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For the second time since she came into my life, Emily and I walk away fro the trip with her last year, which was her first Christ back" really is especially where Elance over at her as we irl - woive or take a few hours As I look back now, I realize I’an to live, a rebirth in the for, yet I can’t help giving her everything I can

The past year has been filled with much patience and restraint on my part As I realize Ele to keep mye juice after taking a shower but before getting dressed She says she likes the taste of orange juice while the ers I walked out of the bedroo for juicein a towel And because I’al, our towels are cheap and on the sI leave the house without my lunch or coat in haste to escape I don’t want to continue down this path with hts I’ve made a vow to myself that my relationship with Emily will remain chaste, but it doesn’t hts on a consistent basis

I’m only human

On my way to work I make a mental note to save soe

The temperature has dropped since our arrival at the shelter this , so alk quickly This is our Christmas tradition now Emily asked that we visit last year as a way to remember her mother Now, I see how lucky we truly are e have There are soOur hoical advances of most, but we are healthy, bellies full, and we have a roof over our heads Helping to serve dinner and visit with the shelter patrons is a way for Ee expensive gifts Instead, I always get her a new kitchen gadget from the Dollar Store, and she always bakes me butterscotch cookies It’s notthat counts to us

As s with the rhythers with h the sudden war but I’er I’ll be able to keep up this ruse, playing her brotherly protector While Emily has never spoken about boys in her class or voiced interests of the romantic sort, I know it’s inevitable She has blossomed into a beautiful creature who has no idea of the devastation her beauty wreaks upon me and, surely, the boys around her Her smile is infectious, and it’s only aat our door I kind of feel sorry for the poor boy, as ly I’uardian where Emily is concerned, not just because it’s uy will end me

I want to reach out and take her hand in mine as alk, but I don’t I have calculated the difference in our ages Five years doesn’t seem all that much when she is twenty and I’m twenty-five However, she is seventeen and still a minor, which is the only is to differ I have to prepare for her to have roe, not a twenty-two year-old guy who has to act like her older brother

Sisters rarely hold hands with their brothers

"Why don’t you go out on dates?" Emily suddenly asks in theblack-eyed peas because they are lucky if you eat them on the first day of the year They taste like shit, but as usual, I hu them

"Huh?" I stall She’s familiar with my deliberate stall tactic and narrows her eyes at me

"I’ve never seen you with a woman" She pauses, like she’s unsure how to broach the next part "I uy There have to be opportunities for you to go out" She stops and takes a deep breath as if preparing herself for my answer

"Uhhh"

Yep

"Never mind, Ethan I can tell it’s not a topic you want to talk about"

With that, she leaves the table and her half-eaten plate and heads for the bedroom, one of her only options for privacyThe door closes and I’ that girls are confusing, especially where Emily is concerned