Stolen Crush

by Stunich, C. M.

  “I’m not really sure. He took off when I came around the corner, and then slipped past that couple. There wasn’t much I could do to chase after him without looking like a lunatic.” Maxx is staring down the path, too, like he’s as creeped out by the random hiker as I am. “Huh.” He shakes his head and then gives a shrug that has me bouncing slightly on his back. “There are creepers everywhere, I guess.”

  He doesn’t sound convinced which bothers me a little.

  Tightening my arms around his neck, I try to relax even though every fucking instinct in me says that I should be nervous. Maxx doesn’t loosen up any as we walk. If anything, he gets tenser with each curve in the path.

  And, apparently, rightfully so.

  The next turn we take ends with something—or somebody—knocking Maxx’s legs out from underneath him. We end up toppling down the side of the narrow path, right into the thick foliage that lines the slope. I fully expect to die in that moment. Or at least break a good thirty bones. Instead, Maxx actually catches himself on a low hanging branch. Mostly it’s his feet that go skidding before he releases the branch and ends up hitting his knees hard.

  I have just enough time to see that hiker with the hat and the stick before I throw myself off of Maxx’s back and take off after the dude. Why I do that … I’m not really sure. There’s just some deeply buried instinct in me that whispers predator or prey, your choice. So, predator it is, I guess?

  “Kota!” X is calling from behind me, but I don’t stop. I’m so pumped up with adrenaline that I don’t even notice my stupid ankle until … I do. The pain crashes into my skull as the brief rush of euphoria fades and I end up stumbling and crying out, sprawling hard on the ground just inches behind the hiker. My fingertips even brush his pantleg briefly before he stumbles to a stop, glancing back over his shoulder. He looks at me for a flicker of an instant—maybe less—but something cold snaps inside of me when I get a read on his expression.

  Fortunately, Maxx skids around the corner just behind me, cursing as he struggles to come to a stop … and then falls right on freaking top of me. He’s warm and big and … “I can’t breathe,” I choke out as he scrambles to get off of me. The first thing he does is whip his head up, but the hiker is long gone.

  “He hit you with his stick,” I groan as I fight to get into a sitting position and Maxx curses again, dropping into a squat to help me—even though I’m sure he’s hurting just as bad. Without asking permission, I push the leg of his pants up to inspect the front of his shin. Sure enough, there’s a red mark there. “He hit you on purpose.”

  I sound incredulous, but when Maxx swings a look my way, I can see that he isn’t.

  “Probably someone trying to rob us … or something.” He frowns and shakes his head, rising to his feet and holding out a hand to help me up. As soon as I’m standing—with serious help from Maxx—we make eye contact, and he lifts a single brow. When I pretend not to notice, he voices his silent question. “Did you really try to run down a violent robber with a bum ankle?”

  “To be fair, it was more instinct than logical, coherent thought.”

  “Mmhmm.” Maxx offers out his elbow to me. “Why don’t you hop as best you can, using me as much as you need?” He flicks that jewel-toned gaze of his toward the direction of our fleeing perp. “He could try to ambush us again, and I can’t let myself be caught off-guard again.”

  “Don’t be too hard on yourself,” I say, brushing some dust off of his chest and belly with my hands. Then it gets … weird. I pause and stare at my fingers; he pauses and stares down at me. Then I know for a fact that I’m fucking blushing while simultaneously being disgusted with myself. This is my sister’s boyfriend. Gross. Tacky. Just … “Eww.” I somehow say it out loud even though I don’t mean to.

  “Eww?” Maxx echoes, looking down at my hands. I very quickly draw them back and clear my throat.

  “Anyway, you can’t blame yourself for that. Who expects to be beaten with a stick by some crazy guy?” Maxx gives me a tart smile and then leans down, reaching up and finally tousling my hair the way he’s seemed to want to since we started the hike this morning. It feels … sisterly. But that’s okay, right? It’s actually great because if he marries Maxine then I’ll be his sister-in-law.

  “I’m not going to forget you said eww when you brushed my shirt off,” he begins, emerald eyes sparkling with mischief. “But also, me. I should’ve expected to be beaten with a stick. I’ve been taking Krav Maga since I was eleven.”

