Letting My Brother's Best Friend Take My V-Card

THE CALL

JESS

I heard something fall in the kitchen, shattering to the floor.

I sat up so fast that the lounger wobbled beneath me, my heart hammering in my chest as Laura stepped out onto the porch.

She was holding her phone in one hand, her face pale, her wide eyes brimming with something I couldn't quite read-shock? "What's wrong?" I asked, my voice sharper than I intended.

"Did something happen to my mother?" I pressed, my throat tightening as the words rushed out. My mind spun with possibilities, each one worse than the last.

Laura shook her head slowly, her lips parting as if to speak but no sound came out. Finally, she managed to look me in the eyes and said softly, "No. They, uh... Jess."

I stared at her, every nerve in my body on edge.

"They found survivors of the wreck."

My breath hitched, and for a moment, the world around me stilled. The sounds of the pool, the distant rustling of the trees, and even the beating of my own heart seemed to fade into nothing.

"What?" I whispered, barely able to get the word out. My hands gripped the edges of the lounger, knuckles white. "What do you

mean? Survivors?"

Laura nodded, her expression torn between relief and

hesitation. "It's... they haven't released names yet. Just that they found people alive."

Alive.

a strange mixture

Alive.

my voice breaking. "Did they

"No. I only got bits and pieces. But they said the survivors were found

breath, which

grounding. myself would

overwhelm me.

you think it's them?" I whispered, more

Laura said softly, stepping

in the lines of her face, the faint tremble in her lip, the way her eyes darted away from mine. She wasn't ready to have hope.

watch it shatter again.

hesitant. The question lingered

few times, as if pulling herself back to reality. Her shoulders rose and fell in a

in on an air ambulance tomorrow," she muttered, her

the people get sick or injured?" I asked softly, the weight of my unease pressing

in it now.

screen still lit up with the call log. Her

they're alive." Her voice cracked, her words trembling like they didn't want to leave

gaze drifted to the edge of the pool, unfocused, her

my voice betrayed the uncertainty clawing at

but there was no conviction in her

the silence, the soft

between us. The weight of those few words pressed down on