I roll my eyes at the girls. "They’re a little older than you guys, plus you are friends with the ring-leader's baby sister. They view you as kids." I shrug, "No offense."
"Plus, when I met Nate I was drinking in Shooter's and he definitely thought I was older. I mean, I'm eighteen in two days so I guess the age-gap isn't too bad."
The look on their faces tells me that they aren't the type to underage drink in public, hell maybe not even at all.
Thankfully, Allie steers the conversation towards my birthday. "Have any birthday plans yet?"
"No, not really. One of my best friends is coming to visit though, Drake. I'm going to make sure your dad is cool with him crashing with us tonight after dinner."
She nods, and we go back to laying out in silence. Thank God, all this socializing is giving me a migraine. I take advantage of the quiet to plan out my game plan for the night.
I will not hook up with Alec. I will ignore him and focus my attention on Nate. I will make friends and avoid my asshole future stepbrother like the Bubonic Plague.
No matter how bad I want him, I will not give in to the deep yearning stirring within my body.
Chapter Eight
"What are you going to wear?" Allie asks as she sits at the foot of my bed.
I flip through the clothing hanging in my closet, "No clue, probably jeans and a tank." Her nose scrunches up in disapproval. "What? I like the casual vibe."
"I get that, but you are also going to be meeting some of your soon-to-be classmates tonight. Don't you want to make a good first impression?" Allie has a point.
"Uh, a skirt maybe?" I ask.
She hops up and pushes passed me, apparently deciding that she’s better equipped to dress me. "This one," Allie holds up a black leather mini skirt. She runs her hands over the shirts, "With this top." It’s an old band t-shirt that I had cropped. The shock on my face must’ve been apparent at her choice of attire for me.
"Hey, don't look so surprised. It may not be my style, but it'll look hot on you."
I slide the skirt over my hips and pull on the shirt. I survey the look in the mirror and am actually quite pleased. "Not bad, Allie. My black Doc Martens or checkered Vans?"
She places her finger and thumb on her chin as if she is thinking intently, "Doc Martens, go for the full-on bad ass look. They will eat it up."
We both burst into a fit of giggles. To say Allie was full of surprises was a gross understatement. "Yes ma'am. Whatever you say."
After applying a thin winged liner and some mascara I look over the finished product. "So?"
"You need lipstick, go with a dark color."
Who knew getting a stepsister also meant gaining a live-in stylist? I could get used to this.
Allie gives me her final stamp of approval and I head downstairs to give mom a heads up. "I'm going out, Mom. I may be late."
She turns the corner and her eyes open widely, "Oh, Honey. You look beautiful... but won't you get cold?"
I smirk, "Mom, its summer." I know she won't fight me on this, she never does. She may not like it, but she's always been a fan of self-expression.
Alec rounds the corner next and I swear he chokes on his drink when he sees me. "Where the hell are you going looking like that?"
"Party, same place you’re going." I answer, doing my best to appear aloof.
"Fuck no you aren't." He spits, and my mom's eyes are darting back and forth between us trying to gauge where the animosity is coming from.
"Yep, I sure am."
He laughs, "How will you even know where to go?"
I know as soon as the words leave my mouth he's going to see red, and I can't deny the excitement it brings. "Nate should be here to pick me up any moment."
"Nate? Who is Nate?" My mother asks.
I grab my purse and an apple from the counter, "Alec's best friend. I saw him at the beach today. He wants to introduce me to my classmates."
"That's nice of him! Well, have fun." Clueless, she’s absolutely clueless.
Alec still hasn't spoken. His face has turned a nice shade of ruby, and I take that as my cue for a hasty exit.
∞∞∞
The ride with Nate is pleasant, but not noteworthy. His taste in music is decent, but he talks too much. I much prefer the company of those who could enjoy the tunes in silence. It’s not necessary to fill the entire fifteen-minute ride with words.
"We're here, welcome to the docks." He gestures out towards the old rickety dock that jets out over the water. Around it is a large parking lot complete with a fire pit burning tall. There are dozens of people crowded around.
