Stepbrother

by Stacy McWilliams

  My mom hated them and rolled her eyes every time she saw them on my face, but I didn’t care.

  The car horn beeped and I saw Cooper in the driver’s seat. I gathered my three bags and my box and made my way out to the car. It was the same silver car from the other night and the girl from the previous day was in the front seat. As I approached the car, I saw his eyes narrow at me. When I tried to open the door, he moved the car forward a few feet. Then he did it again. I sat down on the paving stones with my box and a few black bags on my knees, staring into space as he took off down the street ignoring me.

  I’d already locked the door, so I didn’t bother going back inside the house, but after half an hour of the cold April wind biting at me I stood up. Just as I reached the door another car horn beeped. I turned around to see a dark blue car with Shawn at the wheel and my mom sitting beside him looking like she was sucking on a lemon.

  Turning around, I headed to the car, and as I opened one of the back doors, the blast of heat set my teeth chattering. My mom started on me as soon as I got into the car and I glared at the ground as she spoke.

  “Bailey, what happened to you? Cooper came by here forty minutes ago and said you didn’t come out to the car.” I shrugged, shivering, and she turned around in her chair. “Bailey, a verbal answer would be nice.” I didn’t want to start trouble with Shawn and his family, so I muttered, “Guess I fell asleep.”

  Shawn started driving away as my mom started on me again, seeing my shirts and sweaters in the bag on the seat beside me. I’d hidden the box behind the bags, hoping to avoid an argument with my mom.

  “Oh, Bailey, can’t we just throw those clothes out? They are awful and you have a whole new wardrobe, doesn’t she, Shawn? Shawn went out with Amelia, his sister to buy you new clothes and shoes; even a new cell which was very generous of him.”

  I smiled and said thank you, thinking it would be a cold day in hell before I wore anything he’d bought for me because I hated charity and I didn’t like him and damn it, he’d changed my whole life and I hated him for it.

  We drove for forty minutes and pulled into a property that had my jaw hitting the floor. It was huge, white, and on a lake, which looked deep and pretty. There was a dock, a pool, and a wraparound porch. The garage had three doors and Shawn pulled into the first, driving straight in. I counted at least ten cars and there were still a few open spaces.

  My mom and Shawn got out of the car and I sat there for a moment, mourning my old life. How did things change so quickly and get so out of control? My mom hadn’t even thought to consult me about changing our lives around. Shawn opened the other door and grabbed my bags. I grabbed the box and let myself out of the car.

  As Shawn led me into the house, my eyes widened at the wide-open living area. I could see stainless steel appliances in the kitchen with a huge granite island and mahogany cupboards. There was a set of doors right out onto the back of the house and from there I could see a path down towards the water, all covered in white decking.

  He led me through the kitchen to a grand staircase and led me up the stairs, pointing to the three rooms on this floor. His and my moms was at the very end of the right side of the hall and I could see a cream sofa in their room. He pointed straight on and told me that was his office, and that his door was always open to me. To the left of the office was a bay window and another closed door further down the hall. “That’s Zane’s room.”

  He moved towards the stairs again, and I knew that Cooper was upstairs next to me on the third floor. With each step I took my apprehensiveness grew until my palms began to sweat and shook as my teeth chattered. My glasses slipped down my nose and I took them off since I didn’t really need them on.

  I slid my glasses into my shirt pocket and moved down the hall. Shawn stopped outside a door and knocked, before pushing the door open. Cooper was standing frozen in a towel with water running in rivulets down his abs. My eyes were drawn to his incredible physique and as I ran my eyes up his body, I was met by an evil glare. He marched over and slammed the door on us.

  Shawn rolled his eyes and turned towards me. “That’s Coop’s room. He’s a bit pissy just now, but don’t worry, he’ll come around.” Pissy seemed like an understatement, but I didn’t like to call him out on it. He headed down the hall towards another room. “This is your bathroom at the moment, you’ll be sharing with Coop until the plumbers come in two days and fix your private bathroom.”

