The Abduction

by Nichole Allen

  “Get a hold of myself? You were the one that worked out with an entire hockey team! I think I’m entitled to my feelings!”

  Before he could utter another word, Will appeared in the doorway. Keegan fell silent and narrowed his eyes at Evie’s new stepbrother. Will had a bothered look on his face as well.

  “If she’s telling you to leave, you leave,” he warned.

  “Don’t tell me what to do,” Keegan retorted.

  “Leave her alone,” Will said, “She didn’t do anything wrong. I invited her to train with us.”

  When Keegan stood toe to toe with Will, Evie could see how small and intimidated he seemed. Without a reply, he stole one last look at Evie before he stormed out of the room and down the stairs. The front door slammed shut and several seconds later she could hear his car pulling out of the driveway.

  “Everything okay?” Evie’s mother called from the living room.

  “Fine!” Will called. “Evie said he had another family emergency.” He locked eyes with her as she flopped onto her bed.

  “Okay, I thought he seemed upset,” her mother called out and then the volume of the movie she and Craig were watching intensified.

  “Does he always talk to you like that? I couldn’t believe what he was saying.”

  “He didn’t before I moved here.”

  Will stared at her, understanding what she was implying. He gestured to himself. “Me?”

  Evie nodded and found herself smiling despite the situation. “Yah. He thinks you are better than him in every way. I swear he thought you took me to a gang bang or something at the gym today.”

  “Wow…” Will answered, shaking his head. “If I had known I would have never…”

  “Will, I’m glad you invited me. I’ve known him for years and I feel like he still doesn’t get me.”

  Will could see that Evie was still upset about the whole thing. “I mean, if he’s so paranoid, maybe we need to give him something to talk about.”

  She knew that Will was saying that to make her feel better, but it only made her face burn more. It reminded Evie of her erotic dreams and she tried to tell herself that having that on her conscience was probably making things with Keegan worse. To tell either boy that confession would only just complicate things.

  When Evie still didn’t crack a smile, Will joined her on the bed. “I have a sister. I will be ready to flex my big brother muscles for either of you.”

  “Thanks,” Evie replied. “That means a lot.”

  Will put his hand over Evie’s smaller one. Evie tried not to show any emotion at the gesture, but it was hard not to. It was so gentle. “I was going to invite you to do something tomorrow. I understand if you don’t want to do it now.”

  Evie shook her head, “I’m not going to let him control what I do.” Then she smiled at Will, suddenly feeling very sure of herself. “What were you thinking?”

  “I’ll show you tomorrow,” he replied, finally retreating to his room. “And dress warm!”

  *****

  Evie shouldn’t have been surprised when Will pulled into the local ice rink the next day, but she still turned and looked at her step brother with a confused face.

  “Am I going to watch your team practice?” she asked.

  “Nope,” Will replied, “I want to see you skate. If you skate like you train, I’ll be even more impressed.”

  He held the door open for Evie and she was even more surprised when she noticed that the rink was abandoned save for the employees. After she tried on a few pairs of hockey skates (because Will assured her that she was more badass if she didn’t use figure skates) he was guiding her onto the ice.

  Evie hadn’t been skating in a while so at first, she grasped onto the wall for dear life as she made her way around. By the second or third lap around the rink she was more confident and able to go without grabbing onto the edge. Will was unbelievable. He sped quickly from one end of the rink to the other, he skated backward, and Evie was convinced that he was able to dance on the blades that were as thin as knives. She couldn’t wait to see what he would be like when he was actually playing to win.

  “You want to learn how to skate backward?” he called.

  Evie nodded and cautiously made her way to the center of the ice. Will offered his hands and he skated forward slowly, while he pushed her and Evie put her feet in the proper position. Just like when she first started on the wall, she grasped onto Will’s hands so tightly that her knuckles were white, but soon she got the idea and they were skating around with ease.

  “Told you that you’d get it,” Will said with a grin.

  “Well, I wouldn’t even have known if it wasn’t for you.”

  “Keegan doesn’t take you anywhere cool?” Will asked.

  Evie almost laughed out loud. “If it’s not a restaurant or something involving video games then no, I haven’t been there.”

  Will gave her a look. “How did you end up with him anyway?”

  Evie remembered the time in her life when it had all come crashing down. When there was one else that was willing to listen, Keegan was. “We were friends first. He was in a bunch of my classes at school. When my dad left he was super comforting and I think that I just was desperate to have someone fill the void. I’m starting to worry that I’m outgrowing him. I was scared about all this change in my life and here I am thriving and he’s the one that’s freaking out.

  “I mean maybe it’s none of my business,” Will replied, “but shouldn’t you be happy? You don’t need someone like that. I heard what he was saying. If he’s that paranoid about me, he’s probably going to be that way about any guy you come into contact with.”

  Evie nodded but couldn’t help about thinking about her dreams. She didn’t have sexual dreams about anyone else. Will must have noticed that she looked concerned because he stopped where he was and grasped onto her hands tightly. “What’s wrong?”

  Evie felt her stomach drop. “I… I can’t tell you.”

