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a-tired-bitch · 6 years

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You Should Know Better Pt. 23

23 Parts: I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII - VIII - IX - X - XI - XII - XIII - XIV - XV - XVI - XVII - XVIII - XIX - XX - XXI - XXII - XXIII

MASTER LIST

YSKB MASTER LIST

Summary: Natalie returns home and while having a conversation with her brother, a secret is revealed that shows just how much they are alike.

POV: Natalie

Characters: Natalie Jankoski, Bryan Jankoski (Italics), Michael Jankoski (Indented Italics), Sarah Jankoski (Indented Normal)

Word Count: 3245

Author’s Note: You all wanted to know insight into Natalie, her feelings, and her family, so I present you with a chapter that covers all of the above. In addition, I don’t think I’ll be posting my content on here as soon as I complete a chapter, but I will post it on Ao3

Quote: “You are not bringing home someone that I can very well be friends with,”

To Natalie, the transition from the so-called ‘college ward’ back to her childhood home served almost as a culture shock. Considering that, for most of the year, she resided in a neighborhood where houses seemed to be built just feet apart and a place where privacy seemed to be a foreign word, the peaceful and wooded surroundings of a place where she truly called ‘home’ was something to be cherished.

Everything here seemed to be completely different than her college living. The air was filled with scents of flowers, pine, and cleanliness. The landscape was no longer packed with houses or filled with frantic passersby, instead, it was quiet and welcoming. Most importantly, the people surrounding her were no longer roommates or strangers, but people she truly cherished and loved.

Leaning against the railing of the front porch, Natalie reveled in the peaceful surroundings that she would soon be forced to leave. In doing this, instead of listening to her brother rant and rave about his own crazy college experiences, she focused her attention on the trees that were swaying with the breeze and the birds who were singing their melodies atop the branches.

“Back when I was getting my undergrad before law school, I did some really stupid fucking shit. Like shit mom and dad, to this day would still be disappointed in.” The tone in Bryan’s voice was almost boastful as he stood up from his rocking chair, “I mean, there’s stuff that even I’m kind of like, ‘why the fuck would I do that and how out of my mind was I at the time?’”

As Bryan’s presence rested on the railing beside her and curiosity now taking hold of her, Natalie couldn’t help but divert her attention away from the solace of the land.

“What kind of stuff haven’t you told me?” She questioned, slowly straightening up from the railing.

“Stuff that even you would be shocked by.” A laugh fell from Bryan’s lips as he lowered his head, “stuff, that like,” there was a pause as he rattled his head for the right words, but alas, nothing came to mind, resulting in an unfinished sentence.

With Natalie now leaning against a pillar with her arms crossed over her chest, she looked over her brother and his seemingly embarrassed state. There he was, leaning over the railing with his fingers entwined and an open-mouthed, half-smile plastered across his lips.

“You know,” she began as she made her way towards one of the rockers, “it’s kind of hard to believe that you’ve done crazier things than flipping a cop car, tripping out on acid and waking up in some old ladies yard, and my personal favorite, which is you getting so piss drunk that you bought a pizza and brought it to a fire station in hopes of having them warm it up for you.” With the atmosphere seeming to lighten up just the slightest, the two joined in in a fit of laughter as she settled down into a chair, “if you’ve got something that can beat those shit shows then I need to hear this story.”

“Quid pro quo, little sister, quid pro quo.” Bryan warned, turning to finally face her, “an equally shocking story of mine,” with every word, he sauntered his way towards her until he was standing before her “for an equally shocking story of yours,” stretching out his hand, he finished, “deal?”

As her legs became tense, forcing the rocker to come to a standstill, Natalie settled her sights on her brother’s hand and for a moment, she considered the proposition. What could she possibly tell her brother that would measure up and be just as shocking as this untold story of his? Would she have to settle for a story of a drunken outing or would she test the boundaries and give loose details of her experience with her married professor? Nevertheless, the only way to find out was to agree to this compromise.

“Deal,” she answered without another moment of thought, “but”, she paused, her hand coming to rest just inches from his, “you have to tell your story first.”

Grins took hold of both Bryan and his sister as the exchange was solidified with a handshake, “you know a good deal when you see one, don’t you?” Bryan joked, giving the handshake one more firm shake before leaning away and heading back towards his pillar. “Okay, well, buckle down and listen to this shit because it’s a story to remember.” Peering past the dirty-blonde and into the house, his eyes landed on his wife who was sitting on the couch, their daughter in hands.

Staring at the man who now stood there quietly, Natalie leaned forward, her forearms coming to rest on her knees as her hands clasped together. Looking over Bryan, it was almost strange to see her brother in the state that he was in. Normally, he was a talkative, confident, and humorous man, but in this very moment, he was cautious and nervous while he summoned up the courage to begin the story.

“I don’t know about you, but I feel like when you’re in college, you usually have a professor or two that you’ll never really forget because you either really enjoyed them, you really looked up to them, or they impacted you in some way.” Bryan’s eyes shifted to settle back onto his sister whose brows were once again pulled together.