"Wow, good turnout." I mutter.
"It's always like this. Come on."
I follow Nate through the crowd trying to ignore the looks being thrown my way. It's a pretty even blend of guys looking like they want to eat me for dinner, and girls who look like they want to claw my eyes out. Joy.
He walks up to a small group of guys leaning against a metal gate. "This is Jo. She just moved here. She's a senior at Southside this year."
I wave my hand awkwardly at them and am thankful when huge smiles break out onto their faces. Nate goes down the line introducing me to the guys.
Connor is a tall, lanky boy with deep set brown eyes. His skin is a beautiful caramel color and his dark, almost black hair has a beautiful ethnic curl to it. His smile is infectious.
Kurt is short, stout, and seems to radiate an overall aura of positive energy. He greets me with a bear hug and it almost makes me forget that friendly shows of affection normally give me the creeps. I can't help but laugh each time he whips his head to the side trying to remove the strands of messy blonde hair from his eyes.
Finally, there is Nash, who I soon find out is Nate's younger brother. They look eerily similar, the only difference being Nate's skin is slowly catching up to being as inked as Alec's. Nash's is completely untouched. He's also a senior this year.
"V, Babe! Come here!" Connor calls out into the crowd beckoning a tiny redhead to come join us. She reminds me of a fairy, her stature so small, skin so pale, and her features so dainty. When she reaches his side he props an elbow atop her head. "This is Veronica, my girlfriend."
Their stark contrast should make for an odd-looking couple, but in all actuality they look perfect standing next to one another.
"Hi," she says with a voice that's equally as ethereal as her appearance. "I'm happy to have another girl around."
"You and me both, the only other girls I've met are in the grade below. I'm Jo." We both smile, and I have a feeling that a friendship will bloom between us with no problem.
Nate's voice breaks through, "Get this, guys. She's Alec's new step-sister."
The looks of shock on their faces makes me instantly awkward as hell. "Uh, Yeah. Not until the wedding though."
"Damn, Jo. Has he been driving you crazy? We knew he wouldn't take this whole thing very well." Kurt asks, clearly concerned.
I shrug, feigning indifference. If only they knew how crazy he makes me, in more ways than one.
"Where is the asshole anyways?" Nash asks his brother, and I hate that my attention snaps to Nate to await his response.
"Fuck if I know, probably in between some poor girls’ legs."
Damn.
"Poor girl? I'm sure she's hardly complaining." Connor retorts with a deep laugh.
The nausea that hits me hard is unsettling. They couldn't possibly know what their words are doing to me. That hearing about him touching someone else so soon after me is awakening the vicious green monster inside me. Envy.
Brush it off, Jo.
"True, I heard he had some broad pinned against the bathroom wall at Shooter's the other day and Gus had to run them off." Kurt's words make the bile rising in my throat burn intensely.
Nash wraps an arm around my shoulder, "How does it feel to live with such a nympho?" I know he’s only teasing, and I will myself with every fiber of my being to respond in a way that doesn't give me away.
"Honestly, I don't give a shit who, where, or when he fucks... as long as I don't have to listen to any moaning." My resolve sounded much more confident than I'd expected.
"Good to know, sis." Alec's voice fills my ears and chills break out over my entire body.
I whirl around and slam my fist into his arm, and of course he doesn't even flinch. "I told you to stop fucking sneaking up on me, tool. And stop calling me that, I am not your sister."
My unexpected show of aggression earns a horde of laughs and cheers from Alec's friends, and to my surprise a small look of approval from Alec himself.
He leans into me again, voice so low that only I can hear the words coming out of his lips. The same lips that were on mine not long ago. "Trust me, I know you aren't my sister. I think we established that last night."
Just as quickly as he appeared, he is gone again, arm draped around some blonde girl wearing practically nothing. The way his ass moves in those tight black jeans forces me to watch until he disappears into the crowd.
