Stepbrother Romance Complete Series

by Ava Grace

  Lydia was the reason that I’d come back to the trailer park, three months after I left. It was her seventeenth birthday and I was looking forward to giving her my gift. I’d spent as much time as I could with her since I’d moved out, but it wasn’t as much as I would have liked. I worked all week and was pretty zonked when she came over to stay with me on the weekends, but I wouldn’t have missed one for anything. I lived for the days I spent with her.

  That day, Lydia’s birthday was supposed to be one of my days with her, but her mother had made a big deal about cooking a meal for us all. I don’t know why because she couldn’t cook for shit, but it was what she wanted and Lydia had always done anything she could to please her mama—even though she didn’t deserve it.

  I could hear the shouting from five trailers away and my old man’s voice only got louder the nearer I got. My hackles rose and I forced myself to stop and take a breather when all I wanted to do was go charging on in there and knock the fucker out.

  “You’re a worthless piece of shit!” Arlene was screaming at him. “Why don’t you go out and find a job.”

  I winced, not because I didn’t agree with what she was saying, but because I knew there was only so long that my father would put up with her screaming at him before he blew his top and lashed out.

  “Get out of my face, you dried up old hag!”

  The acerbity dripped off his every word and I wondered how she’d put up with his insults and abuse for so long. It was different for me, I hadn’t been old enough to leave, but she could have walked away from him anytime she wanted. Still, I’m glad that she hadn’t because she would have taken Lydia with her and that girl had made my life there something more than merely bearable.

  I sighed, hoping Lydia wasn’t home and didn’t have to listen to their argument on her birthday, but I knew deep down that she wouldn’t be anywhere else, not when she knew I was coming over to see her. Sure enough, when I rounded the corner, Lydia was sitting on the old picnic bench outside the trailer that had once belonged to Mary.

  I watched her for a moment without her realizing I was there. She looked sad and that caused a dull ache in my chest. I hated to see her like that, especially on her birthday. She was playing with a strand of her long, mousy colored hair—twisting it around and around her finger while she stared down at our trailer, listening no doubt to the fireworks inside.

  “They’re putting on quite the show,” I said to capture her attention.

  “Hi, Cole.” Lydia looked up at me and smiled, but the expression didn’t reach her eyes.

  When she came to my condo on the weekends, she got this sparkle in her eyes that made my breath catch, but I’d never seen it here. This place was soul destroying—it was sucking the life right out of her.

  I took a seat next to her on the top of the table and rested my feet on the bench seat.

  “That’s gonna blow up soon,” I said, nodding to the place I used to call home.

  Lydia nodded. “Yeah. They’ve been at it for hours.”

  I winced. “And he still hasn’t exploded? That’s got to be a record.”

  “I know. She lets him calm down for a while then starts nagging him again. Why doesn’t she ever learn?”

  I shrugged. I’d never said this to Lydia, but I suspected her mother somehow got off on all the arguments with my dad. Why else would she keep starting them? She knew as well as the rest of us what he was like after he’d been drinking but she kept going back for more.

  “Is he wasted?”

  “Yeah. Since this morning. He cracked open a bottle of whiskey and said he was celebrating my birthday.”

  I snorted. “That old chestnut. So what’s he celebrating on the other three hundred and sixty-four days of the year?”

  Lydia grinned and for once there was an undeniable flicker of amusement in her eyes. “Being alive?”

  I barked out a laugh. “Yeah, but not for much longer if he carries on the way he’s going.”

  “Would you miss him?”

  “Hell no. I’d throw a party.”

  She shot me an impatient look. “You don’t mean that, Cole.”

  “Don’t I? What makes you think for one second that I give a shit about that old bastard?”

  “Because he’s your father.”

  I shook my head. “Not really. He’s just a sperm donor. It takes a real man to be a father and he ain’t one. Anyway.”

  I reached into my pocket, pulled out a small black box then placed it on her knee. “Happy Birthday, Lyd,”

  She stared at the box for a full ten seconds before she looked up and met my gaze. “You got me a gift?”

  I chuckled. “Uh, what do you think?”

  She stared at the box some more. “What is it?”

  “Only one way to find out.” I waited another few moments, but when she made no move to open it, I lost my patience. “It’s not going to bite you, you know. Oh, give it to me, I’ll open it myself.”

  I made a grab for the box, but she got to it before me. Then, agonizingly slowly, she opened the lid. And stared.

  “Well,” I prompted. “What do you think?”

  She didn’t reply, just stared open mouthed at the little silver antique locket inside the box.

  “If you don’t like it, I can take it back,” I told her. “I’m sure they’ll let me exchange it for something—“

  Lydia threw her arms around my neck then hugged me tight against her chest. “I love it,” she whispered. “Thanks, Cole. It’s beautiful. Will you put it on for me?”

  I cleared my throat. “Sure.”

  I took the box from her then pulled out the locket and fiddled with the clasp. “Oh, I nearly forgot. I had something written on it,” I said, remembering the inscription. “Here, look.”

  I turned the locket around to show her the back and she read the words out loud.

  “To my beautiful angel,

  Love always, Cole.”

