I swallowed hard. Staring at Zachary’s beautiful face, his dazzling eyes made me squirm on my seat. I can feel the heat radiating between my legs. I was almost afraid that he could feel how hot I was becoming… that he could smell the gush of moisture from my pussy.
Unable to bear his closeness and the weight of his stare, I turned away from him, moving towards the door, as far away from him as possible.
I cleared my throat. “Yeah,” I breathed. “Your my big brother. I’m sure you won’t do anything to hurt me.”
He smirked and then he turned back to the road. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
We drove in silence. I was getting used to his presence as a brother. He’s one guy who liked the same things I do. Someone who would go to lengths to protect me, keep me away from harm. I knew I trusted no one else more than I trusted him. The silence between us didn’t feel awkward anymore. Instead, it felt comfortable… assuring.
The road was slippery and wet. Like there was a storm all evening, and I was saved from the thunders because I was inside the shooting range and the movie house.
Zachary took a right turn, which was not the normal route to our home. It was a narrow road, with post lights only every other hundred meters. He turned up the high beams to light our way.
After a while, I could see a lighted structure from a distance. It was a square structure made of concrete. It was painted brown and beige. Zachary parked on the side of the road, in front of the structure.
I stared at the structure for a long while as it all came back to me. I knew this place! This was the shed I ran off to when I ran away from home. The shed where Zachary found me, and we had an accident that left both of us scars that we still carry to this day.
“Do you remember this?” he asked.
I nodded, tears welling up in my eyes.
The shed had been renovated and repainted now. But it still brought back memories of that night.
“This is where I stay when I’m not home,” he said.
“But… how? I mean, this is a shed.”
He nodded. “It was a shed. Then I worked on it a couple of months ago when I came here. I was bored. Now, it’s more like home than our own house, to be honest.”
“Seriously? I want to see it,” I said, getting out of the car.
“Hey, wait!” Zachary called. I knew he was going to stop me, so I walked on the wet grass that covered the front yard of the shed.
Suddenly, without warning, it started to drizzle. I stopped walking and stared at the skies. It opened up and heavy rain started pouring.
Zachary locked his car and ran toward me. He pulled my hand toward the shed. As we stepped on the porch, the skies were lit by lightning, followed by the crashing sound of thunder. Rain poured like it was holding out on us, waiting for us to find shelter before letting out its biggest wrath yet.
The second roll of thunder was more ruthless than the last. My body started shaking as the fear I kept on fighting slowly crept through my veins. I felt Zachary’s arm slowly creep around my waist as he slowly pulled me towards him.
“Shhh…” he whispered against my ear. “It’s okay, baby girl. I’m right here. I won’t let you go.”
I relaxed in his arms. I didn’t need to reach out for my locket this time for the memories of my brother to comfort me through the storm. I had the real thing holding me in his arms right now. The night was still young; we would be stuck here in the shed for hours, but I didn’t care. I knew, with him beside me, I could survive a dozen storms that come my way.
***
When we entered the shed, I was not prepared for what I found inside. It wasn’t just renovated, it was transformed. The flooring was made of wooden parquet. The fireplace was made of gray bricks. There was a black three-seater sofa in the center, between two black Barcaloungers and a gray-wash wooden coffee table. There was a pool table, a sixty-inch television, and a gaming center. There was a bar equipped with a mini kitchen. The wooden stairs on the side led to the mezzanine floor.
The wooden ceiling was filled with warm lights in combination of yellow and white.
“Zachary…” I breathed. “Wh-what is this?”
He shrugged. “My fortress.”
“How did you do this?”
“I had help, of course. Dad insisted. Electrical, plumbing was done by his contractors. I had some contractors to help me out with the flooring, ceiling, and stairs. My biological father is a carpenter. When he took me, he taught me how to do it. As young as the age of twelve. Of course, now, I know. When I turned sixteen, he was drunk more than half the time to complete his contracts. When other juniors and seniors in my school were busy banging girls and playing football, I was busy hammering nails and building houses. Otherwise, we couldn’t eat and he’d have lawsuits left and right for not completing his contracts.”
I smiled at him apologetically. “I admire you for turning that into something positive. This is amazing,” I said. “It’s far from the shabby shed I hid in when I was kid.”
“At least, next time you feel like running away… you’ll be more comfortable here.”
I shook my head. “I won’t be running away. I’ve given up on getting our parents’ attention a long time ago. What’s the point of running away if no one will run after you?”
He shook his head. “You’re forgetting that I’m still here. And I will never stop running after you.”
“Then you know where to find me.”
“That’s why I did this for you.”
I raised a brow. “We both know you’re kidding. You did this because you want to get away from me and the rest of your dysfunctional family.”
I wanted him to deny that. I wanted him to say that he wasn’t staying away from us… from me. But to my disappointment, he just kept quiet.
Outside, the rain poured endlessly. The clock ticked midnight. Zachary stared at me for a moment, and then in a careful voice, he said, “I don’t think the rain is going to stop anytime soon. We can spend the night here.”
I turned to him with wide eyes. “Are you kidding me?”