Avery Legacy - Chapter 94 - Afterglow

Keith tried hard to concentrate on his painting but he was failing miserably. Cassia hadn't come home last night. He knew where she was. He had been telling himself all morning that it was just innocent. She just stayed over with her brother. She slept on the floor. No harm done. Of course he doesn't believe it. If she slept anywhere it was in Leo's bed. He was going to lose her. Maybe he already had.

Hope knew that her sister hadn't come home last night. She knew that Keith was worried. She tried to put Keith's mind at ease but then gave up completely. They both knew where Cassia was. This was going to end badly. To make matters worse there was a party at the dorm that night. She didn't feel like celebrating anything until Mazer showed up. Since she couldn't do anything else she might as well go and try to have fun.

Chance invited Lisa over for the party. If they were going to be a couple, which is definitely what he wanted, it was time for them to be seen in public together. If his cousins accepted things well then maybe he'd get the nerve to tell his parents.

Keith has never been the social type. He generally avoided all parties on principle. Tonight he finds himself in the mix. It will be getting dark soon and Cassia still hasn't come home. Maybe she isn't planning on ever coming back again. Maybe she and loverboy will be very happy together. Maybe he just should have slept with her. But would it have really made a difference?

Keith continued to drink and mope. He stood by the front door waiting for her to return. He loves her. He doesn't want to give up without a fight. He can fix this somehow. After several hours of drinking and waiting, Keith finally stumbles to the bathroom. Hope looks at him with pity in her eyes. He doesn't want her pity. He wants her sister.

Keith was stumbling to his room when suddenly there she was. He took her by the hand and pulled her into his dorm room. She smelled so good. He didn't ask where she had been. He didn't ask who she was with. He just kissed her.

When she didn't offer any objections, Keith pulled her to the bed. This is what she had been wanting for the last two years. He had told himself that he would wait until he was married. Hell, maybe he never would be married. Why wait. He let his hands roam. He let his body respond. He just let go of the fears and put his entire being into making her happy.

Things that night were electric. They never had been before. When he fell asleep in her arms he was perfectly content. He just hoped this would never end.

Down the hall more first were happening. Lisa couldn't wait any longer to be with Chance. Chance is a college student. He wasn't about to object. Lisa stayed with Chance that night. She taught him all kinds of things. She fell asleep in his arms.

Hope had spent much of the evening with Mazer. After seeing the state that Keith was in she wasn't much in the mood for dancing anymore. She and Mazer headed outside for some air. She filled him in on her fears. He held her. He kissed her. He told her he loved her. He told her to try not to worry. There was nothing she could do anyway. When Mazer left Hope continued to sit there. She thought that Cassia would walk by eventually. She never did. Eventually she fell asleep outside and dreamed of cute little babies with little pointy ears.

It was very early in the morning when Cassia fond herself in the shower trying hard to think. She had decisions to make. Did she tell Keith or not. Could she pretend that the most fabulous day of her life didn't happen? Could she live the rest of her life without Leo?

Cassia was going to get some breakfast when she saw someone coming out of Keith's room.

Cyra? What was Cyra doing here? When did Cyra start college? Why hadn't Blake called to tell them she was starting this semester? What was Cyra doing coming out of Keith's room in her underwear?

The two sisters just stood there for a few minutes. Then Cyra smiled. In that moment Cassia knew. She knew that Keith had slept with her baby sister. For two years he refused to sleep with her. Was he saving himself for Cyra? How could he? How could she? Cassia turned and fled the room. She just couldn't be there right now.

Cyra didn't care if Cassia was upset. It's her own damn fault. She should have treated Keith better. She had never intended to sleep with Keith that night. She had just arrived in school when he pulled her into his dorm room. She had always like Keith. She had always had a secret crush on her sister's boyfriend. She refused to be sorry about last night. It was her first time and it was magical. Even if Keith never spoke to her again, she would always have that night.

Keith was a little confused the next morning. His head hurt. Parts of the previous evening were blurry but he definitely remembered the important parts. It was amazing. So when he stepped out of his dorm room and saw Cassia in the hall, he didn't understand why she suddenly ducked into her sisters dorm room. She barely even looked at him. After a quick shower he headed for breakfast. That's when he saw Cyra. He wasn't even sure who she was at first. She was sure grown up. As he looked at her things from the previous evening were getting clearer. The woman he was with last night started to look a lot more like Cyra and a lot less like Cassia. The memories flashed in front of his eyes. Was it Cyra? Was the woman he was with last night not Cassia at all?

Keith sat down at the table. No one else was in the room. He needed to know for sure. He just asked. Did we?

