Hero Looking For Redemption

"Oh, he is so hot, Kat," one of Kate's friends said.

I wasn't extremely familiar with her friends since I gave them space when they were here. It sounded like Cari but it could have been Jan.

"No he isn't, Jan," Kate said.

"Yes he is," Cari added. "He's really sexy and he's so sweet."

Cari was a short girl with long brown hair, like what Kate had been before she matured. Jan was taller than Cari and had short blonde hair. They were both cute, for high school girls.

"You both are demented."

"Admit it, Kat," Jan pushed. "You think he's hot, too."

I had stood in the hallway longer than I should have but part of me was curious to who they were talking about. I knew some of the boys from their school, mostly by name, so if Kate was crushing on one of them, maybe I knew him and could crush him.

"Fine," she said, succumbing to the peer pressure. "He's cute. Feel better?"

The other two girls laughed.

"But that stays between us," Kate added. "If anyone knew I thought my brother was cute, I'd have to leave school."

My sister thought I was cute? That wasn't what I was expecting and I froze. One of them started walking around the room and I realized that I had stood in the hallway for too long. It would crush her if she knew I had heard her. Moving quietly, I walked back down stairs and back out into the garage. I came through the garage door and closed it harder this time, making sure I was louder this time than I was a few minutes ago.

"Kitten, I'm home!"

Three sets of feet could be heard running down the stairs and they all stopped, staring at me.

"Hey," I said with a goofy wave. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt girls night but something has come up so I'm taking a vacation from the hospital. Let me get something to eat and I'll lock myself in the den, out of your way."

"It's ok," Jan said, sitting down at the table. "We'll sit with you. Won't we, girls?"

Cari sat down at the table and I looked at Kate. She was avoiding my eyes. I knew why but I couldn't tell her that.

"Your call, Kitten."

She looked at her friends then sat down with only giving me a sideways glance. I made a sandwich and sat down at the table, sitting next to my sister and watching the other two girls.

"What were you up there chatting about before I interrupted?" I asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"Boys we thought were cute," Cari said.

"Oh, please don't bring that up. The thought of Kitten dating scares the crap out of me."

Kate just sat there while the other girls giggled.

"Do you have a girlfriend, Ben?" Jan asked me.

"No, I don't really have time. My schedule has to be flexible, being a nurse and trying to help Kate. It's too hard to do that stuff with someone else to worry about."

Jan looked defeated but Cari seemed to get even more excited. I could tell she wanted to ask me more questions but Kate was uncomfortable, I could feel it flowing off of her, so it had to stop.

I finished my sandwich in one giant bite and put the plate in the sink. "Ok, I'm done for the night. I'll stay down here and you three can go back to Kate's room."

"It's ok, Benny," Kate said, "you don't have to sleep in the den. The couch in there is horrible."

"I don't mind, Kitten. You need your privacy."

She just looked at me, her beautiful eyes telling me to just stop, and I gave in. I walked up the stairs and immediately went to shower. The girls were laughing when they walked by but I couldn't hear why.

When I was finished cleaning myself, I stuck my head out of the bathroom door to see if the coast was clear. When I saw Kate's door was closed, I ran to my room and shut the door behind me. I pulled on a paper of boxers and shorts then crawled into bed. My body didn't feel like it was ready to sleep but my mind was slowly starting to lag. With the lights off, I closed my eyes and tried to let sleep take me.

Kate was there, blood draining from her wrists and tears flowing like a river from her eyes.

"Help me, Ben!" she screamed.

"Katie!"

I was trying to get to her but I couldn't move. My legs weren't responding to my mental commands. My sister was bleeding out, I knew I could save her, but why wouldn't my legs move.

"You're letting me die!" she yelled.

"No, Kitten! Move, you fucking legs. Katie!"

"Ben!"

I heard her yell my name but her lips hadn't moved.

"Ben, wake up. Please, Benny, open your eyes."

My eyes shot open and I saw Kate's face, tears falling from her eyes. I was on the ground.

"Oh god," she said, cradling my head and hugging me.

I stared at her face, not quite sure what I was seeing. "Katie, are you ok?"

Unable to speak through her tears, she just nodded her head.

"I couldn't save you, Kitten. I'm so sorry, I wanted to but I couldn't."

"I'm ok, Ben. You don't have to save me."

