Step by Step Read online

  Step by Step

  Copyright 2015 Kara Rose

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. This book is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. While best efforts have been used in preparing this book, the author and publisher make no representations or warranties of any kind and assume no liabilities of any kind with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness of use for a particular purpose.

  Neither the author nor the publisher shall be held liable or responsible to any person or entity with respect to any loss or incidental or consequential damages caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the information or programs contained herein.

  All characters depicted therein are strictly over eighteen years of age.

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  One

  “So you’ll be there at ten? ... Great, I’ll see you then, can’t wait”

  “See you then sis”

  Jasmine hung up the phone with a smile on her face. For the first time in god knows how many years, her family was going to be together in the same room. She hoped they could all be civil for Mom and Dad’s sake – Nathan had a temper that he couldn’t always keep in check and Sean never took anything seriously, everything was one big joke. But she loved them both, much more than she let them know.

  She sat down on her bed, where a big pile of clothes that needed sorting acted as her chair. Jasmine flopped backwards and thought back to the day they had arrived in her house. Dad had told her that she would be getting two new brothers, but at nine and as an only child, her mind couldn’t really grasp what that meant.

  It was early in the morning on a hot June day when their Mom knocked on the door with a smile on her face and a big basket of muffins. She was quickly followed by two scruffy boys that looked like they’d rather be out climbing trees than having to make polite conversation with people that they’d only met a handful of times before. And now their mother was making them move in together.

  Jasmine had worn her best summer dress; it was crisp and white and stood out against the bronze of her skin and her hair that was the colour of wheat. She stood at the door, a shy grin on her face as the two dark haired brothers bounded into the hallway, two whirlwinds that would change her life completely.

  “Nice to see you again,” said Sean with a wink that made her blush. A few years older at twelve, he seemed so cool and acted like knew so much more than her. A sprinkling of freckles across his nose contrasted with his green eyes and just made him all the cuter.

  Nathan folded his arms across his chest and puffed himself out, “Why are you talking to her? She’s the enemy.” He ran up to his own bedroom and slammed the door shut and all Jasmine could do was stand and stare.

  “I’m sure he’ll come around in his own time,” smiled her Dad.

  It made sense for them to come; they had a big old house that had lain empty since her mother had died when she was a baby and her Dad has always said how lonely it felt to him. Sean and Nathan had come from a cramped apartment in the city where they had had to share one room and fight to carve out their own tiny territory.

  “The house will be full of life for the first time in years,” Dad grinned and kissed Joanna, the boys Mom. “Let’s give them as much time as they need”

  As the years went by, Joanna came to be Mom. Jasmine couldn’t remember anything about her own mother and a missing space in her heart that she hadn’t realised was there, began to fill up as they became a family.

  Sean was always put on a pedestal in Jasmine’s eyes, he could do no wrong, but she couldn’t help but feel a little twinge every time he brought a new girl home to introduce to their parents. It was something she could never put her finger on or ever tell anyone that it bothered her, so she kept it wrapped up and hidden away.

  At first the path with Nathan had been difficult. He was two years older than her and he was so much more serious than his brother. In the end, Dad was right, he did come around eventually, but that didn’t stop the blazing fights he sometimes had with them. He was always convinced he was right. It maddened Jasmine, but he came to be her protector and her closest friend.

  When Sean was out messing around with his friends, Nathan would always be there for her with a hug and an ear to listen to her problems. He was smaller than Sean and with big brown eyes that seem to have an endless depth. Jasmine had always thought he was handsome, but that was the one thing that she kept from him.

  She sat up quickly and walked around her room, sorting through her suitcase. She unpacked and packed again, picking up her favourite dress that clung to every curve and sparkled under dim lights, before throwing it aside. Why did she always find it so hard to make a decision?

  She sorted through everything that she thought she would need and flipped the lock on her suitcase and turned the key before she had a chance to change her mind, before doing a double take and leaving it out on her bedside locker for the morning – just in case.

  Sitting back with a sigh she fell into bed and set her alarm. The boys were going to meet her in the airport tomorrow. Just thinking about seeing them both sent tingles running through her belly. It was hard enough nowadays to get them both into a room at the same time, so she didn’t know how Mom convinced both of them to get on a plane with her to fly halfway across the world to Australia where they lived now. It was going to be a long flight and she would have them both to herself, she grinned and grabbed her phone. One last text to make sure they were OK.

  Can’t wait to see you

  -Jaz xxx

  Her phone beeped a couple of minutes later and her heart jumped in her chest.