"Earth to Jo, do you want a drink?"
Shit. It's Nate. The way he's staring at me makes it clear he noticed me zoning out.
"Yes, several please." I respond to him.
I need to drink enough that I forget who Alec Miller is, and along with the deep urge I have to rip his clothes off.
Right here, in front of everyone.
Chapter Nine
"Alec, let's take this party back to your place." I hear Connor call out. The crowd had thinned, but the small group of people I’m with don’t seem ready to give it up.
Alec leaned against a wooden picnic table, elbows holding up his tight body. "Eh, I don't know man. Pops has been a little weird ever since the free-loaders showed up."
Was he serious?
"Ex-fucking-cuse me?" I sneer through gritted teeth. That same blonde still clung to his side like a flea on a mutt's scruffy ass. She cuts her eyes at me and I want to claw them out.
He doesn't give me a response, instead just a smirk that makes me see red.
"Come on, Man. Party in the boat house." Kurt backs up Connor's request.
Bimbo Barbie pipes up next, "Yeah, Alec. I wanna see your place." The desperation dripping from her words makes me want to barf.
He looks up at her and flashes a devious grin, "Alright then, to my place."
I make my way to Nate's car and once we're inside he lets out a long sigh. "You can't let him get to you. He's like a piranha, you let him smell blood in the water he’ll just keep attacking."
"Easier said than done, Nate. He called us freeloaders. Like I actually wanted to move here and live in his dad's house. Fuck that asshole."
We spend the rest of the drive-in silence, thank God.
When we pull up to the house, the guys file straight down to the boat house as if they've all been there a thousand times. Veronica hangs towards the back, seemingly waiting on me to catch up.
"Go ahead, Nate."
When he’s out of ear shot, I turn to the Fae-like girl and she gives me a reassuring smile.
"Well, I’m a little-bit tipsy and a lot of a bit irritated. I promise I'm not always such a downer."
V shrugs, "I don't think you’re a downer; Alec can be a handful. It must be tough. I can't even imagine moving my last year of high-school... and having to live with his moody ass."
I scoff, "Understatement of the year."
"You hold your own well, keep that up and he’ll crack eventually." With a wink she’s through the door, and I follow.
I enjoy hanging out with Alec's friends. Everyone laughs constantly, and every so often I catch the smallest smile tugging at his lips. Not that smug smirk that he offers up regularly... but a real, genuine smile.
"New girl," Connor says right before tossing me another beer. I catch it in my hands, earning a nod of approval. "So, you'll be at school with Nash and V this year."
"Yeah, looks like it."
I assume that most of them had graduated and were the same age as Nate and Alec.
Nash came to sit next to me on the futon, "It's a chill school, you'll like it."
Out of everything happening in my life currently, school was the one thing I wasn't worried about. It’d always been easy for me, the academics side of it anyway. Now the whole social scene is a different story.
"Maybe we'll have classes together." V's sweet voice addresses me.
"Yeah, I hope so. I'm not so good at making friends, it would be nice to see a few familiar faces throughout the day."
We sit around the room, the boys taking turns spilling outlandish tales about wild nights out and epic brawls. I mostly stay quiet, listening. I focus my attention on not looking at Alec, or Bimbo Barbie.
It’s easy enough to do, until Kurt included him in a reenactment of a fight that had apparently taken place at Shooter's a few months before I'd arrived. As I watch him act like that... being playful... it’s hard not to let my curiosities get out of control.
Seeing this version of Alec makes me want to solve the impossible puzzle that seems to surround him like Fort Knox. I want to know why he’s so callous and cruel. I want to find out what had hardened him against the world around him, and why he’s so quick to shut me out.
Kurt launches a playful punch in his direction and he dodges it effortlessly, instead throwing his friend over his shoulder like a sack of flour.
Right now, catching this small glimpse of the real Alec sparks a deep seeded determination within me. I need to know more.
