“It’s okay, Caleb, hugs are allowed. We’re a very affectionate family,” my mom encouraged. We were? “That was very sweet of you,” she said before throwing me a hard look. “Now let’s just sit down to enjoy our first dinner as a family and we’ll talk about this later, Gianna.”
I couldn’t believe my mom was falling for his crap! No wait, I totally could when I thought of how my mom always liked to sweep problems under the rug, pretending they didn’t exist. Like when our family was splitting up and she insisted her and my dad would reconcile. Or the past three years when Scott’s absentee son was only a picture on his desk when he should’ve been a frequent visitor.
After dinner, which I finished last with being late, I ran up to my room, ignoring the fact my mom wanted to talk to me. I turned on some music, a new electronic group Cece wanted me to check out, and flopped down on my bed. I looked at my phone to see eighteen new text messages. I ignored the ones from people at school and found one from Cece.
Cece: How’s the new brother?
I immediately texted her back.
Me: Stepbrother! And I’ll probably start a fire outside his bedroom door tonight
Cece: That bad?
Me: Worse
If life got any worse, I’d be moving to Houston to live with my dad. Scratch that, I could never leave Cece and the boys. Guess I was stuck with-
A loud banging on my wall interrupted my thoughts.
“Turn that shit down!” Caleb shouted through the wall separating us.
Glancing at my door to check it was locked, I turned the volume up on a crappy song that made me wonder what Cece was thinking when she called this band genius.
It was funny how people were always telling me how lucky I was. Lucky to be so beautiful. Lucky to do well in school. Lucky to be dating Josh. Right now, when it came to stepbrothers, I was feeling decidedly unlucky.
CALEB
Damn, how lucky could one guy be? I’d already worked my way through all the hot chicks at my old schools. Now I’d get to live in the same house as an even hotter chick. Maybe living in the ‘burbs wouldn’t be so bad after all. One thing was for sure, playtime with my sister was going to be fun. Even if she was hands off, I’d still be able to check out that ass whenever I wanted.
Too bad she had shit taste in music. The ruckus coming through our adjoining wall made me turn up my own music to drown it out.
Going through my phone, I checked my messages. One from a one night stand the other weekend asking why I hadn’t called her back yet. She’d made weird sounds when she was coming. Another from Dante wanting to know if my new stepmom was hot. A text from Hailey checking if I wanted to go out tonight.
I answered Dante and Hailey, telling no to both. Although, my stepmom could be hot if she didn’t have the suburbia stick up her ass. If I were home at my mom’s I would’ve taken Hailey up on her offer, but no way was I going to make it all the way back home driving drunk. Plus, my dad would be pissed if I ruined my new start so soon.
Feeling tired, I kicked off my jeans and pulled off my tank. I’d unpack my stuff tomorrow. At least the bed was comfortable, with all these pillows and the fluffy comforter.
*****
I woke up with the sun shining on my face and my first thought was to buy some blackout curtains. I’d need them to sleep in on the weekends I spent here. I planned on crashing at my mom’s as much as possible otherwise I’d be bored as hell stuck here.
Three knocks on my bedroom door accompanied Chance yelling through it, “Caleb, Scott says to wake up!”
“Yeah!” I grunted, dragging myself out of bed. Unfortunately, I couldn’t skip the first day of school. It really pissed teachers off. It was creepy to open my door and find Chance standing out there. “What’s up, little dude?”
“Are we playing video games after school?” he asked intently.
“Um, sure,” I replied, then added as he was running off, “As long as your mom says it’s okay!” Or whatever.
The bathroom Julie had indicated I’d be sharing with Chance was free. It was decorated with yellow rubber ducks, the shower curtain, the towels, even the freaking soap dispenser. No way was I ever letting my friends up here. The teasing would never end. Soaping up in the shower, I wanted to laugh my ass off. Maybe I’d redecorate this room also. I’d see how the kid felt about skulls, Julie would love that.
Leaving the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my waist, I passed by a pissy-looking Gianna who made an obvious effort not to look at my bare chest. “Want to put some clothes on?” she asked sarcastically.
“Want to help me get dressed?” I countered and laughed obnoxiously when I heard her curse softly. Looking at the alarm clock I failed to set last night, I saw I was running late. I was dressed in two minutes flat and took an old backpack with me downstairs.