The Resort Brother and Sister

For a moment Eric looked into her eyes and then he kissed her. They made out for a few minutes before finally, longingly, separating their bodies. For a second Victoria simply lay on her back with her eyes closed. Then Eric nudged her gently and handed her a bottle of water. She smiled at his thoughtfulness before noticing a streak of bright red on her hand.

"Oh---oh my god, Eric, you're bleeding!" Victoria said, horrified for a moment at the blood on her nails. She must have gouged him at the end, when she came.

Eric, looked at it for a moment, then smiled.

"You were digging in pretty hard with those nails at the end. Maybe you can look at it when we get back but it's nothing."

"No, it is not nothing. Let me see."

An old command from when she used to care for him. Eric was surprised to find that he had no urge to disobey her, to tell her that he was grown. Instead, he rolled over onto his front. Long red lines had appeared on his back. Victoria bit her lip. She'd marked her own little brother in the throes of her desperate need. It was so fucking wrong but suddenly she was aroused all over again. Fortunately, she'd only truly broken the skin in one place. She opened her bag and took out a tissue, a disposable disinfectant pad that she took out of its wrapping, and a band aid. With great caution she dabbed at the blood. When she cleaned the wound with the pad he flinched.

"Did it hurt too much?" Victoria said, tone between caring and teasing. This, at least, was familiar to both of them.

"No. It's more cold than painful. This...takes me back."

"I was just thinking the same thing," Victoria said, applying the band aid expertly over the wound. "All done. It wasn't all bad, was it? Growing up with me. You have good memories of then, too, right?"

Victoria was surprised to hear the fragility of her own tone when she said this. She realized it was very important to her that Eric remember her with some kindness. Even if he never wanted to see her again, she wanted him to think well of her, to recall how she at least tried to care for and protect him. He took a long time to answer, still laying face down, but when he did, he surprised her.

"You were never the problem with our childhood, Victoria. You know that."

Victoria smiled, but also chuckled.

"I know that I can be a royal bitch sometimes."

"Yeah. And I can be an asshole. But we were fine together. You really took care of me. It was everything else that sucked. The world. Mom and Dad. At least until..."

Victoria's eyes widened. She hadn't wanted to talk about this. She'd desperately wanted to avoid it on this trip, but so much had already changed. So much might have broken forever by this one moment when they finally gave into their desires, but it had turned out all right. It was too late to stop now.

"You can say it," Victoria said.

"You...you did those things with...Jeff."

Jeff. The final breaking point.

Mom and Dad were always not right. They sold heroin and used it, too. They only got worse as the money grew tighter, taking out their aggressions on their children. It didn't get truly bad until Victoria was sixteen. Then a beating from Dad put Eric in the hospital for a week. Victoria had, for the first time, wanted to kill her parents that night, but instead, she did what she did best --- she planned. She didn't have a great deal of money, but she saved enough from part time work (and some theft from her father) to get bus tickets out of town, new clothes and bags, and some fake identification. In the middle of the night, they escaped out a window. They never looked back. The city that she had chosen as their destination had two virtues: it was warmer there, and it was well over five hundred miles from their parents. The only problem was she still had no idea how she was going to support them, although she knew she was willing to do anything for Eric.

They had quite literally met Jeff right off of the bus. He was friendly and non-threatening, but Victoria was street smart. She knew why he "just happened" to be hanging out there at that time of the day and what he wanted from girls like her. She met his eyes, took him aside for just a moment. Her intuition, never failing her, told her that he was corrupt and weak-willed, but not dangerous. She told him what she'd do for him if he kept her and Eric fed and safe. If he'd pretend to be her father so that their real parents would never find them.

Jeff had demanded things from Victoria every night. He wasn't kind but nor was he cruel, at least how Victoria measured such things. But he took so much of her. It didn't matter if she was tired, or sick. She did what she had to in his bed every evening before she was allowed to rest. The whole thing was sordid, but it did allow both of them to survive and even start attending high school in their new home city. Eric hated it, but he never fought with Jeff, because he followed his big sister's lead. She felt the old creeping disgust.