  “Bull shit,” Will replied, “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

  Evie bit her lip as she tried to think of a suitable lie. What did it matter? Everything was already messed up with Keegan. Maybe Will would laugh in her face and that would be the end of it. The dreams would stop and maybe just maybe she could try to fix things with Keegan. “I think I’m losing my mind. It has to be because your someone new in my life.” She felt her pulse quickening. “I am attracted to you. I think Keegan knows it.”

  Evie waited for the inevitable laughter or for him to push her away in disgust. Will stared at her in surprise. “You are attracted to me?”

  “I so sorry Will, that’ s why I’ve been acting a bit strange. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable and I didn’t want to make Keegan freak out more. I will get over it. I’m sure it’s just the fact that I’ve never had a sibling before.”

  Will grabbed onto Evie’s hips and drew her so close that Evie lost her balance and she thought she was going to fall over. Will grabbed the small of her back; their bodies were so close she could feel his breath on her face. This was definitely not a brotherly touch.

  “Don’t get over it,” he said breathlessly, “I thought you were beautiful the day you moved in. I was going to be a nice guy because you had Keegan and I’m supposed to be your step brother, but after seeing how he treats you…I can’t sit here and do nothing.

  Evie grabbed onto his shirt, in complete disbelief that Will felt the same way that she did. She couldn’t believe that she was this close to him. “I have dreams, every night about you,” she whispered.

  “You can tell me about those later,” Will urged. He suddenly let her go and began to skate towards their belongings. Evie followed him confused, wondering what had happened. They had been so close that her body was throbbing at the memory.

  The minute she stepped onto to dry land he pushed her against the boards of the skating rink. “I didn’t want you to fall when I did this.”

  Then he leaned down and kissed her and i
t was better than it had been in her dreams. Evie pushed out the thoughts of Keegan and what he was doing at that exact moment, or what her mother and Craig would say if she saw the two of them kissing passionately. There was only Will and nothing more.

  *****

  The car ride home after their skating trip had been quiet and awkward. Evie tried to make sense of everything that happened but her brain felt like it was full of bees. She’d told Will that she was attracted him. She’d kissed a man that wasn’t Keegan; hell she had kissed her step brother. That was supposed to be taboo! But here she sat deciding if she wanted to feel his body close to hers. Evie tried to push Keegan from her brain but she knew she’d have to confront him about this eventually.

  They pulled into the driveway and Will was walking into the house before Evie had even pulled off her seatbelt. Was he having second thoughts as well? Evie grabbed her bag and powerwalked behind him, noticing that the house seemed quiet.

  “Mom!?” Evie called out into the large house and heard nothing. She headed into the kitchen to see if Brandon and Kate were hanging about but there was no one. “Anyone home?”

  “My dad’s still at work and your mom took my brother and sister mini golfing,” Will answered. “All alone.”

  Evie felt her stomach pinch with nerves as Will cleared the space between them and pushed her against the counter with his hips. “Are you sure about this?” she asked nervously.

  “Tell me about those dreams,” he hissed.

  Evie swallowed hard, convinced that they were going to be interrupted at any moment. Then she went into an account of what she’d been experiencing since she’d walked into her new home that day. How the dreams always started off with Will touching her and having his way with her. Evie confessed that in the beginning, Keegan would be in the dreams too; that she’d do something in her darkest fantasies by having sex with both of them at once. Lately the dreams had been changing. Instead of being interested in a threesome when Keegan came into the bedroom or the place where she and Will happened to be fooling around, Evie found herself getting annoyed with his presence. She’d gotten to the point where Keegan didn’t visit her dreams at all. It was only Will that she kissed and licked and made love with. Evie felt like a terrible girlfriend and a disgusting stepsister at first. But now after how he’d kissed her and the way he looked at her now she wasn’t so sure.

  “You think there is something wrong with us?” Will asked, still holding onto Evie. “We’re supposed to hate each other; I’m supposed to think your annoying like Kate or Brandon.”

  “We didn’t grow up together.” Evie tried to reason. “We have a lot of things in common.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  Evie stared into Will’s eyes and then bit her lip. “I think we should keep this our secret for a while. It could just a fling.” A small part of Evie hoped that it wasn’t but she continued. “If it’s not, we’ll have to talk to our parents.”

  Will nuzzled into her neck and gave her goosebumps. “There’s something else you have to do too.”

  Evie knew the answer but she played dumb. “What’s that?”

  “You have to break up with Keegan. There’s stuff I want to do to you and I won’t do it until he’s gone.”

  Evie felt her body tingle at his words. She knew that her dreams were not going to be enough. Especially now that she knew that Will felt the same way. She nodded quickly, “Okay, I’ll do it.”

  Then she stood on her tip toes and kissed Will with an open mouth. They kissed fervently, to the point that Evie thought that she would pass out from lack of oxygen when they heard the front door unlocking and they broke apart so quickly that they probably looked guiltier than if they had been standing together. Will hastily sat at the kitchen table and Evie headed towards the fridge trying to make herself look busy.

  “Hey!” Kate called as she rounded the corner. “Guess who won mini golf!?” She smiled proudly as she took in her older brother and stepsister.