Everything broke at the moment and I grabbed her, hugging her tightly as I cried. She just held me and let me cry into her shoulder. A knock at the door made me turn my head.

"Are you ok, Ben?" Jan asked.

Both girls looked concerned for me.

"Yeah, I'm good. Sorry girls."

"No problem," Cari said. "My cousin has night terrors, too."

"I'm going to sleep with him," Kate said.

"No, I'll be ok," I told her as I regained some sort of composure. "Go back to your friends. I'll just watch TV."

"That wasn't a request, Benjamin."

Knowing it was pointless, I got off the floor and crawled into bed. Kate said good night to her friends and got in with me. She put her glasses on the nightstand and turned off the light. Her hand found mine and she clutched it to her chest once again.

"I'm sorry, Kitten. I didn't mean to ruin your time."

She kissed my lips, a very soft kiss. "Don't even think about it. Just sleep, Benny."

Sleep I did. And I dreamt this time. I was pushing her in a swing, like we should have done when we were younger. Except she was 18 and wearing a beautiful white, sun dress and had flowers in her hair. She was laughing and telling me to push her higher. Once she got to a good height, she jumped. I ran around and caught her. We shared a deep, passionate kiss and I kept her close.

"I love you, Kitten."

"I love you, Benny. I want to spend every moment with you."

"We will."

My eyes fluttered open and I still felt drowsy. As the fog cleared, I saw that Kate and I had shifted positions. We were spooning and she was using my right arm as a pillow while she held my left arm to her boys. She was clutching my hand to her chest, underneath her tank top, and I was palming her breast. I panicked for a moment, knowing that it was my sister's perfect breast, then relaxed as I felt her heart beat against my palm I kissed her cheek and laid my head back down.

A few hours had passed and I awoke with dawn's morning light on my face. It wasn't the light that woke me, but it did feel good since the only time I get to see the sunrise is through a hospital window. What woke me was the woman standing next to my bed, a cupcake in her hand with a candle in it.

"Happy birthday, Benny," Kate said with a smile. "It's 6:43 in the morning."

"The time we were born," I said as I pushed myself up.

She sat down on my bed and handed me the cake.

"Where's yours?"

"I only got one," she said.

I blew out the candle and held the cupcake up to her. "We can share."

I broke the cake in half and handed it to my little sister. She just stared at it.

"We've shared a birthday for 18 years, Kitten. Take the cake."

She smiled and took it, sitting on my bed and crossing her legs.

"Happy birthday."

"Happy birthday, Benny."

She brought the white cake to her face as I did. We must have been thinking the same thing because the next second I shoved her piece into her mouth and she shoved mine into my mouth. Laughing, we did the best we could to clean our faces and lick whatever we could reach with our tongues.

"And what are you two doing?" Cari asked.

Cari and Jan were standing in my door with mischievous smiles.

"Celebrating our birthday," Kate said.

"Did you ask him, yet?" Jan asked.

"Geez, we just woke up," Kate said.

"What am I missing here, ladies?"

Cari walked over and stood behind Kate. "Your Kitten doesn't have a date for tonight when we go celebrate her 18th birthday."

I was slow when it came to girls.

Kate let out a frustrated sigh. "They think you should be my date tonight."

"Why didn't you ask a boy from your class?"

Kate didn't answer right away so Cari answered. "She doesn't like anyone from school. She's too afraid they're all jerks."

I looked at her, trying to see anything on her face. I still couldn't do it.

"Do you want me to be your date, Kitten?"

"Yes, please."

I had no choice. She was looking at me with her silent yearning and I had to accept.

"What do I have to wear?"

Jan and Cari started screaming then went straight to my closet.

"Are you ok with this?" She asked.

Cari and Jan were tearing through my clothes, each picking something then fighting over it.

"If you want me to be with you, then I'll be there. I'll do whatever you need me to do."

"You don't have to keep overcompensating, Benny. I forgave you a long time ago."

I nodded and sat in silence. She had forgiven me but I still didn't forgive myself.

Kate got off the bed and began helping her friends pick out my clothes. I watched her and was mesmerized by her. She wasn't just my little sister, she was a woman. And she was a woman who knew exactly how to pull my strings.

After about ten minutes, the three of them turned around. Jan was holding a navy blue shirt, Cari had charcoal pants, and Kate was holding a silver and black tie.