Despite her confused expression, with every comment, her interest in the topic at hand began to increase. It wasn’t solely because of the assumption she began to form in response to her brother’s comments, but because the words that were being spoken turned out to be more personal than she had anticipated and for a moment, her mind formed an image of the man who matched these checkpoints.

It had been two, maybe three weeks since her last face-to-face interaction with the man and if she was to be honest with herself, it was almost strange – not strange in the sense of it being weird, but strange in the sense of it being different.

Over the course of the last few years, she had grown almost accustomed to being in and around the man’s presence and with the recent turn of events and the dramatic shift in their relationship, she would be lying if she didn’t want to be around him more. But perhaps this ‘want’ stemmed from pure curiosity. Instead of being aware of how he handled himself in a constricted and professional setting - whether that be in the classroom or in his patrol car -, she wanted to see how he acted in a completely normal and pressure-free setting. And with that, it was strange knowing that at any moment in time, the two of them held the power to call each other and arrange places to see each other.

Flowing from one interaction to the next, it had been a handful of days since her last chat with the man and throughout the duration of that call, Joe was adamant that Natalie understand that she couldn’t just call him whenever she felt like it. And this was something that she completely understood since there was a fear of receiving a ‘hello’ from his wife instead of Joe.

Of course, she was hesitant, fearful, and almost guilty of the overall situation she landed herself in, but at the same time, she was interested and content with their relationship standing. On one hand, she was completely aware that she was actively engaging in an affair with a man who was nearly twice her age, a man whose purpose was to teach her things within a professional realm instead of a personal one, and a man whose intentions were never truly revealed. On the other hand, even though their relationship lingered on the adulterous side, was it truly an affair? Yes, Joe was a married man, but ever since finding out that the divorce was at a standstill and that his wife was making another round of appearances in his life, nothing sexual took place between Joe and Natalie.

Nevertheless, no matter what way one was to look at it and no matter what type of excuse or loophole one could come up with, both Joe and Natalie were wrong for what they were doing and what they intended to do.

Zoning back into the conversation, Natalie absentmindedly began to rock the chair once more.

“…I don’t know if you remember Barbara Yawn, but she worked with dad for a bit before getting a tenure at my university.” Brown eyes locked onto his parents as they wandered within the house.

“Wait, hold on,” yet again, the rocker came to a stop as she leaned forward, “are you talking about the lady who singlehandedly fucked up that med mal case and turned out the be a cokehead? Super short lady, brown hair, and glasses?”

Laughs flowed from Bryan’s lips as he shook his head, “yes, that’s her,” he answered, placing Natalie back within his sights, “and even though you’re going to judge me, try not to judge me too hard on what I’m about to tell you and whatever you do, don’t tell mom or dad.”

“I swear to god, Bryan, if you tell me what I think you’re going to tell me, I will hang this over your head for the rest of your life.” Although it was a threat, it was only meant in a teasing nature. “Did you have sex with her?” She questioned in a hushed tone as she eagerly awaited his answer.

Shrugging, Bryan did his best to conceal a smile, but all efforts failed. “I plead the fifth,” he muttered.

“Bryan,” Natalie scolded, “she’s like fucking sixty. Hell, she’s older then dad and for God’s sake, her name is ‘Barbara’. That’s how you know she’s ancient.” With a hand coming up to spread across her forehead, Natalie continued to just shake her head in a disappointing fashion, “, what were you thinking?”

“You want to know what I was thinking?” Bryan said almost challenging, “I was thinking that even though her last name was ‘Yawn’, she wasn’t much of a yawn in bed. That’s what I was thinking.”

With her mouth falling to the floor, Natalie just sat there with her mouth agape. “Dude,” she managed to say, “too much information.”

“Hey, now, you asked a question and I answered it.” Swapping his sights from his sister who had a look of disgust on her face and back to the whereabouts of his parents, he continued. “She was like fifty-two at the time and we only did the nasty throughout my last semester before law school. Look, she gave me a good letter of recommendation and we had great sex. It was all a fair trade with no strings or feelings attached. But hey, don’t be giving me shit for having great sex with an older woman, I never gave you shit or made fun of you for being with Low Life Landon. Besides, who hasn’t wanted to have sex with a teacher of theirs?”

“Okay, okay,” she said almost defensively as she shook her head, “you got me there, you are right about that, but come on, it’s Barbara.”

“And come on, you were getting with Landon. A kid who we all knew has no future. If anything, I think I’m the one who came out on top - literally.”

And with that, the conversation was cut short as the sound of a door pierced their ears and a barrage of dogs filed out from inside the house. The cause of the interruption was due to their parents making their way onto the porch.

“And what exactly are you two kiddos talking about?” Michael questioned as he took a seat down in a rocker that was adjacent to his daughter.

Taking the lead, Natalie was the one to answer her father, “Bryan was just berating me on how Landon was such a bad choice,” sharing a quick glance with her brother, Natalie squinted her eyes, “but he totally forgot about all the bad choices he happened to get himself into.”

