Stepbrother Dearest

Chapter 13

Once I finally built up the courage to go inside, I sat at the dining room table and downed the water at my place setting. My mouth was still dry. It felt like the room was spinning.

"Are you okay?" my mother asked.

I should have been asking her that. I nodded, grabbing her water, too and drinking it all. Needing to be strong for her, I couldn't allow myself to lose my shit today.

They hadn't come downstairs yet.

After the mystery woman appeared behind Elec through the glass, he'd immediately turned around and disappeared from sight. It took me a few minutes to move from my spot in the garden.

He had a girlfriend...or a wife.

Even though this should have crossed my mind as a likely possibility after seven years, it wasn't something that entered into the equation when I imagined seeing him again.

The sound of two sets of footsteps descending the stairs in unison caused me to stiffen and sit straighter in my chair.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

When they entered the dining room, my body went into fight or flight mode as adrenaline pumped through me.

Maybe I should have stood up or said something, but I just stayed glued to my chair.

My mother walked over to Elec and pulled him into a hug. "Elec, it's so good to see you. I'm so sorry about your father. I know you and he had a rough time, but he loved you. He did."

Elec's body was rigid, but he didn't back away from her. He simply said, "I'm sorry for you."

As he reluctantly let my mother hug him, his eyes darted over to me and stayed there. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but I was pretty sure it was along the same lines of what was running through my own head.

This reunion was never supposed to happen.

After Mom let go of him, Elec's companion went over to hug her. "Mrs. O'Rourke, I'm Chelsea, Elec's girlfriend. I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Call me Sarah. Thank you, sweetheart. Nice to meet you."

"I'm sorry it had to be under these circumstances," she said as she rubbed my mother's back.

My eyes landed on her French-manicured nails. She was petite, and her body shape was similar to mine. Her long blonde hair cascaded down her back in beachy waves. She was gorgeous.

Of course, she was.

My insides felt like they were twisting.

Elec slowly walked toward me. "Greta..."

The sound of my name rolling off his tongue had momentarily taken me back seven years in an instant.

"Elec." I got up from my chair. "I...I'm so sorry...about Randy," I stuttered, and my lips started to tremble. It felt like all of the breath left my body when he stood in front of me, and I inhaled the old familiar smell of clove cigarettes and cologne. So much time had gone by, but emotionally, it still felt like yesterday.

Like yesterday.

The only difference was that the person who left my bedroom that day was still essentially a boy, and the person before me now was clearly a man.

I looked up at him and marveled at how he'd grown even more handsome. My favorite characteristics were still there but with some changes. His gray eyes still glowed, but now it was through those black-framed glasses. He still wore his lip ring, but had a little more facial hair now. A black pinstriped shirt that was rolled up at the sleeves hugged his chest, which was now bigger, even more defined.