"You're wearing this," Jan said.

I just nodded my head.

"And we're going shopping to match," Cari added.

Kate's friends left my room quickly but she hung back.

"Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome."

She leaned over and kissed me, a soft kiss on my lips, as she walked out of my room.

I pulled myself out of bed, put on a tee shirt and shorts then went down stairs. The girls were still in Kate's room but I figured they might be hungry so I began making French toast. It was Kate's favorite, though she liked it with the thick Texas style bread.

"Oh, he's making us French toast," Cari yelled as she walked into the kitchen.

I put a stack on the table for the girls and watched as they devoured them. I was surprised since they all seemed so skinny.

By the time I was done cooking, they had eaten all but three.

"Thanks," they said in unison as they went back upstairs.

I sat down and ate alone, thinking about what the night would bring.

I cleaned up the kitchen then sat down in front of the TV, watching anything previewing tomorrow's football games. I tried to remember the times of a few, ones I thought Kate and I could watch together. We didn't have a favorite team, we just liked watching.

The girls left around noon and I just sat on the couch. I didn't really have much of a social life since Kate and I got a house. That wasn't the truth, I never had a social life. In high school, I dated two girls and lost my virginity on prom night to one of them, though I couldn't remember which one. After I started nursing school, I tried having friends and dating but never caught a rhythm so I dropped it. Now, my social life was whatever time Kate had for me in between my nursing shifts and her school work. I was either too busy or asleep to realize I wasn't happy.

The girls came back around five and went straight to Kate's room. After thirty minutes, one of them told me to get ready.

I took a shower and went to get my clothes. Jan looked in on me a couple of times and I just waved at her.

I went downstairs after I finally got my tie tied.

"Are you ready?" Cari yelled down.

"Do I have a choice?"

"No way, Benny!" Kate yelled back.

Cari walked down first, wearing a beautiful red, strapless dress with her hair up in a bun. Jan was next, wearing a beautiful purple dress that had short sleeves and stopped just above her knees. Her hair was curled and hung down.

When Kate came down, my heart stopped. She had a dark gray dress on that stopped half way down her beautiful white thighs. With faded silver mascara and navy blue lipstick, she looked gorgeous. Her hair was braided to one side with two silver flowers in the braids.

"Wow, ladies. You three look gorgeous."

Cari and Jan said thank you while Kate just blushed.

"Where are your dates?" I asked.

"Kat was right, the guys in our school are jerks," Cari said. "I'm hoping to meet someone tonight."

"And you, Miss Jan?"

"I don't know yet."

I turned to my sister and extended my hand to her. "If you would allow me the pleasure, Miss Katherine, I'd be honored if you would accompany me tonight."

She pouted a little bit. "No Kitten tonight?"

"I'm sorry. Would you do me the honor of allowing me to be your date tonight, Kitten?"

She grabbed my hand and pulled me to her. "I would be delighted, Benny."

We piled into Kate's car and she drove us to downtown. The girls made small talk while I barely paid attention. It wasn't until she pulled into a parking garage that I finally paid attention.

Kate took my hand and we followed Cari and Jan down the street. As we got closer to our destination, the girls were getting annoyed.

"No way," Cari said. "I thought it would be a quiet weekend."

Outside of a club, there was a long line of people, leading down to the next block. I looked up at the sign and shook my head.

"You three want to go to Private Steel?"

"Yeah," Kate said as they walked to the end of the line.

"Not that way," I told them, leading them to the front door.

At the door, standing behind the velvet rope, was a man standing 6'8" and weighing just short of 300 pounds of muscle. I knew his specifics because I'd seen him several times since I got signed on in the emergency room.

"Grover!" I yelled to him.

He looked at me and, though he smiled, he cut his hand across his throat.

"Ben, man, don't be doing that to me," he said as he shook my hand. "You know I'm Guy when I'm at work."

"Sorry, I forgot."

He began looking at the three beautiful women with me. As he looked over Kate, I held my hand up, showing our fingers interlocked, and he just nodded then looked back at me.

"Can you help me out? It's her birthday," I held up my hand again, "and these two lovely ladies would like to help her celebrate it."

"What about you, Ben?"

"She asked and I couldn't say no."

Grover chuckled at me. "What can I do to help you guys out?"

"You can remember the seven times I stitched you up and let us jump the line."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I had the count at four."

