Silence Is... Sexy Ch. 02

"I should say so. Maybe they're just getting older. I can't believe that Carla would rather have Danny take her than me."

"Feeling left out? They're up to something, we just haven't figured out what it is yet," Jerry said.

*****

Carla was laying on her bed with her phone on her chest when the first text came in.

"How was your fishing trip?" Daniel asked.

"It was the best trip that I've ever been on!" Carla replied.

"I really had fun," he sent.

"I never felt like that before," she sent.

"What do you mean?"

"My man loved me all day, we didn't just fuck," she explained.

"That's because he loves you. He likes to take it slow and easy sometimes," Daniel sent.

"I didn't want it to end, I love him so much."

"It had to end, you wore him out, he needs time to recover," he sent.

"He loves you more than anything," he added.

"I feel so good just being with him," she sent.

"He knows what you mean."

"I'm falling asleep Danny. Gnite." she sent.

"Me, too. Night, Carla," Daniel replied.

*****

Daniel woke his sister the next morning with a nibbling kiss on the side of her neck and whispering in her ear.

"Time to wake up, my sleeping beauty."

"Mmm. You're so much nicer than my alarm clock," she muttered, rubbing her eyes.

"I should hope so, I have a few more features," he chuckled.

"I like your features," she said, smiling.

Sharon was surprised when she woke up and went down to the kitchen. Both of her kids were dressed and ready to go, having breakfast and a civilized conversation. She had planned on making them something before they left.

"You two are up early," she said.

"Morning, Mom. Just wanted to get a head start on things, you know? There's some eggs and hash browns there if you want some," Daniel said.

Sharon poured herself a cup of coffee and inspected her son's cooking carefully before fixing herself a small plate. It looked edible.

She took a seat at the table.

"What are you two up to? I want to know. I think it's great that your getting along so well, but I have to agree with your father. It's kind of...strange. I want to know why you're getting along all of a sudden," she said.

Daniel and his sister froze, their stomachs constricting with a sudden nervous tension. Neither one was prepared to admit to their new love affair, nor did they know the extent of their parent's suspicions.

"Well...I don't know I guess," he answered.

"You don't know?" his mother asked with a raised eyebrow.

Carla tried to save them some face.

"OK. When I had to go back to the hospital, I guess we just realized that life is too short to fight all the time. We got talking about the future and stuff and school..."

"And?" Sharon questioned.

"We wanted to try and talk you guys into getting us an apartment near the university so we wouldn't have to drive back and forth every day. We wanted to work on being nice to each other and show you that we'd be able to live together. I know you don't want us to, but I think we could do it," Carla explained. Sharon smiled.

"I knew you were up to something. Your father and I will have to talk about it," she said.

"You mean you'd actually consider it?" Daniel asked.

"Yes honey, I understand where you're coming from," Sharon replied. Daniel was relieved. Carla had killed two birds with one stone.

"Thanks, Mom!" the two exclaimed in unison. They looked at each other and just had to laugh. Sharon chuckled a little, herself.

"Now listen. I said that I understand where you're coming from, I didn't say that I like the idea. And you guys still have to convince your father, so don't get your hopes too high," Sharon said.

Soon after breakfast, Daniel and Carla were in his car, bound for the doctor's office. They were grinning from ear to ear.

"Wow, thanks Carla. Mom surprised me. I was scared," Daniel admitted.

"I was too. Sometimes I can take care of you too, you know. I saved you from big, bad Mommy. Do you think she's actually thinking of letting us get an apartment?" Carla asked.

"Oh you sold it, and she totally bought it," he said. Carla giggled. "Now you just have to put that wicked little tongue of yours to work on Dad," he added.

"That wouldn't be proper, Danny. I think I'll just talk to him," she replied.

"You know what I mean, Miss Naughty Thoughts."

Carla shrugged her shoulders. "It's just my nature, sometimes I'm naughty," she said, batting her eyes and smiling over at her brother.

*****

The stay at the doctor's office took a good, long while. Carla's brace was removed, her leg was examined, and x-rays were taken. When it was decided that her bones were healing properly and the various bits of metal in her leg were holding it together as they should, she was fitted with a fiberglass cast. She even got to choose the color; pink. This time, the cast ended just below her knee and she was able to bend her leg for the first time in well over a month. The freedom of motion was an exhilarating relief.