Watching as his children exchanged steely gazes, Michael glanced over at his wife who was now leaning against the railing, a displeased look on her face. “Well, Nat,” he began pulling open a newspaper, “your brother isn’t wrong. We all knew that kid was nothing but trouble. We all told you this from the beginning and you decided to just disregard our advice. I know, I know, we all know you’re a grown adult, but we raised you and all we want is the best for you.” Placing the paper on his lap, he stared at his daughter who was staring right back at him. With his hand coming up to rest on top of hers, he squeezed hers once before pulling away, “you’re my daughter and no man will ever be good enough for you. I don’t care what he does, I don’t care what his reputation is, I don’t care how old or mature he is, and I don’t care how smart or in love he is with you – he will never be good enough.”

“Oh, stop it, Michael,” Sarah scolded, breaking the moment between the two, “you keep it up and she’ll never bring someone home,” crossing her arms over her chest, she continued, “look, honey, that Landon fellow was always so distant and immature when he was around. I understand that you guys only dated a short while and that we only met him a handful of times, but we always welcomed him with open arms.” Turning to look into the front yard, Sarah leaned forward against the railing, her eyes tracking two large dogs who were chasing after each other, “that man-child was dumber than a sack of rocks and stoned out of his mind most of the time,” she muttered.

“I think what mom and dad are trying to say is we all tolerated Landon because you were with him. We never liked him, we never enjoyed his presence, and we always knew you two weren’t going to last. We could all sense you liked him but not enough to keep him around for longer than necessary.” Watching as his sister’s expression completely changed, Bryan knew it was time to switch the conversation from one of berating to one of jokes. “And I think what dad was trying to say is that no matter how good a man may seem, they will never be good enough to get his full approval, so, my advice is that maybe you should look into a sugar daddy or an older dude. You know, with a sugar daddy you can just get free shit and with an older man – if he isn’t already your sugar daddy -, you can bring him around and dad and he can both sit in these rockers and talk about old people shit like politics and the weather or whatever the fuck.”

“Watch yourself, Bryan. Remember who’s your boss.” Michael warned, playfully swatting at his son with the newspaper.

“And remember who’s your boss, honey,” Sarah chimed in, looking over her shoulder, a smirk on her face.

With both children forming wide eyes as a result of their mother’s quick comeback, it was only a second later before they both teasingly ‘ohhed’ in their father’s direction.

“Looks like she got you there, dad.” Natalie jested before turning to look back up to her brother, “but Bryan, I just might take your advice to heart and bring home an older man.” Raising her brow, she couldn’t help but watch her father from the corner of her vision.

“You are not bringing home someone that I can very well be friends with,” Michael warned as he flipped open the newspaper. “You’re not going to be bringing home some man who is my age or your mother's age. That’s a little too extreme. We know you like them older, but still, that’s too old.”

There was no doubt she enjoyed the small thrill from teasing her father since a sly grin began to form on her lips, “then what age isn’t too extreme?” She questioned.

“Well, you’re basically almost twenty-five, your brother is a dirty thirty, your mother is a foxy fifty, and I’m just an old fifty-five-year-old man.” Lowering the paper, he took a moment to contemplate an age gap, “I would say,” biting down on his lower lip, he moved his head from side-to-side, “the oldest could be,” sighing, he shrugged, “I don’t even know why you’re trying to negotiate this thing with me,” he admitted, finally coming to his senses about the topic, “but whatever you do, just don’t go past your brothers age.”

“And what if I decided to date someone older than Bryan?” Natalie challenged.

“Why would you need or want to?” Michael questioned, leaning in her direction.

“Okay, you two, give it a break,” Sarah interjected, leaning away from the railing, and turning on her heels to face her husband, “if she finds someone she likes or loves and he or she is older, then there’s not much we can do about it, Michael. Natalie knows what she wants and what she wants, she will more than likely get.” Setting her sights on her daughter, she continued, “You do what you want to do, but be smart about it. Don’t half-ass anything and if you do, make sure you think things through and make sure you don’t get into any trouble or make yourself out to be a fool.” Staring up at her son, she finished, “and don’t listen to your brother because he’s being stupid right now.”

“Hey, now,” Bryan raised his hands up defensively, “I’m just saying that I knew some girls in college who had sugar daddies and they were set. I also knew some people who did the dirty with their professors and everything seemed to turn out perfectly fine.” Lowering his hands, a smile formed on Bryan’s lips as he continued, “all jokes aside, but it looks like the best thing to do is to stay single, little sis.” Bryan jested as he began to make his way towards the front door, “make it easier on us – I don’t have to do that stupid thing where the brother tries to be super protective over his sister and put her boyfriend in his place.”

Scoffing, Natalie took to her feet, “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about being protective over me,” although they wouldn’t know, her comment was referencing the protective nature Joe had for her.

With his sister falling into step with him, he slowly opened the door, allowing her to enter first, “you still owe me a story,” he whispered.

After a few minutes of gathering together in the living room and aweing over the sight of her niece, Natalie eventually managed to make her way up the stairs and into her room.

With a locked door and her phone in hand, the contemplation on if she wanted to call him began to run rampant through her mind and for what seemed like the first time in a long time, she seemed to actually think over the situation and the possible outcomes.

After slowly making her way to her bed and sitting on the edge of it, she glanced down to her phone.

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