Chapter 8

There wasn't anything in particular that caused Elizabeth to wake. The room was still dark, but there were only two hours before the sun was set to rise according to the clock on Will's bedside table. When her sleepy brain processed the time, she sat up quickly and swore. She was supposed to have been home hours ago, and there was no telling what her brother would do when she finally got there.

"Will! Will, wake up."

A low grunt signaled Will's arrival into consciousness.

"We've overslept."

He lifted his head and squinted at the same clock she had just consulted. It was apparent that he wasn't quite as alert as Elizabeth when he rubbed his face sleepily and yawned.

"Will, I've got to go. I didn't intend to stay so late."

As she stood, he sat up and asked, "Do you have to go already?"

Elizabeth walked around the bed and pulled him to his feet. "Andy was supposed to stay for a few hours. I don't really trust him to have Emma ready in time for school."

"Good point."

Both walked naked through the house to find their discarded clothing from the previous evening. Luckily for Elizabeth, she found all of hers in a heap in the study. Unsurprisingly, her dress was badly wrinkled, but there was no time to iron it. When she looked around for Will, she saw that he had found a pair of sleep pants from somewhere in the house, making it clear that he was going straight back to bed as soon as she left. Elizabeth couldn't help but laugh at his disheveled appearance and knew that she probably looked just as bad, if not worse. Will walked her to his front door and wrapped her in his arms.

"I wish you didn't have to leave," he mumbled into her hair.

"I'll call you later this evening. Next time we'll schedule around my work hours, yeh?"

"I'm just happy you want a next time," he said.

Her eyes softened, and she stroked his cheek. "Oh, Will, how could I not? I can't remember the last time I've felt so happy."

"Or satisfied?"

"Or satisfied," she agreed. Then he kissed her. It was gentler and less frantic than any the two shared the night before, and Elizabeth had to force herself to end it before she became too caught up and got further behind schedule.

Will stood in his doorway and watched her as she climbed into her car and waved as she turned the key in the ignition. He was grinning madly at her, and she couldn't help but return his smile, feeling absolutely ridiculous but not caring in the least. She was happy, and there wasn't anything that could spoil the feeling. Before long, Elizabeth was speeding her way back to her own home, already thinking about how she was going to avoid her brother's annoying questions. She decided to sneak into the house as quietly as possible and do her best to change into her sleeping clothes without him noticing. She supposed he would probably be asleep when she walked in, which would give her the perfect excuse as to why she "didn't wake him earlier". Elizabeth wanted to give the impression she'd already been home for hours. That would be the easiest way to avoid any awkward explanations to his prodding inquiries. All she would have to do to solidify her alibi was keep the stupid grin off her face long enough for Andy to leave.

She'd had an unbelievable evening, and although she was eager to keep most of the details to herself for the time being, Elizabeth also couldn't wait to tell Karen, one of her close friends at work, about her date. She had been one of the few people who never pressed Elizabeth for details about her life. Perhaps this was because they had been close since Elizabeth began working at the nursery three years prior, and the two already knew so much about the other. Karen had been Emma's first teacher and was the one to recommend that Elizabeth be moved from her volunteer position and hired on as a part-time aide. Since that time, Elizabeth worked closely with her and was always grateful to have a friend she could see every day. Apart from her family, Karen had been the most supportive to Elizabeth when Paul died, and Elizabeth knew that she would be excited to hear about Will.

Because of the lack of traffic on the road, it took less than fifteen minutes for Elizabeth to make it home. Before unlocking the door, she removed her heels to prevent the loud clicks that would echo across the hardwood floors of the entry. When the front door creaked as she opened it, she realized she should have gone through the kitchen in order to avoid the front room because she could see Andy's legs stretched across her sofa. The television was on, but the sound had been turned down. It was very quiet in the house, and in order for her to make it to her bedroom to change, she would have to walk right past her sleeping brother. Despite his size, Andy had always been a light sleeper, and she would have to trek carefully across the floor. She didn't make it into the room before Andy spoke.

"I knew it."

Elizabeth paused at the door. "Knew what?"