  Great. I was sure that would be fun. He hated me, but I couldn’t help the small part of me that was a tiny bit excited because he was gorgeous and it made me warm inside, like melted chocolate, when I thought of how gorgeous he was.

  I nodded at him, noticing the door that led into Cooper’s room was ajar. He was just visible in the gap and I wanted to watch him, but instead, I shook my head and turned towards the end of the hall. It was dark and my anxiety kicked up a notch. The box under my arm slipped a little and I held on to it a little tighter. Shawn kept walking and I followed like a puppy, with my heart pounding in my chest.

  As he opened the door, I half expected a vampire to jump out, but nothing more exciting happened than Cooper slamming his door and running down the stairs. He ignored his dad as he called after him and led me into my new prison, room, or whatever it was going to be. The room was pretty and fit for a princess.

  It was painted in pale rose with splashes of color in a multicolored wall. There was a pink laptop sitting on a desk and a makeup table. There was a huge bay window, complete with window seat and a gorgeous view over the bay. As I turned, I saw two doors, one closed and with a bit of do-not-enter tape on it and the other was open. Inside the door, I could see a new backpack, my new school uniform, and some clothes. I peeked inside the do not enter room and saw that it was a bathroom, tiled in grays and creams. It was lovely, but the taps were on the ground next to the sink.

  I moved my eyes away from the closet and took in the queen-size, four-poster bed, with lilac bedding, pale rose throw pillows, and comforter. Shawn stood by my side as I took in the room and the carpet under my feet that was a dark gray, which set off the room nicely because the curtains were the same color too.

  Shawn gestured around the room and broke the silence that had descended. “Do you like it? Your mom thought you’d prefer an older-looking room, and I know your cell got broken, so I replaced it while I was buying you a new laptop. Bailey, I know this is a lot for you to take in, but I want you to know you can come to me for anything.”

  I nodded and tried to clear my throat, but nothing came out, so I tried again. “Thank… erm, thank you, Shawn,” I whispered, and he gave me a one-armed hug, before walking out and closing the door. As soon as I heard his footsteps walking away, I turned and closed the door, collapsing to the floor and sat with my head in my hands. I didn’t want all this. I wanted to be back in my own room, in my own house, and not in this crazy big house with people I didn’t know who didn’t even like me.

  After a while, I glanced around and saw that Shawn had left the room with my bag of clothes. I walked over to the closet and saw there were colourful dresses, tight jeans, and pretty, girly tops. My head spun and I glanced around finding my box of Louis things. My fingers closed over the sweatshirt and I tugged it out of the box, running my fingers over it and holding to my face.

  Tears leaked from my eyes as I sat with it in my lap. I opened the box wider and saw his football trophies, his jersey, and his favorite teddy bear. He’d given it to me when our dad had left to help me with the nightmares, and I’d fallen asleep with it every night until a few years ago. I pulled out a photo of the two of us swinging at our grandparents’ house the summer before he died and I remembered that day, laughing as I tried to go higher than him.

  He’d let me win and I smiled at the memory. I glanced down into the box and saw another photo; it was the one my mom used in his memorial book and the one my dad went crazy over because he didn’t have a copy of it. It was Louis’s last school photo and he was winking at t
he camera. As my tears fell, I missed the sound of my room door opening and suddenly there was a draft behind me.

  “Oh, is this your boyfriend?” Cooper’s voice sounded behind me. “Are you crying because he’s a loser and so are you and you won’t find another boyfriend like him at our school?” He snatched the photo out of my hand and tore it slightly. I didn’t think. I just flew at him, dropping everything in my arms as I tried to claw at him. He swung me around and pinned me to the floor, breathing heavily as I bucked underneath him trying my best to unseat him.

  “I fucking hate you,” I swore at him, pissed beyond measure. His eyes darkened, and he snatched up the photo tearing it clean in two, before standing up and walking from the room, throwing the pieces over his shoulder…

  “Yeah, the feeling is mutual.” His gaze narrowed as he saw how devastated I was. I couldn’t believe he’d done that. He’d ripped up one of the few mementos I had of my brother and me and, at that moment, I’d never hated anyone as much as I hated him. As the door closed, I scrambled over to the photo and snatched it up, rushing to my desk for some tape to try and repair it, but there wasn’t any, so I flew downstairs in a sprint until I reached Shawn’s office.