"You can't even imagine how much better this feels," Carla tried to explain on their way back home.

Daniel was happy for his sister. Not only would she be more comfortable, he couldn't help but think of all of the different positions that they could be in now that she was more flexible. Naughty thoughts must run in the family.

"Just think, in a month and a half or so you'll be totally back to the land of the walking. Your braces will even be gone and you'll be back to normal. I won't have to wait on you anymore," he said.

"Aww," she replied, feigning disappointment.

Another benefit of her new cast was that it allowed her more efficient use of her crutches. Now that she was able to bend her leg, it wouldn't be nearly as difficult to keep her foot from dragging on the ground. She wouldn't have to feel like such an invalid and be stuck in the wheelchair as much. Carla happily crutched her way into the house when they arrived home.

"How did it go?" Sharon asked as soon as they came through the door.

"Great! I feel like a new girl," Carla replied.

"That certainly looks better than that big old brace that you had. Why don't you two have some lunch with me? I was thinking salad and sandwiches," their mother suggested. It sounded good to them.

Just as the three of them were settled around the kitchen table, munching away on their turkey on rye, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Daniel said, heading for the door. He opened it and there stood the infamous John.

"Hi, is Carla home?" he asked.

"Yes," Daniel replied, making no move to let John in the house.

"Well, can I see her?"

"She's busy," Daniel said.

"I'll come back later then," John said, disappointed.

"She'll be busy then, too. Don't bother," Daniel told him, shutting the door in his face.

Daniel turned to go back to the kitchen and noticed that his mother was standing in the doorway on the other side of the room, smiling at him. He smiled back sheepishly, then went to finish his lunch.

"Who was it, Danny?" Carla asked as he sat back down at the table.

"Just a nobody," he replied.

*****

The remainder of the day seemed to drag on forever as Carla and Daniel eagerly waited for their father to get home. Sharon was impressed with the patience of her children. It took them nearly half-way through dinner before they began to present their case in front of their dad. Carla did most of the talking, oozing sweetness like a sugar cane refinery.

"I assume that they've already talked to you about this. What do you think, Sharon?" Jerry asked.

"It's not a terrible idea, but I'm just not sure that it's necessary," she replied.

"I suppose that it's not completely necessary, it would be convenient for us, though," Daniel interjected.

"Hmm. So you think that you'll be able to survive with the one car and not fight each other to the death living together?" Jerry asked.

"Yes, Daddy," Carla replied.

"All right," Jerry said, returning to his meal.

Daniel and his sister could hardly believe their ears. They didn't think that it would be nearly that easy.

"You mean you'll let us get a place of our own?" Carla asked, just to make sure.

"Yes. But you better get looking if you want to find someplace decent that's near the school. Fall will be here before you know it and apartments are going to disappear fast," he said.

"Thank you Daddy! Thank you so much!"

"Thanks, Dad, that's awesome," Danny said.

"Listen, I don't want one of you coming home because you can't stand each other. If one of you comes back, both of you are coming back. Is that understood?" Jerry asked. His kids nodded 'yes'.

"And, no parties, no funny business. If either one of your grades suffer, you'll be back here under lock and key," he continued. They nodded again. Jerry pointed at his son.

"If anything happens to your sister, I'm holding you personally responsible. I'll have your package surgically removed and you'll be my new little girl, understand?"

Daniel swallowed hard.

"Yeah, Dad, I'll take care of her," he replied.

Carla giggled wildly.

"Daddy! He needs that."

"It'll be good incentive for him to look out for you then, won't it?"

After dinner, Sharon and Jerry were left alone at the kitchen table, sipping coffee. The kids were in the next room, watching television.

"I think you scared Daniel. You really think it's a good idea for them to leave home?" Sharon asked.

"They'll be fine."

*****

Daniel waited patiently on his bed for Carla to text him. It didn't take long.

"Are you as excited as I am?" she asked.

"Yeah, but you better take care of yourself or Dad will make me into a woman," he replied.

"He doesn't mean it, silly," she sent.

"I hope not. You know I'll take care of you, right?"

