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“That one,” he said, placing the fork down on the island before turning and striding from the kitchen.
He didn’t look at me once as he left. But those heavy steps on the stairs hit a little harder.
“Excellent,” Mom grinned and turned. “Did Tobias want to try?”
“No,” Nick answered for him. “He’s all in anyway, just now messaged me about it.”
Mom fucking beamed and turned to Creed. “I told you. I told you they’d be into this. We just needed to give them a chance.”
Creed glanced my way with a careful look on his face. He wasn’t as convinced as mom hugged him, giggling like a damn schoolgirl. “You did.” He wrapped his arms around her, his gaze still on me as Nick turned and strode from the kitchen.
* * *
I woke early the next morning, too damn early. The moment I surfaced, I thought of them.Tobias, Nick…and now Caleb.Their fixated attention. Their dark, hungry stares. I shoved the sheets away and climbed from my bed. It was still dark when I cracked open the door and listened to the silence before hurrying to the bathroom. This place had become a battleground. One I needed to learn how to navigate…if I was going to survive.
Cold tiles kissed my feet as I stepped in and closed the door quietly before using the toilet, then winced, holding my breath as I flushed. By the time I was racing back to my room, my pulse was out of control. I closed my door behind me and switched on the light, grabbed my laptop from the end of my bed, and set to work at my desk.
Stepbrothers or not, I had an assignment due by Monday, one I wasn’t prepared for. I logged into the school portal and brought up the details before opening up a new document and started outlining my proposal.
By the time I lifted my head and noticed the sky was growing light outside, I was deep into the complexities of the nineteen twenties. I glanced at the scribbles on the paper in front of me and all the ideas I’d started then crossed out, and closed my eyes. The way I was going, I’d never find something substantial to write on.
I was going to fail.
My last year of school and I was going to fail.
I reached up, touching the birthmark on my cheek, and shoved upward. My back howled and my ass felt flat and sore. I massaged it, grabbed my school clothes, and hurried for the shower.
It was bliss being up this early in the morning. I showered, knowing those three assholes were still sound asleep, and for the first time in ages, I took my time. I shaved, scrubbed, and stepped out, glowing and red and feeling more alive than I had in weeks. My tortured thoughts returned to them, to their broody stares that seemed to gravitate toward me.
I wanted to know what that message Nick got last night had said. I wanted to know what was so interesting that he had to show Caleb…and that seemed to mention me. Why else would they look at me the way they had…
Why else would Nick have gotten hard?
He'd gotten hard. I froze, my grip clenched around the comb embedded in my hair. Through the misted mirror, I found that ugly red mark on my cheek. He'd gotten hard…and he'd looked at me. I shook my head. “No, it wasn’t me.”
Still, that nagging feeling remained.
Wasn’t it?
He'd been hard in the car when he'd demanded I touch myself. He'd been hard when he looked at me. I closed my eyes at the thought. No guy had ever looked at me like that before. No one had barely given me a passing glance, let alone the kind of intensity that burned in their gazes.
First it was Tobias…
Then it was Nick.
Now it was Caleb.
I forced my eyes open and hurried, dragging my hair down to cover my face, and left the bathroom behind. My bare feet padded lightly, but a surge of panic still rose as I raced to my bedroom.My bedroom…the words repeated in my mind. I deserved to be here as much as they did. So why was I the one in fear, trying not to wake them?
Why was I the one scared at all?
I glanced at the mess of scribbles on my writing pad as I pulled on socks and shoved my feet into the ugly goddamn shoes. I didn’t want to hide here anymore. I didn’t want to cower from their anger. I didn’t want to cower at all. The softthudof a door echoed somewhere downstairs. I hurried, lunging to grab my laptop, and tore from my room to race for the stairs.
“Creed!” I called out as loudly as I dared.
He stopped with his hand on the door, dressed in navy blue business pants and an open-collared white shirt, and turned toward me. “Ryth, everything okay, honey?”
“Yeah,” I smiled. “I was hoping I could get a lift to school with you, if that’s okay?”