  “Of course you have,” I murmur with a roll of my eyes. Why wouldn’t he be an expert in some sort of bad ass-y self-defense training? It makes perfect sense. “Well, then, let’s get the hell out of here before the creep comes back.”

  “So,” Maxine begins, just a week later when she finally gets a chance to drive up and see me. Already, she’s declared that Oregon is much prettier than Washington. Considering the only time I’ve been to Oregon, I got attacked on a hiking trail, I’m inclined to disagree. “Do you like him or what?”

  My older sister leans forward, planting her elbow on the table and grinning at me like she knows a secret. Considering both Maxx and I told her what happened over voice chat in the parking lot, I’m not sure that there’s anything to tell.

  “Maxx?” I start, wondering if she’s sensed some of my creeper vibes. But I swear to you, I’d fall on a sword before I’d ever considering taking my sister’s boyfriend. Maybe if I’d met Maxx first, I’d have been into him. As things stand, he couldn’t be any more off-limits to me. Chasm on the other hand … Grr. I’m not going to think about Chasm, not right now. He’s been acting like he did before we started getting to know each other: a little distant, a little rude, a lot cocky.

  My sister snorts and waves her hand dismissively, the ice cubes in her chai latte clinking as they start to melt. She pauses to stir her drink a bit.

  “Not Maxx; I already know you like him or else you’d have given me an earful.” She lifts sheepish eyes up to watch me and I’m struck once again by how closely Saffron was able to match me and her other daughter, me and her parents. I look like a Banks, from my toes to my teeth to my hair. “Your stepbrother, the wannabe TikTok star.”

  “Parrish?” I echo, trying and failing not to grit my teeth when I say his name. The first thing he did when he saw me limping into my room with Maxx’s arm around my waist was act concerned, helping me onto my bed and then giving Maxx a look that was damn near impossible to interpret. But as soon as Maxx left? I got the third degree from him about my hike. As if it’s any of his business. “He’s been a dick all week.”

  “How come?” Maxine asks with a frown, glancing up at a young couple as they enter the café. A quick glance over my shoulder shows me what, exactly, it is that she’s smiling about. Their PDAs are off the charts. Gagging, I turn back to my sister.

  “How come?” I repeat with a dry laugh. “Because he hates me.”

  “Maxx thinks he likes you,” she tells me, causing me to damn near spill my mocha. Maxie pretends not to notice me blundering around with my drink as she glances casually at her phone. She wants me to call my grandparents, but I’m still annoyed. For almost two years, they knew I might not be their granddaughter? Why call the stupid hotline from that damn Netflix show then? Why couldn’t they have just let things be.

  And that’s when I realize it. I’m pissed off at the Banks. Furious, even. What good did calling that number do anyone? Tess can’t get back all those years with her lost child; the Banks can’t regain the happy high school years with me they were planning on. Basically, it’s just a huge clusterfuck. Even if it was the ‘right thing’ to do, that doesn’t make me any less angry.

  I swallow hard and take a sip of my drink.

  “Why would Maxx think that?” I finally ask, when I realize that my sister’s going to draw this out as long as she possibly can. She grins at me, sitting up and adjusting her Life is Better in Oregon hoodie. While I’m frothing at the mouth to get home, Maxie is a full conv
ert. She wants to stay in the Pacific Northwest for at least a few years after graduation.

  “See, I knew you couldn’t resist.” She leans in toward me conspiratorially, lowering her voice like we’re still in a small town and everyone knows everyone. “He says it’s because Parrish never talks about girls—never. But yet, he can’t seem to stop talking about you.”

  I can already see where this is going.

  “He bitches about me to his friends you mean?” I clarify and once again, Maxine waves her hand dismissively.

  “Did I say that? You inferred it. Doesn’t make it true.” Maxine sips her drink loudly and then pauses as the doors to the café open once again and she gets caught staring at yet another lovey-dovey couple. I start to turn around to confirm the source of her sudden awe.

  “Just because Parrish talks about me all the time doesn’t mean he wants to shove his tongue down my throat again—” I stop talking. One, because I said the word ‘again’ and I haven’t even told Maxie about the last time my stepbrother kissed me. Also, because both Parrish and Chasm are standing right there, staring at me.