  She choked out a sob.

  She turned, giving me her back then lifted her long hair out of the way so that I could put the necklace on her, but not before I noticed the wet glimmer of tears in her eyes. I thought it might embarrass her if I mentioned it so I stayed quiet.

  “How did you afford this, Cole? You barely make enough to live on.”

  “I make plenty,” I bristled. “Besides, it wasn’t that expensive and I had some money saved up. I wanted to get you something special.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you,” she said in a rush. “It is special. Don’t think that I don’t appreciate it because I do. No one has ever given me anything like this before. It’s the prettiest thing I’ve ever owned. Thank you.”

  I shrugged. “Don’t mention it.”

  My fingers brushed against her neck as I clumsily tried to get the clasp done up again. She shivered and my stomach tightened in response, aching for something that felt just out of reach. Lydia had a real pretty neck, long and elegant and her skin was a flawless milky white. It was perfect—just like the rest of her.

  “Done,” I said, pulling my hands away quickly so I didn’t make her uncomfortable.

  She put down her hair then turned the locket over in her fingers, reading the inscription again. She met my gaze and I was instantly entranced, lost in the warm hazel depths of her eyes. We stared at each other for a moment that seemed to stretch into an eternity, neither one of us willing or able to look away.

  Lydia lifted her hand and gently placed her palm against my cheek. My breath hitched and my skin tingled from the contact.

  “I don’t know what I would have done without you these past years,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “You’ve always been there for me.”

  “And I always will,” I assured her.

  She nodded. “I know you will. That’s one of the reasons why I love you, Cole.”

  My stomach clenched and I felt oddly disoriented. It was like I didn’t know which way was up.

  “I love you, too,” I managed to get o
ut.

  She scooted closer on the table top then leaned her head in. I forgot how to breathe. An array of mixed feelings surged through me. When she placed a kiss on my cheek, as soft as a whisper, I squeezed my eyes shut, my hands balling into fists in my lap. The kiss was barely there, but I had no doubt that I’d still be feeling it for the rest of the night.

  “Shut your mouth, bitch or I’ll shut it for you,” my father roared.

  “Shit.” I jumped off the bench then held my hand out to Lydia to help her down. “I don’t like the sound of that. We’d better get in there before he loses it completely.”

  She took my hand and climbed down off the table, but I didn’t release it immediately and as I led her to the trailer, it reminded me of the day we’d first met, all those years ago when I’d taken her hand and led her outside to what I’d come to think of as our picnic table. I don’t think I realized on that day how important she would become to me. I don’t know what I would have done without her, either.

  The tension hung thick in the air when we entered the trailer. My father looked up from the ball game he was watching on television and grimaced as if he’d just got a bad taste in his mouth.

  “The prodigal son returns,” he drawled.

  “Hey, pop,” I greeted, trying to be civil for Lydia’s sake. “Arlene.”

  Arlene stopped glaring at my dad long enough to answer me.

  “Hey, Cole. ‘Fraid there’s been a problem with dinner,” she said, before taking a long drag of the cigarette in her hand. “Someone forgot to keep an eye on it when I was in the shower.”

  “Bitch, what the fuck you talking about?” My father said. “I told you I weren’t going to watch it.”

  I could see the disappointment in Lydia’s eyes. Likely not because she’d been looking forward to her mom’s cooking, but because she thought we could all sit down together and have a civil dinner. It would certainly have been a first.

  I mentally counted the money I had left in my bank account. There was about a hundred and fifty bucks, give or take. It would be enough.

  “Come on,” I said brightly. “We’ll go out. Dinner’s on me.”

  Lydia frowned. “No, Cole. You can’t afford it.”

  “Shut up and get your coat,” my father said. “Boy wants to waste his money. Let him.”

  I suspected my father was thinking about how many drinks he could get out of me during dinner, but I was sure I could afford to order a couple of bottles of cheap wine. He wasn’t fussy, he’d drink anything. We ate in a little steakhouse on the outskirts of town. It was frequented by bikers so it wasn’t anything fancy, but it was the first time that we’d gone out to eat as a family and it was worth every penny of the hundred and thirty-five bucks to see the smile on Lydia’s face.

  My father got shit-faced by the end of the night and insulted a waiter so the manager asked us to leave, but we were ready to go by then anyway so it didn’t sour the night too much. I dropped my father and Arlene off at the trailer park then Lydia came back to my condo to stay for the rest of the weekend. I’d never seen her happier and I vowed that for as long as I was able, I would continue to do whatever I could to make her happy, because in turn, doing so made me happy.

  Chapter Two

  Lydia

  I was exhausted by the time I got home from the grocery store where I worked every Saturday and Sunday. I enjoyed my part-time job, but sometimes I hated it too because now I didn’t get to spend the weekends with Cole. I hardly saw him anymore and my heart hurt with how much I missed him. In the past year since he’d moved out, I’d been utterly miserable.

  Life had got worse at the trailer over the last few months, but on the rare occasions that I did see Cole, I tried not to let him see how bad things really were. He’d only worry and there wasn’t anything he could do to change things anyhow.