"I...I wanted to take care of both of us, and I didn't know any other way to do that," Victoria said, disbelieving her own words, but still desperate to make it so Eric no longer hated her.

"Take care of us? You took care of Jeff. It was...it was so fucked up..."

"I only did it so we had a home and food and we could survive! I didn't want to. I didn't enjoy it. For fucks sake I..."

"You were his toy!" Eric growled, accusingly. Victoria flinched, ready to shout back, but she saw the remorse in Eric's eyes as soon as the words had escaped him. Her anger died faster than his. "I'm sorry, Victoria. I...I shouldn't have said that. I never think of you as..."

But Victoria was glad that he was letting his anger out, and her emotions came pouring out just as quickly.

"If you really want to call me names, you can. But I was never his. I was never ever his. I was yours!"

"H-how can you say that!"

"Every time I thought I couldn't do that any more, every time I saw things get worse, I realized that I could do it...for you. I knew that you would have done anything for me. But I was the older one...I was the big sister. It was my job to take care of you. And I would not have traded that to anyone."

"If that's true, why did you leave?"

Victoria had saved every bit of money she'd gotten from Jeff that hadn't gone to food and shelter. For the second time, they had snuck out in the early hours of the morning. Victoria knew that Jeff was not a good man, but he hadn't been a violent one, either, and he had kept his word. For that, at least, she had been grateful, so she left a note thanking him and warning him to never try to find her or her brother.

Everything certainly hadn't been all bad in the new city. Victoria had made friends at her new high school. She had confided her situation to one of them, and instead of judgment, she received understanding, and an offer of real shelter with a good family. On the same day she fled Jeff, she quietly moved herself and Eric to her friend's house. As they settled in, Victoria knew he could do his last two years of high school there. She would graduate that year, and she knew that she had to go to college...somewhere else. Somewhere far away. She felt great guilt over what she had done but she would have done far more to protect her little brother. And then there was the matter of the forbidden emotions she was feeling around him. All of the strains of life and pressure had made them so close, much closer than even siblings were supposed to be. She felt desire whenever she was near Eric, and jealousy whenever any other girl got close to him. She could not stop it, no matter what she did.

"You were going to high school. You had food and shelter and friends. You weren't alone."

"But I didn't have you. So I was still lonely." They sat for a long time there, in silence. "I'm sorry for judging you. I'm sorry for calling you...for calling you a slut. I never hated you and I was never disgusted by you."

"Thank you for apologizing. But...I know what I saw in your eyes, Eric."

Eric shook his head.

"No. You saw something reflected back at you that wasn't there. I was angry with you. I was angry and jealous. When you left...I was sure that you knew..."

"That I knew what?"

"That you knew how sick I was. I wanted you to be mine, Victoria. I wanted you to be completely mine. Not just...in the way you were for that man. I wanted your mind, your heart, and your body. And I tried to stop when you left. I thought it would get easier. That the ache would pass. But it never did. And you never really came back to me. So I got bitter. And mean. And I'm sorry for that. I should have told you the truth much sooner than that."

"Eric..." Victoria said. And there it was, again. Eric, her little brother, taking the lead again and being brave in ways that she could never be. Now, she knew she had to tell the entire truth.

"It wasn't just that I was afraid of you judging me. I...I hoped you would forgive me in time whether I was there or not. It was something else."

"Something that I did?"

"No, Eric. No. You never did anything truly bad to me. When we argued and called each other names, it was just that --- name calling. I always felt loved by you in the end. Do you remember how some of our last fights went? When...you were seeing that girl at school?"

"Y-yes. We argued. I didn't understand why you didn't like her, and you just told me to leave her alone and that made me angry and..."

"And I practically wrestled you to the ground, straddled you, and kissed you."

"And I got...um...hard. I know. I was worried for a long time that was why you left."

"It wasn't because you got hard. It was because I wanted you to be hard for me and only me. Don't you remember how I acted after that? How I teased you a lot in those last weeks? I knew that if I stayed I would do more..."

"But I wanted more!"

Victoria shook her head, and let the tears flow.