  “Whoever said I didn’t want to shove my tongue down your throat again? You never asked.” Parrish deadpans the entire delivery, and to be fair, I have to give him credit for that. In reality, I’m sure I’ve just ticked him off all over again; his hands are clenched into fists on either side of his body.

  For his part, Chasm just tucks his hands into the pockets of his black jeans, affecting a casual slouch and a level of disdain I’d only have ever expected from Parrish himself. He is mad at me, isn’t he? And more specifically, he’s mad at me because of Parrish. That just has to be it.

  “Parrish,” I begin, rising quickly from my chair at the same moment as Maxine. “Kwang-seon.” He gives me a sharp look and a brow raise in response. “This is my sister, Maxine.” I hold out my hand to indicate her and lift my chin proudly. If either of them try to ruin this moment for me, I swear to fuck, I will do worse than curb stomp their avatars online. “Would you like to join us for coffee?”

  There’s a long hesitation there before the boys look at each other, exchanging one of those silent best friend messages that make me miss Sally and Nevaeh all over again, but vastly appreciate the friends I’m making in Danyella, Lumen, and even Delphine.

  “Why not?” Chasm replies finally, turning back and giving me a tight smile. “I’ll order us coffee; the three of you can chat.” He saunters off as I resist the urge to flip him off, settling back into my seat as Parrish takes the bench closest to the window, situating himself directly between me and my sister.

  And then he just fucking stares at me.

  “Why are you here?” is what pops out of my mouth next. Oops. Maxine gives me her you’re being a rude dick, be nice! look. I pretend not to see it. “Don’t tell me you just happened to pop into downtown Seattle for coffee and coincidentally chose this exact place?”

  Parrish sits up straight and then flicks a quick look my sister’s way.

  “Of course it wasn’t coincidental: Chasm knew you’d be here so he wanted to come.” Parrish crosses his arms over his chest. “He has a crush on Mia.” My sister blinks several times at that, her gaze shifting over to study Chasm’s back before falling on Parrish again.

  “Her name is Dakota,” she says firmly, in a tone I well recognize. Parrish is this close to getting his ass handed to him. “And you’re Parrish, the stepbrother who’s in love with her.”

  Parrish laughs at that, this loud, sharp sound that reminds me that under that foppish rich boy disguise, there’s a spoiled rotten brat crouching.

  “In love with her? I can barely stand to be in the same room as her.” He turns a much less amused expression my way. “So this is her, your pretend big sister? Does she know you stole a dead baby’s name?”

  My mouth drops and this time, it’s me who has to blink through the shock a few times before turning to my sister. The expression on her face tells me she already knew, so that, at least, is a relief.

  “You didn’t think that might be important information that needed to be handled in a sensitive manner?”

  Parrish ignores me.

  “Is it healthy, anyway, to keep this charade going? It’s killing my mother.”

  “If Maxine is my pretend big sister then Tess is your pretend mom.” The words fall out of my mouth like they’ve been summoned by a dark god. The way Maxine is staring at me, I’m prepared to admit to witchcraft and take a burning at the stake. She’s never seen me like this before, this angry.

  “Fair enough,” Parrish breathes, but he’s gritting his teeth and squeezing his hands into fists on the tabletop. “So why do I care more about her feelings than you do?”

  I lean in close to him, and he shivers as my hair sweeps across the back of his right hand. There’s this stupidly strong urge in me to reach over and grab his face, shove my tongue down his throat like we did in my room that day.

  “Because,” I begin, my own teeth clenched tight, “just like Maxine really is my sister—DNA aside—Tess really is your mom.” I pause and exhale, reaching up to rub a hand over my face and forcibly relaxing my jaw. “Anyway, what on earth are you talking about? What’s the matter with Tess now?”

  “You told her you were going to Lumen’s,” he tells me, breathing heavily, hands still clenched into fists. “But you’re not at Lumen’s, now are you? You’re here. With Maxine.” He pauses again, and my gaze drops to his lips. Across the table from me, Maxine lets out a long, low breath that turns into a bit of a whistle, and I yank my gaze back up to Parrish’s eyes. “You forgot to turn your phone off; she’ll be here any minute.”

