Good Stepbrother (Love #2) (3 page)

“How kind of you,” Mom sneered. “Let’s go.”

I couldn’t process what was happening fast enough. I looked at him in shock and whispered, “How could you?”

He didn’t answer me, he just closed his eyes and inhaled sharply. The second we were on the steps, he closed the door firmly and locked it. I turned to my mom and murmured, “What are we supposed to do now?”

She straightened her shoulders and sighed, “Get in the cab, get some sleep, and figure it out tomorrow.”

“The motel is a shit hole.”

“I’ve slept in worse, babe. Come on.” We hurried down the stairs and she loaded our luggage into the trunk of the cab. I opened the door and slid inside. She followed me in and closed the door. “I’m sure you know where to go,” she said softly to the cab driver.

“Yes ma’am,” he nodded. “Have you there in a jiff.”

“Great.”

My life was swirling down the drain and I didn’t have a clue how to make it stop. So instead of feeling, I partied. It was a hell of a lot more fun than dealing with the fact that my world had been downgraded from rich girl status to hood rat in the blink of an eye.

I did what any self-respecting girl in my situation would’ve done. I wore that shit like a badge I was proud of. I became someone else. It was fun, for a while. But just like anything else in this life, when the shine wore off, it wasn’t so great anymore.

I fell hard for Toby McLean. He was everything I’d ever wanted in a bad boy boyfriend. But he wasn’t all bad boy. He was kind to me, he never smacked me around like Jameson had. He definitely pressured me to give up the goods, and I did, after a certain point. I had to maintain the control in the relationship. I made him want me so badly that he could barely focus on anything but my tight little body.

Then when I was ready, I let him have a little control. Somehow, I managed to keep hold of my Queen Bee status, my friends, and my grades hovered just above the failing mark. Mom was too busy to worry about raising me. She assumed I was doing okay, and for the most part, I was. I just stayed busy, was rarely home, and we lived separate lives. I don’t really blame her for who I became. She had a lot on her shoulders and her whole world was suddenly upended. She lost her husband, her home, and her money. She had to get her first job since she was nineteen.

I didn’t want to hear the sob story, though. I didn’t want to see her cry over losing some asshole who never cared. I wanted her to pull herself up and morph like I pretended I had. Hadn’t she ever heard of faking it until you make it? Eighth grade was almost over and things were getting hot and heavy between me and Toby. I considered for a fleeting moment that my bad boy senior from a different school could be my knight in shining armor. I could see my life with him.

“Hey, you ever think about just taking off away from this place?” I asked one muggy spring night as we cuddled in the back seat of his car.

“All the time. Why?”

“Looking for someone to ride shotgun?” I glanced up at him and smiled.

He frowned and shifted up to sitting. I almost fell on the floorboard. “Baby girl, you know this has been fun, but you’re a kid. You’re fourteen. I’m eighteen. What we’re doing would get me locked up in all fifty states. Baby, you’re fun, but I can’t just take off with you in tow. If you were older, more mature…”

I grabbed my clothes and jerked them on, hot tears pricking at my lashes. “Well, I was plenty old enough and mature enough five minutes ago!”

“Aww, don’t be like that. What we have is great, but did you really expect it to last forever?”

Stupidly, I had. But just like every other person in my life, he wasn’t a constant. He was just a drifter, a shadow passing by in the night.

We hung on through the end of my eighth grade year, and I even convinced him to come with me to my stupid eighth grade dance. I wanted to parade him in front of all the peons and show them that I was still someone. I had a boyfriend who was hot, and a senior. I knew he had plans to haul ass as soon as he could. He was California bound, and he had plans to work at a surf shop on the beach and get baked all the time. I wanted to box myself up and hide away in the trunk of his car to go with him.

But I couldn’t. So I got drunk instead. We spiked the punch and I drank lots. I remembered dancing and grinding on him, and I could feel Carter’s gaze on me. He wasn’t happy. He hated seeing me with Toby. He didn’t like seeing me act how I was. I knew I was disappointing him, but I didn’t care anymore. A teacher pulled me and Toby apart again and I rolled my eyes. Prudes.