Andy sat up to face her with glee plastered all across his face. "I have to admit didn't expect it to be this morning, but I knew you'd be taking the infamous walk of shame soon."

"Piss off. You don't know what you're talking about," she said, walking into the room and trying to be as nonchalant as possible.

The smug look on his face didn't disappear. "Oh, really? What did you do that kept you out so late, then?"

A wide grin slid onto her face, despite her attempts to stop it. "When I arrived, Will already had dinner prepared. We ate, and then he showed me a few things his camera could do, and we just pissed around taking pictures for a few hours."

"Naked pictures?"

"Do you always have to be so vulgar?"

Andy ignored her question. "What else did you do?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "That's it. We fell asleep, and I came straight home when I realized what time it was."

"Don't try to play it off so quick, Sis," he scoffed. "That dress of yours is a dead giveaway."

"I fell asleep on his couch, you prat. Of course it's going to be wrinkled."

"Perhaps, but that mark on your neck bears witness to your guilt."

Elizabeth spun around to a mirror hanging over the mantle. There was an enormous bruise as wide as a fifty pence piece, and almost twice as long. Instinctively, her hand flew towards the mark to cover it, but it was useless. Andy had already seen it, and she could see him in the mirror shaking with silent laughter at her reaction. She turned back towards her brother, with her hand still covering her neck and spat, "Why are you laughing? You've had worse."

"True, but I never denied shagging the bird what gave it to me, did I?"

"Will and I didn't sh–"

"Oh, come off it, Liz. You two fucked. It's natural! No shame in it, is there?"

Unable to think of another defense, Elizabeth just glared at him. In the passing silence, his smirk never left his face. After a few seconds, he asked, "Was it good?"

There was no hesitation from Elizabeth when she chucked her shoes in Andy's direction. "That's none of your damn business!"

He caught them easily, but his eyes were wide. "You really did shag him, then? No shit?"

"I swear to god, if you wake Emma – " she threatened.

Andy lowered his voice to a dramatic whisper, "No shit?"

Elizabeth turned back towards the mirror to examine the bruise more closely. "I thought you'd already figured that one out, Sherlock."

"I was just taking the piss. I didn't honestly think that you and him would…I mean, honestly!"

She turned and looked at him incredulously. "Is it so surprising that I got in a good shag? Is it that unbelievable?"

"A little. I mean, yeah, you could have shagged anyone, but it was Will."

"What are you on about? I told you I fancied him ages ago, Andy."

"I didn't think it would last."

"What?"

"I thought it was just that: you just fancied him. I didn't know you meant you wanted to jump his bones!"

"What am I going to do about this mark, Andy?" she whined, ignoring his last statement. "I've got to be at work in a few hours!"

A frown had replaced his bewildered stare. He looked very much like her overprotective older brother from years past and even more like their father. There was a pause as he regarded her, and then he took her hand to lead her into the kitchen. Andy rifled through her silverware drawer until he found a large spoon and placed it in the freezer.

"What are y–"

"You said it yourself, Liz. I've been in my fair share of these situations. I think I can help you handle something as small as this bruise."

"Small?! What the hell kind of love bites have you dealt with?"

"You've got makeup, I imagine?"

"Yes, but this too dark."

"That's why we're going to use the spoon and this," he said, handing over a small battery he took from the television remote, "to help you lighten the color. Just rub this on it until the spoon gets cold enough, and we'll massage that in there too. With just enough luck, we'll break up some of that blood."

"This is ridiculous."

"Just try it."

"Is the battery going to help?"

"If you don't want it, give it back."

Elizabeth clutched it to her chest. "No."

He smiled knowingly. "Then it helps."

She started rubbing small circles around the area, and Andy continued to watch her until Elizabeth asked, "What?"

"Will Turner? Really?"

Her eyes rolled dangerously far in the back of her head. "Not this again."

"I mean, it's Will. What in the hell possessed you and him to…I mean…we've known him for years, but he's just…so…Will! Really, Elizabeth? Will?"

"What the fuck is wrong with Will?" she snapped.