"You did but...I pushed you into wanting me. I pushed away the other girls around you. I pushed you into noticing my body. And next I would have pushed you until I was fucking you. I would have been so bad for you, Eric. I would have been a possessive bitch who never let you have a moment's peace and I was supposed to be looking out for you! So, I did the cowardly thing and I ran. I don't want to pretend it wasn't bad. It was, and I wish I hadn't, but I did it only to protect you from me. That's it."

Eric stood there and she waited for him to say something, anything. She expected more anger. She had, after all, made his decisions for him and he hated that. But, to her surprise, he stood up, stepped forward and held out his hand, helping her to stand up, before brushing her off and holding her. He didn't say anything and he didn't need to. She felt the forgiveness radiate out of him. She knew that he had more emotion to release, more anger and frustrations, but that was now part of her job, too. She could be his good, protective older sister as well as be his perfect little slut. And now they were both mature enough to understand what that meant.

"Victoria," Eric said, and he did not have to say any more, because they kissed, and both of them felt a wave of forgiveness, a reset, something that either of them would have felt was impossible. For them, the greatest gift of the Resort would be to allow them to be fresh and new in each other's arms. Victoria leaned back and simply lost herself in her brother's eyes. This was a moment she wanted to remember forever. Anything could happen in the future, but here and now, in this moment they were happy and they were together.

Victoria and Eric had dressed after a bit, but then had simply held each other, enjoying the breeze from the ocean. They dozed quite contentedly for a half hour, Victoria feeling satisfied and loved and sore. A voice, cold and collected, shook her out of her moment of bliss. She felt a cold shiver run through her.

"Ms. Evans?"

Victoria and Eric turned, and she kicked herself for letting her guard down. A man stood there, wearing casual if perfectly ironed island wear. Shorts, sandals, a nice dark shirt. If it wasn't for the sunglasses, earbud and holstered pistol, he could have been another guest. But she knew exactly what he was. Security. Two other men, slightly shorter, stood twenty feet away, watching calmly.

"Please come with us," the man in the suit said in a way that made it perfectly clear that it was not a request. Victoria saw Eric tense up in the corner of her eye, getting protective of her, and she fell for him a little bit harder for it, but she held her hand up to stop him.

"All right," she said. "But my brother has nothing to do with this."

The man smiled. It wasn't pleasant.

"That may be, but he's coming with us too."

Victoria sighed. There was nothing that could be done here anyway. Eric, to her surprise, took her hand.

"Fine," she said. The siblings followed the man back across the sand, and the other two security men fell in behind her. There would be no running here, not that there was anywhere to go. Before she knew it, they were ushered into an SUV waiting on a well-hidden road back from the beach. Everything went quickly. Far too quickly for Victoria's quick mind to come up with any ideas or arguments to get her out of this. By the time it ended, she had given up on saving herself. But she would be damned if she would let anything happen to her brother. She would do anything to protect him, and if it was too late for that...

"Please follow me," The man said. Victoria blinked. The car had stopped, the security team leader was holding the door open for her. She got out and did as she was told. She looked around her. A mansion, barely visible through perfectly landscaped palm trees and other island plants. More security watched her. Some of them held submachine guns and even assault rifles.

Her blood turned to ice as she realized that these men were not with the Resort. That would have been bad enough. Instead, these men must work for the only other presence on the island. The owners. The De Heers.

Potentially that made things much worse. She had written news articles about the De Heer family. Few would. Rich and powerful beyond conventional measure, dark rumors surrounded them for decades if not centuries. They were the sort of people who could not only make you disappear, but make the world forget you ever existed. She took Eric's hand again as they were led back behind the house. She forced herself to stop trembling inside. She would not be able to save Eric by panic or begging.

Eventually, they reached a small glass table. A woman sat there, laptop in front of her and sipping some kind of juice drink. The woman was, surprisingly, clearly pregnant. She stood as Eric and Victoria approached.

"Ms. Evans."

