Good Stepbrother (Love #2)

by Scarlett Jade

  By halftime, I had scrambled from my position on the bleachers to the dry grass of the field so I could talk to him. I sashayed to him like I was a supermodel. He was a lot older, I could tell that, and I wanted to see if I could get him interested in me. “Hi,” I breathed, sidling up to him under the light.

  “Hey, babe,” he offered, inhaling deeply on his cigarette stub. He flicked the butt into the grass and blew out a cloud of smoke. “What’s your name, baby girl?”

  “Bri,” I cooed, running my fingertip down the sleeve of his jacket. “Yours?”

  “You’re awful young to be over here flirting,” he chuckled. “I’m Toby.”

  “Age ain’t nothin’ but a number,” I giggled, tossing my hair over my shoulder.

  “Tell that to the cops. You’re jail bait.” He smiled and ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair. “You’re hot, though.”

  “I know,” I replied. “And if you play your cards right, Toby, I could be yours.”

  His eyebrows shot up into his hairline and he licked his lips. “Who says I want you, baby girl?”

  “You do,” I told him, squeezing his bicep. “But you can’t have me…yet.” I turned to go back to the bleachers and gave him one long, sultry look over my shoulder as I strolled away.

  Looking back to the bleachers, I saw my best friends sitting there with their mouths open in shock. I was flying high. I felt so gorgeous, so sexy, so wanted. I knew Toby wanted me. Everyone wanted me.

  Except my father. My smile faltered and I blinked back tears as I climbed into the seat between my best friends. Things weren’t the greatest at home anymore. I blinked a couple of times and tuned into what the chatterboxes next to me were going on about.

  “OMG! He could be an axe murderer!” Britney squealed. “You don’t know him!”

  “He’s hot, though!” Jennifer sighed. “Look at that, he’s all brooding and dangerous.”

  I shrugged and tried to play it cool. “His name’s Toby, and he will be mine.”

  They both squealed and giggled around me while I narrowed my eyes and focused in on my next target. Jameson Keller was so yesterday’s news. After the football game, where he got stomped by the rival team, I met him at the edge of the field.

  He tried to kiss me and I backed away from his sweaty face. Ninth grade wasn’t exactly suiting him. He was pimply and hairy and gross. Plus he smelled like last week’s trash. Ew. “Don’t kiss me,” I snapped and he rolled his eyes.

  “You’re my woman,” he growled, reaching for me again.

  I smacked his hand away. “Not anymore.”

  “You think so highly of yourself, don’t you? You’re nothing but a slut. Just wait until I tell everyone exactly what you’ve done for me.” He tossed his helmet to the ground and sneered at me.

  I shrugged. “Go ahead. Wait until I tell all the girls you have a two inch penis. It’s like a baby carrot attached to a Brillo pad.”

  His mouth fell open and his eyes bugged out. “I have a condition!”

  “And I have pictures,” I smirked, pulling my cell phone from my pocket.

  “You’re evil!” he hissed. “Fuck you, good riddance.” He bent to grab his helmet and jogged away from me, mumbling cuss words under his breath.

  I walked home by myself, enjoying the chill fall air and the leaves rustling around my feet as I strolled. Headlights came up behind me and the car slowed. It was an old beater and my heart rate picked up for a moment until I saw the face in the window. Toby beckoned me over with one long finger.

  Pursing my lips, I opened the door and leaned over to look at him. “What?”

  “Get in, baby girl, we’re gonna take a ride.”

  I swallowed nervously. Toby was older than I thought. He could drive. “Who says I wanna ride with you?”

  He laughed softly. “You know you do, baby girl.”

  Shit. I did. He was danger and I loved it. “I have curfew,” I started, suddenly feeling very much like a child.

  “Do you?” He smirked. “I’ll get you home safe, baby girl. Slide on in.” He patted the cracked vinyl seat and I swallowed nervously.

  Tossing my hair, I sat in the seat and closed the door quietly. “How old are you?” I asked quietly as I buckled my seatbelt.

  “Old enough to know better but too damn young to care,” he offered, putting the car into drive and rolling down the street.

  Nothing happened that night. We drove aimlessly listening to music I’d never heard, a swelling, thumping beat that mimicked my raging heartbeat. I loved Toby. He was different. Five minutes to midnight, he pulled up in front of my house with a low whistle.

  “Damn, baby girl, you’re rolling in it,” he mumbled. “Too good for me.”

  “No way. The money doesn’t matter. I’m not like them,” I insisted, grabbing his hand impulsively.

  “You’re not” he agreed, leaning over and sliding his hand into my hair. His lips pressed against mine and I forgot how to breathe. He tasted like cigarettes which was gross, but the way he kissed? Holy hell. He pulled back after a minute and ran his thumb over my bottom lip. “See you soon, baby girl.”

  I opened my door and stumbled out, my knees just short of jelly. Somehow, I stumbled up the stairs and unlocked the front door. He peeled out of my driveway and honked the horn, waking up half of our neighbors. I was in love. I couldn’t wipe the stupid grin from my face. But what I walked into soon made my smile disappear. My parents stood in the marble foyer waiting for me.

  I jerked to a stop and carefully closed the door. “I’m not late for curfew,” I started sullenly. Then I noticed the suitcases by my mother’s feet. “What’s going on here?”

  My mother held her head high and she spoke clearly, even though tears ran down her cheeks. “We’re leaving, Brielle.”

  My brow furrowed. “Wait, what?”

  “You and your mother are leaving,” my father interjected. “We’re getting a divorce.”

  I wavered on my feet. “What?” I knew things were bad, but I didn’t know they were that bad.

  “We’re moving into an efficiency apartment that your father has so graciously gotten for us until I can get a job. He’s marrying his secretary.”

  I swung my gaze to my father. “I knew it, you lying bastard!”

  He shrugged. “I don’t owe you any explanation.”

  “Fuck you! Yes you do! I’m your daughter!”

  “No daughter of mine would dare to speak to me in such a manner. I hope that the baby she carries has better manners than you.”

  My mother gasped. “The slut is pregnant? You said you didn’t want any more children!”

  “With you.” He crossed his arms. “I’m asking you to leave the premises now.”

  “Come on, Bri, let’s go.”

  “I’ve called a cab for you,” he smiled tightly. “The car stays with me. I purchased it and my name is on the title.”

  “Everything is in your name,” Mom wept. “I hate you.”

  “The feeling is mutual, dear.”

  “I’ll be asking for child support and alimony,” she growled.

  “Of course you will, and it will be granted at a rate that the judge deems necessary, not what you’ve been accustomed to, my dear.” He walked to the door and held it open, pointing outside to the dusky night. “Please leave.”

  “I can’t believe you’re doing this to me,” Mom whispered. “After all I did for you…”

  “You provided services. You were paid for those services. Now I no longer require them.” He shrugged and smiled tightly. “I’ve upgraded.”

  “Brielle, come get your suitcases,” she ordered.

  I snapped to attention and picked up two bags of stuff. “This is it?”

  “The rest of your things were deemed unnecessary by Hitler here,” she grumbled.

  “You have clothes and books. Your furniture will be given to you, delivered by a truck tomorrow. Tonight, you and your mother need to stay at a motel. I’ve gotten you a room at the Meal Motel.�
� Meal Motel was a forty dollar a night motel on the edge of town that housed crack whores and hookers.

  “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 t
he 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.