"He's a close mate of mine, he is. Yours too, for that matter. I just never thought that…I mean, I don't even know what to say. I never expected…You and Will?"

"Don't act surprised. It's not like it was the first time."

The silence in the room was deafening. Elizabeth realized her mistake too late to retract or cover up what she had just let slip. In a split second, comprehension dawned across Andy's face and contorted into an expression of mixed outrage and confusion. His voice, however, was very quiet when he spoke. "What did you just say?"

"Nothing, Andy. Forget it."

"You and Will hooked up before? When was this?"

"That's not what I said – "

"Not in those words, but that's what you meant, Elizabeth Collins. What is this?"

"Do you think the spoon is cold enough now?" she asked and reached for the freezer. Andy slammed his hand against the door.

"Oh, no you don't. You're not avoiding this issue, dear sister. You have to explain this one to me."

"I don't have to explain anything. This is none of your business. It was a long time ago and has nothing to do with you or anyone else. Why do you even care?"

"I have the right to be upset with any bloke who boned my sister!"

"You didn't seem that upset when I called you about our date yesterday."

"Yeah, but…I didn't think you were SERIOUS!"

"Shh! Lower your voice!" she hissed and looked towards the hallway leading to the bedrooms. Convinced that Emma was still sound asleep, Elizabeth added, "Did you think we were just going out for giggles?"

"Well, yeah. You know, friend stuff."

She shook her head at him as she shoved his hand out of the way and opened the freezer to remove the spoon, then rocked it back and forth over her neck. "Look, I really appreciate you staying here with Emma, and I'm really sorry I stayed at Will's for so long."

"You still haven't told me abou–"

"Andy, I have to get Emma ready for school soon."

"So make it quick. Tell me!"

"What kind of brother wants to hear the details about his sister's sex life?"

He wrinkled his nose. "I didn't ask for details! I just want to know when this," he motioned in the air with his hands, "thing between you two got started. I didn't know you dated."

"We didn't."

"Oh ho! So you fu–"

Elizabeth cut him off before he could finish. "We hooked up a few times in uni. That was it. It wasn't serious, and all of it can be attributed to a large consumption of booze and us being totally shitfaced when it happened."

"A few times?"

"Andy…" she whined.

"Define 'a few' and I'll leave you alone."

"Promise?"

He placed his left hand over his heart while raising his right in the air.

"Swear to me you won't take the piss."

"I promise," he said with his hand still over his heart.

"I honestly don't remember the exact count, but it wasn't all at once…just over a few years. And it didn't continue when he left uni."

"What do you mean you don't remember?"

She shrugged.

"So where did all this occur, then?"

"Your sudden interest in my sex life is very disturbing."

"What can I say? The story is sordid and captivating."

"Fuck you."

Andy laughed. "Come on, Liz. Just tell me, and I'll drop it."

Elizabeth set the spoon in the sink and considered whether she wanted to divulge the rest of her story. Despite her better judgment, she gave in to his request. "I remember being at a pub once. Otherwise it was at various parties or my place."

"Are you serious? You called him over?"

Elizabeth scowled. "You need to stop acting so fucking surprised all the time."

Andy laughed. "Never in my life would I have imagined that Elizabeth – my little sister – would have her own personal boy toy," he said, opening her refrigerator to look for food. "and even more unbelievable than that…it was Will Turner!"

Her eyes narrowed. "Don't you have something to do today?"

Andy looked at her and took a large bite out of an apple. "Nope."

"Well, you can't stay here. Why don't you find Jim and do something stupid with him?"

This time it was Andy's turn to roll his eyes. "Jack. His name is Jack, and I can't because he's on the boat today." He remained thoughtful for a few seconds as he took another bite. Suddenly, he grinned. "I think I'll visit Will's studio today."

"You can't tell him I told you about us!"

"Why not?"

"Andy, please!"

"I just want to ta–"

"No, Andy."

He sighed heavily. "Jesus, Liz. Being your brother is no fun at all."

A/N: I don't think I'll have anything ready before the summer. I hope this is enough to please everyone until then...