My New Stepbrother

2

Angel

Once my mother and I moved into Peters, "mansion," things did get better...for her. He showered her with extravagant gifts, money, and even gave her a lot of much needed love. Often times they jetted off to places like Rome, or Bora Bora, leaving me alone in a unfamiliar house with a unfamiliar person.

Blake.

My mom was right, I should've started getting to know him. We spent a lot of time in the same house, probably doing the same thing in our own separate rooms. So why not try to bond with him? Not like I had anything better to do.

All I ever did was watch tv, not caring about the calories that were going straight to my thighs as I gorged on random snacks I found. It was nice though, because like my mother said we weren't struggling anymore.

Even though I had all the food, space and clothing I could ever want, she still wasn't so happy with me being lonely. Every time she came back home from an expensive trip, seemingly freshly rejuvenated, she looked at me with worrisome eyes.

"Are you okay Angel?" She asked once when she came into my room, I was sitting on my bed binge watching Gossip Girl, and stuffing my face with popcorn.

"Yes fine." I didn't even look at her. "What's up?"

"Well your stepfather has complained that...you don't interact with Blake much." She said.

"So..."

"So we want the two of you to bond more." She grabbed my face, the grip was so tight, I knew it would turn my cheeks red. "Listen to me, can you hear me Angel?"

I blinked at her. Obviously I could hear...did she not see the two ears attached to my massive cranium?

"Never mind." She rolled her eyes, like I was some...nuisance to her. "We are going on a family vacation soon, instead of just another honeymoon for Peter and I."

She smiled. "Would you like that?"

I shrugged my shoulders, then freed myself of her iron clad grip on my face, rubbing the spots that felt sore.

"Angel..." she swallowed. "Do not ruin this marriage for me. You don't want to go back to being poor and struggling, do you?"

I shook my head no, my eyes never straying from my tv.

"Okay then, so what you're going to do is come on this trip and act like how you used to. You know...before your father."

I spared her a glance. She must've been serious if she was bringing up dad. I simply nodded my head again, giving her the smallest smile I could muster.

She sighed then stood, leaving the room and leaving my door wide open. I groaned, I hated my door being open. I liked the idea of being locked up in my room, in my own world, closed off from everything and everybody. With my own mini fridge and bathroom, it wasn't that hard to accomplish. I stood up to close the door, the bones in my legs cracking with each step.

I couldn't remember the last time I even stood that day. I stretched my arms and legs, bringing back some elasticity into my muscles. After that, I finished the short trek to the door. My hands enclosed around the brass door knob, and right before I closed my door, Blake appeared there in the doorway.

When was the last time I saw him? It had to be a week or so. Even though we lived in the same house, we weren't close at all and never tried to see or speak to each other. His hair seemed a bit shorter, and he was beginning to grow this small stubble that covered his jawline suitably. He also wasn't wearing a shirt, so I got to see a perfect view.