The woman was familiar to her, somehow, and Victoria felt the dim fear that she may have reported on her in the past. She was kind of petite, and despite wearing a simple maternity swimsuit covered by a gauzy white wrap, she projected confidence and authority. Her auburn hair was in a short ponytail, and she was shorter than Victoria.

The woman held her hand out and Victoria shook it, then all three of them sat down. Very businesslike. Very civilized. Victoria was sure this woman had killed someone before.

"I think you have me at a disadvantage."

"I do. Don't expect that state of events to change. My name is Rachel. I'm the head of security for the De Heer family."

"Rachel De Heer," Victoria said, finally knowing where she stood: in deep shit. "Your husband is Reuben De Heer. You sure married up from being his father's bodyguard, didn't you?"

Rachel smiled coldly, not rising to the bait.

"I did. I know it might be hard for you to understand, but I love my husband dearly. I love my entire family. And that is why it both annoys and pains me to have to leave their side during our very much needed vacation to address business like this."

"I'm sorry for inconveniencing you," Victoria said, a bit wryly.

"Can we drop the pretense that you're here as a 'normal' resort attendee?"

"Yes. I'll tell you anything you want to know. In fact, I'll do anything you want, as long as you let my brother go."

Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"Well, start with answering a few questions. Did you come here to expose the Resort?"

Victoria swallowed hard before answering. She could lie easily, but that wasn't the way to approach a woman like this.

"Yes, I did. I no longer intend to do so."

"Oh? What changed your mind?"

Rachel looked over at her brother and took his hand again.

"I...I realized that my brother and I belong here. We're just like everyone else. If it's sick, then I guess I'm sick too. I don't want to hurt people for being in love."

Rachel nodded but her gaze remained hard.

"You may have had a change of heart, but you must understand that we cannot allow you to speak on this matter in any format. We can murder you, or ruin you. I would do either happily to protect my family. But I understand why you might think this is a story worth breaking, and I prefer solutions that don't involve violence. So...let's attempt to come to an arrangement."

"Yes, anything." Victoria agreed immediately. She did not even try to keep the desperation out of her voice.

"I'm willing to let both of you go, but we need guarantees. We need leverage on you that we can use if you change your mind," Rachel said.

"I just fucked my brother, on the beach. I'm going to do it again. That would ruin me, if it got out, right? Eric too. Surely you have recordings of that..."

"No. The Resort records nothing. It would be unethical."

"Well then, you can record the next time we're together.

"You're offering to...perform for the cameras?"

"It wouldn't be performing. I'll fuck him right here if it makes you feel better."

"Victoria," Eric said, and she almost laughed. He wasn't trying to stop her from speaking, he was just embarrassed. She didn't need to look at him to know that he was blushing adorably. She reached out and he took her hand. Things would be okay. Maybe.

Rachel smiled. It was more genuine this time.

"All right. I'll make arrangements for your room to be under surveillance by the time you return to it. If you fuck...believably, then we'll let you go. I can even arrange for some kind of beneficial interview for you, something that will get you some respect beyond celebrity news."

"Thank you," Victoria said, and she meant it.

"Leave us the USB drive, and any other details you may have found, and then you can go. We don't normally watch guests but you will be under surveillance for the rest of your stay and for some time after you leave. Feel free to enjoy the Resort, and so long as you behave as a guest and not an intruder, you get to go home at the end of the week and you can forget this entire conversation. The De Heer family treats its friends well. You don't want to find out how we treat our enemies."

The trip back to the hotel was surreal. In fact, the entire day felt like a bizarre dream. In the space of a few hours, he'd gone from despair over his sister, to joy at their union, to sudden fear that neither would survive. After Victoria had convinced Rachel that they meant no harm, they had a very pleasant if tense small meal with her before they left. And now, back in their room, Eric found himself exhausted, emotionally and physically. He walked in, and flopped himself back on the bed.

"Already tired?" Victoria said.

"Fuck yes. And not just from the, uh, workout on the beach. Terror exhausts me."

Victoria laughed as she sat on the bed next to him.

"I thought you got off on danger, Eric."

"I get off on controlled risks. Most of the time, anyway. Safety first. I'm not ashamed to say that woman scared the shit out of me."