"I know. Got an interesting message from John today," she sent.

"Oh?" Daniel replied.

"He said you wouldn't let him see me and slammed the door in his face."

"What did you tell him?" Daniel asked.

"I laughed and told him to fuck off," she replied.

"Nice :)," he sent.

"I love you, Danny."

"I love you, too, babe."

*****

Carla and Daniel were up early the next morning scouring the internet and the newspaper for apartments. For as much as they had been looking forward to getting one, they hadn't actually discussed what they wanted in an apartment. Surprisingly, there seemed to be an awful lot of them to choose from. They didn't want to admit it, but they didn't know what they were doing. With a bit of reluctance, they brought their mother in to help. They figured that she would want to be in on whatever decision that they made anyway, so it was really unavoidable. Besides, she had the checkbook.

Sharon was delighted to help. After a bit of researching, the three came up with a list of about a half-dozen two bedroom units with reasonable rent that were near their campus. They immediately crossed two off the list when they realized they were not on ground level. Carla wouldn't be up to climbing flights of stairs for a while yet. It was Carla's task to call on them all to see if they were still available and set up an appointment to look at them if they were. When she was done with that, they were left with two.

"Well, we have a couple to choose from, that's good, I guess. We can look at one at eleven and one at noon. Is that all right, Mom?" Carla asked.

"That's fine, it gives us plenty of time to get ready and get up there," Sharon replied.

Daniel drove the three of them toward the first appointment. He didn't know exactly why, but he felt quite nervous. Maybe it was because he was getting ready to move from home, and even though it was less than an hour away, it was still kind of a big deal. Maybe it was because his parents were going to finance he and his sister's new love nest. There was a certain amount of guilt to be had in that.

"You realize that this is going to cost your father and I a small fortune that we hadn't planned on spending, don't you?" Sharon asked from the passenger's seat.

"The rent's not that much, Mom," Carla said from the back.

"There's going to be the security deposit, utilities, food, you're going to have to have spending money. Don't forget that you don't have any furniture. You're going to want to have a bed to sleep on, won't you?" her mother asked.

"I've thought about all that, Mom, that's why I love you so much. You and Dad are willing to go without just to make your children happy," Daniel said with a smirk.

"We'll hardly be going without, Danny. That's not the point, and don't be a smart-ass. I just want you to realize that you two have it pretty easy," Sharon said.

"We know, Mom. We really do appreciate it. Don't we Carla?" Daniel asked.

"It means a lot, Mom. Thank you," his sister agreed.

*****

The first place that they looked at left a lot to be desired. Daniel and Carla had already decided that they were going to live together no matter what, but this place looked like a left over set from a horror movie. They didn't spend a lot of time checking it out, so Daniel drove them to a burger place that he knew to grab some lunch before their next appointment.

"I'm not sure I can eat much after smelling that place," Carla said, poking at a pile of fries.

"Yeah, they didn't say anything about the stench of death in the listing," her brother agreed. They were both pretty disappointed.

"That was only the first place you looked at. The next one will be better. I mean it has to be right? Don't get depressed already," Sharon said.

Whoever owned the second apartment was more into sanitation and presentation than the first. It was clean with a fresh coat of paint on the walls. It wasn't spacious, but it wasn't a closet, either. It seemed pretty livable.

"What do you think, Carla? It doesn't look like a murder scene," Daniel pointed out.

"I think it's great! What do you think, Mom?" Carla asked, hope in her eyes.

"If you want it, you got it, kids," Sharon replied.

Sharon spent the next half-hour filling out forms and writing checks while Daniel and Carla discussed how they were going to furnish the place. They didn't have a lot of room for imagination, the apartment was only so big, after all. Even though they only planned on using one, two of the rooms were going to have to be bedrooms. That left them the living room, kitchen, and bathroom. At least they didn't have to worry about spending much on furniture.

*****

Three days later, the guys from the furniture store had just finished up putting together the last bed frame in the second bedroom. It had taken Carla and Daniel a little less than three days to move in to their new place. Daniel was exhausted and slumped in the couch next to his sister. He had just finished carrying in some groceries.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help more, Danny. I know that you worked pretty hard," Carla said. She put a hand on his.

