Snake (a Stepbrother Romance)(42)

Brett appeared to be joking, but it didn’t stop my hands from forming fists. Finally, I decided any excuse was good enough to keep me from going home and smashing more expensive crystal.

“Why the hell not?” I mumbled, and my co-workers cheered as I approached them with an apprehensive smile on my face.





* * *



I stumbled out of the bar, the sun having long ago set, and waved a goodbye to my new best friends. My mind was hazy and stuck on one thing - Mila. I needed to see her as soon as possible, tell her how I really felt.

And even in my inebriated state, I knew it was the right thing to do. I wanted to be happy for a change. And Mila made me happy. So why shouldn’t I have some fucking happiness?

I called myself a taxi and waited on the curb until it arrived, smiling like a fool as I thought of her and how she’d react when I told her how much she meant to me.

The taxi driver robbed me blind for the fare, and dropped me off down the street. Without thinking about anything else, I went straight up to Mila’s apartment, and knocked on the door with a heavy fist.

But still, no answer.

Either she was avoiding me or she was out. But it was late; she hardly ever partied… I knocked again, thinking maybe she was asleep, but still no response. My mind whirled with worry, and had I been sober I might’ve made a more rational decision… But since I was tipsy, I figured breaking into the apartment was the best way to go. Not one of my brightest moments.

I had to make sure she was okay.

I stumbled into the apartment after slamming my shoulder hard against the pathetic frame. The door fell off its hinges and hung at an angle. Walking inside, I called my stepsister’s name over and over again, but she didn’t respond.

Blinking away the fuzziness of my pickled brain, it took me a few moments to register that the place seemed strangely empty. I looked around the apartment, feeling more than a little confused, and I soon figured out what was so different.

The knowledge hit me like a cold slap to the face.

The apartment looked just like it always had.

Before Mila moved in, that is.

Every trace of my stepsister was wiped clean - I couldn’t even detect a whiff of her carefree, flowery scent that used to permeate this place, one that I’d come to desire.

With a low growl, I called her name once again and barged into her bedroom, hoping to find it was all a big misunderstanding.

My eyes skimmed the room. The bedroom was empty just like the rest of the apartment, the bed neatly made and the room devoid of any personal items.

It made me so fucking angry, my need to destroy something strong and primal. I cursed out loud and inspected the whole place, ending up in the unfinished bathroom.

Not a trace of Mila. Not there, not anywhere.

My heart cracked as I grabbed the wrench I’d forgotten in the bathroom a while ago and threw it against the newly installed sink. The porcelain broke and dropped down in a jagged chunk, but the destruction only made me angrier instead of making me feel better.

Roaring with the combination of both frustration and pain, I trashed the bathroom, taking out all my anger, letting it loose uncontrollably.

I ripped the sink from the wall and destroyed the ceramic panelling I had started working on. I was enraged, ready to level the whole place to the ground as I destroyed all my efforts methodically.

Finally, I ended up in front of the ruined sink, finding a strange object on the floor.

Panting, I picked up the small item and stared at it intently in my palm. A little gold bobby pin, one Mila used to wear in her hair. There was a jewel on one end.

I remembered she used to leave them everywhere, and it drove me crazy when I stepped on them or found them in random places in the bathroom back in the house.

But right then, the anger started to dissipate, soon replaced by deep sadness as I realised I could trash the place all I wanted, but it wouldn’t bring her back.

She’d chosen to do this. Chosen to leave… me?

I could have destroyed the garage and the house, and Mila would still be gone.

Gripping the bobby pin in my hand, I finally walked outside, sucking in gasps of cold air as I tilted my head up at the night sky. Streetlights had flickered on hours ago, illuminating our property, and I was bathed in an artificial yellow glow.

As I turned to go back to the main house, hope filled my chest as I spotted another figure in the driveway, trotting away from the house. Mila? My eyes narrowed at the retreating silhouette and I gripped the bobby pin until it pricked the skin on my palm.

Focusing, I made out the shape of Monique in her too-high heels pulling a suitcase behind her. And there was a man with her, too - none other than her boss, the man she had been cheating on me with.

My heart sank as my mind processed the image in front of me. I could have fooled myself for a while longer, but seeing them together right there, on my own property, made it seem more real than ever.