  “Good for you!” Evie said brightly. She prayed that the girl didn’t notice her flushed cheeks or the fact that she was so aroused that it was hard for her to think about anything else.

  “What did you guy do today?” Evie’s mother asked.

  “I took Evie skating,” Will answered, voice sounding strange. Evie had a feeling that he was sitting at the table to conceal his own arousal.

  “You would,” Brandon teased. “You know how many times he’s taken me and Kate to the ice rink? I guess you initiated Evie.”

  Evie couldn’t help but smirk. If they only knew. “I guess so.”

  “Evie, is Keegan coming over today?” her mother asked brightly.

  This time Evie’s stomach felt anxious for a different reason. “No mom. I…I… I think I have to talk to him.” She watched Will at his spot. “We had a huge fight the other night. I don’t think he likes how my new life is turning out. He’s afraid there isn’t room for him in it.”

  “Oh Sweetie,” Evie’s mother said comfortingly as she shoed Kate and Brandon out of the kitchen. I’m so sorry that he’s acting like that. Do you think you guys can work it out?”

  Once more she looked at Will at the table who was looking very absorbed in his task of staring at the way the table was stained. Evie exhaled before she replied. “He was very mean to me the other night. I don’t know if I can have someone like that in my life. He should be happy that my life is finally making sense. Not upset. We’ve been together too long for him to be so narrow minded.”

  Evie’s mother looked at her sadly. “It sounds like you have already made up your mind. I will support you no matter what you decide to do.”

  “Thank Mom.” Evie gave her mother a quick hug before she decided that she better not put off the inevitable for a moment longer. She smiled at Will who finally met her eye as she headed towards the stairs to her room. His face was guarded, but comforting enough to tell her that he’d be there for her when the phone call was over.

  She had vowed that she’d never be one of those people that broke up over the phone, but Evie just knew if she did it here he’d know it was because of Will and he’d try to punch him in the face.

  This was going to be harder than she thought.

  *****

  “Are we getting together tonight or what?” Keegan’s tone was similar to that of the day before, and it caused Evie to be a bit less torn up about her decision to break up with him.

  “I wanted to talk to you about something actually,” Evie replied. “I haven’t been happy with how things have been going lately.”

  “I’m so happy you said that because I feel the same way. I know your mom is trying this whole new happy family thing, but frankly, it’s messing up things for me. You’re too old for a new family and I really don’t like how friendly Will is with you. I’ve worked way too hard for you to not need me anymore.

  It was like Keegan unknowingly dropped a bucket of cold ice water over Evie. He should have been happy that her mother was finally happy. He should have wanted Evie to enjoy her stepfather and new siblings after being alone for so long. She resented the fact that he would say something like that to her.

  “Actually,” Evie replied and she could hear the edge rising in her voice. “I haven’t been happy with you.”

  “What?”

  “YOU Keegan, YOU!” she retorted. “After everything that I’ve been through, I’ve finally got some stability and happiness in my life and because it’s not you, you are envious and mean. I can’t continue a relationship with someone who becomes possessive and jealous every time I spend time with my new family.”

  Keegan laughed bitterly on the other end of the phone. “I’m sorry, I only find myself getting jealous when you spend time with one member of your new family. Do you blame me, Evie? He’s athletic. He’s good looking. He’s got more in common with you than I do. I’m threatened.”

  “Well maybe if you applied yourself and did something other than take the easy way in life you wouldn’t
feel so inferior around him.” Evie tried to tell herself after the words had spewed out of her mouth that she had felt this way before she’d gotten to know Will, spending time with her step brother had only made it more apparent.

  “Are you breaking up with me?” Keegan demanded. “After everything I did for you?”

  Evie tried to blink back the tears that were trying to leak from her eyes. “I think so,” she replied. “You were a good boyfriend. But I’ve changed and you’ve remained the same. I can’t let you hold me back with your hostility.

  “This is bullshit!” Keegan spat. “If you had an older stepsister instead of Will we wouldn’t be having this problem.”

  “That’s not true!” Evie exclaimed but she knew that he was absolutely right.

  “If I catch wind that you broke up with me to fuck Will I swear to God I will never forgive you. I’ll find you both and make you pay.”

  “Don’t you dare talk to me like that!” Evie screamed. “Do you hear me?” But Keegan had hung up the phone and Evie stared at her phone in disbelief.

  Just when you think you know someone, they do something that completely shocks you.

  For a few minutes Evie cried. It was the end of an era after all. But eventually, she found herself at peace. Even if this thing with Will ended up being nothing more than a passing phase, Keegan’ true colors were going to show themselves eventually. It was better to free herself now instead of finding out about them further down the road when it would be even harder to leave him behind.

  She made her way downstairs to find that Will had gone out with a few teammates for dinner. Evie was grateful because she didn’t know how he would react to her news while the rest of the family was there. Craig had ordered pizza and she sat in the family room while everyone watched the latest sci-fi movie about flying sharks without saying much. Her mother looked at her sadly a few times because she knew that Keegan had been a comfort in all those years that her father had left them high and dry. Evie knew that her mother had finally found happiness in Craig, she knew that there would be someone else for her too.