My sister and I were alone in the world. At ages 25 (me) and 23 (Jennifer) our parents were killed by a drunk driver who walked away almost unscathed. Though Jennifer was married at the time, I still consider that she was alone. Her husband Paul was a real jerk off. She'd known him since high school. I thought he was a scuzz ball even then, but after they were married he became a real drunken asshole. They were living in Spokane where Jennifer worked as a hair stylist, actually making pretty good money from her established clientele while Paul got fired from one job after another and then eventually just gave up looking and trying since the booze suited him better than working. Jennifer had gotten pregnant soon after they got married ending in a disasterous miscarriage late in the term. I always wondered if Paul had something to do with it but Jen would never admit it. After the miscarriage, she was so messed up that the doctors said it would be very dangerous for her to get pregnant so she had her tubes tied. At least that way we knew she'd never bear another pregnancy for that asshole.
I was living in Seattle doing computing support for a large company, making decent money, and put enough away to buy myself a little house and get out of the apartment grind. It was a small two-bedroom, 1-3/4 bath, older home, with a nice porch, and upgraded kitchen and utilities. As house prices escalated rapidly in Seattle I was truly glad I had made the investment. I led a relatively tame lifestyle, dated some, never made a real "connection" with anyone. One Friday night in early June I had just hit the sheets around 11:30 or so and was just about asleep when I was jarred by my doorbell and pounding on the door. It was a decent neighborhood so I wasn't too anxious about it but I did pick up my baseball bat on my way to see who was there. Looking through the peephole I saw Jen standing there looking fairly distraught. Immediately pulling the door open my first words were something on the order of "Jen, what's going on?"
She looked me up and down and asked "Do you always answer the door like that?"
I realized that I had failed to put anything on when I rushed to the door so I was standing there naked, just as I sleep. Somewhat embarrassed, I mumbled "Oh sorry" and turned to get something on.
Jen followed into the house, shutting the door behind her as she said "No problem, brother." We'd been fairly casual about nudity when we were growing up - not flaunting it but not hiding it either. She followed me back to my bedroom where I picked up an old pair of gym shorts that were my favorite lounging around home clothing.
As I slipped them on, pulled them up, and arranged myself, I asked "What's going on, Jen?"
"I left the bastard. I got home from work, he was falling down drunk, had smashed up the living room and immediately started screeching at me. Turned around, got in my car, drove over here."
"You didn't bring anything?" I asked.
"Nope, what you see is what I've got" she replied.
"Probably the best thing - less time around him the better. Get you squared away - I've got a spare new toothbrush, but that's about the extent of it. No girly stuff." I said.
"That's fine. I'll survive till tomorrow. I can wash out my undies and let them dry overnight if you get me a T-shirt to wear for a night shirt." She replied.
I had already gone into the second bedroom to check on it but said "Yeah, I'll get one" and headed for my room to pull one out of my drawer. When I returned with it, Jen was already down to her underpants and bra so I tossed her the T-shirt and headed back to my room. Leaving my door about half open I pulled off my gym shorts, tossed them on the foot of the bed, and climbed back under the covers. I heard the shower runnng in the hall bath and had just about drifted off to sleep when a tap on my door pulled me back. Jen was standing there in my T-shirt in the hall light.
"Thanks for everything, Bob. I'll see you in the morning, OK?" She said.
"Yeah, in the morning, Jen." I replied and she turned off the hall light and walked away.
I think I fell asleep pretty fast and the next thing I remember is hearing Jennifer talking. It sound like she was having an argument with somebody. As my sleep fog cleared, I remembered that she was in the second bedroom and realized she must be having a bad dream. I got up and headed out into the hall as she began getting louder. As I went into the bedroom I could see her moving around in bed as she was nearly yelling. I went over and knelt down by the bed and put my hand on her shoulder - she felt hot. "Jen, wake up. You're having a bad dream." I said as I shook her shoulder lightly. She statled awake and looked at me wide eyed.
"Bob, oh shit. I was dreaming about fighting with Paul. He was starting to get rough with me. It was bad."
"You OK now?" I asked.
"Yeah, I think so." She said as she held onto my arm. "I'll be fine now, I think."
"OK, get some sleep. Holler for me if you need me." I said and then I stood up, went back to my room, and crawled back into bed. "Yeah, I bet he was getting rough in your dream." I thought. "And how many times has he gotten rough with you in real life?" I wondered. "That son of a bitch."