Grabbing Toby’s hand, I led him outside and behind the school. We made out, our mouths melding and tangling together. He was such a good kisser. Really, one of my top five best kissers ever. I was flying high, then I looked over and saw Carter. I smiled and whispered, “Look, we have an audience.” I’m not sure why I wanted so badly to hurt Carter. Maybe it was because he still saw some kind of beauty in me. I was ugly as sin and I hated to see the way he looked at me like I was the most beautiful thing in the world.

“Do you like to watch, kid?” Toby asked him and Carter paled, not saying a word.

I sharpened my dagger, aimed, and struck my target. “He’s wanted me since we were little,” I giggled as Toby kissed my neck.

“You’re never gonna have this sweet ass.” He laughed and I joined him, pulling his face back to mine for another kiss.

Peeking through my lashes, agony ripped through me as he took off. He screamed, “Slut!” The second he was out of sight, I pushed Toby away from me.

“Get off me,” I choked out. “I want to go home.”

“Why, because of your little boyfriend?” Toby snarled. “Whatever. You’re too young for me anyway. Find your own ride home.” He stalked away from me and I watched him get into his car and peel out of the parking lot. I leaned against the brick wall of the school and covered my face with my hands. Tears peppered my palms as I wept. I didn’t know what to do. I was lost.

Chapter Four

I wish I could say that I straightened up after that, but we all know that’s not the case. If it was, you wouldn’t even be listening to my story. So you all know Carter found my mom and his dad getting it on. I didn’t find out about their love affair until a few nights later.

“Bri, where are you going?” Mom asked me as I readied to go to the mall with Britney and Jennifer, like we did every night.

“Going to the mall,” I sullenly replied, running my brush through my hair.

“Can we talk, honey?”

“You’re moving your mouth, aren’t you?” I snapped, rolling my eyes in irritation.

“What happened to my sweet little girl?” she asked softly and I turned to her with a huff.

“She grew up.”

“You’re jaded. I’m sorry.”

“I just realize that everyone in the world is out to fuck you over, so why bother being nice? Nice girls finish last. I don’t plan to ever finish last.” I whipped back around to my mirror and heavily lined my eyes with ninety-nine cent black liner.

“Baby, that’s not true.” Mom sidled up to me and put her hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off. I didn’t want or need her pity, thank you very much.

“Whatever. So can I go or what?”

“Sure, just...I wanted to talk with you about something.”

I narrowed my eyes and looked her over. She looked...happy. Her eyes shone with happiness, her cheeks were flushed, and I noticed she wore cute clothes and makeup. She hadn’t worn cute clothes or makeup since Dad kicked us out months ago. “Who is it?” I asked. “I’m not calling him Dad.”

“Charlie Travis,” she murmured gently, not meeting my eyes.

My heart thudded, hard in my chest.
Carter’s dad? No! No way!
“What?” I hissed. “Carter’s dad? Isn’t he like… married?”

“His wife left him for some guy she met online. I took the old beater into the shop to get the oil leak fixed and we got to talking and, well, one thing led to another and I really like him, Bri.”

I pushed away from my mirror and ran a hand through my hair. “Wow. You can barely let your crotch cool before you’re jumping back in with someone else.”

“Brielle! That’s not how this is! I didn’t plan on falling in love with Charlie. I didn’t. It just happened. All of a sudden I realized I did.”

Tears prickled at my lashes and I blinked furiously. “You’re in
love
with him?”

“I am, Bri. I love him. He’s offered to let us move in with him. I think he’ll be proposing before long.”

My mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. My mother was in love with Charlie Travis, Carter’s father. Carter was the boy I loved more than anything in this world and couldn’t love ever because he deserved so much better than me. “So we’re moving in with them?” I managed.

“I’d like to. It would be lots better than this shitty apartment. You’d have a father figure, and a brother…”

I grabbed my purse and laughed. “Carter Travis will
never
be my brother.” I darted out of my room and ran through the living room to the front door. Mom called my name, but I couldn’t process. I just couldn’t think. Throwing the door wide, I took off.

I never made it to the mall that night. Instead, I made some calls and found a party. It was easy enough to have a guy come pick me up. They all wanted to arrive at a party with me. “Thanks,” I told the tow-headed boy who had happily come to get me from the corner of Rose and Piedmont.

“Want to dance?” he asked eagerly and I shook my head.

“Know where I could get some E?” I asked.