Cyra felt her only regrets in that moment. He looked so hurt. He looked even worse when she said yes. He put the fork down and pushed his plate away. He looked at her. He looked so confused.

Cyra was about to explain things when Cassia walked in. Cassia had talked to Hope. Hope had told her that Keith was drunk last night. That made it all Cyra's fault. She had taken advantage of him. How could she? How could she do that? She was barely eighteen. He had never dated to her knowledge. Why would she come in there and try to steal her boyfriend?

Keith quickly jumped to Cyra's defense. Maybe he was drunk. Maybe he didn't really know who he was having sex with. He wasn't about to let her know that. If he was her boyfriend then why was she at the greek house instead of here with him? If she cared so damn much why was she off messing around with Leo? Did she really think he didn't know that she still wanted him? Was she so blind that she couldn't realize that the reason he hadn't slept with her all these years is because he knew that he wasn't really the man she wanted?

Keith begged her to deny it. Just tell me it isn't true. Tell me that you weren't with him. Tell me that you didn't give yourself to him.

Cassia was stunned into silence. She had thought no one knew about her lingering feelings for Leo. She can't believe that he stayed with her knowing that she wanted Leo. She also couldn't deny being with Leo. She told him that. She told him she had been with Leo. She told him that she had did exactly the thing she was now so angry that he did. She cheated on him. So why did it hurt so much that he had been unfaithful right back.

Keith and Cassia went there separate ways. Keith went to find Cyra. They needed to talk. There were things he needed to say.

Keith told Cyra that he didn't want to hurt her but he had thought that she was Cassia last night. If he was sober he probably never would have slept with her. He had honestly never thought of her that way. He couldn't remember if they had used any protection. He wasn't that worried about it at the time. If she became pregnant he would marry her. He would take care of her and their baby. He just wanted her to know that. Whatever he had with Cassia is over. He knows that now. But he was friends with all of Cassia's siblings. He would like to keep those friendships. He didn't want to lose her to over this.

Well you could have knocked Cyra over with a feather when Keith said he would marry her. Marriage? Cassia was the one who wanted to get married not her. It was sweet though that he would even be thinking about that now. His entire world was falling apart and he was worrying about her and a baby that will probably never be. When he talked about being friends Cyra was almost sad. She didn't want to be his friend. She could still remember his hands on her body. That is what she wanted. She wanted him not his friendship.

So Cyra reached over and kissed Keith. She wasn't just some kid. She wasn't just Cassia's baby sister. She was a woman. Keith was a man. She wanted him. They had something together. Surely he could feel it. She didn't need forever from him. Couldn't he just let her help him get over Cassia? Couldn't they just have fun together for a while?

Keith didn't expect the kiss. He didn't expect to react to it. Cyra was electric. She made him feel things that he never felt before. If Cassia had made him feel this way he never would have remained a virgin for as long as he had. But she's Cassia's baby sister. But she is all grown up. But he really shouldn't be doing this. But he really didn't want it to stop.

As Keith faced his moral dilemma, Cassia faced her sister. Hope just couldn't understand how Cassia could have done this to Keith. It seemed so much like something there mother would have done. Hope pretty much hated her mother for the way she treated her dad. Her sister wasn't her favorite person at the moment either. Keith was a good guy. He had his faults. Everyone does. Maybe he shouldn't have gotten drunk. He definitely shouldn't have had sex with Cyra. But it all started with Cassia lying about her feelings for Leo. She could sit there and tell her that she loves them both but it's not really true. She may love Keith but she has always been in love with Leo. Why did she keep Keith around for so long? Was she just afraid to be alone? Isn't it better to be alone than to use someone the way she's used Keith?

Cassia didn't receive the comfort and support that she thought she would get from Hope. She's her sister and it feels like she's taking Keith's side.

After talking with Hope, Cassia knew that she couldn't stay there. She called her brother Clay and asked if she could move into the greek house. She was a member now so he really couldn't turn her away. He asked if she wanted him to tell Leo. She told him no. It would be a surprise. She would tell him when she got there.

Keith saw Cassia pull away in the taxi. He knew where she was going. He knew it was really over. He was just sitting there and thinking when Cyra walked into the room. She sat right down beside him without an invitation.

Cyra wasn't a child. She didn't want Keith to think of her as one. She had gotten to him earlier with the kiss. She knew she had. She couldn't stop now. She wanted him to make love to her. She wanted him to do it sober. So she started something that afternoon. She was hoping that he would help her finish it.

It may not have been smart but Keith slept with Cyra again that afternoon. It was even better than the night before. He had no idea what he was thinking. Maybe he wasn't. All he knew is that being with Cyra was much better than being all alone.