Unwanted (bxb)

Chapter 3

Justin's POV

As I walked the stairs, I couldn't stop thinking about the ten minutes I'd spent with my new idiot of a stepbrother. How could he be such a dickhead? God, I couldn't stand him, and there was no way I could deal with living with him. It was bad enough that he was my mother's new husband's son, but after what had happened, my annoyance had reached stratospheric levels.

This was supposed to be the perfect adorable little boy my mother had told me about?

I hated how he talked to me, how he looked at me. As if he were better than me just because he had money. He had looked me up and down and then laughed... laughed right in my face.

Once I made it to my room, I closed the door behind me. It was night out, and barely any light entered my window. In the darkness, the sea was black, and I couldn't see the dividing line between it and the sky.

Nervous, I hurriedly turned on the light.

I went straight to the bed and jumped on it, staring up at the beams in the ceiling. To top it off, I was supposed to have dinner with them. Did my mother not realize that the last thing I felt like doing right now was being surrounded by people? I needed to be alone, to rest, to accept them and learn to live with them, even if deep down I knew that was impossible.

I grabbed my phone, not sure whether to call my girlfriend, Maddie. I didn't want her to worry when she heard the bitterness in my voice. I'd only been in Palm Beach for an hour, and already miss her absence.

Ten minutes after I went up, my mother came in.

At least she bothered knocking, but then she walked right in when I didn't answer. I swear this woman has never heard of privacy before.

"Justin, in fifteen minutes we need to be downstairs." she said patiently.

"You say that like it takes an hour and a half just to walk down the steps," I responded, sitting up in bed. My mother had let her light colored brown hair down and curled it. She looked elegant. We hadn't even been here two hours, and already she looked like a different person.

"I'm saying this because you need to change clothes first." She ignored my tone.

Not understanding, I looked down at my outfit.

"What's wrong with how I'm dressed?" I asked defensively.

"You're wearing sneakers, Justin. We have to dress up tonight. You don't think you're going to go out in shorts and a T-shirt, do you?" she asked, exasperated.

I stood up and faced her, not wanting to put up a fight, I know I won't win.

I took a few deep breaths, swallowed down all the things I wanted to say, and nodded.

"Just tonight."

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When my mother left, I walked into the closet. Disgusted with everything and everyone, I looked for an outfit that would be comfortable and that I wouldn't hate. I wanted to show them I could be an adult. Cole's amused, unbelieving expression as he gawked at me with his bright eyes was still stuck in my mind. He had looked at me like I was just a little kid he was having fun scaring with his dog.

My suitcase was open on the floor. I kneeled down and started going through my clothes. My mother was probably expecting me to go down in something she'd bought me, but that was the last thing I was considering. If I gave in, I'd be setting a bad precedent. Accepting that clothing was like accepting this new life and I did not want that.