"I think it's worth it. I can't believe how lucky we are. Please tell me we don't have anything else to do today. Do we?" he asked.

"Well, Karen's coming over. I don't know exactly when. She wants to see the new place," she replied.

"The sexy librarian's not as much fun to have around now that I'm not interested in dating her. Tell her to go away," Daniel said.

"Danny, that's not nice," Carla giggled. "I promise I'll be very, very good if you let her come over for a while."

"I'd rather you be naughty, but either way, I guess it's OK," he said.

Carla laughed and snuggled close to her brother. She put her arms around his chest and rested her head on his shoulder. He stroked her hair slowly and enjoyed the feeling of her pressing against him. She began to trace the outline of his growing erection with her fingertips while she sucked on the side of his neck.

Unbeknownst to Carla and Daniel, he had failed to close the door on his last trip back into the apartment. He had been leaving it open on what seemed like hundreds of trips in and out while he had been bringing stuff in. He had simply forgotten that it was still open. Karen stood in the doorway trying to figure out what the two were up to. The way that Daniel and Carla had their couch positioned meant that the back of it was facing Karen and off a bit to her right. She could clearly see Carla sucking on her brother's neck, and from the way that it looked she was reaching, she could only be doing one thing with that hand.

"Hello? You left the door open," she called, not knowing what else to say. She was shocked, really. Carla immediately rolled off of her brother, at a loss for words herself.

"Karen? You're kind of early." Karen took a couple of steps into the room.

"Well, like I said, I didn't know what time I'd be able to get here," Karen replied. No one moved or said anything for a few moments. "Do you want to tell me what you were doing a few seconds ago, because it really didn't look like something that you should have been doing to your brother."

"I...we...I don't know Karen," was all Carla could say, her face crimson from embarrassment.

"You don't know? Danny, what's going on here?" Karen asked. She didn't sound angry, just bewildered.

Daniel was mortified. He had been so careful up to this point to avoid situations like this. Leaving the door open was just stupid, this was all his fault. All of the precautions that they had taken, all of his careful planning was out the window. He suddenly felt the urge to vomit.

"I'm in love with Carla, it's not her fault," Daniel announced. He hung his head slightly and covered one of Carla's hands with his. Carla began to sniffle back tears. Karen shut the door behind her and walked slowly over to an empty chair, eying the two suspiciously.

"And I take it you feel the same way about Danny, Carla?" she asked.

"I do, I know it's wrong, I can't help it. We were doing so good not letting anyone know..."

"You ought to keep your door closed to start with. I could have been one of your parents for God's sake. You guys are kind of sick, you know that?" Karen asked, trying to come to grips with what she was hearing.

"It doesn't feel sick, he loves me. No one's made me feel like he does. I love him more that anything. It's not sick!" Carla cried.

Daniel put his arm around his sister, trying to comfort her. It wasn't the love for Carla that was making him sick, it was the fact that they were just busted displaying it. He thought that he may puke at any second.

"I just don't know what to say to you guys. You couldn't have possibly thought you could keep it a secret forever, could you?" Karen asked.

"I guess not," Daniel replied.

"What are you going to do?" Carla asked Karen.

"What can I do? It's not like I can change the way that you feel. I don't like it. I've been wanting to go on a date with Danny for most of the summer, but I haven't asked because he's been taking care of you. Now I find out that he's probably been screwing you, and it kind of hurts me. It's just...I can't believe it," Karen said.

"I am sorry Karen, I really am. I've always wanted to go out with you, but one thing led to another and I realized that I love Carla. I'm sorry..." Daniel muttered.

"Please don't tell anybody. Do you hate us?" Carla asked.

"I don't hate you, and I won't tell anyone, I guess. You guys have got to be more careful, though, if you're going to keep doing whatever it is that you're doing. I can't be here right now, I gotta go," Karen declared, rising to leave.

"Wait Karen! Stay and have dinner or something. Don't go away so upset!" Carla exclaimed.

"Listen, I can't stay right now. It's too much information OK? I told you I wouldn't tell anyone, so don't worry about that. I'll see you later," Karen said as she headed out the door.

Carla turned and cried into Daniel's shoulder.

"That was tough," Daniel said.

"That was terrible, how did that even happen?" Carla wondered.