  I knocked once and heard him call, “Come in.”

  I opened the door and saw Cooper standing talking to his dad sporting a scratch on his arm that was bleeding. I almost said sorry and backed out, but I just wanted some tape to repair my brother’s photo, so I asked him, in my most polite voice, “Do you have any tape?”

  His eyes narrowed at me, and he glanced at Cooper’s arm. “He said you did that?” His tone questioning and his eyebrows raised. I nodded and moved backward because his kind eyes turned glacial. “Can I ask why you assaulted my son?”

  My whole body shook, and I wordlessly held out the photo of Louis. “He tore this,” I whispered in my smallest voice.

  “So, you attacked him because he tore a photo of some boy? Is that right?” His voice rose slightly, and I continued to shake where I was standing. My instinct to run almost overwhelmed me and my legs trembled where I stood.

  “He’s not some boy, he’s my brother.” My voice cracked on the words and I wrapped my arm around my waist.

  Shawn’s face tightened as the words registered, and he spat at me, “You don’t have a brother! Your mom told me about this. You fantasised that you had a brother when your dad left and took photos of a boy you knew, twisting it to make it seem like you lost a brother. I thought you were over it though?”

  I stared at him dumbfounded as he began to speak again.

  “Your mom said you had gone through therapy and were much better, but I cannot have you behaving like that here; I won’t have it. You did not have a brother. You never had a brother. Do you understand me.”

  Tears filled my eyes as I took in both him and Cooper watching me. Cooper looked gleeful and a tear leaked from my eye as I said, “I do have a brother, he’s buried in the Columbia cemetery and has been for the last five years.” I couldn’t take it anymore. I spun on my heel and sprinted back up to my room, closing and locking the door behind me. I walked over to Louis’s stuff and pushed it all under the bed so my mom wouldn’t see it when she came in.

  I sat down on the floor and clutched the torn photo and his stuffed bear to me, the only things I didn’t hide. I didn’t want to sleep in that fancy bed or this fancy room, with that asshole down the hall from me. I wanted to go home and eat pizza at Leah’s. A soft knock at my door made me sit up and I wiped the remaining tears from my eyes.

  I opened the door and my mom was standing there with Shawn.

  “Sweetie,” my mom said in a calm voice. “We need to talk to you.” I opened the door wider and my mom entered. Seeing Louis’s football jersey on the floor caused her eyes to tighten, and she glanced at me for a second pleading with her eyes for me to keep quiet. I sat on the bed and my mom sat beside me with Shawn sitting opposite me.

  “Bailey, what happened earlier was not acceptable,” my mom began softly, and I glanced at her. She was looking at the bear in my arms and I could see her mind working on how to get it away from me. I clutched it tighter and she glanced over at Shawn.

  “Your mom tells me you’ve imagined you had a big brother since you were little, but, honey, you have a family now. You don’t need to imagine one.”

  My back stiffened and my eyes narrowed at my mom. “You are saying I imagined Louis? Why, Mom? Why would you do it?” She shrugged and stared away from me as Shawn spoke again.

  “You are not to mention this Louis again in my house, it upsets your mom, and if I see any pictures of anyone you claim to be your dead brother in this house, I’ll be putting them in the trash where they belong and you’ll be sent away to a facility that can deal with those outbursts.”

  He got up and left, but my mom lingered. “I’m sorry, Bailey, but it’s better this way.” Her tone was brisk and unaffected which left me cold all over.

  She kissed me on the forehead and walked after him as I muttered, “Better for you maybe.” She heard me; I knew she did because her back stiffened as she walked out of the room, slamming the door closed behind her.

  I reached under the bed and pulled out my photos and scrapbook. I’d made it from the newspaper articles that Leah kept, detailing the crash and how Louis lingered in a coma for two weeks. He began to have seizures and the doctors told my mom that his brain had suffered irreparable damage from a massive seizure. It took a few more days before my mom decided to switch off his life support and, in that time, he had a really bad seizure while I was in the room alone with him, scaring the life out of me.

