My New Stepbrother.

The Aftermath.

We both sat down on the bed while Kelly paced back and forth. I cleared my throat and ignored her piercing stare. "Why are we here? My dads ceremony is about to start, literally downstairs." Mason shifted uncomfortably on the bed next to me.

"You're here because you thought making out in front of the funeral home, or even making out at all was a good idea. I'm trying to be patient and understand why the hell you would do that, but i just cant seem to piece it together." She rubbed circles on her temples. "How long has this been going on?" Neither of us answered and she let a dry laugh. "It ends now."

"That's not up to you." She looked at me as if I had grown a third head, or at least some balls. "It's up to us. It's our...." I didn't know what the hell to call it. "Problem. So it's up to us."

"What if your father and I married?? Would that continue? No I don't think it would." She looked directly at me like she had won but she only angered me.

"You and my father didn't marry though? In fact, my fathers dead, isn't he?" I sighed a little and ran my shaky hands through my hair. I stood up from the bed and walked out the room. "I'm going to go host his ceremony now, you can come if you want." I slammed the door.

A lot of people piled into Maya's house that afternoon. We played a few of my dads favorite songs and made his favorite foods. A couple people told stories about him, some were funny, some were sad. But either way, it brought back memories. Mason and Kelly joined us not long after the ceremony started.

Mason grabbed my hand and led me into one of the downstairs room. He locked the door behind and I sat on the bed. "We have to end this."

"No." He shook his head and frowned at me. "Mason I-"

"Charls. She threatened to send me to boarding school. I can't go. Because at least if we end it, I'll still be able to see you. If I go to boarding school.... It'll be at least a year before I see you again. I promised you I'd be here. I can't do that to you." He sat on the bed next to me and clasped his hands around mine. I snatched my hand away and stood up.

"Mason. I love you." The words left my throat and suddenly I was so embarrassed, I couldn't even look at him. The knots in my stomach got tighter and I struggled for breath. He looked up at me. And the look in his eyes is something I have come to love. It's the way my father used to look at my mother. I wanted to cry so much. He stood up and before I realized it, he cupped my face and my lips met his.

His hands traveled to the small of my back and I wrapped my arms around his neck. We broke apart and he smiled. "Promise me, that you won't break this up. Let's keep it a secret until we're 18 and she can't say anything about it." It was a horrible idea, but I wanted him more than anything. He looked skeptical and I felt bad. I shouldn't have asked him that. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that. If we get caught, you could get sent away. It's a risk I shouldn't have asked you to take.. I'm sorry." I unwrap my arms and went towards the door.

"Charlie wait." I ignored him and went back to the party. I was close to crying but since it was my fathers funeral, no one suspected anything of it. A woman came up to me and began to talk about how sorry she was. I respectively nodded while she was talking. Someone's hand clutched in mine and I whipped around prepared to scream, but his lips crashed against mine. I quickly pulled away and Mason smiled. "I don't want to keep it a secret because dammit Charlotte Rose I love you. I don't care what my mom says. I'm 18, she can't do anything. I love you and I want to be with you. And I want everyone to know." He got louder with every word.

I looked over toward Kelly and she frowned. You could see the worry lines creasing in her face. She walked out back and sat in the chair. I looked back at Mason and nodded towards his mom and he nodded. In this moment more than anything, he looked like her. I grasped his hand tightly and we walked towards the door. It slid open and we stepped out, still hand in hand. She looked up from the picture she had in her hand. It was Mason and what I assumed to be Mason's dad. Mason was in his dad's arms and his dad was smiling a wide grin. "I was never the same after he died... He was my first love" She wiped a stray tear. "He was stubborn," She looked at Mason. "Just like you. But he would have done anything for the woman he loved. Even defy his parents." She let out a dry but sincere laugh. "His mom and dad HATED me. His mom used to call me the antichrist... But it wasn't until he stormed in the house one day and told his parents that he loved me and that he didn't care if they took their blood money back. He said that he would start a new life with me. And whether or not they were in it, was up to them. His parents didn't come to our wedding...

"I want to be apart of your lives. I don't want to make the same mistake his parents did. He hated his parents. I don't want either of you to hate me. I love you both. Just please make sure this is the right thing." He clutched my hand tighter and smiled.

"It is. "

She let a few tears fall. "I just want you to be happy." She cried and Mason let go of my hand and pulled her in a hug. And for once, I wished it was my mother holding me while I cried.

I looked inside the house and my mother stood there looking at me through the glass door. She took a step towards me but someone else caught her attention. She looked at me again and then walked away.

~~~

"So wait, you're openly dating him?" Maya sat on the bed crossed legged and staring intently at me. She had also found about Mason when Kelly did. But she gave Kelly they day with us before she began her questioning. She was among the crowd of people who heard Mason tell me he loved me for the first time.

"Yeah I think so." She squealed and bounced up and down on the bed. I was giddy about it too. I mean, how long have I liked him... Since like 4th grade?

"That's so cute. I didn't know how you were going to do it, but I knew you two would find a way to be together... It just sucks that it had to be your dads..." She looked down at her finger nails and began to peel them.

"It's okay Maya... You can say the word. He's dead, I know." I grabbed her hands and she looked up at me and smiled sympathetically. "I miss him like hell but... I know he's not here... Physically." She leaned forward and hugged me.

"So prom? It's in what 1 more month? Is he going to ask you..?" She changed the subject and hopped out of bed and sat at her vanity mirror. She brushed her hair slowly but made direct eye contact with me through the mirror.

"God I hope so." I laid back on the bed and sighed. "Maya, I can't believe we're graduating in less than 2 months." And then it really hit me. My father won't be there to see me off to prom, he won't be there to see me walk across stage... "Maya..." I think she heard the crack in my tone because she hopped back on the bed and hugged me tightly. "It's not fair. Who's going to be there for me? You'll have your mom and your dad. Mason will have his mom. My dads dead and my moms a bitch."

"You'll have me, and Mason, and Kelly, and my mom, my dad, and doll. You're dads always here okay?" I nodded and she hugged me tighter. "I love you Char Bar."

"I love you too May Bear."