Conrad

by Emily Rose

  So many things raced through my mind and I studied my newly found stepbrother as he laid unconscious on the table in front of me.

  Something about him intrigued me. Maybe it was the fact that the scars on his skin told a story all on their own, or maybe it was the darkness that seemed to glow around him like an orb.

  Whatever it was, I knew that I wanted to know more.

  I wanted to know his story.

  “This wasn’t supposed to go down like this, Dare. Miles shouldn’t be here. When I treated Jax last week, he acted like—” Lila was cut off mid-sentence by Dare.

  I blinked in confusion and listened to Dare’s response.

  “Don’t. Let’s just deal with this situation and then we can deal with the rest. I’ve already convinced Dad to let me keep working,” he said and I didn’t miss the slight hint of anger in his tone.

  Lila sighed heavily. “Dad isn’t going to let this slide, Dare. He will want to finish the job. We both know he’s been trying to do this since he found out about Miles.”

  “I know, but he doesn’t know Miles is here right now and we need to keep it that way or my convincing them to trust me again after the shit storm with Owen will be for nothing. If they decide to not trust me, you know what will happen. This deal has been in the works since Mom left Dad,” Dare said quietly.

  I was so confused and questions of my own burned like fire at the back of my throat, but I knew better than to ask. It was clear that the Cross family was deep into something and I wasn’t about to go pissing off the wrong people to find out what it was.

  “Yes I know. If you keep working for Dad, he’ll leave Mom and me alone. I get it, but we both know that Kevin and Dad are out there looking for Miles as we speak, especially since things didn’t go like they wanted at the warehouse and eventually, they will catch on,” Lila said with frustration seeping into every word she spoke.

  Dare shifted in his chair and took a deep breath before he responded. “Yes but this is the only way, Lila, and you know it. I’m lucky I was even able to convince them to let me keep the deal after I betrayed them by going to Jared. We can’t let them find out that Miles is here, or all cards are off the table and I won’t let that happen to you or Mom.”

  His words held a warning. One that was meant for Lila and that only said that he didn’t want the conversation to continue in front of me.

  She nodded and the subject was dropped. I had no idea what I witnessed tonight, but as I tried to sort through all the tiny details that I had been given, I only confused myself even more.

  Somewhere between 11:30pm and now, my life had taken a turn, but I couldn’t let the secrets I learned tonight define my relationship with my stepsiblings.

  My gaze dropped to Miles once more. Just in the few minutes since the transfusion had started, I could see the color slowly returning to his skin. He was still unconscious, and his face was toward me. As I took in the shape of it, I wondered what color his eyes were. Were they jade green like Dare’s or were they more like Lila’s?

  I was way too curious about him. I shouldn’t be, I knew that, but despite being my stepbrother, I knew nothing about him, and I was someone that liked to know all the details, even if they could potentially cause me harm.

  My eyes traveled from his face to his neck where I saw his quick pulse fluttering below the surface of his skin. My gaze traveled down his long frame even more. Maybe this was wrong to think considering the relationship I had with him and the position he was currently in, but I couldn’t stop myself from noticing just how gorgeous he actually was. I was all light. Light skin, light brown hair, and light gray eyes. Miles was the exact opposite. He was all dark and it made me wonder if his looks dictated his personality.

  Was he the silent, mysterious type? How old was he exactly? Was he married? Did he have any kids? What brought him to this point in his life? Why was he kept a secret for so long?

  All of these questions ran through my head like a lightning storm and I knew I had to be careful when it came to Miles or I would become obsessed with the darkness.

  And despite my burning desire to have such a thing in my life, the idea of it becoming real scared the living heck out of me.

  “You should probably get home, Lesley. You can take my car. I’ll have Dare give me a ride to come pick it up later,” Lila said.

  I nodded, even though questions still burned in my mind and took one last glance at Miles before I walked out of the room. I had no idea what to think at this point, but it was clear that there were some things neither Dare nor Lila wanted me to know about their family. These thoughts ran through my head as I got back into Lila’s car, which she had left running outside, and shifted into gear.