  I’d never really gotten over that; my mom wasn’t there to see as his face turned purple and his body shook with violent tremors. I thought he was getting better, but then his body started to shake. My young mind unable to comprehend what was happening to the brother I’d idolized. The nurses and doctors ignored me as they fought to stabilize him, and I watched in growing horror as they performed CPR on him. I closed my eyes and counted backward from ten to escape the horrors of the memory.

  I touched the scrapbook and began to feel calm. There were sympathy cards in the scrapbook and a photo of me and Louis in the hospital before he passed away.

  I’d also been given his high school yearbook. My mom hadn’t wanted it and asked the school to take it back, but Leah had taken it, sure my mom would want something to remember her only son by. Eventually, she gave it to me. I pulled it out of the box, and a few more tears fell. I wasn’t allowed to talk about him or have his photos around, but that didn’t mean I’d forget about him.

  Someone banged on the door again and before I had a chance to put anything away, Cooper let himself into my room. He had tape in his hands, handing it to me as he took in the scrapbook and Louis’s yearbook. He nodded at me and I knew that was all the acknowledgment and apology I was going to get. I taped the photo back together, ignoring him as he closed the door behind him.

  He reopened the door a moment later and motioned to me to follow him. Curious as to what he was doing, he lifted the carpet on the far side of the room and lifted a loose floorboard. He didn’t say anything, but his meaning was clear, he’d given me a hiding place for Louis’s stuff.

  “Thank you,” I whispered as he walked out. He didn’t respond and I wasn’t sure if he’d heard me or not, but I didn’t care. I gathered all of Louis’s things and placed them in the hole. I walked over and sat at the window, powering up my new cell as I sat staring at the moon.

  As soon as the cell was loaded, I called Wendy’s house and her mom answered, “Lawrence residence, Molly speaking.” My heart sighed at hearing a familiar voice, and I almost sang out.

  “Hi, Mrs. Lawrence, is Wendy available?” I heard her call out to Wendy and after a moment, she came back on the line.

  “Bailey, it’s almost ten p.m. Why didn’t you call Wendy’s cell?”

  I took a breath about to speak again when there was another knock at my door, Zane popped his
head in and spoke in bored tones.

  “Bailey, come downstairs.” I nodded at him and shooed him away as Mrs. Lawrence spoke with a voice like a whip.

  “Who was that, Bailey?” Before I could answer, my cell was snatched out of my hand.

  Zane stood over me glaring. “I’m not a maid, but I’ve been sent up here to tell you to come downstairs now.” I nodded at him and held my hand out for my cell wordlessly. He glanced at me and then at my cell. I could see he was itching to throw it at the wall, but after a second, he pocketed it instead. “I’ll give it back later if I feel like it.”

  He turned and ran out of my door laughing as I imagined setting him on fire and dancing as he burned. I followed him downstairs and found everyone in the basement, where a theater room was set up with a movie playing on the huge screen. I didn’t care about it and didn’t particularly want to be in the room, but I sat down anyway, spending most of the time staring at my fingers ignoring everyone around me. It was easy because they ignored me right back.

  Cooper had his girlfriend sitting on his knee, and she kept glaring at me, which I was unable to miss. I eventually left everyone watching the movie and went back to my room, noticing that my room had been cleaned up while I was downstairs. I’d stuffed Pickles down the back of the cushions on the window seat, and he was still there. I grabbed him and took him to bed, letting the day from hell wash over me.

  I closed my eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep.

  I was woken up at six a.m. by a weird noise. As I was awake, I decided to go to the bathroom. The bathroom door from Cooper’s room was open, and as I walked in, I saw Cooper’s body moving over his girlfriend.

  I couldn’t believe he was having sex with her. My face heated and for a moment I was frozen, unsure what to do or where to look, as an odd feeling rose in my chest and then I turned and ran back into my room. As the house was quiet, I decided to go exploring. I shoved on some gym clothes and sneakers before heading down to the kitchen.