be with me?" Sunday echoed.

"Of course I do! I love you!" he exclaimed.

"But look at me! You can do better than your fat, ugly sister! You need a pretty girl, someone that you can be seen with and not be ashamed to be with. You'll never have that with me. I'm your sister and we're sick," she sobbed.

"I don't feel sick. And you're not fat and you're sure as hell not ugly! I know that you're my sister, maybe that's why I love you so much. It's too much just to be able to say why! I can't help it and I can't imagine being with anyone else. Please, Sunday, tell me you want to be with me," he stammered.

"You're all that I want, Mike. But what are we going to do?" she asked.

"We'll have to get our own place," Mike replied.

"I'm pretty sure that we won't be able to go home again. Mom hated me even before she caught us in bed. Will we be able to afford it?"

"I don't know. I don't think that we'll be able to count on any help from Mom and Dad," he said.

"What about school?" she wondered.

"I think you ought to keep going. I haven't even started yet, you've got too much invested," he said.

"Our friends? The rest of our family?"

"It won't be easy. They'll either understand or they won't. It's too much to think about right now. One thing at a time, OK? Do you feel any better?" he asked.

"Not really," Sunday replied.

"Me either."

*****

Life wasn't easy for Sunday and her brother following that fateful day when they left their parent's house. Despite their father's best efforts, it was apparent that their mother would not be wanting to forgive them or see anything of them anytime soon. Their father, himself, thought that them living together was a sinful mistake, though he did meet up with them occasionally. He wasn't willing to totally disown them the way their mother had.

They managed to scrape enough money together to lease a closet-sized apartment on the other side of town. They had to sell Sunday's car in order to secure tuition for her third year of schooling while Mike found work full time as night maintenance at the hospital. It took a little while but eventually, that winter, they had fallen into a state of moderate happiness. They were heading into the bedroom during one of the few nights that they actually got to spend together when Mike's cell phone began to hum. They both took a deep breath, thinking that it was him getting called into work.

"Oh, let it ring, Mike. It's the only night this week that we have," whined Sunday.

Mike considered doing just that, but the need for extra cash won out and he pulled the phone from his pocket. His eyebrows raised when he saw who it was that was calling.

"It's Dad," he said. He put the phone to his ear and answered.

"Hello? Yeah...oh my god! We'll be right over," he told his father.

"What is it, Mike?" Sunday asked, obviously concerned.

"Mom killed herself."

The two threw their coats and shoes on and set off in the winter night to their childhood home. Neither one of them spoke during the drive, but they each were wondering if it wasn't their relationship that was what had led their mother to take her life. They found their father at his kitchen table with a bottle of beer in his hand. Sunday ran and threw her arms around him.

"Oh god, Daddy! What happened?" she asked. Al looked sad and about ten years older than he was the last time that they had seen him, but he wasn't crying.

"Your mother hadn't been feeling well, worse than usual lately. She hardly worked at all for the last couple of weeks. She stayed home today. I worked over an hour or so, so I was late getting home. I found her in Barry's room, she must have eaten about two months of sleeping pills. She was long gone by the time I found her. Nothing I could do," he explained in monotone. "I would have called you earlier, but I spent the last four or five hours at the hospital and talking to the police. There wouldn't have been anything you could have done, anyway, so I waited until I got home."

"That's so horrible, Dad. I'm so sorry. Do you know why? I mean, do you think it was because of us?" Mike croaked.

"Part of it, maybe. Who knows? She didn't leave a note or anything. She hadn't said more than a handful of words to me for the past month. She was seeing a doctor, but that didn't help much, obviously. I think your mother was a very sick woman. Something snapped inside her when Barry died. Catching you two in bed together couldn't have helped much, but as far as I know she had already lost her mind by the time that happened. I don't know much of anything these days," Al replied.During the next few solemn days, Mike and Sunday helped their father bury their mother. Unlike what they did with Barry, they did not have a huge funeral and waves of grieving visitors afterward. Al decided that he didn't want that and if anyone else in the family had a problem with it they could shove it. They had the smallest of ceremonies and it was over and done with.

"I'm selling the house. I can't live here anymore. Going down to Florida," Al told his kids as they once again sat around his kitchen table.

"I can understand that. I don't like it around here much anymore either," said Mike.

"Why Florida, Daddy? Have you even been there before?" asked Sunday.

"No, I haven't ever been. Why not Florida? It's warm and all old people end up there eventually, don't they?" he asked.

"You're not old," she replied.

"Well, I'm not young, either. I feel old. I need a change," Al said.

"A change couldn't hurt. You've been through a lot. Sunday and I haven't helped much. All you've done is work since I was old enough to remember. You deserve to retire and enjoy yourself," Mike said.

"Who said anything about retiring? I'm not that old for Christ's sake. You know, it probably wouldn't hurt you two to get away. Get a fresh start. This town has a lot of ghosts," Al said.

Both Sunday and Mike knew exactly what he was talking about. Thanks to their mother, all of their family knew that they were sleeping together. There was a lot of them around town that they had awkward run-ins with from time to time. Every time they went somewhere together they felt like people were watching them, judging them. Things probably wouldn't be getting any better now that their mother had killed herself.

"It would be nice. Mike and I have talked a lot about it. Probably after I get my degree we'll be able to afford it. That's if I can find a decent job somewhere," Sunday said.

"They've got schools in Florida, you know. This old dump is worth a small chunk of change. I can help you get set up. Why don't you guys come with me?" Al suggested.

"You'd do that for us?" Mike asked, astonished. He hadn't seen this coming at all.

"Really, Daddy?" Sunday chimed in.

"I've spent the last couple decades of my life trying to make sure I take care of you guys. I'm not going to stop now. Besides, I wouldn't know anyone down there. Life's too short to be alone and miserable," Al said.

Mike and Sunday agreed. For the first time in a while, they felt like things were going to be all right.