Her Brother

"Don't cry baby. It's going to be okay." King pulled Nova closer to him.

"She's right, King. We're sick." She whispered, tears starting to slide down her checks.

"No. Nova, please don't let her get to you. I'm sorry this happened."

Nova couldn't respond because they were interrupted once again.

"King? Nova? Is this true?" Their mother demanded in a shaky voice.

Fuck.

"We'll see you at home." King growled and pulled Nova with him, leaving before anything else could happen.

When they got home King kissed Nova and told her to wait for him in her room. She wanted to protest but he knew dealing with their parents would be too hard for her. He wasn't going to let anyone else hurt her tonight. Mia's drunken public display had done enough.

King was waiting in his dad's study when James and Amanda got home. His was still in his suit, but removed his jacket and had rolled his sleeves up.

"What the fuck have you done King?" His dad shouted not wasting anytime.

"King, is it true about you and Nova?" His mother asked her tone gentler, but he could see the different emotions warring on her face.

"Yes." He bit out.

"How could you do that to Nova? You seduced your own sister, you selfish little prick." His dad spoke furiously, automatically placing the blame on King.

"I didn't seduce her. We love each other."

"King. You two can't be together." His mother whispered sadly.

"I'm in love with her, mom." King admitted softly.

"I want you out of this house right now. " James commanded, his own golden eyes ablaze with fury.

"James! No!" Amanda tried to protest.

"Fine. I planned on leaving anyways and I'm taking Nova with me."King headed for the door, but paused at his fathers next words.

"If you take her with you. I will report you. I will make both of your lives a living hell."

"You would ruin Nova's life, just to spite me?" King asked in disbelief. He never once thought his father would stoop so low. His dad was a good man.

"Yes." His father grit out, jaw clenched.

"Please don't do this to us. We...we need each other." King plead. He didn't want to beg. He knew it wouldn't change his father's mind. He wanted to fight, but there was no way he would ever get into a physical altercation with his father. Especially not with his mom in the room.

"If you go near her again, I will ruin you both. Get out!" Came his father's final reply.

King felt tears prick his eyes.

He was going to lose her.

***Chapter 11 (Nova)***

Nova woke up and realized King never came to her room. She fell asleep waiting for him and she couldn't help the feeling of dread in her stomach.

He wasn't in his bedroom and the bed didn't look slept in. Nova told herself to calm down, that everything was fine. But panic was starting to take hold of her.

She thought maybe he would be in the kitchen because he never started his day without coffee. She was coming down the stairs when she saw him. He was standing by the door keys in one hand and a duffle bag in the other.

"King. What's going on:" She asked running down the stairs.

"Nova." His voice was so sad it broke her heart.

"I waited for you, you never came to see me."

"I'm going back to my place, like I said it's time for me to go back to my own house."

"I'll come with you. Just give me a few minutes to pack."Nova told him urgently.

King ran his fingers through his hair and swallowed harshly.

"You can't come with me No No. We can...we can't be together like that."

"Why? Because of dad and mom. I know they are upset right now, but they love us, they will understand."

"Nova, that is not just it. We will always have to hide, we could never have a family. You deserve so much better than me, you deserve someone that you can have a normal relationship with."

"We are normal. You are everything to me." Nova choked out, grabbing for his hand.

"No, Nova." He pulled back from her and opened the door.

"King! I thought you loved me!" She cried feeling her knees begin to buckle.

"I do."

With that simple statement he was gone the door closing quietly behind him.

"No, King. No. Please come back." Nova collapsed in a sobbing heap. Her heart wasn't just shattered, it was dead.

She felt arms wrap around her, the familiar, comforting scent of her mother surrounding her.

"Mom!" Nova cried harder.

"Shh, Nova. It will be okay. I am so sorry." Her mother was on the floor with her rocking her back and forth. Offering what little comfort she could.

"Nova..."Her father came in and Nova lost it.

"What did you do? What did you say to him?"

"Nova, you two cannot be together. You both should have known better, but King certainly should have." James said his tone of disgust broke her even more.