"And the three times you pulled the stitches and I had to redo them. That's seven."

Grover laughed. "You can't count those, man. They were the same injury."

"Really?"

"Fine. Have fun."

I pulled a twenty out of my pocket and stuck it in his hand while other people started yelling. Grover told them to pipe down or else, which they did.

The girls followed me inside.

"I can't believe you did that," Cari said as we got to the bar.

"That was awesome, Benny. How'd you do that?"

"Grover is a great guy but he gets in more fights than a man should working as a bouncer. I've stitched and bandaged him a few dozen times because drunks think they can take him."

I grabbed a seat near the bar and prepared myself to sit there all night while the girls went to the dance floor. A blonde waitress came over and I ordered three waters for the girls and a root beer for myself. Her smile told me she didn't want to deal with me and I just ignored her.

The girls looked like they were having fun until a drunk guy walked over and tried to dance up on all three of them. Kate's eyes quickly found mine through the crowd and I saw the silent plea in them. I moved quickly through the crowd, thankful now for having had to navigate tight situations at the hospital.

"I think I would like to dance with my dates," I told him, taking Kate's hand and Cari and Jan grabbed by shoulders.

"That's not fair!" He yelled as we moved to a different part of the dance floor.

Jan and Cari started dancing together and I tried to keep rhythm with Kate. I know I looked goofy but she was happy so that's all that mattered.

A slow song started and Kate wrapped her arms around my neck and moved in closer. My arms went around her waist, though I hesitated, and we began swaying slowly.

"Thanks for coming, Benny. I hope you're having fun."

"I am having fun. This isn't too bad."

We kept slow dancing past the end of the song. When someone bumped into us, I realized we weren't paying attention to the music and led Kate back to the table, where Cari and Jan were talking about something I couldn't hear. I sat down in one of the three chairs and Kate stood between my legs, sipping her water and holding my hand around her waist. Kate jumped right into their conversation and I just sat there. I knew I'd be the outsider tonight but I was still having fun.

"Care to dance with a real man?"

The slurred words came from the guy that had tried to dance with the girls a little bit ago. He grabbed Kate's shoulder, and by the way she winced I knew he grabbed too hard.

"I'm good," she replied, trying to remove his hand.

"Your boyfriend can just watch."

"My boyfriend isn't going to watch anything because I'm not leaving his side."

"Oh, don't be such a cock tease."

I grabbed his hand from her shoulder, applying pressure between the thumb and index finger then bending it backwards and away from my sister's shoulder. "The lady said no."

Kate quickly moved away, standing next to her friends, and I got off of my chair, keeping his hand bent backwards.

"Let go, fuck head."

The entire club seemed to get quiet at that moment.

"Apologize to my date, please."

"Fuck you!" He swung his other hand at me.

I avoided the punch and twisted his arm, pinning it behind his back.

"Maybe you didn't hear me, sir. My beautiful girlfriend and her gorgeous friends deserve an apology."

"I'm sorry," he said through the pain.

"Thank you."

"That's it," I heard someone say behind me. Grover stood there, glaring down at the drunk. "I've had enough of your shit. Thanks, Ben."

I nodded as the drunk was dragged out of the bar. Music started again and the girls continued their conversation. I sat back down and Kate stood between my knees again, wrapping both my arms around her and keeping one hand in mine.

As the night progressed, we were having fun. Kate and I spent all night within arms length of each other. Grover had come over during a quick break and struck up a conversation with Cari. Jan didn't have anyone but if she wasn't having fun, she didn't show it.

Around midnight we left. Grover left with Cari's number.

Kate drove us home and the girls left from there. Kate led me inside and I quickly showered.

"Are you going to fight me tonight?" she asked as I stepped out of the bathroom.

Her hair was wet and she was using her towel to finish drying her beautiful legs.

"How would I fight you?"

"By not sharing my bed with me."

"No, Kitten, I'll be fine in my bed."

"See, you're fighting me."

"I am not fighting you. I think I'm ok to sleep in my own bed."

She had the angry look on her face, telling me that it was pointless to argue. I figured it would be but part of me just wanted to argue.

"Let me get some boxers on."

She nodded and smiled.

I put my boxers on and returned to her room. The door was open and I saw her already curled up in her bed. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do so I just crawled into the other side and stayed near the edge.

"I don't have cooties, Benny."