  Not as much as me. See you tomorrow beautiful

  -Sean

  Two

  Jasmine struggled under the weight of her case, even though it was on wheels; her petite frame wasn’t built to carry heavy loads. So when she saw her two brothers – all six foot and more of them, she grinned and ran over, lugging the weight behind her.

  Sean and Nathan lit up when they saw her. It had been six months since she’d seen Nathan and a month since Sean. They lived in different cities now and didn’t always have time to catch up like they used to, which is why the trip was perfect. Now they couldn’t come up with excuses or run off somewhere, she had them to herself for the next two days.

  “Maybe you forgot something?” said Sean with a twinkle in his eye.

  Jasmine went pale, “What? Oh god, I knew it, what is it?” Every muscle tensed and she began to get flustered and dived into her handbag to go through a checklist she had drawn up when Nathan started to smile and she felt a flood of relief flow through her.

  “Asshole!” she said with a grin and hit him playfully on the arm.

  “It was too easy, come on, you look like you’re carrying a mountain in there!”

  “I like to be prepared,” she smiled and stuffed her checklist back into her purse.

  She turned to Nathan and wrapped her arms around his neck and he picked her up in his strong arms and swung her around in a hug. “You always leave it too long” he said and kissed her cheek.

  “You say that every time,” she laughed when he finally put her down.

  “And I mean it! I like to know my little sis is OK” he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

  “Well you can look after me today - both of yo
u can, because you know that I hate flying”

  “Nothing that a few drinks can’t sort out” said Sean. He grabbed the handle of her bag and the three walked to the ticket desk to get checked in. “And as soon as we get rid of these,” he pointed to the bags, “I’ll be a lot happier”

  After they had gotten everything sorted, they went to look at the big board of arrivals and departures. The yellow numbers flipped so fast that Jasmine had to scour it a few times to see where they were supposed to be going.

  “We still have a couple of hours,” said Nathan. “Should we head to the bar?”

  “I haven’t heard a better suggestion in a long time,” Sean smiled and led the three of them through the crowds of people rushing in every direction. They came to a quiet corner and Jasmine squashed in between the two of them. The heat of their bodies, pressed up against hers made her feel a little funny, but she pushed it to the back of her mind and ran her eyes over the menu.

  “I’ll have a whiskey on the rocks,” she said quickly and turned to both of them with an eager smile.

  “Strange choice,” said Nathan, looking at her quizzically.

  “Not really, it’s what Dad drinks, guess I picked it up from him,” she shrugged.

  Nathan nodded, “It’s going to be a little weird to have all of us together under one roof. How long has it been since that’s happened?”

  “Probably not since high school,” nodded Sean. He called to the waitress and placed the order for their drinks with such charm that she seemed to become flustered.

  “How do you do that?” said Nathan. “You’ve always had this thing that girls went for that I could never do. I was always kind of jealous of that”

  Sean shrugged, “Yeah I’ve always been good with girls but it hasn’t really gotten me anywhere. I’m still single”

  “Surely that must be heresy coming from Sean Ryan,” I laughed. “The guy who had two dates to the prom and the girls were so infatuated with you, they didn’t even care. They were happy to share, just as long as they each got a piece of you”

  “Yeah, I was always about quantity over quality,” he nodded. “But lately, you might say I’ve discovered the error of my ways. I feel like I’m done with that, I just want to meet a nice girl, someone I can connect with and give it a chance without running away like I always do. With me, it’s always on to the next one before the last can get anywhere near me,” he smiled a little self-consciously.

  “But enough of the psychobabble,” he raised his glass in the air. “To family,” he nodded and clinked his glass against Jasmine’s and Nathan’s.

  “To family,” they nodded and Jasmine knocked hers back so quickly that Nathan did a double take.

  They sat together catching up, but only skimming the surface. She knew that Sean stood apart. He would never let her in and she could never tell why. Everything he told them about himself was meant to keep them at a certain level, to keep their hold on him at arm’s length.

  Nathan told them about a business idea that he’d been mulling over but hadn’t done anything about yet. They hardly noticed the time flying by until Jasmine looked at her watch.

  “Shit – we’ve got half an hour. Let’s go!”

  If they missed their flight, they knew their parents would never forgive them. They’d been waiting so long to see their kids that no excuses would be able to make up for it.

  Jasmine drained the end of her drink and grabbed her bag. The two brothers each took one of her hands and began to run. This airport was huge and like a maze. Corridor after corridor filled with acrid perfume stretched out in front of them and bars of chocolate began to look like obstacles on a race course.