"No! You don't get to choose who we love. I...love...King. I have for years." With that confession she pulled herself up off of the floor and slowly made her way upstairs. She needed to talk to King. She didn't respond to her parents calling her name. She couldn't look at them.

When she got to her room she closed and locked the door and grabbed her phone to dial King's phone number but it went straight to voicemail.

"King, please call me back. I need you, please." She tried her best to keep the tears at bay and speak clearly as she left her message. She wasn't one of those girls that would keep calling. She laid on her bed, her tears running down her cheeks. She clutched her phone to her chest waiting for King to call her back.

***

He never called, but Nova still tried calling once everyday, and she always left a message, even if it was just to tell him how much she loved him. Eventually the calls stopped going through at all, an automated message stating the phone number had been changed or disconnected. She finally drove to his apartment in town, determined to see him only to find it empty.

She had not heard from King in 60 days.

Nova barely left her room or ate. She stopped going to classes and she couldn't even look at her parents. She can't remember the last time she had been outside. It was November and the weather was getting colder. She stole some of King's old sweaters from his closet, some of them still smelled like him.

Every day she promised herself that tomorrow she would get better. She would move on and start living her life again. King had obviously moved on, so why couldn't she? But she just couldn't he was too deeply ingrained in her. Her memories too hard to let go of. Her dreams were full of King, waking her every night , her body shaking with desire and longing.

Thanksgiving came and went with no sign of her brother.

She wanted him back so badly, but she was also so angry at him. He wasn't supposed to leave her. He promised they could get through anything. She believed him and he left. She knew he thought he was doing what was best for her. No one understood that she was incomplete without him in her life.

He was it for her.

***

It was late when she padded quietly down to the kitchen. Her mom always left a plate for her, usually it went untouched, but Nova knew she needed to eat. She was about to enter the kitchen when she heard her parents voices.

"...Have to do something, Nova can't keep going on like this."

"She will heal, Amanda. We have to keep her away from King."

"She is fading away, James. King can hardly say two words to me when he even bothers to answer my calls."

"It's wrong Amanda."

"Is it though. You didn't have to be there when I told him Nova couldn't have contact with him. When I practically forced him to change his phone number. He was in so much pain. Our children are miserable."

"Amanda..."

"No, James. I don't give a fuck what the world thinks. I would rather have my babies happy. If being with each other is what does it, then so be it. We broke them James and now we need to fix this."

Amanda was obviously crying now and James was silent for a long time.

"Okay." He said.

Nova put on a show of making noise as she moved into the kitchen. She couldn't believe what she heard. Her parents were the reason she hadn't heard from King. She hated that they did that to them, but now she new King had tried to contact her. That he, hopefully, still wanted her.

She was going to get him back.

"Nova..." Her dad started.

"I heard what you both said. I love you, but it wasn't your decision to keep King from me. I want to know where he is."

"Nova, I don't think that is a good idea." James said.

"Don't you think you have done enough, Dad? I want to know where he is now."

Both James and Amanda were shocked. Nova had never raised her voice to them. Amanda seemed to be in thought for a minute and then wrote the name of a hotel and room number on a piece of paper.

"It's late Nova, maybe you should wait for the morning." Her mom said gently.

"I can't." Nova said in a pained voice. She grabbed her keys and walked out of the door.

***

45 minutes later she was in Grand Rapids standing outside Kings room at a higher end hotel. With a deep breath she lifted her hand and knocked.

The door opened and there he was. He was thinner but still so beautiful that he took her breath away. She wasn't prepared for her reaction to him after not seeing him for so long. She felt her eyes blur with tears and her knees were going weak. She placed a hand on the door frame to steady herself. She had missed him so much.

"Nova?!" King breathed out, almost as if he didn't believe she was there.

Then she felt strong arms wrapping around her and she was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Don't cry, baby. I love you so much. I'm sorry I let them split us up." King squeezed her harder letting out all the anguish of the last several months.

"I love you so much, King." She cried harder but they were happy tears.

She was finally where she was meant to be.

In King's arms.

*** The End***