  This was supposed to be a night of fun sister bonding time, but it had turned into so much more than that and now I was driving home to sleep under the same roof as a woman who seems to have a dark history that I knew nothing about.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Lesley

  “Lesley!”

  I heard my name being called from outside my bedroom door and I groaned before rolling over to check the time on my phone.

  It was 7:10am.

  “Breakfast is ready,” I heard my father say.

  Yawning, I slowly sat up in bed and responded, “Ok. I’ll be out soon.”

  A second later, I heard his footsteps as he walked away. Reaching up with my hands, I rubbed the grittiness from my eyes and then got out of bed to get ready for school. I was in no mood to dress up, so I decided on leggings, a Guns & Roses’ T-shirt my father had bought me last Christmas, and tennis shoes.

  I went over to stand in front of the full-length mirror attached to my closet door and examined myself. My gray eyes looked brighter than normal and there were dark circles under them. I sighed heavily before I walked over to the dresser, grabbed my foundation from my makeup bag, and then went back to the mirror. Dabbing around my eyes, I covered the dark circles as much as I could and then sat the bottle of foundation down before I pulled my hair up into a messy bun. Once I didn’t look like death warmed over, I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth before I grabbed my phone off the charger, shoving it into my book bag on my way out the door.

  When I walked into the kitchen, I saw my father sitting at the bar with his usual coffee and newspaper, but my eyes shot to my stepmother as she stood next to the counter, pouring herself a cup of coffee. The woman had always looked young for her age, but after last night and what I learned, I took a moment to really look at her.

  She was tall and thin with long, straight, ink black hair. Her skin was fair, and I knew from just being around her that her eyes were a striking green.

  “Oh, hey baby, is Lucas giving you a ride to school today?” My father asked.

  I blinked and looked away from my stepmother before I nodded, “Yeah, he was supposed to.”

  My father responded without looking away from his newspaper, “Great. Is he bringing you back home after school?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m driving right by there later this afternoon. I could pick you up instead,” Kelly said.

  Before my father could respond, I spoke. “No! I mean…” I took a deep breath, “Thank you, but I think we are going out for ice cream after school,” I said.

  Kelly gave me an odd expression, but then nodded. “Well, ok. I hope you kids have fun,” she said before walking around the counter to plant a kiss on my father’s cheek, “I’ll see you this afternoon.”

  He smiled. “Love you, babe.”

  When Kelly reached me, she rested her hand on my shoulder and met my gaze. “Have a good day at school,” she said.

  I forced a smile. “Thanks.”

  With that, she walked out of the room and the air seemed to snap back into place around me as I slowly released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. When I lifted my gaze from where it had dropped to the floor, I saw my father watching me evenly and a questioning look burned in his eyes.

  “Is ever
ything okay, Les?” he asked.

  Before I could respond, I heard a horn honk outside and I spoke quickly. “Oh, Lucas is here. Gotta go, Daddy. Love you!” I hurried out the door with my book bag slapping against my side as he called from behind me.

  “Aren’t you going to take anything for breakfast?”

  “Gotta go!” I called back just before letting the door slam shut behind me.

  I cringed, because I hated running from my father’s questions, but there was no way I could answer them without asking him questions of my own or telling him what I had seen last night. Pushing these thoughts aside, I glanced up to see Lucas’ slick white 2019 Ford Mustang GT sitting next to the curb with the engine running and the music blaring.

  The passenger side window rolled down, and Lucas’ pale blue eyes met mine, “What are you waiting on?” he called after turning the music down.

  I did my best to shake off everything and smiled before I took off toward his car. Once I got in, Lucas turned the volume up once more and music blared around me as we skidded off, heading toward Hampton High School.