  They rounded a corner and down three flights of stairs, each one longer than the next, until they finally came to the boarding desk.

  A tall blonde air hostess stood at her station and pressed her lips to a microphone. “Last call for Sydney, I repeat, last call for Sydney. Would any remaining passengers please make their way to the gate now as it will be closing in five minutes”

  Jasmine felt the heat in her cheeks and a glow of perspiration lit up her face. She reached into her bag and grabbed the tickets and the passports and slammed them onto the desk as she tried to catch her breath.

  “You just made it,” smiled the air stewardess and scanned their passports before letting them through the gate.

  The three ran over the tarmac and onto the plane, finding their seats quickly before the other passengers could give them glaring looks for holding them up.

  “At least we’re together,” Nathan sighed with relief. “For the next sixteen hours, I’m all yours”

  Jasmine tried to catch her breath and got settled in, wriggling her hips into the hardness of the chair.

  “Why were planes designed to be as uncomfortable as possible?” she sighed and clicked her seatbelt across her waist.

  “I think it was just to annoy you sis,” laughed Sean who nudged her with his elbow.

  She sat in the middle, packed between two huge bodies that made her feel safe. Nathan offered her a book to read and she started to munch on the bag of chocolate she had picked up early as she watched the flight attendants go through the safety procedures.

  Somewhere in the front, a baby started to cry and a knot of fear twisted in her belly. She couldn’t hear what they were saying and all she could do was watch with mild panic coursing through her veins. Everyone else around her seemed so calm and she wondered if it was just her.

  Nathan squeezed her hand. “I here for you,” he smiled. “Whatever you need”

  His words brought up a volcano of emotion and she bit her lip and nodded. Why did she still have these weird feelings that she knew she wasn’t supposed to. She thought they had long been buried, but every time they saw each other, they came bubbling to the surface, although they never mentioned it.

  The engines began to pick up speed and the plane started to taxi out onto the runway. Green and blue lights flashed out on the grass verge and Jasmine leaned over Sean to look out of the window. Take off was always the worst, she hated how she could feel her stomach flip flopping almost into her throat and seeing the ground get further away below them.

  “Just relax,” Sean whispered in her ear. “Everything will be fine”

  She grabbed both of their hands as the plane began to move faster. It picked up speed and the engines lurched forward, carrying them up into the air at an angle that made Jasmine almost want to throw up. The plane roared through the sky until the ground fell out of sight and was replaced by white clouds and sunshine. It levelled out quickly and all that could be seen from any of the windows was mile after mile of clouds.

  The tension in her muscles began to subside and she released the vice-like grip she had on her brother’s hands. Her fingers were stiff, she had been holding on so tight and she smiled sheepishly and opened her book.

  After about six hours, Jasmine curled up, resting her head on Sean’s shoulder and closed her eyes to fall into a heavy, dreamless sleep. Anything that shortened the time she had to spend awake in that confined space was necessary in her mind. She nodded off to the flight attendant going past yet again with a trolley stacked to the brim.

  At first, she didn’t notice anything; Jasmine had been known to actually sleep through an earthquake once – it had been small, but still, she had never lived it down. This time was different – the turbulence soon turned into rough shaking and she opened her eyes and sat up quickly. Turning to look at Sean, she could see that he had turned pale and that didn’t do anything to soothe her nerves.

  Nathan grabbed her hand as a flight attendant came over the intercom – “We would like to remind everyone to fasten their seat belts” She rushed away quickly behind a curtain and Jasmine’s stomach flipped as she felt them going down.

  “Oh god,” she gasped and pressed herself to her seat.

  Suddenly land below came into view and an alarm sounded in the cabin. People all around started to scream and she fel
t her heart pounding in her chest. “Oh my god, we’re going to die!” she screamed, but her mind couldn’t form a coherent thought. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t do anything.

  Sean grabbed her face and pulled her towards him, “Look at me,” he said forcefully. “You are not going to die” He pointed out of the window, “There’s water down there, if we hit it we have to try to get out of here as quickly as possible. There’s an emergency exit two rows back, so that’s where we have to head – do you understand me?”

  Nathan squeezed her hand and she realised from how clammy it was that he was just as scared as her.

  Jasmine nodded, she couldn’t find the words to speak. Another alarm went off and pain pounded in her ears as they ripped downwards. Masks fell from above their heads and panic spread through the passengers.