When I awoke in the morning, I smelled coffee and bacon. What the hell? Oh yeah, Jennifer's here and she must be fixing breakfast. After taking a leak I slipped on my gym shorts and padded barefoot out to the kitchen. There was Jennifer, still in my T-shirt, hair all akimbo, at the stove. I snuck up behind her an put my arms around her and gave her a little peck on the back of the neck before she spun around in my arms. "Hey, don't sneak up on me like that when I'm armed." She said as she motioned at my head with the spatula.
I immediately jumped back and said "OK, OK. No more threats. I'll go peacefully."
This brought a pretty good laugh from her before she asked "You want your eggs over easy and your toast dark like always?"
"Yep, still the same. No imagination on my part."
"OK, they'll be ready in five." She replied.
I said "Be right back" as I headed back to my bedroom to shave real quick. After a quick buzz I was back out at the table, Jennifer serving me a plate of breakfast and mug of coffee. "You look like you found everything OK." I said.
"Yeah, I did. At least your stuff in on a shelf in one piece rather than on the floor all smashed up." She replied as she picked up a plate and mug for herself ad came to sit down. "Damn that chair's cold." She gasped as she sat down. "I need some shorts instead of just a T-shirt, I think."
We sat there eating, mostly in silence until I asked "How many times has Paul pounded on you, Jen. And tell me the truth, no bullshit."
She looked down at her plate and said "Never. I wouldn't let him get away with that." But she didn't sound very convincing.
"I said no bullshit, Jen. I want to know if that asshole's been pounding on my sister."
"Look, it's over, Bob." She replied. "What's it matter?"
"It matters a lot to me."
She stared at me a few moments before tearing up and admitting "It's gotten worse the last couple months. Maybe a few times - just a slap or two."
"And you didn't call the cops?"
"No."
"And you're not going back to him?"
"No."
"OK, good. What about your things? You've got stuff over there you need, don't you?"
"The only important stuff is my gear at the salon. I need that. I may have a few clothes left at the house if he hasn't destroyed them." She replied.
"Well," I said, "We can get you new clothes here and go over and get you salon stuff. You can just skip the house if there's nothing there that's really important. Do you want to stay here, look for a job, get settled in before you find a place of your own? It's no problem for me - my social life is pretty deficient. Hell, I'd enjoy the company."
"Yeah, let me think about it, but that sounds pretty good." She replied as she got up to carry her plate to the sink.
I got up with my plate and said "Here, I'll get that."
"Nope, none of that." She replied. "I need to earn my keep."
I laughed and sat back down with my coffee. We continued to chat as she washed up the dishes and pans. When she reached up to hang the pans on the rack hung over the counter, my T-shirt, which barely covered her ass anyway, rode well up and gave me a good shot of her bare butt, a pretty damn good looking butt. I felt myself getting at least a partial erection as I stood up, gave her a light slap on the butt saying, "I'm gonna' get dressed." As I headed down the hall. Back in my bathroom I brushed my teeth and saw that my hair was a mess. I'd obviously slept on it wrong and it was all askew on one side. With my hair, even though it was short, the fastest way to fix it was to wash it again so I kicked off my shorts, turned on the shower, adjusted the temp, climbed in, and closed the glass shower door. With my hair all lathered I heard Jen ask "You want to come with me to the store to get some things?"
I stuck my head under the shower head to rinse it off, slung the water out of my eyes and looked through the shower door. She was leaning in the frame in the bathroom doorway, still wearing my T-shirt. "Yeah, I'll come with you." I replied.
She said "OK," then pulled my shirt off over her head as she turned to go.
"Ouch," I thought, as I felt my penis engorging, "She shouldn't do that to me." Out of the shower, I dried, dressed, grabbed my keys and wallet and headed out to the living room. As I passed the hall bath I saw Jen in there, dressed in the same clothes in which she arrived the previous evening, putting on a little makeup.
I was sitting on the couch looking at the newspaper when she came out and plopped down beside me. "Good thing I at least had my brush and some makeup in my purse." She said.
"Whatever - you don't really need the makeup." I replied. "You ready to go?"
By way of answer, she stood up, took my hand and tugged me up and we headed out.
(see Part 2)