His face fell and he nodded. “Yeah, I hear that Peter Jenkins deals.”

“Perfect, thanks.” I leaned across the cab of the car and kissed his pimply cheek. “Give me a ride home later?” I asked hopefully and he nodded, his eyes wide. “Point me to Peter.”

“Right there.” He pointed to a lanky guy who was at least twenty-one leaning up against the rickety old barn by the bonfire. It was supposed to just be a simple “kid” party on the farm. I planned to make it fun. I needed to forget. A couple of little white pills would do nicely.

Climbing out of the car, I straightened my miniskirt and sashayed across the grass to the drug dealer. “You Peter?” I cooed as I came to his side.

“Yup,” he replied, looking me up and down. “What do you want?”

“Got any E?” I whispered. “I’m low on cash but…”

His eyebrows shot up. “Want to trade?” He pulled a little packet of white pills from his pants pocket and shook them in the air.

“Yeah,” I nodded. I scored those easily in less than five minutes behind the barn. I didn’t care what I had to do to get them, I just needed to forget. Music pulsed through the muggy night and I danced. For a little while as the chemicals burned through my blood, I forgot. I forgot that Carter Travis was going to be my stepbrother. I forgot that I loved him. I forgot that I hated my life. I just danced. It was glorious.

Unfortunately, there’s always a low after the high. It’s inevitable. It works like the tides. It comes in big swells and it’s beautiful, then when it goes out, you’re left barren and dry. I was kind of like that the next morning when I woke up on the ground next to the fire that had gone out. Only a few kids were left, the most dedicated of us partiers.

“Get up!” a girl’s voice commanded me and I opened my eyes to see Katie Barrett nudging me with the toe of her sneaker.

“What?” I growled, rubbing my forehead.

“My parents will be home soon, and you guys need to go,” she insisted.

“Fine.” I sat up slowly and yawned. “Can someone give me a ride home?” My ride had bailed on me long ago, and now I was stuck outside Marysville, hungover, tired, and hungry.

“My brother will take you home,” Katie offered. “Are you okay? You partied really hard last night.” Her big blue eyes shone with concern.

Fuck her and her concern. “I’m fine. Party is my middle name,” I snapped, clambering up from the grass. I smoothed my hand down the front of my shirt and straightened my miniskirt. “I’m ready to get out of here, where’s your brother?”

“Carl is out by the truck. He said he’ll load everyone up and take you into town.” She clenched her hands together. “I gotta get y’all out of here. It wasn’t supposed to get this crazy last night. Only a few people!” She worried back and forth and I couldn’t stop the laughter bubbling up from my throat.

“This was mild, Katie,” I laughed as I strolled to the truck. Popping open the door I crawled into the cab and buckled in. I closed the door and leaned my head against the window. The other stragglers slowly meandered over and they loaded into the back. Carl climbed in the driver’s seat and started the car. He never said a word to me the whole ride back to Marysville. He drove to the middle of town and stopped the truck.

“Everyone out.”

“Can’t you drive me home?” I yawned.

“No, I can’t. You guys put me and Katie in a tough position this morning. Go sleep it off, crackhead,” he snapped at me, his lip curling in derision.

“Fuck off,” I growled, opening the door and climbing out of the truck. I took off down the sidewalk, not bothering to thank him for the ride or anything. I had a couple miles to walk to home and it gave me some time to think. Thinking wasn’t exactly my favorite. When I thought, it gave feelings the chance to crawl back in my ear and whisper stupid shit.

Finally, I made it home and I managed to avoid my mother’s nagging; she was gone. I assumed she was at work. I stripped off my clothes and jumped into the shower, scrubbing my skin clean. Flashes of the night before flickered through my brain and I grimaced. I wasn’t sure of everything that had happened, but what I remembered was bad enough.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I fought against my tears. They won, and the saline mingled with the crappy city water beating down on my head. As the water ran cold, I shut it off and pulled back the shower curtain. My mother stood in the middle of the bathroom, her arms crossed and an angry expression on her face.

I screamed and tried to cover my breasts with my hands. “Fuck! You scared me!”

She threw a towel at me. “Where have you been?”

“I went to the mall with Britney and Jennifer…” I started and she shook her head.

“No, you didn’t. I know because I called their mother. They’re grounded. So where were you really?”