  He leans back in his seat as my eyes go wide and flick over to Maxie’s. She’s up and out of her seat so quickly that when the front door to the café does open, and Tess strides in with a dark expression, my sister is already slipping into the bathroom at the back of the room.

  “Mom,” Parrish says, sounding as bored as ever as he lounges in his seat. Tess pauses and looks over at us, still frowning, her eyes flicking to me before moving back to her son again. “What are you doing here?”

  There’s about a three-second delay before the café door opens once again and Lumen appears, red-faced and flushed and wearing this absurdly conservative suit. She looks like a CEO or something. Without skipping a beat, she tosses her honey-colored ponytail over her shoulder and flashes a grin in Tess’ direction.

  “I almost forgot about my interview today,” she says, shrugging her shoulders loosely and then slipping easily into Maxine’s seat. “Thanks for keeping my drink cold for me.” Lumen picks up Maxie’s chai and slurps it with a sigh.

  Tess doesn’t look convinced, turning to face us and crossing her arms over her chest. She could be Lumen’s colleague, dressed in a black skirt suit with a white button-up underneath. She barely looks at Parrish, her attention focused on me instead.

  Personally, I’m about three seconds away from a heart attack. I can hear my pulse thudding in my ears, and my palms are so sweaty that when I try to pick up my drink, it nearly slides out of my hands. My eyes meet Parrish’s from across the table. He and Chasm just saved my ass, didn’t they? Fuck.

  “Hi.” I give Tess a skeptical look that I’m not entirely sure she deserves. Like, it’s weird as hell that she followed me here, but also, she has a lot of trauma when it comes to me and disappearing. I try to be sympathetic. Also, I did lie to her about going to see Lumen today.

  “Hello.” Tess moves over to stand beside the table, pausing to rap her knuckles against the surface. She looks a bit chagrined which isn’t totally fair considering I was seeing my sister behind her back. Her fears are very real, apparently. “What are the four of you up to?”

  “Discussing our plans for the three-day weekend,” Parrish replies smoothly, leaning back in his seat as Chasm approaches the table with two drinks in hand. He sets one in front of Parrish and then grins at Tess before sliding onto the bench beside his best friend.

/>   “Hey Tess.”

  “Chasm,” Tess replies carefully, her raven eyes sliding back to me. Meanwhile, poor Maxine is trapped in the bathroom for the indefinite future. “I … think I owe you an apology.” She pauses and then puts her hand to her forehead, closing her eyes for a moment as I cringe internally.

  While on the one hand, I feel like she has no right to keep me from my sister, I also feel bad for making her feel like a crazy person when she most definitely isn’t one. Her suspicions are dead accurate.

  “Allow me to apologize,” Lumen suggests, rising to her feet and giving one of those award-winning smiles of hers. She could charm a leprechaun out of his own gold with that grin. “I should’ve clarified our plans with you.”

  “No, no, you’re allowed to go out and get coffee,” Tess suggests, opening her eyes and huffing out a breath. “I’m sorry. I’m just wrapped up in this deadline; I haven’t released a book in months and my readers are getting impatient.” She trails off and blinks a few times, like she didn’t mean to give up her insecurities so easily. “Oh, but you kids don’t care about that. I just … I’m going to grab a coffee to go and leave.”

  She heads for the line as I turn wide eyes back to my … friends? I mean, I know Lumen’s my friend, but I guess Parrish and Chasm are, too? When the fuck did that happen? Don’t we all hate each other? I mean, I do hate Parrish a lot …

  “You’re welcome,” he drawls, lounging like he’s on a throne crafted of gold. He has so much easy confidence but at the same time, there’s a frightening level of insecurity beneath the façade. It shouldn’t be intriguing but somehow it is anyway.

  “Did I say thank you?” I quip back, when really, I should probably thank them all. “How did you guys put this together?”

  “Lumen and I share a tutor,” Chasm says, shrugging and using the general chatter and the clink of dishes in the café to keep his words hidden from Tess. “We decided to come to your rescue. After all, I didn’t want Tess to take away my tutoring privileges. Looks too good on my college apps.”