The Stepbrother // Luke Hemmings

What's the Wifi Password?

2
What's the Wifi Password?

"So, what do you guys think? Did we get you?" Clueless Claire claps her hands together and smiles, as she practically gushes, "Andy and I decided to keep the whole brother, sister bit from you guys so we could surprise you!"

"You wanted to surprise us?" I question, laughing dryly. "Okay, well where's the puppy? Or, the concert tickets? Because, I don't know if you noticed, Mom, but those are the kinds of things you consider a surprise. Not telling someone they're gonna have," with a pause, I scrunch my nose up in distaste and look over at the tall boy, "a sibling. Not to mention one who is probably twice my age."

"Hilarious." I watch as his blue eyes roll skywards at my words and he turns away from me. "Dad, can you tell me what's going on?" Irritated, he tosses his box to the side, clearly not caring about the safety of its contents anymore, and crosses his arms over his chest. "This isn't serious, is it?"

Andrew lets out an understated sigh, "Luke, please don't make a big deal out of nothing."

"Nothing?" He questions, and then he says it again. It's as if he's testing the word around in his mouth. "Nothing? Hm, Dad, please define 'nothing', because I'm pretty sure 'nothing' isn't some girl moving into my house when I don't even know her. She's a complete stranger!"

And as much as it killed me to agree with him, he was right.

"Luke, you're being a brat." Andrew chuckles dryly, "This girl, is Anastasia. She's Claire's daughter. She'll be living here with us from here on out and in less than three months, she'll be your stepsister."

Luke shook his head furiously, grumbling, "Can I talk to you for a sec?" Eyes turn me, narrowing as he says, "Privately."

"We can talk later, Luke. It's going to get late soon, so why don't you cut the attitude and come help them unpack, okay?" Andrew's blue eyes look over at me, "Are you alright, Anastasia? Is everything okay?"

No, everything is not alright. I glance at my mother whose face doesn't even show the least bit of concern and I shake my head, defeated.

"Annie," I quietly chastise. "I'll be alright, it's nothing I can help."

"Then it's settled. When you guys are all moved in, I figured we could go out and eat dinner on the deck, tonight? I made a barbecue."

And like the Fourth of July, my mom's eyes light up all over again; our previous conflict completely over her head. "That sounds great, let's hurry. I'm famished." Then, together the two of them head back downstairs, leaving me and Luke alone in the hallway.

When I turn in his direction, he's already staring heatedly at me, and the sight makes me huff with anger, "What? Do you think I asked for this? You think I want to live here?"

He doesn't say anything back, choosing to instead roll his eyes, and once he's gathered his box, he turns and pushes open his room door; slamming it behind him.

"Hey, wait!" I hurriedly call out behind him. Honestly, I could care less if he wanted to have a pissy attitude with me, I just needed to know one thing. The door swings open and he glares down at me.

"What?"

"What's the wifi password?"

For a minute, I swear I see amusement flash clear in his eyes but it's soon replaced with anger, and he's slamming the door back in my face. Asshole.

--

For the most part of my life, eating meals with my mom on our couch had been the norm. Whether it was pizza from the freezer or my mom's freshly made vegetarian lasagna, as just the two of us, we never felt the need to actually sit at our kitchen table. So, when we had finally finished unloading the U-Haul and organized everything into their proper rooms, I didn't know what I'd be expecting when Andrew had called us outside to sit for dinner.