"She’s been throwing a goddamn party here every weekend! She’s out of control, Ray! Do something!”
Ray massaged his temple as Karina’s shrill voice penetrated his brain like a drill bit on concrete. He just arrived from an exhausting trip to Las Vegas, visiting the amusement park LPC was rushing to finish in time for Christmas. It was called Fairyland, a mega-theme park project LPC was collaborating with Walt Disney. A conference call was waiting for him with some investors from the Middle East and Karina nagging him about Serena was just an added pressure to his already over-heating engine.
He honestly didn’t know what to do with the brat. He can deal with all corporate matters with pragmatic ruthlessness, but where Baron’s only daughter was concerned, he was a fucking lost number. He just couldn’t mix Serena with business.
Worse, he was clueless how to deal with her sudden rebellion.
He didn’t understand where it was coming from. Was it a phase she was going through as a teenager transitioning into adulthood? Her sudden fierce defiance of him totally blindsided him. From this sweet, cool, smart girl, she morphed into this wild, irrational, oftentimes impulsive little bitch. It was such a huge shock he had trouble believing it. His buttercup seemed to really hate him nowadays.
He didn’t know how to cope with her erratic behavior. One day soon he would need a shrink for them both to determine what was ailing her and for him to learn how to help her get through this shitty phase, but LPC was giving him more shit to deal with everyday—
“Ray, are you listening to me?!”
Christ! Women! They were both driving him nuts!
“What do you want me to do, mother? Her own father doesn’t seem to mind. Talk to Baron.”
“I did and he said it’s okay, that she’s enjoying her college life! Serena has his number. She knows how to play Baron.”
“Maybe she really is just enjoying her life and we should relax on her. C’mon!”
“Relax is the last thing you should do around that girl from now on, Ray. She thinks now that she’s eighteen, she can run wild with her socialite friends. That Zoei will lead her straight to rehab or AA soon if we don’t keep a close eye on her!”
He sighed. His mother was right, of course.
“Ray, what the hell are you still waiting for? She’s prime for plucking! Get to work, dammit. I don’t want you seeing any of your sluts from now on. Work on Serena instead!”
“Will you quit talking about her like she’s not a human being, Karina?”
She snorted. “I know you care for the girl and that’s okay. That’s even better. All the more reason for you to make your move now.”
“She’s too young, for christ’s sake. I’ll wait till she’s twenty-one.”
Karina’s face mottled in anger. “Whaaaat?! We can’t wait that long!”
He turned around. “I certainly can.”
“Serena, can I talk to you?”
“Do I have a choice?”
Ray sighed. He just came home from a long trip. She used to wait for him at the portico steps, a warm, tight hug and happy squeals ready to welcome him.
Now she didn’t even ask where he was the past days. No hug. No warm welcome. No sweet smiles to wipe out the tiredness from his body.
Nothing but coldness and indifference in her eyes.
What happened to his buttercup?
What had he done to make her act this way towards him?
“How’s your studies?”
She folded her arms across her chest. “Sorry to disappoint you, stepbro but I’m not gunning for summa cum laude like you did. I’m just chilling with my college life.”
“I see. What happened to our talks about making the dean’s list?”
“Obviously they got drowned in too many shots of Tequila.”
He inhaled deeply, extending his patience. He’d never experienced any teenage tantrums from this one. She was a good-natured, level-headed kid for years. She was obviously having her share of juvenile angst now. Her shit came late and he was not prepared for it. It will pass, he comforted himself inwardly. He hoped it won’t last long before he’d start totally losing his temper around her.
“You’ve been partying a lot lately. Drinking a lot.”
“So?”
He gritted his teeth. She knew he didn’t like her to drink. “You should cut down on that. Concentrate on your studies.”
“Hey, I’m studying. Don’t worry, I won’t flunk any of my subjects.”
“The drinking, Serena. You cannot have drinking sessions here every weekend. This is a residence, not a bar.”
She raised a haughty brow. “Are you prohibiting me to have parties in my own house, Ray?”
Christ. She was never the one to throw insults like that.
“Why are you deliberately missing the point? I’m only concerned for your well-being.”
“Oh thank you, stepbro, but I really don’t need you lecturing me over and over about good behavior. Really, I’m so sick of it. I’m relieving you of your brotherly responsibilities towards me. I’m emancipating myself from you.”
The last part was like a mighty blow to his chest. He stared at her, fighting the urge to shake her till her teeth rattled and hug her tight, ask her what he’d ever done to deserve this shit from her. Despite the end game, he’d treated her special. Extra special. It hurt that she was pushing him away like this, like all those years he’d spent lavishing her with his undivided attention meant nothing to her.
Fuck. Only this kid can do this to him and get away unscathed.
Only her.
He tried to make his voice even, to belie the pain her words had inflicted in him like mortal wounds.
“The next time you have a party in this house and invite all your dopehead friends, make sure they don’t bring any drugs or drinks with more than 10% alcohol content.”
“What?! What do we have parties for if we can’t drink the hard stuff?”
“Swim in the pool, dance like monkeys, climb the trees, I don’t give a fuck. No hard liquor or drugs. Not even weed. If I catch any of your friends bringing any of that shit in this house, I’ll beat the crap out of them and put them in the slammer.”
“You can’t do that!” she gasped indignantly.
He smiled at her coldly. “Why not? That’s the beauty of being adults, you know. They can go to jail.”
She opened her mouth to say something but was at a loss.
He smirked at her. “Go to your father and complain. I don’t care. I don’t own this house but I live here and that’s my law, you understand? Break it and you’ll see.”
If looks could kill, he’d be a bloody pulp on the floor. “I hate you!”
“That’s just too bad, stepsister.”
Fuming madly, she turned around and ran back to her room.
He sighed and massaged his forehead.
He needed a stiff drink.
The irony wasn’t lost to him, too. He was prohibiting the brat from drinking but he’d quickly turn into an alcoholic if she continued giving him shit like this.
