Frowning now, and finding it was growing harder and harder to hold back his questions, Andrew pushed, “So…” he placed the newspaper down and drummed his fingers on the table while Helena glanced back up at him and he wondered how blunt he could afford to be. When he thought his sister was about to pass out from not having breathed since he began, Andrew felt the need to get his questions out quickly and asked, before he could stop himself, “did you sleep with Dylan yesterday?” 

Blind panic rushed up throughout Helena’s entire body like a bucket of ice water, coursing through her ears and causing a persistent twitch to attack her leg. She remained dumbfounded, mouth dry and unable to answer, as she stared at her brother in shock. “What…?” She managed, voice high pitched in alarm.

Andrew repeated his question, though when it became evident Helena wasn’t going to give him an answer, he accepted her silence as a ‘yes’ and let out a sigh. Sitting back in his chair, he said calmly, “Dylan’s my friend, Hel… she means a lot to me and I don’t want to see her getting hurt.”

Struggling to control her pounding chest, Helena let out a long breath and shook her head. “I don’t intend to hurt her,” She stated, voice showing clear signs of discomfort on the topic, “it was a one-time thing…we’re just…” The Brit wasn’t sure how to finish, instead opting for swallowing around her discomfort and hoping the kitchen floor might collapse and suck her down with it. When Andrew appeared unconvinced by her statement, however, Helena knew she would have to provide him with more information and searched blindly for excuses, forcing out, “I’ve only just started coming to terms with being single again, Andy, and actually considering the possibility of another relationship…and Dylan was the first person to show any interest…who I‘ve actually liked. I know, it’s…not exactly appropriate, but it meant nothing and we’ve both been adults about it,” She told him, though, in truth, she hadn’t spoken to Dylan about it yet, nor did she ever believe she could convince herself it meant absolutely nothing for her.

Helena herself disliked the way she had phrased her explanation and was not surprised when Andrew frowned at her. He appeared to drop the subject, however, as Nicky came through the door asking if he could play with the beach ball in the paddling pool and of its whereabouts. Thankful for the distraction, Helena left her brother at the table and helped Nicky search for the ball before heading outside to join Peter and Leah, the slight breeze in the air a welcome release.