∞∞∞
The dull hammering of bad music is rattling inside my head and all I want to do is snatch the person's phone that’s responsible for this horrid playlist and smash it. Alec stood against the wall by the bar while the blonde danced on him, pressing her perfectly round ass into his groin. He looked completely uninterested, which only made her try harder.
"Pathetic." I grumble, not intending to actually say the word out loud.
The futon dips under his weight as Nate takes a seat next to me, "You’re right about that." His eyes are also taking in the scene. "Want to get some air?"
To be honest, some air sounded perfect. Instead of responding I simply rose to my feet and gesture for him to lead the way. His hand finds mine and pulls me out the door behind him.
Stepping out into the warm, summer air is incredible. I expect Nate to let go of my hand once we make it outside, but he doesn’t. Instead, he leads me off of the deck surrounding the boat house and onto the long pier that extends over the water. There’s a wooden bench at the end, and small lights perch on the edges lighting our way.
"It's amazing here." I say, and Nate nods in agreement.
"Yeah, whenever Alec first invited me over I flipped shit when I realized he got to live somewhere like this. Lucky son-of-a-bitch."
There’s no animosity in his voice, it’s more of a playful tone that coats his words.
"It makes this whole situation a little more bearable." I admit.
"Hey, it'll get better. Eventually, he will get bored with messing with you."
Will he? Do I want him to? To get bored with me?
"What's his story anyway? What's with the whole rebel without a cause bullshit?" I ask and take in the conflicted look on Nate's face. I know he wants to open up to me, but he also doesn't want to feel like he's betraying his best friend.
"He's just been through a lot, Jo."
"Okay, how about more direct questions. Why does he still live at home? His relationship with Sean seems really strained. He's twenty, why not move out?"
Nate takes a deep breath and looks towards the boat house to make sure no one has come outside.
"He did move out, right after graduation. Then his mom got worse, way worse. Sean kind of checked out. Alec moved back home to take care of Allie and his mom while Sean threw himself into work to avoid what was happening. Allie had just turned fourteen, so she was at a really tough age... pair that with a dying mom and absentee father? It was bound to be trouble. Alec came back and he
ld down the fort until Sean got his shit together."
"Oh." That’s all I can muster up the strength to say.
"Yeah, she got worse a lot faster than they were expecting. I think Alec will always blame Sean for it. He’s convinced that his mom gave up because her husband couldn't stand to be around her, to see her in that weakened state. He thinks the broken heart sped up the process."
I blink back the tears threatening to give away just how much this story is affecting me. "That's horrible. I had no idea, Sean seems so-"
He interrupts me, "Perfect? The definition of a doting father? Yeah, he's tried his best to make up for his absence. Allie forgave him, but it just isn't that easy for Alec. He had to watch her deteriorate, be the man of the house. It was too much to put on him, I know that much."
I look out at the water, smooth like glass. I tune out Nate's voice as he continues.
Alec isn’t a monster, he’s broken. He’s angry at the world for taking away his mother. He’s angry that the person who should’ve been his rock- his role model... acted like a coward.
He’s also angry that his father is moving on and marrying someone new... and I’m guilty by association.
Chapter Ten
I stayed on the bench with Nate for a little longer, until the door opens and the crew begins to file out. Kurt's eyes meet ours and he smirks, offering a thumbs up. I roll my eyes and Nate laughs. I think Kurt is my favorite of the bunch.
When Alec appears through the doorway his icy gaze meets mine and damn near freezes me solid. That’s until his little tart runs up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Yeah, now my whole body’s on fire.
Why. The. Fuck. Was. I. Jealous?
"Nate, take Cass home."
Blonde Bimbo has a name, and she’s not happy. "What? Alec, I thought-"
He waves her off, "You thought wrong."
Nate still hasn't moved. I think he’s equally as confused at the events unfolding around us.
"Nate?" Alec barked, and this time he rose.
"I heard you, man. Uh, Jo... I guess I'll see you later?"
I nod and give him a short one-arm hug before he leaves taking a very disgruntled Cass with him.
Torn to Pieces Page 4