2; Stepbrother with green eyes

The door burst open making me fidget in my seat. I am still jumpy from what happened yesterday. It was my mom.

“Rosalie! Sweetheart, I have news!” Her voice was too loud, too bright, like she was trying to make up for the fact that she’d been gone for days. Again.

I didn’t look up from my desk, where I’d been pretending to study for the past hour. 

“What is it this time? Did you win the lottery? Or did you finally remember you have a daughter?”

She ignored the bite in my tone, which wasn’t surprising. She was used to it by now. Instead, she flopped onto my bed and dangled her heels off the edge. Shegrinned at me like she’d just discovered the secret to happiness.

“Better,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “I got married!”

I froze. The pen I’d been holding slipped from my fingers and rolled across the desk. “You… what?”

“Got married!” she repeated, as if that made it any less insane. “In Vegas! Can you believe it? It was so spontaneous, so romantic. Oh, Rosalie, you’re going to love him. He’s wonderful.”

I stared at her, my mind spinning. Married? In Vegas? To a man I’d never even met? This had to be a joke. But the way she was beaming and the way her cheeks were flushed with excitement I knew she was serious.

“Mom,” I said slowly, trying to keep my voice steady. “You can’t just… marry someone without telling me. What about… I don’t know, me? What about us?”

She waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, don’t be so dramatic. He’s rich! You’ll love him, I promise. And his son! He’s about your age. You’ll have so much in common.”

What? 

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. A stepfather. A stepbrother. The very little hope that my father would come back after twelve years just slapped me in the face. I knew I wasn’t going to come back, but I had hope. 

“Come on,” Mom said, grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet. “They’re downstairs. Let’s go meet your new family!”

My eyes landed on the man in our living room as I walked down the stairs. He was tall, with salt-and-pepper hair and a suit that probably cost more than our rent. He looked like he’d stepped out of a magazine, all polished and perfect, and when he smiled at me, it was warm but distant. Like he was trying to be friendly but didn’t quite know how.

“You must be Rosalie,” he said, extending a hand. “I’m Daniel. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

I shook his hand, my mind still reeling. “Uh… yeah. You too.”

Mom was practically bouncing on her heels. Her excitement was oozing all over her face. “And this,” she said, gesturing to the boy standing by the door. His face was buried in his phone. “is Noah. Your new stepbrother!”

For some reason, my heart stopped. This is all too much.

He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He had a poker face as he raised his head slowly from his phone looking at me. As his eyes locked into mine, my heart stopped again. The world began to tilt.

Piercing green eyes.

It was him. The boy from the lake. It should be him. It can’t possibly can’t be him right? I mean a lot of people have piercing green eyes. Right?

I could feel the blood drain from my face as I stared at him. My mind was racing. Was it really him? It had to be. Those eyes, I’d never forget those eyes. But before I could say anything, he looked away, his expression hardening as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Noah,” Daniel said, his tone firm but kind, “be nice.”

Noah didn’t respond. Instead, he pulled out a pair of earbuds and popped them in, effectively shutting out the rest of the room.

Mom laughed nervously, like she was trying to diffuse the tension. “Oh, don’t mind him. He’s just… shy.”

Shy. Right.

“Rosalie, sweetie,” Mom said, clapping her hands together bringing me back from my thoughts,

“Why don’t you help Noah bring in the things from the car? It’ll give you two a chance to get to know each other.”

I wanted to say no. I wanted to run back to my room and lock the door and pretend none of this was happening. But Mom was already ushering us toward the door. I followed Noah out to the car with my arms wrapped tightly around myself like I could somehow hold myself together. The night air was cool, but it did nothing to calm the storm raging inside me. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat, and every step closer to him felt like walking toward a predator.

Noah popped the trunk without a word and started pulling out bags. 

“What are you staring at?” he finally asked, his voice low and annoyed.

I blinked, caught off guard. 

“Not you.” 

He raised an eyebrow, his mouth was still tightened in a straight line.

“Sure you weren’t.”

I let out a scoff. I stretched out my trembling hands reaching for a bag at the same time he did. Our hands brushed, and he jerked back like I’d burned him.

“Watch it,” he snapped, his voice low and icy.

I flinched, my breath catching in my chest. 

“It’s not like I touched you on purpose,” I said, my voice shaking despite my best efforts to sound steady.

Noah’s eyes narrowed, and he took a step closer, his presence overwhelming. 

“Just keep your distance. I don’t need you getting in my way.”

My stomach churned, but I forced myself to hold his gaze. 

“Oh, sorry. Didn’t realize you were the king of the driveway,” I shot back, my voice trembling but defiant.

Noah’s jaw tightened, and for a moment, I thought he might say something else. Instead, he just glared at me. His green eyes were piercing in the dim light. 

“You’re really pushing your luck, you know that?”

I swallowed hard, my hands clutching the bag so tightly my knuckles turned white.

“And you’re really not as scary as you think you are,” I said, though my voice wavered.

Noah’s lips twitched, but it wasn’t a smile. It was something darker, more dangerous. 

“I wouldn’t say that if I were you.”

I felt all the blood drain from my face. Now my feeling is stronger that he was the one by the lake.

He turned away before I could even think of a response, slamming the trunk shut with more force than necessary. I stood there with my heart pounding. My legs felt like they might give out at any moment. 

“Rosalie! Hurry up.” I hear my mom call. I clutched the bag tighter, then sprinted to the house. As I dropped the bag, my mom dropped the final bombshell.

“Oh, and Rosalie,” she said, her voice too cheerful for the news she was about to deliver, “you’ll be transferring to Noah’s school. Isn’t that exciting? You’ll get to start fresh, make new friends!”

I stared at her, my mouth hanging open. 

“What? No. I’m not—”

“And we’ll be moving in with Daniel and Noah. We’ll live peacefully as a family.” she continued, like I hadn’t even spoken. 

“I’ve told Amanda I’ll see her in school tomorrow after not seeing ourselves over the summer break!”

“Oh Rosalie, you’ll get a new Amanda. Can’t you see? You’re getting new stuff now. New dad, new school, new clothes, a new sibling, new home. It just makes sense, you know? No more rent, no more struggling. It’s perfect!”

Perfect. Right.

“I’ve helped you start packing some of your stuff,” my mom said pointing over to my laptop and camera she set on the coffee table.

“Packing alright.” I mumbled.

I glanced at Noah, who was leaning against the wall again, his earbuds still in. He wasn’t looking at me, but I could feel the tension radiating off him.

His eyes flicked to my camera, which was sitting on the coffee table, and his expression changed. His jaw tightened as his eyes widened. For a split second, I saw something like panic flash across his face.

“I’ll be in the car.” He mumbled before leaving the room.

The little doubt in me left. Now I’m very sure it was him. 

My stepbrother has a dirty, dirty secret that I know.