  I was only a couple of months away from my eighteenth birthday so I figured he’d try to persuade me to come and live with him. I couldn’t. For one thing, my stepfather, Ray wouldn’t allow it and I didn’t want to get Cole in trouble, but even if that wasn’t an issue, I couldn’t move out of the trailer. I just couldn’t leave my mother alone with that monster. He’d end up killing her—if the drugs didn’t.

  This particular Saturday, I’d worked a twelve-hour shift then walked the couple of miles home to the trailer park. My feet were killing me and I was hungry. I was looking forward to the pizza I’d brought home from the store and a long hot shower before falling into bed and crashing out for at least eight hours. However, as I got near our trailer, I heard Ray shouting and realized my plans would have to wait.

  “You stupid fucking bitch! What the fuck have you gone and done now? You’ve taken too much!”

  I quickened my pace, my stomach twisting into knots as I reached the trailer. I never knew what would greet me as I walked through the door, but this time, from what Ray had just said, I had a pretty good idea. My mother had been on the gear again. And she was wasted. I took a deep breath, bracing myself against what I was about to face then opened the trailer door.

  Ray was stood by the sofa in the living room, looming over my mother’s still body. Her eyes were open, but her stare was blank. Drool fell from her mouth and onto her shoulder. On the floor beside her sat the needle she’d used to shoot up. The rubber tourniquet was still tied around her arm.

  Ray turned to me, a look of disgust on his face. His red rheumy eyes indicated that he’d drink quite a lot of alcohol that day. Too much. As usual.

  “Jus’ got in and found her like this,” he informed me. “Stupid fucking bitch.”

  I was used to the way Ray talked to and about my mother now, but each time I heard it, it still sent prickles of disgust over my skin. I hated him and I hated my mother for choosing him. She hadn’t been the best role model when I’d been young, but she was a hundred times worse since she’d been with Ray. In the past year, I’d come to the conclusion that she’d just given up on life. That made me sad, but it also made me angry. Why didn’t she love me enough to want to live?

  “I’ll deal with her,” I said, crossing the small room.

  “Too right you will,” Ray answered. “Fucking waste of space. You got any money? I’m gonna go back to the bar. Not gonna fucking sit here and look at that all night.”

  I could have said no, of course. But in all honesty, I wanted him gone so that I could deal with my mother in peace.

  I reached into my purse and pulled out twenty bucks. “It’s all I have,” I told him.

  Ray shrugged, pocked the money then stumbled back out of the trailer. I looked down at my mother and sighed. She was strung out, but at least she wasn’t foaming at the mouth this time. The last trip to the emergency room had cost more money than I could afford to pay. I’d had to borrow extra off Cole.

  “What have you done to yourself, Mom?” I asked as I took the rubber band off her arm then threw it and the empty syringe in the trash.

  I got a clean washcloth and wet it with warm water then used it to clean the drool off my mother’s face. She didn’t move or even register that I was there. I put some cushions behind her then moved her into a more comfortable position, but there was nothing else to do except wait until the drugs had run their course. That could take anything from two to ten hours, depending on how much she’d taken. I couldn’t leave her in case she threw up and choked so I put my pizza in the oven, switched on the television and waited it out.

  Six hours later, Ray came home. My pulse sped as he opened the trailer door and I waited for the torrent of abuse that always came before he got handy with his fists, but fortunately, my luck was in. Ray was so drunk that he could barely stand. He didn’t even acknowledge us as he stumbled into the bedroom then passed out cold on the bed. If Ray was to choke in his sleep, I wouldn’t have any feelings about it one way or another. Well, maybe a little relief.

  Chapter Three

  Cole

  I climbed up onto the top of the picnic bench then sat down next to Lydia
and reached out for her hand. She placed it in mine without hesitation then leaned her head against my shoulder. I laced our fingers together and gave her hand a little squeeze.

  “How are you doing?” I asked.

  It was a stupid question to ask someone who’d just lost a parent, but I didn’t know what else to say.

  She shrugged. “I’m not sure. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. I feel kinda numb.”

  I rubbed circles over the back of her hand with my thumb, over and over again, hoping she found the action soothing.

  “I’m not surprised. Burying your mother is not something you should have to go through at seventeen. Though, I reckon it’d be hard at any age.”

  “Yeah. I think you’re right.” She shuddered. “I still can’t get the image of her out of my head. I mean, I’ve seen her strung out dozens of times—especially in the last couple of months, but this time I knew as soon as I walked through the door that she was gone.”

  I gave her hand another squeeze. I hated that she’d been alone for that.

  “It’s like I could sense it in the air,” she went on. “Like there was no life in the room because her soul had already left. When I got closer, there was no mistaking her lifeless eyes staring up at me.” She shook her head. “I’ll never forget the way she looked, Cole. Not for as long as I live. It was horrible.”

  I sighed. “I bet it was. I wish I could have been there for you. I hate that you had to go through that alone.”

  “You came as soon as I called you,” Lydia said.

  “I know, but it’s not the same thing. You shouldn’t have been the one to find her. Look, I know it’s no consolation, but maybe she’s in a better place now. Maybe she can finally be happy—be at peace.”