  ****

  Later that day, I sat on the bleachers watching Lucas at football practice with my EarPods in my ears. The song Guys My Age by Hey Violet filled my ears and my mind drifted back to everything I had learned about my family over the past 24 hours.

  I still couldn’t wrap my head around the idea that I had a stepbrother that I had never met, that I had never even heard about. It made me question everything I had ever learned about my stepmother. It wasn’t like she had been a bad one. She had always been nice, but now that I knew what I did, it made me wonder if all of it had been just an act.

  And if it had been, she was a damn good actress.

  “Les!”

  I jumped when my name was shouted and one of my EarPods fell out of my ear, only to fall between the bleachers, straight to the ground.

  “Shit!” I said and looked up to see my best friend, Noah Tristan, grinning from ear to ear.

  “Sorry, I didn’t realize you had those things in your ears,” he said as his light brown eyes filled with a genuine apology.

  I sighed, “My dad will murder me if I don’t find it.”

  Noah twisted his book bag around until it was covering his lap and then sat down next to me, “Well, if you got something that wouldn’t fall out of your ears then you wouldn’t run into that problem,” he said.

  I glared at him, but he wasn’t paying attention. Instead, he was admiring the show in front of him as the football team continued to practice. This caused an unwanted chuckle to escape me and suddenly all was forgiven. Which was usually the case with Noah.

  “I don’t know why you don’t just ask Brad if he wants to hang out?” I said, knowing Brad Jennings was the only reason Noah was here.

  He laughed sarcastically. “You’re funny. Brad would punch me right in the face if I asked him that question.”

  I arched an eyebrow at him and took my lone EarPod out of my ear, shoving it into my book bag. “Why do you think that?”

  He met my gaze. “Uh, because he’s not bisexual. Duh.”

  Noah and I had been best friends since first grade. I always knew he was bi, but it took some convincing for him to accept it. It wasn’t easy telling his parents either, more his father than his mother, but I supported him. There wasn’t a moment that I didn’t love Noah and I always knew he had the ability to tell them. He just needed to know someone was there for him, while he did it.

  But once he accepted it and everyone knew the truth, he showed no shame for being himself and I admire that.

  “How do you know?” I asked.

  He smirked. “Because girls are always all over him and he hasn’t pushed them away or shown any interest in guys.”

  “But no one besides me knew you liked guys too for the longest. Maybe he’s the same way?” I said.

  “I doubt it,” he answered.

  I rolled my eyes and glanced up to see Lucas running toward the bleachers in his practice uniform. When he reached us, he removed his helmet and sweaty blonde strands stuck up in every direction.

  “Hey,” he said breathlessly.

  I smiled. “Hey.”

  Noah spoke without looking away from Brad as he jogged back toward the locker rooms, “Sup.”

  Lucas chuckled and then met my gaze. “Are we still meeting after school for ice cream?”

  “As far as I know,” I said.

  “Ok, cool. Are you coming Noah?” Luke asked.

  He shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “Brad will be there,” Luke said.

  “Alright, I’m in.” Noah answered without skipping a beat.

  I laughed and then met Lucas’ gaze, “I guess we’ll meet you in the parking lot then?”

  “Sounds good,” he said as he leaned down to plant a quick kiss on my lips before he jogged back down the bleachers.

  Once he was out of earshot, Noah spoke. “You guys are too cute.”

  I shoved him with my hand, but he caught himself on the bleacher and laughed. “Shut up,” I said before I stood up with my book bag, “I have class. Meet you later?”

  He stood, causing my eyes to lift slightly to stay level with his. “Yup. Love you girl,” he said and then started down the bleachers, leaving me alone.

  I sighed heavily and slowly started making my way down the bleachers. When I got back to the ground, I darted under them and searched around for my lost EarPod. It took forever, but I finally found it lying next to a water puddle. “Great,” I mumbled and picked it up, drying it off with my shirt before shoving it into my book bag and then hurrying off to class.

