'….Derek touched Casey's arm, stopping her before she left the room. She turned towards him, watching as a look of pure desire passed over his face. Her breathing came out, more and more shallow. A blush creeped up her neck and spread through her cheeks. Her heart was racing. And more than anything, Casey wanted to touch Derek.

She walked towards him, getting closer and closer, until there was barely an inch of space between their chests. Derek's arms encircled around her waist, fitting her perfectly along his body. Casey could feel all of his muscles. She reached her arm up and stroked his cheek, amazed at the softness of it, compared to his hard biceps. Casey found herself staring at his lips. Her thumb gently touched them, inviting her closer.

Licking her own, she forced herself to look away from her stepbrother's perfectly kissable mouth. She ended up looking into his eyes. This new spot was little better than his mouth. They were dark brown, like a pool of melted chocolate, and Casey was drowning. She was hardly aware of the heat radiating from both of their bodies, making the rest of the room cool, and Derek… erotic.

The next few seconds lasted an eternity, as a million and one thoughts raced through Casey's mind, telling her why she shouldn't kiss Derek, why she couldn't want him like she did, and why she absolutely had to have him. These very thoughts were creating complete havoc in her head, growing louder and louder, shrieking at her as Casey's head crept closer towards Derek's, ignoring her conscience and letting instinct take over.

Then…… Silence.

It was total and blissfully peaceful. The second before their lips touched, the world went silent, as if it too were urging Casey on. When Casey felt Derek's breath, when she heard him whisper her name, she couldn't stand it anymore. She pulled his mouth to her, kissing her stepbrother entirely, fully on the lips…'

Casey's eyes snapped open, her lips still tingling. It had all been a dream. The same dream Casey had had for the last couple of days, as she lay in Derek's arms. The same dream that made her wonder why she continued to torture herself. She slept in his bed, on his chest, but not with him, just beside him. She was good enough to talk to, to pour his heart out to, but not kiss? But not to love?

She didn't realize she was shaking until Derek moved. She asked herself why she wouldn't, couldn't, come clean to him about how she truly felt inside. That was until Derek mumbled something under his breath. Casey leaned closer to hear. Was it possible he was dreaming about her?

"Smarti??" He cried. It was only then that Casey saw Derek was having a nightmare. His breath came out in gasps; he was sweating, thrashing around with a pained look on his face. "Edwin?!" Derek was panicking. "Dad?!"

Casey knew he was dreaming about the night their family was killed. It was a dream, up until recently, Casey herself had been reliving night after night. The reason she and Derek still shared a bed. To soothe one another. This was the answer Casey had been looking for. The reason she couldn't tell Derek about her lust for him. If he said no, that he didn't feel the same way, both Casey and Derek would isolate 

themselves from their only source of comfort. It wasn't worth the risk. Plus, what would their family have thought about it? They might have been dead, but Casey valued their opinion, even into the afterlife.

Derek sat bolt right up in bed. "NO!!" he screamed, glancing about the room wildly. He was shaking all over, and looked ready to cry. Casey crawled over to him, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She hugged him, making nonsensical sounds, soothing him back to sleep.

Knowing it was pointless to attempt going to sleep, Casey quietly went downstairs, hoping to find something that made her want to eat. By this time, it was almost noon, and Sam and Emily had been gone for a little over 3 hours. From what she had gotten out of Derek, Sam had come over to talk to Derek about the funeral and to make sure he was getting along ok. Then he tried to distract him by telling him about the girls by the pool, which usually always put Derek in a better mood. The boys were in Derek's room for a long time, so Casey didn't believe that was all they had talked about. With a little more investigating, she discovered that they also talked about Emily, because Sam might have a crush on her! Casey was happy, surprisingly so, and wished that she and Emily had talked about Sam.

She had been glad to talk about her parents and siblings death with Emily, because it gave her some closure, but it wasn't the same as talking with Derek. Emily didn't understand the pain she was going through, didn't understand how lost she felt, and how scared she was. Emily would have understood Casey's growing attraction to Derek, but she couldn't tell her that. Emily would be so hurt if Casey stole her long time crush. And what would she think of Casey for dating her step brother?

Sadly, when the time came, Casey was happy to see her guests leave. She had gotten virtually no sleep the night before, and it was a little more than uncomfortable with Sam and Emily around. Not easy like it used to be. There were too many unspoken words, and too many pitiful gazes to deal with. The emotional strain was too great to handle, and Casey needed a break.

"At least," Casey said to herself as she settled down at the kitchen island with her sandwich, "it's summer time."