I wrapped the towel around myself and pushed my way past her out of the bathroom. “None of your business,” I snapped back at her as I hurried to my room.

She followed right behind me. “Brielle, it is my business. You’re fifteen. You’re a kid. You shouldn’t be out all hours of the night. Are you even being safe?”

I laughed as I finished drying myself off. “I’ve been on birth control since I was twelve, Mom.” I dropped the towel in the middle of the floor and turned to my dresser to find some underwear and a T-shirt. I pulled on a thong and a shirt that showed off my midriff.

Mom came closer and she brushed my wet hair back from my face. “What happened to my little girl?”

“She grew up.” I sighed.

“Have you been having sex since twelve?” she choked out, caressing my cheek.

“What? No. I’m really not discussing my sex life or lack thereof with you. It’s none of your business. Don’t worry, I won’t get pregnant like you did.” I threw the jab in there because I didn’t want her prying into my business anymore. I liked the way our lives worked. She had hers, I had mine.

“Bri, baby. I’m worried about you. Your dad said he could send you to a boarding school, maybe a change in scenery would be good for you…”

I jerked away and rolled my eyes. “Boarding school? Why, so you two can continue not being parents? Get out of my room. I want to sleep.” I climbed into bed and lay down on my pillows. Jerking my blankets up around my ears, I waited for her to leave.

She kissed my forehead and brushed my hair back. “I miss you,” she said softly, sniffling as she left the room, closing the door behind herself.

Wrapping my arms around myself, I squeezed my middle. “I miss me too,” I whispered.

***

Within weeks, we moved into Charlie and Carter’s house. Mom was happy, so I didn’t bitch, much. I had my own room, which was beside Carter’s. The old house they lived in wasn’t bad, it was a hell of a lot better than the shitty apartment we’d been living in, but it wasn’t what I’d grown up with.

Charlie surprised me by painting my bedroom pink before we moved in. It was a god awful, cotton candy pink, but secretly I loved it. Instead of being grateful, I grumbled, “What, am I five?”

Mom smacked my arm. “Stop it. I told him you liked pink. He’s trying to make the transition for you smooth. Now maybe you can get out of this hood rat phase and be a good girl again, yeah?” she asked hopefully, tucking a strand of my pale blonde hair behind my ear.

“Never know,” I replied, shrugging as I looked at my room. My old furniture didn’t fit in the tiny space, so they went to the thrift store and found me mismatching things; I had a small twin-sized bed that was white, an oak dresser that they promised to repaint for me, and a lime green side table. The coolest thing was a small wicker vanity we found for five bucks at a garage sale. It was pretty awesome. I wanted to spray paint it orange.

The room wasn’t bad, and once I fixed it up, it would be okay. I just hated that I shared a wall with Carter. I heard every noise he made at night. Teenage boys make a lot of noises, if you catch my drift.

I wondered if he thought of me. He barely spoke to me, and it hurt. I guess it was what I had wanted, but it still stung. So I decided to do anything I could to get his attention. That included slathering my skin with baby oil and sunbathing in a teensy tiny bikini every single day the rest of the summer. I set up my chair directly under his window, because I knew he watched me.

One day in July, he came down to see me. “Brielle?” he called softly.

I turned my head to look at him and a slow smile crossed my lips. “I wondered when you’d be out here.”

“What?” he looked confused.

“I know you watch me.”

“Me? Watch you? You’re crazy,” he scoffed.

“Hey, while you’re down here, brother, do you think you could rub some oil on my back? I’m not getting a good tan.” I held up the bottle of oil and he paled as I shook it back and forth.

“Sure,” he choked out, taking the oil from me. He unscrewed the bottle, poured oil in his hand, then placed the bottle on the ground. He rubbed his hands together and I squeezed my eyes shut.

Carter Travis was going to touch me. His hands hit my hot skin and I shivered slightly, moaning, “Rub harder!” Things heated up pretty quickly and I knew I had to make it stop, so I cut him again. “I know you're in love with me, Carter.”

He froze, withdrawing his hands. “I am not.”

“I'm gonna be your sister...” I giggled.

“You’re not my sister!” he yelled, backing away from me.

I rolled over to my back and eyed him. “When our parents get married, I will be. I knew you had it bad for me, Carter, I just didn’t realize you were this pathetic.”