  ****

  “There’s seriously nothing you can do about it?” I spoke into my phone as I walked out of school with the bell ringing loudly behind me, ending the day.

  “No, I’m sorry. It was a last-minute thing and it’ll only be for a few hours,” Lila said on the other end of the line.

  I groaned before I looked up to see Lucas and Noah standing by Lucas’ Mustang, waiting for me.

  “Fine, but I’m bringing company,” I said.

  “Who?” Lila asked.

  “Lucas and Noah,” I told her as I crossed the parking lot, reaching Lucas’ Mustang and yanking the passenger door open, so I could throw my book bag into the seat.

  Lucas and Noah both looked up with questioning looks, but I shook my head and got into the car instead. They seemed to get the hint and jumped in after me without asking what I was disgruntled about.

  “Well, I don’t really think that’s a good idea, but I can’t tell you what to do,” Lila said.

  “Then it’s settled. I’ll be there soon,” I said.

  “Ok,” she responded before we hung up and I threw my phone into my book bag that was now sitting in my lap.

  As Lucas drove through the school parking lot, he spoke. “What was that about?”

  I rolled my eyes. “My sister needs me to babysit someone. She got called into work and she’s worried to leave them alone.”

  “So, no ice cream or Brad then?” Noah asked from the backseat.

  I sighed. “No, I’m sorry guys. But I told her I was bringing company, so you guys are stuck coming with me.”

  I hadn’t just told Lila that they were coming, because I wanted company. I also wasn’t very comfortable sitting alone with him, even if he was my stepbrother and still unconscious. I didn’t know him or how he got into that position, so I wasn’t about to trust him even if he did pique the curiosity in my mind.

  “I’m fine with hanging with you wherever,” Lucas said as we turned onto the main road, “Where am I going?”

  I gave him directions to Lila’s place, and it wasn’t long before we were pulling up in front of her apartment. Dare’s Jeep was still parked there, which made me wonder why Lila hadn’t just asked him to watch Miles, but I pushed these thoughts aside as Lucas parked beside his Jeep.

  “Come on, she has food and movies, so it won’t be too boring,” I said and
then got out of the car.

  Lucas cut the engine and stepped out, pulling the seat up for Noah and then they followed me inside. Lila had left the door unlocked and as I walked inside, I instantly spotted Dare. He was asleep on the couch, still dressed in his black outfit and the look of him there reminded me that he had given blood, which was probably the reason Lila didn’t ask him to keep an eye on Miles.

  “Just take a seat wherever,” I said as I sat my book bag down on the table next to the door.

  It didn’t take long before Lucas went into the small kitchen and started searching for the alcohol that I knew Lila had stashed. After setting my things down, I took a deep breath and went toward the back room where I knew I’d find Miles. Sneaking through the Christmas lights, I saw him still laying on the table unconscious, only this time he had a heart monitor hooked up and he wasn’t bleeding all over the place.

  Lila or Dare had removed his bloody shirt at some point, which revealed his hard torso and the bandages Lila had placed on his injuries. My eyes scanned his skin and I couldn’t help but notice the scars that lingered on one side of his body as his stomach lifted and fell in even breaths. They were beautiful in a chilling way. Carved into his skin like artwork, they traveled from his wrist to his shoulder and then down his side, vanishing under the top of his jeans.

  “Well, hello gorgeous. Please tell me that this man is single and likes guys,” I heard Noah say behind me.

  I jumped and with my heart in my throat, I spun around to see him leaning against the doorframe, eyeing Miles like he wanted to attack him right then and there.

  “Jesus, you scared me!” I said.

  Noah ignored me as he tilted his head to the side and continued to gaze at Miles with a dark, and disturbing look in his eyes.

  “Noah, can you please stop mind fucking my stepbrother?” I asked.

  He blinked and then snapped his gaze to me. “He’s your stepbrother? I thought I knew all of your brothers and sisters. How come I never met this one?”

  I looked over my shoulder at Miles. “I thought I knew them all too.”